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2026 FHSAA State Championships: 7A Recap

May 17, 2026
Prep Baseball Florida
Prep Baseball Florida Staff

Stoneman Douglas claimed their 6th 7A State Championship in a row with two of the craziest games all week. Friday night they survived a wild nine-run battle against Hagerty in walk-off fashion. Saturday afternoon they flipped the script entirely, getting a near-perfect outing from Gio Rojas to shut down Venice and claim the championship, 2-1. In a tournament that demanded resiliency and elite pitching, Stoneman Douglas delivered both.

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Semifinal: Venice 4, Vero Beach 2

Venice punched their ticket to the championship game Friday afternoon with a 4-2 win over Vero Beach, leaning on a complete-game effort from Carter Cox. Cox went all seven innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits while striking out eight and walking one.

Venice broke the ice in the third inning when Jonathan Mauro singled to score a run, and they took command for good in the sixth. Maddox Volk singled down the left-field line to drive in a run, August Backman followed with an RBI single to center, and Mauro’s flyout added another to push the advantage to four.

Vero Beach had their moments. Cody Morgan pitched well enough to stay in the game through 5.2 innings, but the offense couldn’t generate enough against Cox. Nate Downey led the way at the plate with two hits, and Caleb Wood drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth when Vero Beach briefly took a lead, but Venice answered immediately to end any suspense.

Semifinal: Stoneman Douglas 9, Hagerty 8

Friday night’s second semifinal was one of the most chaotic and entertaining games of the tournament weekend. The talk of the night was “Will Gio Rojas start tonight?” He ended up not starting, and the decision paid off. Hagerty and Stoneman Douglas combined for 22 hits, 17 runs, and multiple lead changes before Jackson Taylor delivered a walk-off single to center in the bottom of the seventh to give Stoneman Douglas the 9-8 win. Taylor went 3-for-4 with three RBI from the nine spot and was the undisputed hero of the night.

Hagerty came out swinging, plating three runs in the first on an error, an Aiden Kearney single, and a Shaurya Bhosale double. Stoneman Douglas erased the deficit and then some in the bottom of the second, scoring five runs to take a 5-3 lead. But Hagerty struck back in the third, with a Bhosale triple, part of a two-hit, four-RBI night for the sophomore, capping a four-run inning that put the Huskies back on top at 7-5. Kearney also had three hits on the evening for Hagerty.

On the mound, Tyler Stertzbach was strong in relief for Douglas. The right-hander came on after starter Reid Dadic’s two innings and went five strong, striking out eight and allowing just one run. When Taylor singled home the winning run, Stertzbach earned the win in a game that neither team could pull away from until the very last swing.

State Championship: Stoneman Douglas 2, Venice 1

After the high-scoring chaos of Friday night, Saturday’s title game was a tightly contested, pitcher-dominated affair. Gio Rojas was sensational for Stoneman Douglas, recording 20 outs over 6.2 innings while striking out 12, walking two, and surrendering just a single hit. Ben Bianchi came on and retired the final out to preserve the win.

Stoneman Douglas scored in the first inning, when Rojas himself singled on a bunt to plate a run. Ander Elorriaga drove in the second with another bunt in the seventh.

Kohen Poplin kept Venice in the game as he battled for 5.1 innings, allowing just one run. Venice managed just two hits in the ballgame. One came the moment Rojas left the game as RJ Shields homered to make it a 2-1 game.

After allowing a home run, Bianchi struck out the final batter of the game to earn a save and a Championship win for Stoneman Douglas.

Stoneman Douglas are your 2026 FHSAA Class 7A State Champions.


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