NATCHEZ &8212; Matthew Freeman proved late in the game Monday that it may still be early in the season for a Trinity Episcopal team that hasn&8217;t quite found its identity at the plate.

And like anything else in baseball, it&8217;s better to come through late than never at all.

Monday night&8217;s 10-7 win over WCCA was only the Saints&8217; fourth game of the season, including the first two games where they didn&8217;t get a hit. But thanks to key hits like Freeman&8217;s two-run single late to go with solid pitching and defense, the Saints found a way to win.

They hope to continue it today against Brookhaven Academy in a District 4-AA contest back at Chester Willis.

&8220;The more live pitching we&8217;ll see, the better we&8217;ll get,&8221; Trinity head coach Matt Mason said. &8220;That was a big hit Freeman had for us. We had a couple of mental breakdowns and looked kind of sloppy, but we haven&8217;t played in four or five days. That happens. Tomorrow we&8217;ll see good pitching and a really good baseball team.&8221;

The Saints (2-2) had only five hits to show for their 10 runs, but all but one came with runners on base thanks to four walks, one hit batter and six errors on the part of WCCA. Take Freeman&8217;s single in the sixth off WCCA left-hander Cory Ellis after the Rams cut the deficit to 8-6 &8212; Parker Brumfield reached on an error, Stevan Ridley was hit by a pitch and Freeman drilled a shot into the outfield to score both runners.

It was Freeman&8217;s only hit of the game against a left-hander who relied on his off-speed stuff the entire game.

&8220;I was just sitting there, and I didn&8217;t pull the trigger on two of them,&8221; Freeman said. &8220;I heard the pitcher say, &8216;Here it comes, baby,&8217; and I just tightened up and got ready. It just floated in there. I couldn&8217;t pull the trigger (earlier).&8221;

The Rams couldn&8217;t answer in their last at-bat after struggling in the field at key times. All but three of the runs were earned, and two dropped fly balls in the outfield turned into rallies for the Saints.

&8220;Just put in there we are a poorly coached team,&8221; WCCA head coach Ray Olive said. &8220;A very poorly coached team. That ought to do it.&8221;

The errors were pivotal in the fourth when they committed three errors to help the Saints put up five runs and turn a 4-3 deficit into an 8-4 lead. Clint Easom doubled in Jon Griffey and moved Wells Middleton to third before a dropped fly ball in the outfield scored Middleton to give the Saints a 5-4 lead.

The Rams made another error on a grounder in the infield off the bat of Ridley, allowing Easom and Brumfield to score and Ridley to move all the way to third. Kyle Dunaway&8217;s grounder to short allowed Ridley to score for an 8-4 lead.

&8220;The first two games (of the season) the bats were not there at all,&8221; Freeman said. &8220;We&8217;ve been hitting a lot in the cage, coming up early on Sunday and Saturday. But us and Woodville always have good games going on.&8221;

The Rams pushed runs across in the fifth and sixth innings, but Parker Brumfield shut the door in the seventh and got out of a jam. Mason went with three pitchers the day before a big district game &8212; trying not to use No. 1 starter Kolby Godfrey, who was warming in the pen late in the game &8212; with Ridley throwing between Freeman and Brumfield.

Ellis singled in Blake Fontenot in the sixth that cut the lead to 8-7 and put runners at second and third with two outs. Brumfield got the next batter to strike out to end the inning.

&8220;When Matthew or Parker pitches, we have to make a couple of changes,&8221; Mason said. &8220;When Matthew pitches we have to move Parker to shortstop, and he&8217;s a true second baseman. Any time you move your shortstop, it&8217;s tough. We haven&8217;t really established a No. 2 (pitcher).

&8220;But I think everybody is starting to learn their role on the team and what their job is. We had John Mark Henderson at first base, and he did a really good job over there. He made some nice plays for us.&8221;

Things went bad for the Saints in the second as the Rams came out swinging against Freeman and put up four runs. Freeman got two quick outs before Corey Havard reached on an error and scored on John Ott&8217;s double.

Fontenot later drove in Ott and Collin Dor/ with a triple, and Landry&8217;s infield single scored Fontenot. All four runs were unearned, and it&8217;s play like that that leaves everyone maybe a little looser for today&8217;s game against Brookhaven Academy.