Trinity Presbyterian handed the No. 1 ranked Charles Henderson Trojans their first loss of the season in a 6-0 shutout on Tuesday.

“They played really well today,” Head Coach Derek Irons said of the now 12-2 Wildcats. “They are a good team, with a good program. They played well today and we only played OK … that’s what happens.”

Trinity got off to a fast start in the first inning, scoring two runs on a combination of solid hits and a CHHS error.

“We started slow and they started fast,” Irons said. “We couldn’t quite get things in gear.”

Compounding the challenges for the Trojans was an aggressive pitching strategy. The Trojans saw five different pitchers in the game, with a new pitcher taking the mound in the top of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

“They rotated through a lot of pitchers,” Irons said. “That made things difficult for us to get a feel for them … but that’s when you need to find a way to fight through and get a hit.”

CHHS managed only four hits in the game, two by Nick Lewis and one each by Jason Fleming and Cole Wilson.

“We were actually swinging the bats OK; we hit four balls right on the screws,” Irons said. “Their centerfielder made to great catches in the gap that would’ve been doubles.”

The Trojans also stranded two players in the second inning; and one each in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings. “You know, (Trinity) played well. They got hits with runners in scoring position and we just didn’t … they earned the win,” Irons said. “A hit here or there for us, and it would’ve been a 3-3 game instead.”

The Trojans have to refocus quickly, as they travel to area-opponent Greenville today for a double-header. “I told the guys the good thing about baseball is we get to do it again tomorrow,” Irons said. “In football, you have to wait seven days to play again. For us it’s 24 hours.

“You have to have a short memory and focus on the next game.”