Charlotte Represents At State Final Four, Falls In Semi

Four teams advance to the state tournament in each classification, and that’s why it is not a clever name in calling it the Final Four. What this means is that three teams will not leave as state champions. But that does not mean those squads should leave with their tails between their legs, either.

The Charlotte Tarpons had not been to the state tournament in 44 years, which made the Tarpons’ berth in the 2026 Class 5A state semifinal a very big occasion. Although the team was on the wrong end of a 5-4 decision to the Winter Springs Bears in this historic game at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, it can leave the baseball field with honor in knowing the team played well and represented who they are.

“One game doesn’t dictate how we played all season,” Charlotte Manager Lavell Cudjo said. “This game could have gone either way. If it’s good baseball, I’m OK with it. Obviously you want to come out on the winning side of it, but it was the excitement, the community, and the kids playing. Somebody had to lose that game, but we played pretty good baseball today.”

Edward Risano sent a grounder through the left side of the defense and Ryland Sander raced around third base and slid across the plate ahead of the relay throw to deliver the Bears the walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh. It capped a back-and-forth game that saw four lead changes and two ties, in a close contest from start to finish.

“We knew we are never out of a game,” Cudjo said. “We are in every game, with our lineup and with our pitching. We’ve played a pretty good and competitive schedule, so I knew it was going to be a matter of time to get to their pitcher. We were able to make adjustments at the plate and we were really excited. It just didn’t fall our way today.”

Charlotte (22-10) last advanced this far in the playoffs back in 1982, but this team showed that it belonged at the grand finale. The contest was a tug-of-war the entire way, as two equal opponents battled for the chance to advance to the Class 5A championship. Both sides finished with seven hits, and neither team made any errors. It was great baseball played at a high level befitting the stage it was played on.

After both sides played a scoreless draw through the first three innings, Charlotte jumped ahead with a bang in the top of the fourth. Senior Landon Davidson nearly crushed a home run on the first pitch of the inning, yet although it had the distance it sailed foul and out of play. But on the very next pitch Davidson barreled it up and he slugged a solo home run over the left field fence.

“It was the same pitch. I was sitting curveball, but I got another fastball,” Davidson said. “I got excited. There are no words. It really is a blessing and I enjoyed it. Any way to help my team.”

Momentum on their side, the Tarpons kept it going to add another run. Wesley Stines and Adrian Moreno both singled to right to put runners on the corners, and Caden Speciale executed a suicide-squeeze bunt that brought Stines racing across the plate.

“Get ’em on, get ’em over and get ’em in,” Cudjo said. “We were just a couple of runs short today.”

Winter Springs (24-6) answered immediately with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead. Owen Swanson drew a lead-off walk and Tyler Kenast followed with a double to left, and Xavier Rodriguez got the Bears on the scoreboard with an RBI groundout. Sander and Chance Baisden both walked to load the bases, and a wild pitch allowed Kenast to come in and tie the game. After Risano walked to fill the bases again, Brandon Curl delivered a sac-fly RBI to put Winter Springs ahead.

But Charlotte punched right back with two more runs in the top of the fifth to chase Bears starter Tripp Rosenberger and move back in front with a 4-3 advantage. Aiden Long doubled to left with one out, but was then erased at third base off a bunt from Dom Giglio. Landon Davidson was intentionally walked, and Stines made them pay by rolling an RBI single past the shortstop to plate Giglio and tie the game. Moreno then sent a liner to right field to send Davidson racing around third and grabbing back the lead by coming in ahead of the relay throw.

“We had a chance to see what this is all about, and it’s only going to push them and drive them to get better and to work a little harder so we’re back here next year,” Cudjo said. “These kids are underclassmen and they have a lot more opportunities to get back here. Tonight wasn’t our night, but those underclassmen will remember this for next year.”

Winter Springs evened things back up in the sixth. Baisden led off with a base hit and was replaced by courtesy-runner Robert Mungovan, who came around to score when Curl bounced an RBI double off the left field wall.

The Tarpons went down in order in the top of the seventh, and unfortunately never got another chance from there. But they showed the type of team they have, one that belonged in the state Final Four competing for the dream of winning a state championship.

“It’s all about the schedule I make for them,” Cudjo said. “We went over to Alabama and played in the Perfect Game tournament with the top 25 teams in the country. That was pretty big for these kids to experience that and play against those quality teams. Our schedule was pretty tough, and it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish. As you see in our wins and losses, we did well early, lost five straight, and then we regrouped and won ten games in-a-row. So I knew we were getting better at the right time, and we were capable of coming in and getting it done. The light wasn’t going to be too bright for us. We’ve always been competitive against other quality teams. We are never out of a game. We’ve got pretty good players, and that schedule helped them get ready for this kind of atmosphere.”

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