ARCANUM – Regan Christ did it all for the Arcanum Trojans, tossing a complete-game one-hit shutout and blasting a three-run home run to lead Arcanum past the visiting National Trail Blazers 4-0 in WOAC varsity baseball action.
“We did an excellent job tonight with battling the pitcher and battling the conditions,” said veteran Arcanum coach Randy Baker. “I am proud of that.”
The game featured just four total hits over seven innings and included a rain delay before the Trojans found their offense in the fifth inning.
The teams played scoreless through the first four innings before Bishop Cartwright and Cole Kessler reached base after being hit by pitches. Christ then stepped to the plate and crushed a home run deep over the left-field fence, breaking the scoreless tie and giving Arcanum a 3-0 lead.
Arcanum added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Luke Stephens and Ethan Kearney collected back-to-back one-out singles, and Kessler was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game to load the bases. Stephens raced home on a wild pitch, giving the Trojans a 4-0 lead that held up for the final score.
Christ got stronger as the night went on, striking out the side swinging in the top of the seventh to close out the win. The Ohio University signee allowed just one hit and one walk over seven innings while striking out 15. He threw 65 strikes on 89 pitches.
“It worried me a little bit with the rain delay,” Baker said of Christ returning to the mound. “But he stayed there, he kept warm, so it was his night on the mound and at the plate.”
Baker said handling the delay was another key part of the victory.
“Some teams I’ve had, we’ve come out and played really well, and there are other teams it affected us — you never know,” Baker said. “That’s the thing, playing with a rain delay. Do we really want to start again? We looked at the radar and decided we could probably get it in. That’s always the chance you take, but it’s for both teams, so credit to them too.”
National Trail starter Nick Clark took the loss, going 5.2 innings while allowing four runs on three hits. He struck out three and walked two.
“They pitched really well, and their defense played really well,” Baker said. “Tyler (Luce) does a great job with them.”
Stephens, Christ, and Ethan Kearney each collected one hit for Arcanum, while the Trojans played error-free baseball in the win.
With the 2026 season winding down, Baker said the Trojans still have room to sharpen their play.
“We can play better,” Baker said. “I really want us to be a little bit sharper. There are times we’re not as sharp as we should be. Baseball is hard. You’re going to have games like this. You’re not going to get a hit every time.”
With the win, Arcanum improves to 13-2 overall and stands alone atop the WOAC with a perfect 7-0 conference mark.
BOX SCORE:
123 456 7 R H E
000 000 0 0 1 1 National Trail
000 031 X 4 3 0 Arcanum
