Bozeman's state baseball title dream again denied

Bozeman's quest for a Florida state baseball title continues.

The Bucks took the No. 1 seed into Thursday night's rain-delayed FHSAA Class 1A championship game in Fort Myers, but their dream was denied again, this time by Jay in a 6-3 defeat.

The Bucks had a historic season, winning the most games in program history (27), their second consecutive district title and the first region title since 2022. The Bucks finish runner-up for the second time in three years in what will be their final game in Class 1A. They move to Class 3A next year.

STATE SEMIFINALS: Bozeman baseball soars into 1A state title game after run-rule win in semifinals

ELITE EIGHT: Bozeman outlasts Port St Joe for region championship, Arnold region final bound

The Bucks (27-4) established a 2-0 lead in the first inning after a Lane Hathaway double down the right field line scored Zac Flitcraft and Brooks Skipper. The Royals, however, scored one run in the fourth inning and three in the fifth inning for a 4-2 lead they would not relinquish.

Jay (19-10) would tack on two final runs in the sixth inning, setting up Bozeman with one last shot in the bottom of the seventh. The Bucks would load the bases and score once but could not pull off the rally.

Over the past 12 state tournaments, Bozeman has finished runner-up twice, made the Final Four on four other occasions and five times lost in a regional final.

Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1 .

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bozeman's state baseball title dream again denied