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Suicide squeeze lifts South Walton baseball to 3A state title

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FORT MYERS — The South Walton suicide squeeze ... that's what they'll call the play that delivered the Seahawks baseball program the its first state title.

Tied at 5 with North Broward Prep in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out, the bases juiced and Declan Fowler barreling down on home plate, Hudson Quinn laid down a perfect bunt between the pitcher and third baseman to score Fowler and give the Seahawks that elusive state title with a 6-5 win.

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Gone is the stigma of South Walton always finishing second after back-to-back state title losses. Gone is the drought of state titles for area Okaloosa County and Walton County programs.

Fittingly it was Borthwick's crew to do it, the Seahawks capping a perfect 9-0 postseason where they outscored foes 78-11. But on Thursday night at Hammond Stadium they had to sweat.

Up 5-2 entering the top of the seventh inning on the backs of a six-inning gem by Denton Lord and four-run third frame, South Walton saw a familiar brand of heartbreak returning as the Eagles had four straight singles to plate three and put the go-ahead run at first base. In came Parker Granse, who the night before earned the six-out save and narrowly stayed under the 30-pitch cap to be available for Thursday. Granse struck out the side, working around a pair of free passes and delivering a swing-and miss on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded.

That set the stage for a walkoff, South Walton's rally beginning with Fowler reaching first after being hit on the foot with one out. Carter Hawk then singled to left and Jace Cunningham loaded up the bases with a bloop single to center.

That's when Nick Borthwick laid down the suicide squeeze sign. On the first pitch, Fowler never broke stride for home and Quinn executed to perfection. Queue the celebration, Quinn mobbed by teammates in a dogpile in shallow center field.

Much like the last two years, South Walton spent the duration of 2026 as 3A's best team. Now this Seahawks team has a state title to show for it.

Using last year's 2-1 state finals loss to Miami Springs and 2024's 4-1 finals defeat to Cardinal Gibbons as fuel, this postseason proved to be a statement for a Seahawks program that refused to watch another team celebrate at their expense.

Coleman Borthwick and Denton Lord were the aces South Walton needed. Granse was the closer South Walton needed. And, from 1-9, South Walton executed the fundamentals and its defense played to near perfection.

The result is a 30-4 season for a program ranked second in the entire state and ninth in the nation. The result is a well-deserved 3A state title.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: South WAlton baseball wins FHSAA 3A state title

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