Jacksonville baseball's most anticipated rematch proved worth the wait.
In a battle of prospect-packed lineups, ninth-place hitter Ja'Rod Flowers drove in the go-ahead runs in the sixth inning, Romy DeCenzo nailed down a tense save and host Trinity Christian edged Bishop Snyder 5-3 in the deciding Game 3 of the Florida High School Athletic Association Region 1-2A baseball championship series on May 9.
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Victory advances the Conquerors to the FHSAA final four in Fort Myers, which begins May 18 for Class 2A.
The latest installment in the rivalry between the Jacksonville private-school powers lived up to its billing, three weeks after Trinity outlasted the Cardinals 11-10 in a 13-inning district championship epic.
Bishop Snyder had rolled 9-2 in Game 1, exploiting six Conqueror miscues and riding opportunistic hitting with two hits apiece from Tanner Upton and Landis Pickett. Trinity (25-8) unleashed two homers by on-fire slugger Jordan Martinez and one from Tyler Ellis to turn the tables in Game 2, winning 6-4 and overcoming a homer from the Cardinals' Cole Dennis.
That forced a Saturday night decider, which included yet another home run for LSU commit Martinez — his third three-homer day of the year. Bishop Snyder (23-8) pulled ahead 3-1 on a Cody Boshell home run, a bases-loaded hit batsman and an Upton RBI single, before the Conquerors struck in a four-run sixth. Ellis and Parker Loew singled before Flowers' go-ahead two-out hit.
Bishop Snyder, which was seeking its first-ever final-four trip, got two runners aboard in the seventh before DeCenzo returned from outfield to nail down the save.
REGION 1-3A
South Walton d. Suwannee 2-0 (2-1, 10-0)
Suwannee became only the second team all year to score a run against South Walton ace Coleman Borthwick, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs (19-14) exited in a sweep to the nationally-ranked Seahawks (28-4).
Grayson Greene drove in a seventh-inning run for Suwannee but the rally fell short in the opener, after Justin Didier had knocked in both South Walton runs. In the late game, Vaughn Howard doubled twice and drove in five runs as the Seahawks provided heavy run support for Denton Lord's pitching.
REGION 1-1A
St. Johns Country Day d. Tallahassee St. John Paul II 2-0 (5-1, 10-5)
The magical postseason of Brayden Harris continued. The St. Johns Country Day senior pitcher crossed the 500-K threshold with a 15-strikeout two-hitter in Game 1, then slugged a grand slam in Game 2 to help the Spartans (24-8) to their fifth FHSAA state semifinal in six years.
Preston Cole also homered three times for St. Johns, twice in Game 1 and once in Game 2, and Hudson Dantzler also cleared the fence. St. John Paul II (18-10) got two home runs from Wyatt Cantella and one from Jason Cantella.
REGION 3-R
Union County d. Mayo Lafayette 2-0 (14-3, 8-7)
Wesley Crockett's game-winning single in the eighth inning brought home Jasen Sullivan with the winning run to punch the Fightin' Tigers' final four ticket. Lafayette (16-12) seized a 5-0 lead, including a Kagan Hewett home run, then had to rally to force extras with Jacob Herring's RBI single in the seventh.
Jeffrey Brugh and Nate Robertson each got three RBI as Union County cruised in a five-inning Game 1.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Trinity Christian tops Bishop Snyder, FHSAA baseball regional playoff