The Trinity Episcopal Saints were hoping to have some momentum going into the MPSA Class A South State Playoffs, which begin next week.

But they had a big task at hand Saturday afternoon at Chester Willis Field – trying to take down the District 5-AA champion and fourth-ranked Central Private Rebels.

Trinity was not only in the game with mighty Central Private, but the game was tied at 1-1 after five innings. Unfortunately, any thought of an upset ended when the Rebels scored six runs in the top of the sixth inning as they went on to defeat the Saints 8-3.

Trinity Episcopal, the runner-up in District 7-A, will go into the playoffs with an 11-11 record. The Saints will take on District 8-A champion Glenbrook in a best-of-three series in the first round, with two of those game taking place at Glenbrook.

Central Private (25-6) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning only to allow Trinity to tie the game with a run in the bottom of the third inning.

The Rebels finally found its offense in the top of the sixth and took advantage of several key miscues by the Saints to put the game away. After the Rebels scored one run in the top of the seventh to increase their lead to 8-1, the Saints tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh, only to fall a bit short.

Both teams finished with seven hits in the game. Trinity was lead by Clint Easom, who went 2-for-3 with a double, and Jeremy Waldrop, who was 2-for-2. Matt Creel batted 2-for-4 and Cade LeBlanc went 2-for-3 for Central Private, which will take on Oak Forest in the first round of the Class AA South State Playoffs.