Trinity’s Coble starts baseball season with 13-strikeout gem

Lincoln Coble (Bob Sutton / Randolph Record)

HAW RIVER — Lincoln Coble felt no reason to ease into his final high school baseball season.

The Trinity pitcher threw a beauty on the first day when his two-hitter with 13 strikeouts tamed host Southeast Alamance in a 1-0 victory Wednesday.

“It was all there for me,” Coble said. “I’ve been training a lot in the offseason, so I deserve it. All my players backed me up, so I should do it for them.”

Coble, a North Carolina A&T signee, issued one walk in the 100-pitch performance. He allowed two singles, with one of those not leaving the infield.

“Thank God we had him and he was on,” Trinity coach Ryan Spencer said. “We’re grateful. I hated that we had to put so much pressure on him. In most cases, we wouldn’t let him go that far in Game 1.”

But even in the cool temperatures and steady wind, Coble was up to the task. He donned a wintry coat when the Bulldogs were at-bat, then headed back to the mound and continued to do his thing.

“I just went right at them,” he said. “They didn’t catch up to my fastball so I just threw it (often).”

Trinity catcher Brody Little has been behind the plate for plenty of Coble’s performances.

“That’s one of the best games I’ve ever seen Lincoln pitch,” Little said. “That was just amazing. That was awesome, He was just dominant. … He’s attacking early, throwing strikes. Nothing affected him. You can’t ask for more.”

Coble, a right-hander calling it one of his best outings, said this was his fourth complete game in high school.

“It was a little bit cold,” he said. “The temperature didn’t bother me much, though.”

With Coble receiving the pitching assignment, it was a tough way to start the season for the Stallions.

“We knew what we were getting,” Southeast Alamance coach Adam Gunn said. “He beat us with the fastball and we just didn’t make adjustments.”

The Bulldogs scored in the top of the fourth after loading the bases with no outs. Peyton Williams’ sacrifice bunt with one out allowed Nick Soles to score.

Little had one of the key Trinity defensive plays on a third strike when the ball got away from the plate area. He scurried after the ball, with his throw to first base completing the out.

“It was a slider that went really far,” Little said. “Got my glove on it, had to run back (and retrieve the ball). Got him out by a step.”

The two hits for the Stallions came from the first two batters of the sixth. A fly ball to left field and two strikeouts doused that threat.

Southeast Alamance pitchers Ayden Brown and Tyler Jackson nearly matched Coble.

Little said the Bulldogs have learned to rely on Coble, so they were expecting a strong performance from the mound to begin the season.

“It’s just awesome he actually did it,” Little said. “More to come, for sure. He has improved so much over the past years.”