By Dave Brousseau
In the 104 years since a high school state baseball championship has been played in Florida, no team has accomplished the remarkable run of Stoneman Douglas.
The Eagles, led by perhaps one of the best pitchers in Broward County history in senior Gio Rojas, defeated Venice 2-1 for the Class 7A state championship at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers on Saturday.
Venice (32-2) entered the championship game ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today, Baseball America and Prep Baseball.
Not since Calvary Christian (Clearwater) beat American Heritage-Delray for the Class 4A title in 2019 had a team defeated their opponent by the final score of 2-1 for a state title.
The victory extended the Douglas (28-6) record of consecutive state championships to seven. Archbishop McCarthy held the previous record of four consecutive titles.
Saturday’s final score also marked the 18th time in state history a team won the state championship by the 2-1 margin.
Rojas, among one of the top players in the country and likely a top 10 selection in July’s MLB Draft, was magnificent in the title game and each of his three regional playoff games.
Against Venice he went 6 2/3 innings, allowing one hit with 12 strikeouts and no earned runs.
During the Eagles title run Rojas went 23 innings allowed seven hits, one earned run, while striking out 41 strikeouts. Rojas and Ander Elorriaga.
Rojas also had a RBI bunt single that scored Cade Riely giving a Douglas 1-0 lead in the first inning. The eventual winning run came in the top of the seventh on a squeeze bunt by Elorriaga scoring Jake Rizzo from third.
Since the Dougles first state championship run in 2016, the team has a playoff record of 46-4. Over the six consecutive state championships, their record is 36-1, while outscoring their opponents 265-78.
Dave Brousseau is a veteran journalist who worked at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a longtime BCAA Correspondent. Need to reach out to him? Contact him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.