Last year, the Trenton baseball team upset Newberry, 4-3, in the FHSAA Class 1A-Region 4 Final to advance to the FHSAA Baseball state semifinals in Fort Myers.
Although the young Tigers lost to No. 1 Bozeman in the 1A state semifinals, their first trip to the final four since 2018 has served as motivation to get back this year with nine returning starters.
This past Thursday, Trenton recognized the two state championship teams and their head coaches Todd Bryant and Adam Burton by prominently displaying a 2013 and a 2017 state championship banner.
“We thought it was important to recognize the accomplishment that they had,” said Trenton baseball coach Chris Marlo, who is in his second season. “Winning a state title in any class is always a big deal. You know there’s some big names on these banners.”
The 2013 team, which won Trenton’s first state title in program history, finished 27-1 under Bryant, who also led Trenton softball to back-to-back state titles.
In six years, Bryant, the 2021 Florida Dairy Farmers Class 1A Coach of the Year who finished second overall in the state, posted a 120-8 record with two state titles (2019 and 2021, *2020 spring sports championships canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic) and a state runner-up finish in 2018.
“I had an opportunity to coach with Todd Bryant back in 2020 in softball and he took his success from the baseball field over there to the softball field and won a few state titles over there also, so I learned a lot being under him in that 2020 season,” Marlo said. “Also, you have an MLB player on there (Wyatt Langford), you have an NFL player on there (Hamp Cheevers), and you have a college national champion (Stephen Smith, University of Tampa 2015 Division II champs) on there so it’s important for the kids to see that.”
Trenton finished the 2017 season 27-1 under Burton, closing their title run with a 20-game winning streak.
The championship banners will serve as a reminder of past success but, as far as this season, Marlo said that their success “is not a huge surprise.”
“We’ve kind of taken that momentum from the win over Newberry last season and kept it and have been running with it,” said Marlo, whose team is 18-4 heading into postseason play. “We’ve got the same core group back with a big addition of a catcher that has been absolutely amazing back there from the beginning of the year.”
Trenton only graduated two seniors from last year and they only have four on this year’s roster.
“I told people that this team was going to be special,” Marlo said. “These guys love playing for each other. They love being around each other, and they love being at the ball field. During our practices, these guys get after it. They practice hard and they play every game to win and compete and show off their skills.”
Marlo said they have a great support system and great families at Trenton, which has helped them be successful.
“Umpires always comment how they enjoy umpiring our games because our fans and coaches always show class,” he said. “We have a great coaching staff this year that is all on the same page. Each coach has a role and has done a great job fulfilling it. We added Armani Hunter, Brad Sanders and Greg Turner to go along with Brent Owens. We have a great booster club this year that has put in countless hours to make things available to our team. We appreciate all the community’s support. We’re all on the same page and moving forward together and that really means a lot.”
On the field, the 2025 Tigers can hit (.344 batting average) thanks to their discipline at the plate.
“They’re having quality at-bats, which helps the next guy in the lineup,” Marlo said. “We’re avoiding the one pitch one out and the three pitch plate appearances…everybody’s throwing their best against our hitters and they are putting up anywhere from 8 to 12 runs a game, so we’re getting the job done at the plate.”
Marlo’s son, senior Jordan Marlo, a University of West Georgia signee, leads the team with a .454 average and a .616 on-base percentage, while sophomore Brant Bivens (.430) leads the Tigers with 34 hits.
Junior catcher Ty Moses is third with a .380 average, while sophomore Mason VunCannon is batting .348.
That has helped translate to an average of 7.8 runs per game.
“But I think the key to all of this is our base-running ability,” Chris Marlo said. “Our guys know how to run the bases. All nine guys can all steal bags at any time, and we keep putting pressure on the defense, which is a big part of scoring runs.”
Moses leads the way with 21 stolen bases, followed by Bivens (19), Marlo (17) and VunCannon (15).
On the mound, they’re young but effective.
VunCannon (7-2, 3.09 Earned Run Average), Bivens (5-0, 3.06 ERA), Noah Owens (3-0, 2.77 ERA) and Peyton Weatherilt (2-1, 1.47 ERA) are all sophomores.
“Our pitching staff, which are mainly sophomores, are playing like seasoned veterans,” Marlo said. “They throw strikes and go right at hitters. They’re keeping their pitch count down and they’re not walking guys…I think there was only one time this season where we had a guy go over 75 pitches in an outing, so all our arms are healthy and are at peak performance going into district play.”
Trenton is the top seed in this week’s FHSAA Rural District 7 Tournament, which is hosted by the higher seeds.
There are three district quarterfinals finals at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Williston (12-10) is the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 seed Wildwood (1-15). The winner will play either No. 3 seed Chiefland (11-9) or No. 6 seed Bronson (6-13) in Tuesday’s district semifinals.
Bell (11-9), the No. 4 seed, hosts No. 5 seed Dixie County (Cross City) (7-14). The winner will play on Tuesday at top-seed Trenton, which received a bye.
“The key to winning the district title is pitching and defense,” Marlo said. “If you can throw strikes and make routine plays, you’ll win mostly every baseball game you play. When the game gets tight and in the later innings, then it’s going to come down to executing the bunt or defending the bunt.”
The district championship game is at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Here is this week’s FHSAA Baseball district tournament schedule. Teams in the Mainstreet coverage area are in bold.
Dates and times are subject to change
Class Rural-District 6 at Union County (Lake Butler)
Quarterfinals – Monday, April 14
4 Fort White vs. 5 Hilliard, 4 p.m.
3 Branford vs. 6 Hawthorne, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 15
Fort White/Hilliard winner at 1 Lafayette (Mayo), 4 p.m.
Branford/Hawthorne winner at 2 Union County (Lake Butler), 7 p.m.
Championship – Thursday, April 17
TBD, 7 p.m.
Class Rural-District 7 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinals – Monday, April 14
5 Dixie County (Cross City) at 4 Bell, 7 p.m.
7 Wildwood at 2 Williston, 7 p.m.
6 Bronson at 3 Chiefland, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 15
Bell/Dixie County winner at 1 Trenton, 7 p.m.
Wildwood/Williston winner vs. Bronson/Chiefland winner, 7 p.m. – Game will be broadcast online (audio only) at Mainstreet Daily News beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Championship – Thursday, April 17
TBD, 7 p.m. – Game will be broadcast online (audio only) at Mainstreet Daily News beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Class 1A-District 5 at Higher Seeds
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 15
4 Peniel Baptist Academy (Palatka) at 1 St. Francis Catholic Academy, 4 p.m.
3 Countryside Christian at 2 Oak Hall, 4 p.m.
Championship – Thursday, April 17
TBD, 4 p.m.
Class 2A-District 4 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinals – Monday, April 14
5 P.K. Yonge at 4 Interlachen, 6 p.m.
6 Crescent City at 3 Trinity Catholic (Ocala), 6 p.m.
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 15
Interlachen/P.K. Yonge winner at 1 Keystone Heights, 7 p.m.
Crescent City/Trinity Catholic winner at 2 Newberry, 7 p.m.
Championship – Thursday, April 17
TBD, 7 p.m.
Class 3A-District 3 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinals – Monday, April 14
5 Stanton (Jacksonville) at 4 Wolfson (Jacksonville), 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 15
Wolfson/Stanton winner at 1 Suwannee (Live Oak), 7 p.m.
3 Paxon (Jacksonville) at 2 Baldwin, 7 p.m.
Championship – Thursday, April 17
TBD, 7 p.m.
Class 3A-District 5 at Higher Seeds
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 15
4 Eastside at 1 Santa Fe (Alachua), 6 p.m.
3 Bradford (Starke) at 2 Palatka, 6 p.m.
Championship – Thursday, April 17
TBD, 7 p.m.
Class 5A-District 3 at Higher Seeds
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 15
4 Fleming Island (Orange Park) at 1 Columbia (Lake City), 6 p.m.
3 Middleburg at 2 Ridgeview (Orange Park), 6 p.m.
Championship – Thursday, April 17
TBD, 6 p.m.
Class 5A-District 5 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinals – Monday, April 14
5 Matanzas (Palm Coast) at 4 Gainesville, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 15
Gainesville/Matanzas winner at 1 Seabreeze (Daytona Beach), 7 p.m.
3 Mainland (Daytona Beach) at 2 Belleview, 7 p.m.
Championship – Thursday, April 17
TBD, 7 p.m.
Class 6A-District 2 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinals – Monday, April 14
5 Oakleaf (Orange Park) at 4 Forest (Ocala), 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Tuesday, April 15
Forest/Oakleaf winner at 1 Buchholz, 7 p.m.
3 Bartram Trail (St. Johns) at 2 Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine), 6:30 p.m.
Championship – Thursday, April 17
TBD, 7 p.m.