The First Academy was the last Orlando area baseball team standing during the 2021 season.
The Royals, who won their first FHSAA state championship on Tuesday, ended the spring on a 21-game win streak and finish as the No. 1 ranked team in the Sentinel Super Six.
TFA (30-1) won 3-0 vs. Miami Westminster Christian (23-8) in the Class 3A title game after prevailing 2-1 in the semifinals against Jacksonville Bolles (25-5). The Royals, who batted .313 as a team and scored 270 runs in all, lost for the only time 5-4 in nine innings at Bishop Moore in March before winning the rematch 8-6 a month later.
Five teams from the Orlando area played in regional championship games this spring, including Bishop Moore (14-13) in Class 4A and state semifinalist Mount Dora Christian (22-7) in 2A.
Super Six No. 2 Lake Brantley (26-4) lost 5-1 against eventual state runner-up Port Orange Spruce Creek (23-9) in a 7A regional final during what was the deepest postseason run for the Patriots since 2013.
No. 6 Kissimmee Osceola (20-8) lost its 7A regional championship game 2-1 to Plant City Durant (22-6). The Kowboys started the season with four losses in their first seven games but then hit their stride.
Hagerty (16-12), which overcame a seven-game losing streak to start its season, ranks No. 3 in the final Super Six followed by Winter Park (23-2) at No. 4 and Oviedo (18-10) at No. 5.
The Huskies defeated then-nationally ranked Winter Park 2-1 in a district semifinal before recording their third win of the season against city rival Oviedo in the Class 7A District 3 championship game.
Below is the final Sentinel Super Six and Second Six rankings for the 2021 baseball season.
Sentinel Super Six
1. The First Academy (30-1): Class 3A state champs fielded just three seniors, including outfielder Khadin Bastian, who batted .389 with 26 RBIs and 4 home runs. Junior shortstop Greg Pettay led the offense with a .396 batting average, 34 runs scored, 33 RBIs and 11 extra-base hits. Junior pitchers Ben Barrett (101 Ks, 60.2 inns.) and Isaac Sewell (112 Ks, 87 inns.) led a staff that turned in a 1.20 earned run average.
2. Lake Brantley (26-4): Patriots batted .349 as a team and hit 20 home runs with four seniors in the lineup. Matthew Delay led the way with a .462 batting average on a team-high 42 hits. Delay also finished with 40 runs scored, 23 RBIs and 13 doubles. Connor Hensley closed out his senior season with a 9-0 record, 0.85 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 57.2 innings pitched.
3. Hagerty (16-12): Huskies overcame slow start to win 16 of their final 21 games, which ended with a regional semifinal loss at Lake Brantley. Junior Stewart Puckett led an underclassman-heavy team while batting .420 on 34 hits with 15 RBIs, 15 runs scored and 13 extra-base hits. Sophomore Garrett Baumann finished with an 8-1 record, 0.79 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 71 innings.
4. Winter Park (23-2): Senior-laden Wildcats batted .329 as a team and finished with a collective 1.08 earned run average. Michael Fletcher (29), Braydon Black (28) and Justin Austin (26) led Winter Park in hits. Shane Cross finished 7-0 with a 0.55 ERA and Nick Berger went 5-1 with a 0.71 ERA while combining for 107 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched.
5. Oviedo (18-10): Senior Kade Faircloth led the way for the Lions while batting .451 on a team-best 37 hits. He also tallied 17 RBIs and 25 runs scored. Junior Danny Baez drove in 25 runs for a team that batted .315 and registered wins against Spruce Creek and Lake Mary and split a pair of games each vs. Dr. Phillips and Timber Creek.
6. Osceola (20-8): Kowboys rebounded from 3-0 district championship loss vs. Lake Nona (18-9) to defeat Dr. Phillips in first round of regionals and eliminate Lake Nona 5-1 in a semifinal rematch. Osceola reached the regional final round for the first time since 2015. Senior Manuel Lopez finished 5-1 with a 1.28 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched.
Second Six: 7. Lake Mary (16-12), 8. Orange City University (19-5), 9. Dr. Phillips (16-9), 10. Timber Creek (15-10), 11. Bishop Moore (14-13), 12. (tie) West Orange (18-8) and Apopka (21-4).
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.
