Baseball: Class 3A state final preview — May 20

State final

All games are played at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. Tickets are $12 and are available via GoFan. Parking is $10 for cars and $50 for buses (cash or credit card).  

Class 3A

Calvary Christian (27-4) vs. North Broward Prep (27-4), 2 p.m., today

How they got here: Calvary Christian d. Bell Creek Academy 11-1, d. Fort Myers Bishop Verot 3-0, d. Tampa Catholic 1-0, d. Jacksonville Providence School 5-4. North Broward Prep d. Cocoa Beach 5-0, d. Boca Raton St. Paul John II Academy 5-1, d. Montverde Academy 4-1, d. Miami Gulliver Prep 5-4.

Stat Leaders

CategoryCalvary ChristianNorth Broward Prep
Batting averageLiam Peterson .478Nathanael Coupet, .412
Home runsLiam Peterson, 5Nathanael Coupet, 8
RBIsLiam Peterson, 42Nathanael Coupet, 37
ERAJames Long, 0.00Mateo Gray, 0.94
StrikeoutsHunter Dietz, 102Mateo Gray, 83

Outlook

The Warriors, ranked first in the class and fifth overall in the state by MaxPreps, are in the championship game for the first time since 2019 when they won their second title in school history. If Calvary Christian can win, it will become just the second Pinellas County program with more than two titles, one behind Clearwater Central Catholic for the overall county lead. In Friday’s semifinals, the Warriors outlasted Jacksonville Providence School to win 5-4 in 10 innings. Trailing 3-2, Calvary Christian scored once in the sixth inning to tie the game, added two runs in the 10th and held on in the bottom half of the inning to win. Liam Peterson went 3-for-5 with an RBI and Justin Mayes ended up going 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead the offense. Peterson also threw five innings, allowing one earned run on two hits while striking out nine. North Broward Prep, a defending two-time state champion, is ranked second in the class by MaxPreps. The Eagles enter on a 17-game win streak.