For the second consecutive year, the Trenton and Buchholz baseball teams are back in the final four.
In 2024, Trenton upset Newberry, 4-3, in the Class 1A-Region 4 Final to advance to its first state semifinal since 2018, while Buchholz edged Hagerty (Oviedo), 1-0, to earn its first trip to the state tournament in program history.
The Tigers, who won Class 1A state titles in 2013 and 2017, lost in the state semifinals to Bozeman (Panama City), 10-0, while Buchholz finished as state runners-up.
That Trenton team was ranked 246th overall in Florida by MaxPreps. This year’s team is ranked 55th.
The Bobcats, who are the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year, lost to No. 2 seed Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens), 10-3, in last year’s 6A state championship game after crushing Bloomingdale (Valrico), 12-0, in the state semifinals.
They’re both back in Fort Myers this week with a chance to bring home some hardware.
After a best-of-3 series in each regional tournament, the Tigers and the Bobcats face single elimination this week.
Trenton, which won the Rural Region 4 title with a pair of wins against Fort Meade, including a late rally in game two, is the No. 3 seed in this week’s final four.
The No. 3 seed Tigers (24-4) will play No. 2 seed Lafayette (Mayo) at 1 p.m. on Wednesday in the state semifinals at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
“Our boys are still hungry,” said Trenton coach Chris Marlo. “I think last year we had a little bit of jitters going down there, new field, new environment, playing at 11 o’clock in the heat. Now we know we belong there. Last year, we didn’t play our best down there, but I think this year we know we deserve to be down there and hopefully we go down there and turn some heads.”
Hammond Stadium, the spring training home of the Minnesota Twins, can be a little intimidating for a high school team, especially for a small school like Trenton.
Most of last year’s team is back and the experience of playing in Fort Myers will help tremendously.
“Being there last year helped a ton,” said Trenton sophomore Noah Owens. “It just gave us a feel for the environment, so hopefully this year we won’t get caught up being in the big stadium and we’ll get the job done…we had no idea we were going to get there (last year) and when we did, we were just so excited. I know we all cared about the game, but this year it’s going to be a lot different.”
Their opponent on Wednesday was also there.
The Hornets lost to eventual state champion Jay, 4-2, in the Class 1A state semifinals.
This will be the third meeting this season between Lafayette (24-2) and Trenton, with each team winning on the other team’s home field.
On March 6, Trenton defeated Lafayette, 6-0, in Mayo as pitcher Brant Bivens threw 5.1 innings and allowed no runs on just two hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
The sophomore also led the Tigers at the plate with three of their 12 hits, including a double, two runs batted in and two runs scored.
He is second on the team with a .446 batting average, behind University of West Georgia signee Jordan Marlo (.514).
As a team, Trenton is batting .348 with 68 extra-base hits, including 12 home runs.
Marlo leads the team with a .651 on-base percentage and a .770 slugging percentage, while sophomore Mason VunCannon (.370) is second with a .505 OBP.
Sophomore Pierson Weatherilt leads the team with 31 RBI.
Junior Ty Moses (.344, 33 H, 24 RBI), Bivens, and Marlo are the top three base stealers with 22, 21, and 20 stolen bases, respectively.
Bivens (9-0, 3.02 ERA), VunCannon (9-2, 2.66 ERA), Owens (3-0, 2.97 ERA) and Weatherilt (2-1, 1.47 ERA) form the nucleus of a pitching staff that allows less than three runs per game as a team (2.95 ERA).
Lafayette, which spoiled Trenton’s Senior Night with a 4-2 win on April 10, has won 18 in a row since the loss.
The Hornets are led by Hyatt Richardson with a .471 average on a team that bats .291 with 57 extra base hits and 13 home runs. The Florida Gulf Coast signee also leads the team with a .525 OBP, 24 runs, 40 hits, 30 RBI and a .659 SLG%.
Richardson (8-1, 0.93 ERA) also leads the team with 60.1 innings pitched. He has 31 walks and 107 strikeouts.
Pitching is their forte with a 1.23 team ERA.
Garrett Taylor (3-0, 0.23 ERA) has a team-leading 14 appearances and three saves.
Top-seed Holmes County (Bonifay) will play No. 4 seed Port St. Joe at 10 a.m. on Wednesday in the first state semifinal. The winner will play either Lafayette or Trenton for the new classification FHSAA Rural state title at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
You can watch the games live via the NFHS Network (subscription fee required).
Buchholz, which has never won a state title in baseball, swept First Coast (Jacksonville) and Tate (Cantonment), including a walk-off 3-2 win against the Aggies in game two, in the regional quarterfinals and semifinals, but had a tougher time against nationally ranked No. 20 Pace.
The Bobcats, who are ranked 11th in the country by MaxPreps, lost at home to Pace, 11-4, in game one of their best-of-3 series last Wednesday, but they bounced back to defeat the Patriots, 11-2, in game two on Thursday.
That set up a winner-take-all game at Pace (25-6) on Saturday night. It took extras, but Buchholz got two home runs from Harvard University signee Kai So to win it, 5-4, after the game was pushed back four hours due to weather.
Junior Blake Brewer (.387, 12 DBL, 19 SB, 43 H, 32 RS, 36 RBI), senior J.J. Gardner (.382, .500 OBP, .719 SLG) and So (.339, 38 H, 10 DBL, 6 HR) lead Buchholz’s offense, which is batting .312 as a team.
Gardner, who hit his team-leading seventh home run on Saturday night, is also 6-0 on the mound with a 2.39 ERA. The Jacksonville University signee has 55 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched.
Junior Aidan Kastensmidt, a JU commit, is 12-1 with a 2.22 ERA. He has walked 30 and struck out 67 in 63 innings pitched.
The top-seeded Bobcats (32-2) will face Wharton (Tampa) in the Class 6A state semifinals on Friday.
The Wildcats (27-7), who are averaging 7.35 runs per game, were the No. 6 seed in 6A-Region 3 and swept No. 3 seed Parrish Community on the road in the regional quarterfinals, followed by taking two of three at No. 2 seed Plant (Tampa) and top-seed Sickles (Tampa) to get to the final four.
Senior Justis Meadows (.416) and sophomore Braden Bodenstein (.375) are the top two hitters on a team that is batting .306 as a team.
Meadows also leads the team in hits (47), doubles (13), runs (37), RBI (42) and SLG (.726).
They have a 2.47 ERA as a team.
“Wharton has been playing great baseball,” said Buchholz baseball coach Ron Brooks. “A very good offensive ball club with solid pitching. We will have to have a great week of preparation to be ready.”
Brooks said Buchholz, who averages 7.53 runs per contest, will benefit from previously playing at Hammond Stadium last year.
“Playing in Fort Myers is a great experience,” Brooks said. “I like the way we cover in the outfield and our athleticism will be important defending a larger outfield. You still have to make quality pitches and keep balls out of the gaps and down the lines. The keys to this game will be managing emotions and the early start time.”
The first pitch is at 10 a.m. on Friday.
“I feel playing in this same game last year and the early morning game will definitely help us prepare and be ready to go,” Brooks said. “The experience of handling the early morning schedule will be a plus for us.”
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), the No. 2 seed, will play No. 3 seed Bloomingdale in the other state semifinal at 1 p.m. The winner will play either Buchholz or Wharton at 2 p.m. on Saturday for the state title.
Friday morning’s game and Saturday afternoon’s game, if Buchholz wins, will be broadcast online (audio only) for free at Mainstreet Daily News.
Trenton and Buchholz are just two wins away from a state championship. However, the challenge to win a state title will be just as tough as it is to get to the title game.
“Take it pitch by pitch, inning by inning,” Brooks said. “Saturday won’t come without a great performance on Friday.”
Newberry, which won the Class 1A state title in 2021, is the last team from the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area to win a state title in baseball. It was the Panthers’ first state title in program history.