South Walton Wins Fourth Straight District Crown

The 2026 District 3A-1 champion South Walton Seahawks. *Photo from @SouthWaltonHighSchoolBaseball.

For an unprecedented fourth straight season, the South Walton Seahawks are district champions. Following a gritty, 3-1 victory over the West Florida Jaguars in Thursday’s District 3A-1 finale, South Walton kept its record streak alive, while also advancing back into the regional playoffs.

The Seahawks (23-4) hope to extend another streak by now winning the regional title and returning to the state Final Four for the third straight season. A year ago, the team reached its first state final and finished as the runners up, and the mission this season has been very clear to make another run and finish the job. South Walton hosts the Wolfson Wolfpack (15-12) on Saturday in a Region 3A-1 quarterfinal.

The road through the playoffs is more manageable for teams that win the district and earn the chance to host a home playoff game, but that was easier said than done against a formidable Jaguars team that is 17-8 and also advanced into the regional playoffs with a wild card berth. The two sides did all their scoring early on in the action, and then the pitchers did the rest in keeping things right there the rest of the way.

Coleman Borthwick pitches for South Walton during the 2025 3A state final. The right-hander delivered another stellar performance in Thursday’s 3A-1 finale in his quest to return to the mound at Hammond Stadium.

A pair of runs in the bottom of the first was the difference for South Walton. Declan Fowler reached on an error and starting pitcher Coleman Borthwick stroked a double to right field, before then giving way to courtesy runner Ryan Morgan on the bases. Parker Granse lined a single to left field that plated both runners for a 2-0 lead, an advantage that held up for the rest of the way.

The Jaguars answered back in the top of the second thanks to a solo home run from John Hatch. But Jace Cunningham responded with a solo home run in the bottom of the second for another valuable insurance run.

Borthwick was dominant on the mound to make that slim lead stand as enough. The senior right-hander piled up 13 strikeouts over his full seven innings, picking up his third complete game while improving to 7-0 on the season. Borthwick only allowed one more base runner the rest of the way, a walk to Hatch.

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