Trinity Christian Wins Class 2A State Championship

The 2026 Class 2A state champion Trinity Christian Academy Conquerors.

Tuesday’s Class 2A state championship between the Trinity Christian Conquerors and the True North Titans provided one of the most exciting environments of the entire 2026 FHSAA state tournament. With throngs of passionate fans representing both sides at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, and two teams loaded with firepower that put on an offensive show, the game provided tons of thrills and entertainment.

Trinity Christian capitalized in the third inning for the winning difference in an 8-4 victory that rewarded it with the Class 2A state title. 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.

“Coming here the last three years, and coming up just short these last two, we’ve been on a mission,” senior Jordan Martinez said. “Finally finishing it off and winning my last high school game ever, I don’t think there is a better feeling than that.”

The Conquerors faced a high-tempo, but dangerous opponent in the upstart Titans (22-8), who defied the odds in their first trip to the state tournament by playing like seasoned veterans.

“I’m just so proud of these guys,” Trinity Christian Manager Jonathan Murphy said. “This 2026 group, I’ve been around them since they were 13 or 14 years old, so this is really special for me to see them grow and develop, not only as baseball players but as young men that just love and serve each other so well. To see them get rewarded like this, I am just so proud of them.”

Trinity scored first to land the first big blow, building up a 3-0 lead before True North rallied to tie it up with three runs in the top of the third.

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 Parker Loew and Ethan Wheeler both 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.

“True North was an unbelievable opponent,” Murphy said. “Those guys fought so hard and those were some of the toughest outs we had to get all year. They brought so much energy and they made so many good plays, and we just didn’t flinch. We stood tall and responded really well and made plays when we needed to make plays.”

True North was particularly successful in getting guys 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 up to a very 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.

Trinity Christian reliever Romy DeCenzo recorded a pair of strikeouts to quell that threat. He recorded his sixth save of the season, after appearing in 18 games in relief during the season to be just another one of the Conquerors that did whatever was asked of him in order to help the team succeed.

“Toughness is the thing with this group,” Murphy said. “We either tied or trailed in every game in this playoff run, and they never blinked and never flinched. They care about each other so much that they’re not going to let the guy next to them fail; they’re going to find a way to pick up their teammate, pick up their brother. They did that down the whole stretch. Seeing that as a coach, nothing else can bring you more joy than that.”

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.

Trinity Christian won its other state title back in the 2015 season, with a roster full of players whom were very similar to the current group. Both games were played in front of a very large crowd of animated fans, at an intense, high-tempo pace. The teams brought the best out of each other, and the Conquerors brought out the best in themselves in laying it all on the line for their teammates and brothers.

The leadership shown on this team sets an impressive example. The veterans on this club have a lot of varsity experience together, and they lead by example. It’s one thing that Jordan Martinez led the team in most hitting categories, and that he gobbled up every infield grounder with ease, but it sets an entirely stronger example to watch him be the first guy racing from the dugout to chase a foul ball or to retrieve a teammate’s bat following a hit. Martinez held court at the front of the dugout during the state Final Four, communicating with all of his teammates and being a positive and vocal presence that never doubted what they accomplished.

“It’s been a blessing to be with these guys, and to be able to lead them,” Martinez said. “It’s not just me, it’s all of us, all these seniors. We all lead by example and we all have our bits and pieces that contribute to the team, so I don’t want to take all the credit. But I try to take pride in wearing these colors and this TC logo, and our coach instills the trust in us each and every day. For him to believe in us, it gives us the confidence to go out there and do what we do. You saw that tonight.”

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