After falling to Westminster Christian 6-1 in last year’s 4A state championship game, the Trinity Christian Academy Lady Conquerors had only one mission in 2019: WIN IT ALL. Not only did they get another chance at the title, the Conquerors faced the same opponent that knocked them out in the championship game a year ago with a big five-run sixth inning. This time, though, it was Trinity who had the big inning — four of them, in fact.
Trinity scored early and often on route to a resounding 16-0 shutout over Westminster Christian to win the 2019 Florida Class 4A state championship, the first in TCA Softball history.
Amaya Ross drove in six runs and missed the cycle by only the single. Ross had an RBI double in the second, a three-run inside-the-park home run in the third, and a two-run triple in the fourth to lead the Conquerors to a tie for the biggest margin of victory in Florida softball championship game history.
Ross needed only the single to
complete the cycle, but a 3-for-4, 6 RBI performance and a state championship
is pretty good consolation.
Alexis Ross drove in three runs herself and scored three times as well on a
2-for-4 night at the plate while Morgan McMillian was 2 for 4 with a run
scored and two driven in. More Conquerors also had big nights at the plate:
The Conquerors’ line score reads 2, 3, 6, 5 for runs scored in four innings of offense.
The rally started with a two-run triple from McMillian with two outs in the first. Alexis Ross had a two-run single in the second, followed by Amaya’s double. The third inning saw an RBI double from Bailey Cooley, an RBI single from Natalia Burnsed, a run-scoring error off the bat of Alexis Ross, and Amaya’s inside-the-park three-run home run. In the fourth, Alexis Ross singled in a run, Reagan Griffis hit a popup that dropped for an error and allowed a run to score, Amaya Ross tripled in two, and Mackenzie Marell finished the scoring with an RBI double.
Cooley (W: 17-6, 2.16 ERA) pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits without walking a batter. She struck out five on the night, including two in the final inning. The only jam Cooley found herself in came in the bottom of the first when Westminster loaded the bases on three consecutive singles after the first out. Cooley, though, got two fly balls to Alexis Ross in center field to escape the jam without a run scoring. Cooley then allowed only one more base runner for the rest of the night.
The Conquerors finish the season with an official record of 21-6 and bring home the first state championship in team history. After three consecutive trips to the final four in the three previous seasons — and a title-game exit last year — this one is especially sweet for Coach J.R. Borden and his staff (Dyron Johnson and Jamie Macik) as well as seniors Alexis Ross, (Florida International University) ,Bailey Cooley (East Florida State College), and Linzie LaFavor (Charleston Southern University).
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Congratulations to the Trinity Christian Academy Conquerors, the 2019 Florida Class 4A State Softball Champions!
Featured Image Courtesy of TCA Football Equipment Twitter
