For the first time since 2021, when the Trenton softball team won the Class 1A state title and the Newberry baseball team won a 1A championship, its first in program history, a team from the Mainstreet Daily News area has won a state title in either softball or baseball.

The area could have had a championship in both sports had it not been for an upset in the regional finals.

The Trenton softball team won the Class 1A state title, and the Trenton baseball team advanced to their first final four since 2018.

For their accomplishments, Trenton softball coach Clint Anderson and Trenton baseball coach Chris Marlo were named the 2024 Bosshardt Realty All Area (1A and 2A) Coaches of the Year for small schools.

The Trenton softball team, which defeated Chiefland, 10-0, to win the 1A-District 7 title, advanced to the Class 1A final four in Clermont in May where they defeated Holmes County (Bonifay), 3-2, on a walk-off in the semifinals to advance to the title game.

Also in Clermont in the 1A state semifinals, Branford got revenge against state champion Liberty County (Bristol) with a 13-3 win in six innings against the Bulldogs to advance to the title game, where they were seeking their first state title in program history.

However, in the state championship game against Branford, the Tigers (23-2) rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings, and they won it in the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Branford softball team was one out away from winning the state title in the bottom of the seventh, but the miracle comeback gave Trenton its third state title since 2019.

“My team never gives up, and I am super proud of them,” Trenton coach Clint Anderson, the Florida Dairy Farmers 1A COY said after the game. “I knew they had it in them. It took us a little while to come alive, but we did in that seventh inning.”

Meanwhile, the Trenton baseball team entered its Class 1A-Region 4 Final against top seed Newberry (22-6) as an underdog to a Panthers’ team that had the talent to win its second state title in three years.

However, despite being outscored 24-0 in two prior meetings this year, the visiting Tigers upset the Panthers, 4-3, denying Newberry its third trip to the final four in the past four years.

Despite losing to Bozeman (Panama City), 10-0, in the 1A state semifinals in Fort Myers, Trenton advanced to its first final four since 2018, and they did it with five freshmen starting.

“You couldn’t ask for a better story, kind of a Cinderella story,” Marlo said after the win against the Panthers.

Special recognition goes out to Branford softball coach Oscar Saavedra following the Bucs’ second straight state runner-up finish and 1A-District 6 championship, and Newberry baseball coach Mike Spina, who led the Panthers to a 22-6 season and the 1A-District 7 title.

Oak Hall School coach Kevin Maris and St. Francis Catholic Academy coach Ryan Brown were also honorable mention selections.

Maris’ Eagles defeated Browns’ Wolves in a wild district championship game but both teams advanced to the state playoffs.

Oak Hall, which won the 2A-District 4 title, earned their fourth straight playoff spot, while district runner-up St. Francis Catholic earned an at-large bid.

It was the Wolves’ first postseason appearance since 2015.

The Bosshardt Realty Big School (3A-7A) Coaches of the Year are Chris Chronister of Gainesville High softball and Ron Brooks of Buchholz baseball.

It was a season to remember for the Hurricanes and the Bobcats.

GHS got rolling in the district tournament, including a no-hitter and 18 strikeouts from All Area pitcher Leanna Bourdage in a 4-0 win on the road at Middleburg in the 5A-District 2 championship game.

Following another win at top seed Middleburg in the second round of the 5A state playoffs, the Hurricanes followed that up with a 3-0 win at Gulf Breeze to win the 5A-Region 1 championship to advance to their first final four since 2018.

The ‘Canes then knocked off Archbishop McCarthy, 5-2, in the 5A state semifinals, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit in the first inning.

Despite a 3-2 loss in eight innings to defending champ Parrish Community in the 5A state title game, Chronister summed up the great season for the Hurricanes (24-5) with one word—special.

“It was really a special season, that’s the best way to say it,” Chronister said following the game in Clermont. “I’m so proud of these girls because the expectations were very low coming into the season. I’m sure nobody anywhere, except for our group, that’s what I told the girls, ‘Nobody expected us to be here except for us.’ We knew we had a good team, and we might have surprised some people earlier on in the season, but I think as we got later on into the season, getting to the district playoffs, beating Middleburg twice, beating some of the teams that we beat, I think it became clear that everybody knew that we had a good team at that point.”

Special recognition goes to Gene Findley of Santa Fe (Alachua).

His Raiders (23-5) won the 3A-District 5 title, followed by a pair of wins in the 3A regional tournament, before losing at eventual state champion Montverde Academy, 3-0, in the 3A-Region 2 Final. They also had a big 8-5 win at GHS on April 22.

Last year the Buchholz baseball team lost a heartbreaker at home in the region final against Winter Springs.

However, this year the Bobcats were not denied, advancing to their first final four in program history with a 1-0 win against Hagerty (Oviedo) in a Class 6A-Region 1 Final.

Buchholz also had a one-run win against visiting Pace, 3-2, in the regional semifinals.

In the Class 6A state semifinals in Fort Myers, top seed Buchholz dominated No. 3 seed Bloomingdale (Valrico), 12-0, in five innings, before falling to Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens), 10-3, in the title game.

Brooks, who finished second in the voting for the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 6A COY, and the state runner-up Bobcats finished 24-9, with a district and regional title, and their first-ever state championship game appearance.

“Seeing them (Dwyer) pile on the field really gives us the hunger to come back and not have this feeling again,” Brooks said. “We think we have established our program as one of the best in the state and we want to continue to have that tradition about us.”

A special shoutout to Santa Fe’s Chris Malphurs, who had to take over head coaching duties for Travis Yeckring in March and guided the Raiders (14-13) to the 4A-District 4 title and Class 4A playoff appearance.

Keystone Heights coach Chris Roach also received an honorable mention selection after leading the Indians (20-9) to a Class 3A playoff appearance and a 20-win season.

SOFTBALL

Coach of the Year (1A/2A)

Clint Anderson (Trenton)

Honorable mention: Oscar Saavedra (Branford)

Coach of the Year (3A-7A)

Chris Chronister (GHS)

Honorable mention: Gene Findley (Santa Fe)

BASEBALL

Coach of the Year (1A/2A)

Chris Marlo (Trenton)

Honorable mention: Mike Spina (Newberry), Kevin Maris (Oak Hall), Ryan Brown (St. Francis Catholic Academy)

Coach of the Year (3A-7A)

Ron Brooks (Buchholz)

Honorable mention: Chris Malphurs (Santa Fe), Chris Roach (Keystone Heights)