Lake Brantley Patriots win state 6A baseball title; Lake Brantley grabs its first state title since 1997 with a 4-1 win over Park Vista

The Patriots won the Class 6A state baseball championship, their first state title since 1997, with a 4-1 win over Lake Worth Park Vista on Saturday.

Josh Ledford pitched six innings and struck out four, allowing no earned runs for the Patriots (30-4). Derrick Shaw had two hits and two RBIs while Ted Blackman scored twice.

The road to Sarasota started in Key West, according to several of the Patriots. The team went there for a weekend last month and the already close-knit team bonded. Shaw said that was when the team started thinking about bigger things.

"We went to the Keys and that's when it all came together," Shaw said. "We stayed in a barracks, all of us in the same room, and when we left we were a different team. We became a family that week and that's how we got here."

For the title game, Lake Brantley Coach Mike Smith had several choices to take the mound. He told Ledford after Friday's semifinal win over Miami Goleman that he would probably get a chance to pitch, but when Ledford woke up on Saturday he still wasn't sur

Nick Franklin, who had three hits in the win, was also under consideration, but Smith said he had his decision made on Friday.

"I knew Josh and his changeup could get these guys out, and he was the guy who could get it done. Josh keeps batters off balance and he was the right choice. I didn't want to tip anyone off, so we waited to make an announcement."

Ledford said he wasn't nervous and was almost glad he didn't know until gameday.

"I was ready for anything," he said. "Even if I didn't start, I knew I would get the ball. We have been ready for this night since the season started and especially since Key West."

The Patriots took the lead in the first and never looked back. Blackman was hit by a pitch as the leadoff batter and moved to second after a single from Franklin. With two outs, Shaw singled home Blackman and the Patriots were ahead, 1-0.

It wasn't totally smooth sailing for Ledford, who survived a scare in the second.

R. J. Neal reached on a bunt single and moved to second. He went to third after a balk and appeared to have tied the score on a flyball, but was called out for leaving third early after an appeal.

The Patriots scored again in the third to make it 2-0. Blackman led off with a double and Franklin hit one off the right field wall to score Blackman.

Park Vista (31-2) came back with a run of its own in the top of the fourth, but Lake Brantley made it 3-1 in the bottom half when No. 9 batter Craig Veech doubled home Franklin.

The Patriots added their final run in the fifth when Shaw doubled home Franklin, who led off with a single.

D.J. Hicks came in to throw a scoreless seventh inning before Lake Brantley finally got its chance to celebrate.