Williston’s Shutout For 1A Title Sets New Florida Record

The Red Devils' seniors celebrate their second straight Class 1A state championship, following Thursday's 3-0 win over Blountstown.

Thursday was a historic day for the Williston Red Devils.

The team celebrated its second straight state title following a 3-0 victory over Blountstown in the Class 1A state championship, played at jetBlue Park in Fort Myers. After also winning 4-0 over Chipley in last year’s state final, Williston becomes the first school in Florida history to win consecutive state titles by way of a shutout in the championship game.

It is the third state championship in program history, as the team also won a state crown way back in 1923. In three championship game victories Williston has yet to allow a run, winning all three contests by way of a shutout. The Red Devils’ 1923 championship came following a 5-0 victory over Summerlin Institute, and it came a year after the school lost 9-0 to Summerlin Institute in Florida’s very first high school baseball state championship.

On Thursday, left-hander Austin Langworthy closed out a dominate junior year by going the distance for the complete-game shutout. The southpaw pounded the strike zone with 55 of his 76 pitches, limiting Blountstown (22-9) to two hits and a hit batsman. Langworthy struck out seven to up his season total to 84 strikeouts overall, and he faced just three batters over the minimum.

Across the mound, Tigers starter Derek Eberly also proved to be tough to hit against. The junior right-hander matched Langworthy pitch for pitch early on, keeping things scoreless into the bottom of the fourth. Eberly took the loss following five full innings of work, allowing six hits and a walk while picking up three strikeouts.

University of Florida commit Austin Langworthy tossed a complete-game shutout to earn the championship-game victory.

Williston (27-2) struck for all the runs it would need in the fourth. Langworthy got things going by drawing a leadoff walk, and he advanced to second base thanks to a sacrifice bunt from Britton Hall. Cameron Coffey followed with a single, and Langworthy came around to score on a throwing error that allowed Coffey to move to second base. Haydn Cano added an insurance run with an RBI double that pushed Coffey home.

An inning later the Red Devils added another insurance run. Ryan Battle led off with a single, and Langworthy moved him along with another base hit. Coffey then delivered an RBI single to increase the lead to 3-0, after Battle scored on the play.

Since dropping down from Class 4A to Class 1A before the start of the 2014 season, Williston has dominated amongst its peers. The team has gone a perfect 31-0 against fellow Class 1A opponents, and ends this season on a 20-game winning streak.

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