ferriday — Trinity Episcopal’s Jake Winston and Sky Logan hit mirror-image home runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to blow open a close game between the Saints and Brookhaven Academy Tuesday night.

Winston stepped to the plate with two runners on base and Trinity ahead 2-1 with one out in the inning. The left-handed batter worked the count to 2-1 and then sent a screaming line drive toward the right-centerfield gap.

“We had a busted play (on a bunt) before me and nobody advanced and that riled the coaching staff up, so I got up and just wanted to put something in the gap,” Winston said. “I put a line drive swing on it, and it just got up.”

Sky Logan watched Winston’s three-run home run fly over the fence from the on-deck circle, and then stepped up to the plate and delivered a line-drive homer from the right side of the plate that flew over the left-centerfield fence to give Trinity a 6-1 advantage.

“(The back-to-back home runs) gave us some momentum,” Trinity head coach Mitch Ashmore said. “We hadn’t had too many of those.”

Trinity would tack on a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings, but the four-run fourth was plenty for the Saints, who ended up winning the game 8-2.

Winston threw all seven innings and gave up just one earned run while striking out 11 Brookhaven batters.

“I didn’t think I had my best stuff, and I got a little tired,” Winston said. “But I finally calmed down and took a deep breath and fought through.”

Trinity scored its first two runs of the game in the first inning. The Saints collected four hits, including RBI singles by Logan and Caleb Gillespie. Logan finished the night 4-4 at the plate with three RBIs. Winston went 2-3 with two runs scored.

Daniel Dunaway led off the first inning with a single and later came around to score in the inning. Dunaway was 3-4 in the game.

Trinity finished the game with 12 hits, while Winston held the Cougars to just four.

The matchup between the Cougars and the Saints was Trinity’s first MAIS District 5-AA contest of the season, and the win is a big boost to the Saints’ confidence, Ashmore said.

“I am happy for the kids,” he said. “We’ve had our struggles, but this goes a long way.”

Winston said it was good for the Saints to get started off on the right foot in district.

“First it’s great to win against a great Brookhaven ball club,” he said. “Next it’s good to start district off (with a win).”

Trinity (4-4, 1-0) will face Brookhaven again Friday on the road.