- Trenton baseball team advanced to the FHSAA Rural state semifinals with an 8-2 win over Williston on Saturday at Bryant Field.
- Junior pitcher Brant Bivens led Trenton with 4.1 innings pitched, allowing 1 run and striking out 5 in the victory.
- Trenton will face Rural-Region 3 champion Union County in the semifinals at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers on Wednesday.
On Friday night, the Buchholz baseball team advanced to its third straight final four.
On Saturday afternoon, No. 1 seed Trenton followed suit, punching its ticket to the state semifinals with an 8-2 win against No. 3 seed Williston in a FHSAA Rural-Region 4 Final at Bryant Field.
“This is our third time, so we’re going to give it our best to finish the job this time,” said Trenton coach Chris Marlo. “A lot of these boys have been here from the beginning, so they’re hungry. I’m really excited for them.”
The Tigers (22-5), the overall No. 2 seed, advanced to the FHSAA Rural state semifinals at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers at either 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. on Wednesday (TBD).
They will join Rural-Region 3 champion Union County (Lake Butler) in the final four. Union County became the third area team to make it on Saturday after rallying from a 5-2 deficit for an 8-7 win in eight innings against Lafayette (Mayo), which defeated Trenton in Fort Myers in last year’s state semifinals.
“It feels great,” said junior center fielder Mason VunCannon, who helped lead the boys basketball team to its first final four in program history this past February. “It’s a pretty new roster compared to last year, so we knew we had to come in here and establish ourselves, let people know who we are. It feels good just to see that with a new set of guys we can still come out and compete like we have the last two years.”
Just like they did in Game 1, a 6-1 win on Friday night for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, the Tigers struck first, but this time as the visiting team, and they never trailed in the game.
“We came out hot, swinging the bats hot,” Marlo said. “So that’s one thing we focused on, was capturing the momentum early and keeping it, so they did a great job swinging the bats.”
Junior pitcher Brant Bivens led off the game with a single to left field off Williston starting pitcher Aiden Phillips. He stole second, his team-best 21st, and courtesy runner Brayden Cobb entered the game.
An RBI triple by VunCannon scored Cobb, and VunCannon scored on a single by junior first baseman Pierson Weatherilt for a 2-0 lead.
“I’m just trying to keep it simple, hit line drives,” said Weatherilt, who finished 2-for-3 with 2 RBI. “Fortunately, a lot of them hit the green grass.”
Bivens (4.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K) retired the side in order, including two strikeouts, in the bottom of the first inning.
“I felt really good,” Bivens said. “I knew coming into the bullpen before my game, I knew I felt good. As long as I filled it up, I’d give our team a chance and at the end of the day, I did that.”
In the third inning, sophomore catcher Zane McArdle (2-for-4, DBL, 2 RBI) gave Trenton a 3-0 lead with an RBI double.
“He’s been our leader all year,” Marlo said. “He’s the backbone of this team. A lot of the work he does goes unnoticed. He calls the game, he blocks balls consistently, and he throws out runners consistently. He controls the running game. I mean, I’d put him as one of the best catchers in the state right now.”
Trenton sent a total of 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs on seven hits in the top of the fifth inning to pull away, but Williston avoided the mercy-rule after Trenton had two runners stranded in scoring position with a chance to take a double-digit lead.
The Red Devils (18-13) answered, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth on an error and a bases-loaded walk.
However, junior Noah Owens, who also played for the basketball team, came in relief and closed the door. Owens pitched 2.2 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
“We lost 10 seniors last year, young team,” said Williston coach Denver Ripley. “Growing up in Williston and being a part of state championship teams here, it’s an honor to coach these guys. These guys, they do everything you ask. Man, they never gave up. They fought through the whole entire game. We’re proud to coach this group over here. We wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s been a step in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, the season continues for Trenton, which wouldn’t have to face No. 1 overall seed Union County (22-7) until the state championship game on Thursday.
“We’ve played in that stadium twice now,” Bivens said. “We’ve played at both time slots they have, so now we know when we go down there what it takes to compete and hopefully win this time.”
FHSAA baseball state playoffs
(teams in the Mainstreet coverage area in bold)
Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9
Rural-Region 3 Finals
1 Union County (Lake Butler) 14, 3 Lafayette (Mayo) 3 (5)
1 Union County (Lake Butler) 8, 3 Lafayette (Mayo) 7 (8)
Rural-Region 4 Finals
1 Trenton 6, 3 Williston 1
1 Trenton 8, 3 Williston 2
Class 3A-Region 1 Finals
1 South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) 2, 3 Suwannee (Live Oak) 1
1 South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) 10, 3 Suwannee (Live Oak) 0 (6)
Class 6A-Region 1 Finals
2 Buchholz 10, 1 Pace 2
2 Buchholz 10, 1 Pace 6