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2026 FHSAA State Championships: 5A Recap

May 22, 2026
Prep Baseball Florida
Prep Baseball Florida Staff

The 2026 FHSAA Class 5A State Championship delivered three tightly contested games with late drama. Winter Springs needed a walk-off single to advance through the semifinal round, while Lincoln came out on top in a back-and-forth battle with Mater Academy. Finally, Lincoln needed every out they could get to hold off a relentless Winter Springs rally in the championship.

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Semifinal: Winter Springs 5, Charlotte 4

Monday afternoon’s semifinal was a back-and-forth battle that came down to the final at-bat. Winter Springs walked it off in the bottom of the seventh when Edward Risano singled home the winning run to complete a 5-4 comeback over Charlotte. The Bears trailed for much of the contest and needed a Brandon Curl double to tie it in the sixth before Risano delivered the decisive blow.

Charlotte struck first with a two-run fourth inning. Landon Davidson launched a home run to left field, and Caden Speciale grounded out to plate another to give the Tarpons a 2-0 lead. Davidson then scored again in the fifth on a Wes Stines single to push it to 4-3 after Winter Springs had answered with a three-run fourth of their own.

Ryland Sander was the story for Winter Springs. He came on in relief in the fifth inning and retired eight of nine batters he faced, striking out three and allowing just one hit over 2.1 scoreless frames to earn the win on the mound. Starter Tripp Rosenberger punched out six over 4.2 innings before giving way to Sander.

Semifinal: Lincoln 7, Mater Academy 4

Monday evening’s nightcap featured a different kind of drama, a gritty Lincoln win over Mater Academy. Four Mater errors gifted Lincoln runs, and the Trojans took full advantage with timely hitting to pull away in the sixth.

Mater Academy actually held its own offensively, with Bryan Fernandez and Bryan Mesa each going deep. Fernandez’s two-run home run to right tied the game at three in the fourth, and Mesa’s solo shot to left an inning later put the Lions briefly in front at 4-3. Starter Leodan Rodriguez was sharp despite the tough-luck line. He struck out eight over five and a third innings and held Lincoln to just one hit before errors unraveled things.

Lincoln’s decisive rally came in the bottom of the sixth, when Jayson Parker, Cody Garber, and Carson Koch each singled to push across three runs and reclaim the lead for good. Ethan LaFuria started and worked four innings, striking out five, before Jacob Rabion closed it out with 2.2 innings of relief.

State Championship: Lincoln 5, Winter Springs 4

Wednesday morning’s championship had the makings of a comfortable Lincoln win before Winter Springs made it anything but. The Trojans erupted for all five of their runs in the third inning on a sequence of singles from Carson Koch, Robert Quinn, and Luke Thomas to build a 5-0 lead. But Winter Springs chipped away inning by inning, and by the time the final out was recorded, Lincoln was clinging to a 5-4 margin with their bullpen holding on.

Winter Springs answered the third-inning outburst with three of their own, then added a run in the fifth on a Jackson Swann hit to make it 5-4. Edward Risano and Owen Swanson each went 2-for-3, and Swanson drove in two to keep the pressure on Lincoln’s pitching staff.

Jacob Rabion earned the win for Lincoln on just 49 pitches over four innings, working around four runs allowed. Zachary Burch came on and tossed a scoreless inning, and Chase Fuller closed out the final five outs of the championship to secure the title.

Lincoln are your 2026 FHSAA Class 5A State Champions.


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