True North Classical Advances To Regional Semis

The True North Classical Academy Titans are headed to the Class 2A Region 4 semifinals after beating Trinity Christian Academy, 5-2, on Tuesday night.

An ace-like performance from Florida commit Austin Simmons led the way for True North, as he held Trinity Christian to just two runs throughout the night. Simmons had enough in the tank to finish out the game, but he was pulled with two outs left after walking a batter and exceeding 100 pitches. The state limit is 105, so Simmons did just about all he could.

“Great pitching performance from Austin Simmons, striking out nine in 6 1/3 innings,” manager Adrian Nieto said. “It was a well-played game on both sides of the ball for us.”

Simmons said that his fastball was in the 90-92 mph range for most of the outing. It’s clear that he was excited to play in a win-or-go-home playoff game, and Simmons delivered for his team. Matias Fischer closed out the game with a pair of punchouts.

“Starting in a big-time game like this against a very competitive team and getting a great team win meant everything,” Simmons said. “Just being on that mound and doing my thing with a great defense behind me doing their part throughout the whole game, it just set the whole result for the game.”

Offensively, Eden Nalin’s two runs batted in lead the way. Six different Titans hit safely throughout the game, but only Nalin and Fischer drove in runs. Fischer also scored twice.

Up next, True North takes on the reigning 2A state champion Miami Christian Victors, who once again look like the team to beat among 2A clubs in South Florida. Simmons won’t be available, but the rest of the pitching staff will be well-rested for the regional semifinals.

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