True North Falls In 2A Final, But Leaves Its Mark

2A Championship Photo Gallery

Although the True North Titans did not return home to Miami-Dade carrying the trophy that they intended, the team does not leave the 2026 FHSAA state tournament empty-handed. More than just earning a state runner’s up trophy, the Titans served notice to the rest of the state of Florida that this is just the beginning.

The Trinity Christian Conquerors capitalized in the third inning for the winning difference in an 8-4 victory that rewarded them with the Class 2A state title, on Tuesday night at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. The Conquerors (27-8) earned their second state championship in program history, while also erasing several years of recent frustrations of coming up short at the Final Four.

Meanwhile, even facing against a team that has been here knocking loudly at the brink of a title for the last three seasons, the Titans proved themselves as a true contender in the way they battled in the final. True North rallied from an early hole to tie the game at 3-3 in the third inning, and the Titans continued to put runners on base and give themselves chances to the very last out.

“People always wondered if we are for real or not, and I think that we proved to ourselves that we are for real,” Titans Manager Adrian Nieto said. “I think that the people who have been following us know what kind of ball club we have and what kind of program we run over here. We’re up here with great teams that have been doing it for over fifty years, and this is only year five for us. But we were on the heels and we passed up some teams that are very known. So the facts are there. For a fifth-year program to come up here and compete against a team that has been here for the past few years speaks for itself.”

Just five years ago all of this seemed like just a dream. But the players in the program have bought in and committed to being the team that they are, and the skies are the limits with the future ahead.

“They are the most coachable group I ever had in my five years that I’ve been here, a special group,” Nieto said of this 2026 club. “I’m going to miss coaching them. They stayed true to who they are, and it shows. This team is awesome, and I think they put this program on the map. We started to take ourselves serious and get the credit we deserve this year.”

One bad inning doomed the Titans in the championship. After rallying to tie things up in the top of the third, they momentarily lapsed from their normal identity and suffered some devastating miscues. Tyler Ellis led off with a double for the Conquerors, but then the next two batters were walked to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed Trinity Christian to retake the lead, another run came in on an error and then Jarod Flowers dropped a bunt down third base with the defense back to reach on a single with no throw even to be made.

Things went from bad to worse. Brady Harris was hit by a pitch, Chris Reali tacked on another run by scoring on a passed ball, and then Aiden Arnett walked to load the bases. Jordan Martinez delivered the back-breaker with a two-RBI single to left that made it an 8-3 advantage and a five-run frame.

“Coach told us before the game that they are going to do their own thing, and when they throw a punch we’ve got to be ready to throw one back,” Martinez said. “We just had such a close brotherhood of all these seniors and just the team as a whole. We just stuck together through thick and thin, and we just showed the love for each other and what we were willing to do to win these games.”

So many times in high school baseball, pivotal moments such as these in a championship game can next lead to another scoring burst that triggers an early finish by the mercy rule. But the Titans proved once again that they are ready for this stage, as they regrouped from the out-of-body experience in the third and returned to their brand of baseball through the final four innings.

“That’s who we are, and that is why this group has accomplished what we have, because it stayed true to its identity,” Nieto said. “I told them that what got you here, stay with it. From my experience, a lot of teams get here and forget who they are and what brought them here. They get away and don’t accomplish the ultimate goal, and we at least gave ourselves a chance to accomplish our goal.”

True North was particularly successful in getting base runners on and then wrecking havoc on the bases. They continued to get runners on in each of the final three innings, which helped keep their large crowd of fans engaged and encouraged, while the Conquerors’ large fan turnout answered back to keep the intensity of the moment and the electricity of the atmosphere cranked to high voltage.

‘It was fun. It’s what you want,” Nieto said.

The Titans scrapped a run across in the sixth to inch a bit closer. Danilo Bossano was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch and then swiped third to bring himself just ninety more feet from touching the plate. An error on a dropped third strike allowed Bossano to complete his trip around the bases, while also allowing Noah Gamboa to reach base. Kash Ojeda then deposited a double deep into the left field corner to put the tying run in the on-deck circle.

“As long as you give yourself a chance to be in the championship game and win it, that’s all you can ask for is to give it your best shot,” Nieto said. “Each team gets 21 outs and be a tough 21 outs. That’s the team they are over there, and you have to go punch-for-punch and hopefully you can stand for all 21 outs with them.”

Trinity Christian reliever Romy DeCenzo recorded a pair of strikeouts to quell that threat.

Down to their final outs in the seventh, the Titans continued to work at the plate and scrap to keep their season alive. Matias Fischer led off with a walk, the team’s eleventh base runner in the game. But a strikeout was followed by a grounder to Martinez at shortstop, and the Conquerors turned a 6-4-3 double play that ended the ball game and anointed a champion.

While Trinity Christian celebrated, the Titans left the field with pride in knowing they delivered a champion’s performance. The program has come so far so fast, and it may not be that much longer before it will be the Titans’ turn to dogpile and celebrate a state title.

“Every year we have raised the bar, and I told the 2027 class just now when I was talking to them that now it is your turn. States or bust, that is the mentality now,” Nieto said.

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