In a one-run baseball game it’s typically the team that makes the least number of mistakes that comes out on top. Unfortunately, Monday afternoon it was the Bulloch Academy Gators who made a few too many miscues as they came out on the short end of a 5-4 loss to the visiting Trinity Crusaders.

Four of the Crusaders five runs were unearned, and plenty of the Gator's mistakes happened with two outs which caused head coach Michael Sumner to sum things up with one word.

“Frustration is the word for the day,” said Sumner. “One thing here or there are keeping us from the team I think we can be. They scored three runs in one inning where we didn’t hit the cutoff man twice. We had a pop up that dropped in front of our center fielder and second baseman that would have gotten us out of an inning. Those kinds of things will cost you wins.”

At the plate the Gators stranded runners in every inning, including leaving the bases loaded in the seventh inning. The Gators also had the leadoff hitter on in six of their seven innings.

“In high school baseball if your leadoff runner is on base, they should be able to score,” said Sumner. “We put the ball in play and had runners on base every inning, but we have to find a way to get them home. I’m proud of the way we battled and didn’t give up, we gave ourselves a chance, and now we have to take that next step and finish the comeback.”

The Gators struggles began in the first as they stranded a runner on third. The Gators left two runners on base on the bottom of the second, and then Trinity made them pay for an error in the top of the third. With runners on second and third and two out a chopper to third ended up in the dirt at first. A collision at first allowed both runners to score for a 2-0 Trinity lead.

The Gators were able to scrap through for a run in the bottom of the third. Avery Anderson brought Sawyer Collins in from third with a sacrifice fly to right to cut the lead to 2-1.

With two out in the top of the fourth Trinity came through with three straight singles. After taking a 3-1 lead a shallow fly ball to center fell between two Gators fielders allowing two more runs to score for a 5-1 lead

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The Gators got another run back in the bottom of the sixth on a fielder's choice to make it 5-2. Cash Vickery cut the lead to two runs with an RBI single to center making the score 5-3 but left two runners on base heading into the seventh.

In the seventh Bryson Scott made it a one run game with a sacrifice fly to deep left to plate Avery Anderson, but that was as close as things would get as a strikeout would end the game.

“As far as damage control, we limited the damage better than we have in some of our losses,” said Sumner. “What we need to do next is to stop the damage altogether. Instead of giving up three runs with two outs we need to make that third out and end the inning. Getting runners on base is great, now we need to do a better job of bringing them home.”

The good news for the Gators is they have a chance to put this game behind them as they get right back to action Tuesday. The Gators will run it back with Trinity Tuesday at 5:00 at Gator Alley.

“I feel like we are close to busting this thing wide open,” said Sumner. “We lost today but we can still win the series. We have games tomorrow and Thursday and we just took their ace pitcher to the brink. Hopefully we can come out tomorrow and show them what we are capable of.”