June 5, 2017
FHSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RECAPS
9 dog piles took place in Fort Myers this week for the 9 teams who won their respective classes state championship. Below we will take a look at how each one of these 9 teams journeys to getting rings went down.
1A:
Champion: Trenton High School
Trenton jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning against Madison County. But Madison County came firing back in the fourth inning with two runs of their own to give them a 2-1 lead. Trenton followed this with two runs in the 5th inning and it turned out that was all the insurance that they needed as they won a close 3-2 ball game. Junior Landon Kennedy pitched a complete game giving up no earned runs and only 5 hits, alongside 3 strikeouts. On the way to the state title in postseason play, Trenton outscored opponents 29-11 and they finished their season with a 27-1 record and a 10-0 record in their district. Only graduating three starters and four players on a roster size of 18 the Tigers will hope to end there season in Fort Myers next year and make it back to back state titles.
2A:
Champion: Trinity Christian Academy (Lake Worth, Florida)
The 2A State Title game was a matchup of Trinity Christian's but only one could come out on top. Deltona Trinity Christian Eagles jumped out to an early 1-0 lead to give the Warriors their first deficit faced since their Regional Quarterfinal matchup when Brito jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Lake Worth Trinity Christian looked stunned as their bats were silenced all the way up until the fourth inning when they put a four spot up on the scoreboard to make it a 4-1 ball game. The Eagles came firing back with a run of their own in the fifth to make it a 4-2 game. But then in the sixth the Warriors added on 3 more runs to make the game look as if it was going to be out of reach. The Warriors added on 1 more run in the top of the seventh and a Deltona Trinity Christian rally fell short in the bottom of the seventh to give Lake Worth Trinity Christian their 2nd straight state title. Eighth Grader Irv Carter got credited with the win as he went 5 innings giving up 1 earned run and striking out 4. Senior David Yourke went 2-3 with 2 RBI and Junior Sherson Randt added on another two RBI.
3A:
Champion: Canterbury School
Coming off of 3 straight 3A Championship game appearances and a state title last year Canterbury jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning and would never trail. They added on 2 more runs in the top of the third inning to make it a 3-0 game. University Christian came fighting back in the bottom of the fourth and put up a run of their own to make the score 3-1. But it just wasn't enough as Senior FSU Signee Cooper Swanson absolutely shut down the University Christian lineup giving up only 2 hits and striking out 5 in 7 innings of work. The Cougars ultimately came away with a 4-1 victory to give them back to back state titles. Senior FGCU Signee Tyler Shuck led the Cougars at the plate as he had 2 crucial RBI. Senior Bethune-Cookman Signee Giovany Lorenzo added on another RBI. The Cougars finished their season 27-5 and 14-0 in their district. They outscored opponents 307-65.
4A:
Champion: Calvary Christian High School
Calvary Christian capped off a perfect 30-0 season with a huge 11-1 run rule victory over Pensacola Catholic. The Warriors jumped out to an early lead as they put a 6 spot on the scoreboard in just the first inning. They went on to add another three runs in the third to make the game 9-0. Pensacola Catholic came up with their lone run in the fourth inning. The Warriors came back to put one run up in both fifth and sixth innings to make it an 11-1 run rule victory. Senior Jonathan Fisher pitched 5 innings giving up no earned runs and striking out four. Senior USF Signee Graham Hoffman came in relief and threw an inning giving no runs. Hoffman also had an RBI. Senior Richie Mize and Junior Eric Kennedy both added on 2 RBI. Losing only 3 seniors from the starting lineup and 5 seniors from a roster of 20, Calvary will poised to make another run to Fort Myers and pick up some hardware in back to back years.
5A:
Champion: The Bolles School
Coming into the state championship game Bolles had 7 state titles and was coming off of a state title just last year. Being delayed for two hours before the start of the game because of weather delays earlier in the day that pushed back the start times for earlier games didn't affect the Bulldogs as they came out on fire putting up 5 runs on the Hornets in the first inning. Bolles never looked back as they took a 7-2 victory over Bishop Moore Catholic High School to win back to back state titles. Junior Pitcher Nathan Skinner pitched a complete game giving up just two runs alongside with seven strikeouts. Junior Mac Forrester and Sophomore Bryson Kirksy each had 2 RBI. Bolles finished the season 21-10 and picked up there eighth state title in school history.
6A;
Champion: Archbishop McCarthy High School
Coming off of two straight state titles Archbishop McCarthy was looking to pull off a 3 peat. This goal wasn't looking to pretty for the Mavericks early on as Jesuit Pitcher Jeff Hakanson was shutting down the Maverick lineup until the 6th inning where they managed to get a single run off of him to make it a 1-1 ball game. Going into the seventh deadlocked at one Jesuit brought in a new pitcher and the Maverick hitters took advantage of this. Archbishop McCarthy put up 4 runs in this inning which ultimately led them to a 5-1 victory. Senior University of Miami Signee Alex Toral had a crucial RBI and Senior Adan Fernandez also added another RBI. Senior Nova Southeastern Signeee Johnny Leone started in his second straight state title game and gave up one run and struck out five. Archbishop McCarthy finished 29-2 on the season and will look to make a return to Fort Myers and win their fourth state title in a row next year.
7A:
Champion: Nease High School
Going into this year Nease had never won a state baseball title. They didn't only change this but they cruised to a state championship in convincing fashion. Nease beat King High School by a score of 11-0. They started off the game strong by scoring two runs in each of the first three innings. Then in the fourth inning they came back and put up a single run to make it a 7-0 ball game. After being held scoreless in the fifth inning Nease came back and put up two runs in the 6th and 7th innings to ultimately win the game 11-0 and capture their first ever state title. Kyle Huber went 4-5 with a Home Run and 5 RBI. Leighton Alley pitched a complete game shutout giving up only 5 hits. Nease finished 20-11 on the year and 6-2 in district play.
8A:
Champion: Lincoln High School
Hagerty jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning and looked as if they had the game in their control. Then in the fourth inning the game took a turn. Lincoln turned their bats on and got 2 runs and followed it up with another two runs in the fifth inning. They got some extra insurance in the seventh as they made it a 5-1 ball game after adding on another run. Hagerty fell short of a rally in the bottom of the seventh inning and Lincoln took home a state title for the first time in program history. Senior Zach Taylor was credited with the win as he pitched a complete game giving up no earned runs, 6 strikeouts and only 4 hits. Senior Austin Pollock came up huge at the plate as he had a 1-3 day with 2 RBI, a Home Run and a run scored. Lincoln finished there season on a 19 game win streak to give them a final record of 26-6 and a 6-2 record in district play.
9A:
Champion: Timber Creek High School
In the past 8 years Timber Creek has made 4, now 5 State Final Four appearances. However, they had never left with the hardware. But this year, that all changed. The Wolves came out of the gate strong and hit the Titans early scoring two runs in both the second and third innings. Followed up by a single run in the fifth inning. That was all the Wolves would need as they would cruise to a 5-0 victory. Junior Preston Schumacher shut down the Titans lineup as he was credited with the win and gave up no earned runs, 5 hits and 12 strikeouts. Junior Parker Smith went 2-3 with a triple, 2 runs scored and an RBI. The Wolves finished their season with a record of 25-7 and a 6-2 record in district play.