ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF
NEWBERRY — The two seed Newberry Panthers saw their baseball season come to an end Tuesday in the semifinals of the 2A-District 4 tournament after a 13-3 loss to three seed Ocala Trinity Catholic.
This marked Trinity Catholic’s fourth win in a row, three by double digits.
“We’re getting big hits when we need them,” Coach Tommy Bond III said. When you get traffic on the bases it gets you opportunities to drive in runs. We’ve been getting clutch hits when we need it.”
Slow Start
Newberry’s hitters couldn’t get any momentum through the first two innings by falling behind 3-0. The first batter of each inning, Tristan Woodrome and Aiden Michaux, hit singles that left them stranded on the bases.
Meanwhile, the Celtics (10-17) recorded five hits and capitalized on two errors. The early scoring was highlighted by a sacrifice fly from junior Aidan Elgart and an RBI single from junior Brian Rudman. Newberry starting pitcher Koleby Benson recorded three strikeouts, but couldn’t prevent the scoring.
End 2 | Trinity Catholic 4, Newberry 0
Trinity Catholic capitalized on two errors, a sac fly, and an RBI single to build an early lead. Despite some trouble, Newberry starter Koleby Benson has 3 strikeouts, including a big K to strand the bases loaded in the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/odEQXszoGP
— Jackson Lynch (@JLynchSports) April 15, 2025
The fourth inning finally saw consistent hitting from the Newberry (11-8) batting order. After allowing two more runs at the top of the inning, Brody Joyner and Trey Priester brought in three runners to cut the TC lead to 6-3 with a single and double, respectively.
End 4 | Trinity Catholic 6, Newberry 3
After a rough top of the 4th that saw Trinity extend its lead to 6-0, Newberry answered. Brody Joyner put the Panthers on the board with an RBI single, and Trey Priester followed with a 2-RBI double to cut the deficit in half. pic.twitter.com/FP1dxfZHnm
— Jackson Lynch (@JLynchSports) April 16, 2025
Trinity Catholic put its foot on the gas in the final two innings to end Newberry’s momentum. Rudman and sophomore Matthew Wetherell hit singles in the fifth to score two runs each.
The game ended via the run-rule after six innings. Starting pitcher Oakely Hayhurst went the distance while throwing 80 pitches, allowing six hits and three runs.
Final | Trinity Catholic 13, Newberry 3 (6 inn.)
The Celtics exploded for 7 runs over the final two frames to pull away and advance to Thursday’s 2A District 4 championship.
Here’s my postgame interview with Trinity Catholic head coach Tommy Bond: pic.twitter.com/PgRLJ6nmZc
— Jackson Lynch (@JLynchSports) April 16, 2025
Top seed Keystone Heights (19-7) defeated the Celtics 12-5 to win the district championship Thursday night.
2025 FHSAA Baseball District Tournaments 2A District 4
The FHSAA state tournament bracket will be announced Friday.
Bracket Release Friday is here!
Tune in to the #FHSAA YouTube channel this Friday, April 18 for THREE live bracket release shows:⚾️ Baseball – 1:00 PM
Flag Football – 2:00 PM
Lacrosse – 2:30 PMWatch live: @FHSAA YouTube #WhosIn #WhosOut pic.twitter.com/2DFbsyHYAd
— FHSAA (@FHSAA) April 16, 2025
