The Trenton baseball team is heading back to Fort Myers.
In the FHSAA Rural-Region 4 Final Best-of-3 series, the top seed Tigers defeated No. 2 seed Fort Meade, 2-1, at Todd Bryant Field to sweep the Miners and advance to next week’s state semifinals.
“It feels great,” said sophomore right fielder Noah Owens, who scored the game-tying run in the sixth inning. “I’ve had a feeling since the beginning of the season that we were going to get back. I think going last year, and none of us expected it, but it helped us prepare for this moment and it feels great, but the job is not finished.”
It marks Trenton’s second straight final four appearance.
“I’m so happy for these kids,” said 2nd-year head coach Chris Marlo. “The difference with these kids from any other team that I’ve coached is these kids love each other, I love them, and they love me…we’re just a family and I feel like that’s why we always come out on top.”
Sophomore pitcher Mason VunCannon pitched a complete game and allowed just one run on five hits to earn his second straight final four appearance.
“It feels great,” he said. “Last year we got there, nobody really expected us to, but this year going into it everyone knew Trenton was going to be up there. We worked all year long for this, worked hard.”
He retired the final 11 batters that he faced.
“I hate to sound redundant, but the kid gets better as the game goes on,” Marlo said. “He’s a dog. He’s a competitor. Whether he’s on the basketball court or the baseball field, he’s a competitor. He’s out there to win. He prepares himself the right way and that’s the result of it.”
The streak began after Fort Meade pitcher Zach Brooks singled to start the fourth inning. However, courtesy runner Trent Willis was caught stealing, one of two putouts by freshman catcher Zane McArdle.
VunCannon allowed just two base runners over the final five innings.
“About the third inning I started to feel myself ware down, the heat getting to me a little bit, and then I got my second wind,” he said. “I was moving at that point. My slider was moving, fastball I started getting a little more giddy-up on it, it felt good.”
Fort Meade’s Eli Harrell led off the game with a double to left field and scored on a 2-out single by DeMarion Abrams for a 1-0 lead.
Unlike game one, Trenton trailed most of game two because Brooks was keeping the Tigers in check.
He allowed just one hit and three base runners over the first five innings of the game, but a call against Trenton in the bottom of the first inning gave the visiting Miners (17-14) plenty of momentum.
Sophomore Brant Bivens hit a ball hard to third that ricochetted off third baseman Andrew Brooks’ glove for an error.
Biven stole second as VunCannon struck out on the play, but VunCannon was called for batter’s interference and both Bivens and VunCannon were called out.
The Tigers could have had the tying run at second with one out and University of West Georgia signee Jordan Marlo coming to the plate.
“He’s batting .750 over the last five games,” Marlo said with a laugh. “So yeah, that gave them the momentum, and it was hard to turn it. We didn’t turn it until that last inning. Hats off to their pitcher. He threw a great game. Man, he was unhittable. I think he was at like 50 pitches in the sixth inning. They’re a well-coached team.”
Trailing 1-0, Trenton finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Owens, the No. 9 hitter, led off the inning with a single to right field.
“So, it’s funny because when I moved him down to the 9-hole I didn’t want him to get discouraged,” Marlo said. “I said, ‘look you’re our leadoff man down there’…he had a great hit for us, probably the game-winning hit.”
Owens struck out in his first at-bat against Zach Brooks (6 IP, 2R, 5H, 2 BB, 4 K).
“Clearly my heart was beating a little bit, but I wasn’t nervous,” he said. “I had a feeling. I knew I was coming up when we were in the field that inning. I knew I was going to get on somehow and he gave me what I wanted to see, and I got a hit.”
The first pitch was a fastball, and the second pitch was a slider.
“And then he threw me a fastball outside,” Owens said. “I was looking to go to back side because that’s where I’ve gotten most of my hits this season and I just didn’t miss it.”
Bivens had a sacrifice bunt to move Owens to second and VunCannon singled to left field.
Owens scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 1-1 and Marlo was intentionally walked.
For the second consecutive game, sophomore Pierson Weatherilt delivered the game-winning RBI with a two out single to left center field to score VunCannon.
Holmes County (Bonifay), which swept Jay in the Region 1 Final, will be the No. 1 seed in next Wednesday’s FHSAA Rural State Semifinals and play No. 4 seed Port St. Joe at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
Lafayette (Mayo), which held on for a 2-1 win against Union County (Lake Butler) to win Region 3, is the No. 2 seed and will play No. 3 seed Trenton (time TBA).
“Our boys are still hungry,” Marlo said. “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.”
FHSAA Baseball state playoffs (Best-of-3)
(teams in the Mainstreet coverage area in bold)
Class Rural-Region 3 Final
Game 1 – Monday, May 5
1 Lafayette (Mayo) 7, Union County (Lake Butler) 2
Game 2 – Tuesday, May 6
1 Lafayette (Mayo) 2, 2 Union County (Lake Butler) 1 – Lafayette (24-2) wins series 2-0 and advances to the Rural state semifinals
Class Rural-Region 4 Final
Game 1 – Monday, May 5
1 Trenton 3, 2 Fort Meade 2
Game 2 – Tuesday, May 6
1 Trenton 2, 2 Fort Meade 1 – Trenton (24-4) wins series 2-0
Class 3A-Region 1 Final
Game 1 – Monday, May 5
1 South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) 3, 3 Suwannee (Live Oak) 0
Game 2 – Tuesday, May 6
1 South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) 4, 3 Suwannee (Live Oak) 2 – South Walton (30-3) wins series 2-0; Suwannee’s season ends at 23-10