Palmer Trinity Advances To 2A Regional Semifinals

This is a moment that Palmer Trinity Manager Howard Cuervo has been building towards since he took over the Falcons program back in 2023.

Westminster Christian has a long history, one of the top in the state, of winning and state championships. The Warriors have been the team Palmer has been chasing, the gold standard.

In recent years, True North has emerged as a power in the district. All the while, Cuervo and his staff have been building the Falcons program.

After several successful seasons, that ended in playoff losses, the Falcons finally have emerged with a team in 2026 that they they feel can compete on the highest level.

On Saturday, they took a huge step towards proving that, when they erased an early Westminster Christian lead, then held on late to defeat the Warriors 17-14, and advance to the 2A regional semifinals.

“This was a big game for us as a program,” said Cuervo. “We have been here for years, and every year the program has gotten better and better. This is the second time we played Westminster in the past few weeks, and to beat a team with that type of pedigree is a testament to what has been build. The kids battled all day today, and it was a fun game to be a part of.”

Last week, the Falcons defeated the Warriors in the district semifinals, and in the first inning, it looked like this game would have a similar result. Palmer scored four times in the bottom of the first, on a Joshua Martinez grand slam, to take a 4-0 lead.

After Westminster scratched back with single runs in the second and third, the Falcons added three more runs in their half of the third, upping the lead to 7-2 after three innings.

In the fourth, Westminster clawed back with three runs, and when they added four more in the top of the fifth, suddenly the Warriors had a 9-7 lead.

“We were really in control early in the game, and then suddenly we were down in the fifth inning,” said Cuervo. “It was a gut-check moment for the team, and I couldn’t be more proud of how they responded.”

How they responded was to have game-defining offensive innings in the fifth and sixth.

Two bases-loaded walks tied the game in the fifth, and then a grand slam off the bat of Tommy Barcinas Jr., put Palmer up 13-9.

“We had two big clutch hits from Joshua and Tommy,” said Cuervo. “Those two grand slams really ended up being the difference in the game.”

The Falcons then added three more runs in the sixth, and essentially put the game out of reach at 17-11.

The Warriors again showed some fight in the seventh, cutting the lead in half with three runs, but Michael Miraglia was able to get a called third strike looking to end the game, and send Palmer to the regional semifinals.

“When you look at the progression, and our history with Westminster Christian, beating them twice was a big accomplishment for not only this year, but for the future of our program,” said Cuervo.

With the Falcons having slayed their first giant, another awaits in the semifinal.

While Westminster has been the traditional power in the district, True North has been the team to beat in recent years. The defending district champion Titans repeated last week, defeating the Falcons 3-0.

“We know we have a huge challenge coming up next weekend,” said Cuervo. “We played them last week and it was a tight game. Now we face them in a two-out-of-three, and the kids are excited. It will be two big teams going at it, with the same goal. We look forward to that challenge.”

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