This is the last week of the regular season for high school baseball.

The final FHSAA rankings for next week’s district tournaments were set on Tuesday and two area teams are at the top of the Rural classifications.

Union County (Lake Butler) is ranked No. 1 and Trenton is ranked second in the state.

Those two teams will go head-to-head at 6 p.m. tonight at St. Johns River State College in Palatka.

“This could potentially be a state championship game matchup next month,” said Trenton coach Chris Marlo, whose team is seeking its third straight final four appearance. “I have a lot of respect for the Union County program and Jiwan James. He does a great job over there and they’re competitive year after year. He’s definitely going to have those guys ready to play.”

Both teams are coming off a defeat on Tuesday night.

Union County lost at home to Class 2A No. 7 Trinity Catholic (Ocala), 19-8. However, the Tigers (16-7) had an 8-6 lead heading into the top of the sixth before the Celtics (18-5) erupted for 13 runs in the inning to end the game early via the mercy rule.

Trenton had a rematch against Lafayette (Mayo), who defeated the Tigers in Fort Myers in last year’s state semifinals. The host Tigers (16-4), who lost to Trinity Catholic, 4-3, two weeks ago, lost to the Hornets, 5-2, last night, marking their first loss by more than one run this season.

“Our team has played good this year,” Marlo said. “It’s definitely a different type of team than we had last year. We don’t have near the power in the lineup. We’ve got some new faces in the lineup, and they’ve done a good job filling holes and contributing to us winning.”

Catcher Zane McArdle is having a sensational sophomore season for Trenton.

He leads the team with a .385 average, a .558 on-base percentage, and a .986 fielding percentage. He’s tied with junior Brant Bivens for the team lead with 19 runs driven in.

“He’s definitely the backbone of our team,” Marlo said. “He comes to practice every day, ready to get better. I know he’s going to be above average behind the plate, and he gives us competitive at-bats. He’s definitely one of the leaders on the team and sets a great example for all the guys. He shuts down the running game and gives our pitchers confidence to throw pitches in the dirt, if need be.”

Junior Mason VunCannon, who will get the start on the mound tonight, is second on the team with a .378 average and a .595 slugging percentage in just 12 games.

In 15.2 innings pitched, he is 1-0 with 12 walks and 18 strikeouts and a 2.68 earned run average (ERA).

“Mason is a star basketball player, so we got him a little bit later than we wanted to, but we’re glad he had all the good success he did in basketball,” Marlo said. “Mason is 6’4” has a really high arm slot and can run it up to 87. As a three-pitch mix that he can throw for a strike in any count definitely has a lot of potential to be a Division I pitcher.”

Union County is led at the plate by senior Jasen Sullivan (.414), junior Kendall Carter (.397), and senior Evan Christmas (.394).

Senior Jeffrey Baugh leads the team with 31 hits and 17 stolen bases, senior Nate Robinson is the team leader with 29 runs scored and Christmas leads with 22 RBI.

Brady Tetstone gets the start on the bump.

The junior is 7-1 with a 3.00 ERA. In 30.1 innings, he has allowed 18 walks with 34 strikeouts.

Tonight’s game will be broadcast ‘live’ on Mainstreet Daily News (audio only) with Marty Pallman and Mainstreet Daily News Sports Director Mike Ridaught calling the action, beginning with the pregame show at 5:45 p.m.

On Thursday at 6:30 p.m., Buchholz will host Lincoln (Tallahassee).

The visiting Trojans (11-12), who host Creekside (St. Johns) today at 5 p.m., are ranked No. 8 in Class 5A. They are led by FSU commit Chase Fuller, who was ranked the No. 1 player in the Class of 2027 by Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report at the start of the season.

Fuller is second on the team with a .345 average and he leads the team with a .570 OBP, six doubles and 19 runs scored.

The host Bobcats, who, along with Trenton, are aiming for another lengthy postseason run, crushed Forest (Ocala), 12-0, in 4.5 innings on Tuesday night at home.

It was the fourth straight win for the Bobcats (15-7), who are ranked No. 5 in Class 6A and will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s Class 6A-District 2 tournament.

Buchholz is led offensively by junior Roen Kresak (.426), senior Blake Brewer (.420) and senior Zac Brown (.333), who signed with Lake-Sumter State College in Leesburg.

Brewer, who signed with Gulf Coast State College, leads the ‘Cats in hits (29), RBI (22) and runs scored (21).

Mainstreet will have audio coverage of the game with Pallman (Play-by-play) and former Buchholz baseball coach Ron Brooks (Color) calling the action, beginning at 6:15 p.m.