HUNTINGTON – For the first time ever, the Trinity Christian School baseball team competed in the state high school baseball tournament.
The No. 8 Warriors squared off with No. 1 Huntington St. Joe’s on Saturday morning to kick off the 2026 WVSSAC state baseball tournament at Jack Cook Field in Huntington. Despite an early lead to begin the game, the firepower of the Irish overran TCS down the stretch as the top seed took an 11-3 win into the semifinals.
The Warriors collected only two hits on the day, while the Irish tallied 12.
“If someone told me years ago that my coaching career would end in the state tournament, watching my son play at Marshall University, I would have told you then I would be happy,” TCS head coach Wes Hopkins said. “We fought for seven innings and made them earn the win, and that’s all I can ask from my guys, who I am so proud of.”
The Warriors (13-13) were the team to get off on the front foot in the game, scoring two runs in the top of the first.
A hit-by-pitch and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Sam Fulk to bring home the opening run on an error in the infield.
Evan Hartley then brought Brady Hutson home on a sacrifice fly to double the lead for TCS.
Fulk earned two outs on the first two St. Joe’s batters that came to the plate, but after a single by Cam Kellar, Wyatt Pence belted a two-run home run over the right field fence to tie the game as quickly as the Warriors had taken the lead.
Fulk got out of the inning without surrendering a third run, but after the Warriors didn’t get a runner on base in the top of the second, the Irish took advantage and the lead with their third run.
TCS managed to tie the game at three in the third on another error that allowed Parker Hopkins to score.
However, the Irish found their stride in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs in the third and four in the fourth, eventually winning the opening Class A quarterfinal, 11-3.
The 2026 Trinity Christian baseball team will be remembered throughout the school’s history for its historic run, which culminated in the program’s first-ever state tournament appearance.
BOX SCORE
Huntington St. Joseph 11, Trinity Christian 3
TCS 201 000 0 – 3 2 3
STJOE 213 401 X – 11 11 2
Huntington St. Joe’s (32-3) – Watts 3001 McDowell 3110 Kellar 4320 Pence 3333 Paytner 0100 Courts 3012 Mannon 3000 Moosavi 3121 Runyon 4020 Capper 2000 TOTALS 28 11 11 7
2B: Kellar, Pence
HR: Pence (10)
Trinity Christian (13-13) – Adams 3100 B. Hutson 2100 Hopkins 1100 Fulk 3001 Yoho 3010 Hartley 2011 Murray 3000 Amandus 2000 T. Hutson 3000 TOTALS 22 3 2 2
W: Courts 7.0ip 2h 3r (1er) 3bb 9k
L: Fulk 2.1ip 7h 6r (5er) 0bb 2k
