Under the bright lights of Hammond Stadium, Canterbury's dreams came true, winning its first baseball state championship since 2018 with a 6-2 victory over St. Johns Country Day in the Class 1A finals.
Junior pitcher Anthony Meady delivered on the mound, giving up just one run on four hits over five innings. "Felt great," Meady said. "To know where we started at the beginning of the year to come here and win a state championship—it's great."
The Cougars wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. In the first inning, Ever Silvente came through with an RBI single. The next frame, Adams Mejia manufactured a run with his legs—stealing second, taking third on an error, and swiping home on a wild throw to give Canterbury a 2-0 lead.
The offense continued to roll in the third. Silvente added a sacrifice RBI, and Meady helped himself with an RBI single up the middle to score Brayden Habuda. That gave Canterbury a 4-0 advantage. Meady only allowed one run on four hits in five innings on the mound.
St. Johns added a pair of late runs, but the Cougars’ defense and bullpen sealed the deal.
Senior JT Huether, playing his final high school game, was emotional after the win. "All these boys came out here and battled," he said. "This moment’s going to last me for the rest of my life."
Head coach Frank Turco, who last led Canterbury to a title with his son in 2018, got emotional after the win. “We were 9-9 at one point,” he said. “But they kept believing. This is one of my favorite groups I’ve ever coached. They bought in.”
The title caps a remarkable turnaround for the Cougars, who were hovering around .500 midway through the season. Now, they’re back on top of Florida high school baseball.