Aaron Watson and the Trinity Christian baseball team is one win away from a storybook ending.
Watson, a presumptive Day 1 or early Day 2 pick in July’s Major League Baseball draft, put an exclamation point on his career, leading the Conquerors to a 1-0 win over Berkeley Prep in the Class 2A state semifinals on Tuesday. Watson fired a one-hitter with seven strikeouts and Jordan Martinez had the lone RBI in the bottom of the first to give the Trinity ace all he needed.
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Trinity (30-4) will face The First Academy (29-4) on Wednesday at noon in Fort Myers’ Hammond Stadium. It marks just the third championship game in program history for the Conquerors. They were state runner-up in 2000 and won the 4A crown in 2015 when weather forced the game to wrap up after midnight.
Trinity has been positioned for this game all season.
The Conquerors lost in the state semifinals last season and spent the time since laser-focused on getting back and completing the mission. One of the most talent-rich squads in are history, Watson said last week that Trinity’s mindset has been “be where our feet are” and not look beyond the moment.
Watson, a Virginia signee who is rated as the 42nd-best draft prospect by MLB.com, has been as good as advertised this year. He held Berkeley Prep hitless through four innings before a leadoff single in the top of the fifth. The Buccaneers threatened just once, putting runners on second and third in the sixth with the help of an error and a passed ball. But Watson notched a whiff to get out of the tight spot.
In five postseason games (four playoff starts and the district final), Watson was spectacular. He went 4-0, fired a no-hitter (Episcopal in the district semifinal) and a perfect game (regional final against Bozeman). That line — 32.2 innings pitched, seven hits, six walks, 40 strikeouts and no earned runs.
Trinity had eight hits, including a first-inning triple by Brady Harris. He came around one swing later on a double from Martinez. Harris and Martinez accounted for half of Trinity’s offense. Chris Reali also had two hits for the Conquerors.
