Bishop McLaughlin, in the state semifinals for the second time in school history, facing a daunting task - the 17th ranked team in the nation, Ft. Myers Canterbury.
The Hurricanes made things interesting and didn't make it easy for Canterbury, but the defending state champs got a shot at back-to-back titles with a 7-4 victory in the Class 3A state semifinals.
The nationally ranked Cougars got off to a shaky start.
Bishop McLaughlin's Bryce Carroll plunked by a pitch in the top of the first and later advanced to second on a wild pitch. Carroll scored the first run for the Hurricanes when Dillon Morton drove him home with an RBI single giving the Hurricanes an early 1-0 lead.
The Canes defense showed off in the bottom of the first with a double play. Then Dominic Diaz shut down the inning with a strikeout.
Canterbury would answer in the second. A fielding error resulted in the Cougars first run. And Giovanni DiGiacomo gave them the lead with a two-run single.
The Cougars would extend their lead in the fourth. With runners on second and third, two outs, a grounder to short stop resulted in an errant throw that sent two more runs across the plate.
Top of the fifth, Bishop McLaughlin catches a break when a two-out fielding error led to Carroll scoring. The Canes would cut the lead to one with Shafer Magee's two-run single. At the end of five, Canterbury was clinging to a 5-4 lead.
But the Cougars found some breathing room in the sixth.