South Walton Shows Out At State Tournament

The Seahawks celebrate during their 17-2 state semifinal victory over the Hernando Leopards.

Although it does not come this year with this special group of players, make no doubt about it that the South Walton Seahawks will earn a state championship at some point in their history. When that day does come, one can only hope that those players remember this group that did everything the right way and elevated this program as a recognized and feared opponent on the grandest stage.

For the second season in-a-row, the Seahawks finished as the state runners up. South Walton ended on the wrong side of a 2-1 decision in the Class 3A state championship, at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, on Tuesday, May 20th. After losing in the 4A championship the season before, the Seahawks (31-4) dedicated themselves in every way to work and earn the right to come back and win that elusive title. While that unwavering effort did not yield the final prize, it would be tragic not to recognize and salute the effort and the results that brought the team all the way back to the title game again this season.

“These guys are tireless workers, and they willed themselves down here. The upsetting part is they put in the time to win, and sometimes you need the ball to bounce your way,” Manager Nick Borthwick said. “We put the bat on the ball there in the sixth, but it just hung up too long. But we fought, we battled, and these guys are champions in my eyes. I’m proud of them for the time and the sacrifice, and teamwork. They came together and played for each other. These are fine young men.”

Miami Springs (28-3) grabbed the lead in the second and never looked back. A solo home run from Taylor Ancheta put the Hawks up 1-0, and Yordan Torres drove in the winning run with an RBI single that made it 2-0 in the top of the sixth. South Walton managed just two hits, and had several baseballs stung to the left side that were gobbled up by third baseman Jordany Gonzalez on some magnificent defense.

“You’ve got to tip your cap to Miami Springs tonight. They hit the ball well,” Coach Borthwick said. “They put the bat on the ball and they hit the ball out of the park early on, on a good pitch. I think they had seven or eight hits. We struggled offensively getting the ball through their defense. We hit some hard shots and their third baseman made some great defensive plays. They played great defense and turned a double play on us early, and we didn’t bunt enough. We should have dropped it down on that third baseman, and that’s on me.”

Coleman Borthwick pitches for South Walton during the 3A state final.

South Walton got on the scoreboard with its best baseball in the sixth. Hudson Quinn continued his hot-hitting at Hammond Stadium, as he singled on a liner to left to lead off the frame. Quinn went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and five RBI at the 2025 state tournament.

Fundamentals helped generate the Seahawks’ run. Jace Cunningham dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Quinn into scoring position, and Frank Wells drew a walk to put the tying run on base. Both players then advanced on a wild pitch, and Cameron Tipton-Thomas got the ball on the ground to drive in Quinn with a 4-3 RBI groundout.

Springs picked its poison in choosing to intentionally walk Coleman Borthwick, instead facing Braxton Varnes. With the count full, Barnes stung the ball to right field but right to the waiting right fielder. It was a good swing and good defense, and that’s baseball.

“I’ve coached for 15 years and basically helped build a program from its infancy stage to a powerhouse, and it’s emotional because I’m going to miss these guys,” Coach Borthwick said. “They don’t realize the foundation and the legacy that they leave behind. They’ve already established that standard, and we’re going to win it, and they’re going to look back on these guys and remember these teams that knocked on the door and were right here. We’ll always remember the sacrifice and the high character of these young men.”

South Walton left no doubt that it belonged on the grand stage competing for the top prize in Class 3A. The Seahawks completed a storybook season by returning to the Final Four as the top seed, and a 17-2 dismantling of the Hernando Leopards in the semifinal put the team back into the finals. During the year they faced off against all of the Panhandle’s top programs, and they beat them all. They won against state regulars like Bozeman, Pensacola Catholic, Mosley, Lincoln and Chiles. They defeated the defending 1A state champion Jay Royals, and the 2025 Rural champion Holmes County Blue Devils, as well as Niceville, West Florida, Gulf Breeze, and the 4A state semifinalist Arnold Marlins. South Walton was the only team to defeat IMG Academy (24-1), the top-ranked team in the country.

“The last few years we set them up with the toughest schedule we could assemble, for this opportunity,” Coach Borthwick said. “You’ve got to play good competition, and we did. We embraced it. We battled and we won big games along the way. We were on a long run of winning games and it didn’t go our way today. But in the end, I’m still proud of them and we’ll continue to fight and keep our program at the highest level.”

Junior Coleman Borthwick has grown up watching the program, and winning it all for this team and this community means everything to him. He can still remember the team in 2017 that first came to the state tournament, and one that lost by the same 2-1 score in the semifinal. Being a part of this group that has brought them back the last two years means everything, and it only further motivates him and the other returning players to keep pushing to complete the journey.

“It matters to me for our community,” Coleman Borthwick said. “This school is not very old, and we kind of grew it up, and we’re going to make it back here next year. We’ll do it for our community who all came down today from nine hours away. We’re going to come back just for them, and win it for them next year.”

The team loses some key contributors from this group in its graduating seniors, including several who will go on to play for some elite college programs. The production in every game has only been matched by the dedication and leadership shown both on and off the field by these departing seniors. It has set a standard for the program, but more importantly, it has instilled a standard within themselves that will continue to hit home runs long after they put the bats down for good.

South Walton’s Charlie Wilcox.

“I’m going to miss these seniors. They were true leaders and high-character young men. But our program is in position to make a run for a long time,” Coach Borthwick said. “Give God the glory for our successes and our failures, and in the end, we know that these young men are going to be better husbands and fathers and people in our community. For a long time we’ll look back on this as a disappointing loss, but the sacrifice and the success these guys have had is special, and it will make them better.”

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