BRANFORD — In his two seasons at Branford, sophomore Tyler Whitfield has proven himself as the Buccaneers’ ace pitcher, consistently giving his team a chance to win no matter the opponent.

He gave a gutsy performance on Friday, but it wasn’t enough as Trenton defeated Branford 4-2 to take the District 7-1A title. 

After giving up two unearned runs in the second inning, Whitfield allowed just two runs the rest of the way against a 23-1 Trenton team that averages more than eight runs per game. 

Playing in their first district title game since 2007, the Buccaneers fell behind 3-0 after three innings. 

They rallied for two runs in the fourth inning — highlighted by a Rylee McKenzie solo home run —  to get back in the game.  

“When we get down, we know how to get each other back up,” Whitfield said. “We’ve been playing together since t-ball. Rylee especially helped with his first homer.”

McKenzie’s first home run of the season came at a good time. It was Branford’s first hit of the game off Landon Kennedy.  

Four batters later, Trey Sapp lined a double just inside the foul line in left field to score Zach Hand for the Bucs’ second and final run. 

“Sapp has been there all year. He’s really starting to get hot,” Branford coach Alex O’Quinn said. “Him and a lot of other guys are starting to get hot at the right time.”

O’Quinn was pleased with how his team responded after a difficult second inning. 

“When they scored a couple of runs, our energy stayed up,” O’Quinn said. “We made a few mistakes, but we didn’t get down. It showed our guys are maturing.”

Branford (15-8) will travel to Fort Meade on Wednesday for a regional semifinal matchup with the Miners.