Pasadena FBCA Avenges Last Year’s Loss, Beats Northland Christian 9-0 to Reach Title Game

The Pasadena First Baptist Christian Academy Warriors got 4 RBIs from Sr Canon Thompson and a solid performance on the mound from Sophomore Mateo Cisneros to defeat district rival Northland Christian 9-0 in the first Division IV State Semifinal. The Warriors avenged a loss to Northland Christian in the Division IV State Semifinal a year ago.

FBCA took the early lead in the bottom of the 1st. With two outs, Jackson Waggoner was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on a Jonathan Neel single to right field, making it 1-0. The Warriors increased their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the 2nd when Canon Thompson picked up his first 2 RBIs with a single down the 3B line with the bases loaded that scored Hudson Gregory and Zack Valdez.

FBCA continued the scoring with a big inning in the bottom of the 4th. Thompson hit a triple in the left center gap scoring Valdez and Matthew Cundiff and Caleb Espinoza singled in the next at bat to score Thompson giving FBCA a 6-0 lead. Gregory also got an RBI single in the inning and the Warriors took a 7-0 lead into the 5th.

FBCA picked up 2 more runs in the 5th. Espinoza looped a single over the head of the second baseman that scored Cundiff and then Thompson scored on a wild pitch making it 9-0.

Meanwhile, Cisneros took care of business on the mound. He pitched a complete game shut out limiting Northland Christian to just 5 hits on 1 strikeout and no base on balls. He only allowed one runner to 3B throughout the game and got out of jams in the 2nd, 4th and 6th innings.

Thompson was 2-4 with a triple, 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored. For his performance, he was named the THSB Player of the Game. “This was a big win for us,” Thompson stated. “We came in with a chip on our shoulder and we wanted to come out today and prove who we are and I think we did that.” On his big hits: “In my first at-bat, I was just wanting to put the ball in play. Fortunately, I hit it down the line. On the triple, I came to the plate thinking 1st pitch slider and that is what I got and I hit it pretty good.”

“We certainly went into the year wanting to get back here and expecting to see Northland Christian again,” FBCA Head Coach David Turner explained. “We just had a great game today. We played good defense. Mateo did what he has been doing all year long pitching the ball. We had some big hits today and Canon is just on fire right now. This was a big game for us but this is not the time to celebrate just yet. We still have a mission. We’re in the finals and we are here to finish this.”

Pasadena FBCA will meet the winner of Temple Christian and Covenant Classical semifinal game played later today. The two winners will meet in the Division IV State Championship Game Saturday, May 11 at 10:00 AM.