Cottondale’s Historic Streak Ends In State Semifinal Loss

No Cottondale team before it had ever advanced this far to experience the magic and excitement of competing in the FHSAA state Final Four tournament. Far removed from a rough start to their season, the 2026 Cottondale Hornets went on a winning streak that changed the history of the program forever. By winning a dozen straight games Cottondale stormed through the regional playoffs to earn a berth at the state tournament at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

The team came on the wrong end of a tight, 2-0 decision to the Union County Tigers in Wednesday’s state Semifinal. While the sting of defeat hits them for the first time in a long time, the Hornets (18-12) certainly can carry themselves with pride and joy in knowing their story ended farther than any other team in school history.

“This has been a special season. It’s the first time in school history that we came down here,” Cottondale Manager Skylar Davis said. “We were 6-11 at one point, and we won twelve straight. This was the first time that we lost in like two months. It has been fun. It especially was great because we got put out in the regional finals last year and we made a goal to beat Port St. Joe in the regional finals to get here, and we did. We executed on that.”

The margin of error so slim in a game of this magnitude, the Hornets delivered a quality showing in their turn on the grand stage. Ace starter Lane Johnson delivered a complete-game quality start to give his team a chance from first pitch to last.

“I knew that I was going to give it my best,” Johnson said. “If you told me that I would only give up two hits and this offense wouldn’t score any runs, I’d have bet against you. But we were undisciplined today. But I felt like I gave it my best.”

The Tigers got the only two runs of the contest in the second. Lassiter walked and was replaced on the bases by courtesy-runner Tristan George, and Jasen Sullivan dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position. Evan Christmas walked to put another duck on the pond, and Mason Moore delivered the biggest hit of the game with a liner to left field for a two-RBI single.

“Walks killed me. Especially in a loss, those free bases will kill you,” Johnson said. “But I trusted myself and my defense was great and we played how we expected. We just came up short.”

Union County also got a quality start from its starter, as Erick Lasseter delivered a complete-game shutout to earn the victory. The senior right-hander allowed just three hits and no walks, while striking out three.

“They threw a knuckleball and we just popped it up every single time. We couldn’t adjust to it,” Coach Davis said. “We played well on defense and Lane Johnson pitched his butt off, but we just couldn’t make it fall.”

Down to their final outs in the seventh, the Hornets made one final rally bid. Tyler Jones led off with a single to bring the tying run to the plate, but Lasseter snared a screamer back to the mound and then quickly doubled off the runner for a 1-3 double play that sabotaged that momentum. An infield grounder ended it on the next pitch.

“We took a Spring Break trip to Auburn, and I felt like it just meshed us,” Coach Davis said. “We lost the last game of that Spring Break trip, and this is the first time that we have lost since. That Spring Break was kind of the turning point. We had to find out a lot of stuff about this team. We had seven people quit since last summer, and there were a lot of unknowns this year even though we had a big group coming back. It took us a little bit to find our groove, but we knew that the main goal was the main goal. We just stayed focused and eventually we got it rolling.”

Despite so much uncertainty heading into the season, the players committed to the process and made history. They have now left a legacy that has raised the bar and set a new standard for every Cottondale team that comes after this.

“I’m so grateful to come here,” Jaydon Gray said. “It’s the best decision I’ve ever made. Now I’m going to play college baseball, and I’m very happy to be here.”

The community supported the team the entire way, and both Coach and players were so appreciative of all that support during this playoff run. That even included an unlikely Sunday game, after the second contest of the regional finals was disrupted by weather.

Having fans willing and able to make that final trip down to Fort Myers meant everything.

“The fans have been riding with us the entire time. They were riding with us when we were 6-11,” Davis said. “They’ve seen us get hammered a couple of times, but we really turned it around the past month or so.”

Fans of the team will never forget this 2026 squad that set program history. But those players will never forget what it meant to be a part of that story and to wear that Hornets uniform.

“It means the world to play here. It’s where my dad played,” Connor Barton said. “It’s where all my family is. Playing for Coach Davis has really been an honor. He gets after us every day and he gives his best, and I’m just really going to miss being out here with my brothers.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!