Union County Walks Off Trenton For Rural State Championship

The 2026 Rural Class State Champion Union County Tigers. *Photo from Beverly Lasseter.

For every baseball fan out there, the 2026 FHSAA Rural Class state championship is the game for you. In a wild contest that had everything, it was the Union County Fightin’ Tigers walking it off for a 10-9 victory in extra innings over the Trenton Tigers to cap an improbable late comeback, at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

It is the second state title in Fightin’ Tigers history, as they also won it all back in 2012. But Union County had not made it back to the state Final Four since, making this second championship run that much more special in realizing how rare and difficult it is to make these sort of dreams come true.

“The hard part is over with. We’re here,” Union County Manager Jiwan James said. “The six A.M. workouts and the practices are over. So I just told them to have fun, play the game and we’ll be fine.”

The team seemed to believe in their coach, no matter how tough things got during the final showdown. The action was back-and-forth early on, with four lead changes in the first three innings before Trenton jumped out front with a commanding lead. But Union County (24-7) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie it up for some free baseball.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Fightin’ Tigers loaded up the bases to put themselves a mere ninety feet from glory. Wesley Crockett lined a lead-off single to center, Jeffrey Brugh walked and Nate Robertson was hit by a pitch. Kendall Carter then played the hero with some routine baseball, delivering a sac-fly RBI on a fly ball to right that was deep enough at Hammond Stadium to allow Crockett to tag up and score.

Crockett crossed the plate to spark a massive celebration from Union County, as both players and coaches raced in excitement around the field to celebrate. Here marked the final spoils of an entire season dedicated to this moment, and also a satisfying win in a tight and lengthy battle between two equal foes that brought the very best out of each other.

Trenton (23-6) had been to the state tournament each of the last three seasons, and the program also already has three state titles. This current group is hungry to add to the trophy case and write their chapter in the school history, and that desire showed in the effort given in Thursday’s championship.

“We have a lot of respect for those guys, and they have a lot of respect for us,” Trenton Manager Chris Marlo said. “Me and Jiwan, we’ve coached against each other with youth, bringing guys up. He runs a great program over there. We were ranked one and two all year, and it is a shame that one of us has to lose. A lot of our kids know each other, so hats off to them.”

This showdown was anticipated all season, and even more so after the game scheduled during the regular season ended up getting rained out.

“We were supposed to play Trenton earlier this year and it got rained out,” Coach James said. “Both of us were number one and number two in the state at the time, and that was going to be a big matchup for us. Me and Coach Marlo both talked and we said, ‘I guess we’ll see ya’ll in Fort Myers then’.”

That moment now arrived, the two sides slugged it out like a pair of heavyweights. Mason VanCannon walked and scored on an RBI from Pierson Weatherilt to give Trenton a quick lead in the top of the first, and Union County quickly answered back as Robertson singled and later scored on an RBI from Erick Lasseter in the bottom of the inning.

Trenton wasted no time in returning fire. Gabe Cobb led off the second with an infield single, and later scored thanks to an RBI single from Noah Owens.

But the champs responded in a big way, scoring four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 5-2 lead. Catcher Mason Moore got it started with a double to left, then giving way to courtesy-runner Tristan George. Crockett delivered again with an RBI single, and he also was next to cross the plate after Brugh walked and Robertson supplied an RBI single to center that drove them both in. Carter capped it off with an RBI double that scored Robertson.

Trenton still had its bats too, though, and those bats went right back to work for five more runs that put it back in front with a 7-5 lead in the top of the third. Gabe Cobb singled with two outs, Jackson Lee was hit by a pitch and Luke Hartenstein lined an RBI single to left. An error allowed Noah Owens to reach and Lee to score, and Brant Bivens really made it costly by smacking a two-RBI double to left. Bivens then came in on a passed ball.

The deficit got even larger for Union County an inning later. Weatherilt singled, Logan Marlo reached on an error and Gabe Cobb came through with an RBI single. Marlo later scored on a bases-loaded walk to Bivens.

Trailing 9-5 and outs running out, Union County faced its last toughest challenge of the season. Yet for all the luck and magic they needed, the players had helped make their own luck too. They dedicated themselves from the very beginning, they put in the hard work every day without excuses, and somewhere along the way they developed a confidence and a killer instinct that defines a champion.

“They bought in,” Coach James said. “A lot of people were asking me about the 6:00 A.M. workouts and stuff, and I told them that the core group of guys who were going to be in the thick of everything, they showed up every morning. So I wasn’t really worried what it would translate to. Once I had seen that my main guys that were going to be in the lineup everyday were showing up every morning, I knew that we were going to have a good season. Because they were bought in from Day One. It worked out for us.”

A run in the bottom of the sixth helped start the comeback that will now be forever a part of this title run. Jasen Sullivan worked a walk and Moore reached on an error, and Sullivan then scored off an RBI ground out from Westyn Miller.

The first two batters were retired in the bottom of the seventh to leave Union County one out away from defeat. Instead, Carter and Lasseter both singled to raise hope in quickly plating a run, and Evan Christmas came through with the hit of his career by crushing an RBI triple into the right field corner to pull even closer. Sullivan then tied the game with a base hit up the middle, evening things at 9-9 and setting the stage for the dramatic conclusion an inning later.

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