Rain forced the cancellation of the First Presbyterian Christian Academy baseball team’s first four games over a two-week period, setting up the Highlanders to open the season with a region game against Trinity Christian, the reigning Region 2-AA champs.
Trinity won, 11-1, in six innings Friday afternoon at St. James Field in Hinesville.
First-year head baseball coach Ryan Harmon is not one to make excuses, but he said Trinity was a bit more prepared.
“We didn’t get the opportunity to get those first-game jitters out of our system until today,” he said after the game. “Today was Trinity’s eighth game of the season and our first, but we will get better.”
Trinity took a big lead in the first, going up 7-0 against the home team.
“Our defense was sloppy in the first inning, but once we settled in, we didn’t play that bad,” Harmon said.
The lone run came after Highlander Jake Lee had a double, and Dalton Smiley hit a single RBI in the second inning. Darrius Tilghman also had a single, a double and two stolen bases in the game.
Highlander James Moon pitched four innings, giving up four earned runs. Harmon said once Moon settled down, he had a solid performance on the mound. Kyle Hill pitched the final two innings, giving up two earned runs.
“It was tough, but we did some good things today,” Harmon said.
FPCA (0-1) will host Pinewood Christian at 4:30 p.m. Monday at St. James Field.