Saint Francis Baseball Walks-Off Oak Hall To Win First District Title

The Saint Francis Catholic Academy Wolves walked it off in the bottom of the seventh on a single by junior Cyrus Fariborzian to beat the Oak Hall Eagles 3-2 on Thursday at Roger Maris Field and win the program’s first district championship.

Pitching Duel Sets Tone

It was a battle of arms from the start. Eagles senior starting pitcher Gavin Jones was sharp through six innings and allowed just one run on two hits before he ran into trouble in the seventh. Meanwhile, Wolves sophomore Sawyer Williams matched Jones frame for frame and struck out five and allowed just one earned run over five gritty innings.

The game was tied 1-1 after the first — Jones delivered an RBI single in the top half and Wolves sophomore Colin Kuruppacherry answered with an RBI double in the bottom half.

From there, both lineups went quiet.

“This was one of those games where your bats are cold for a little bit, and you’re having trouble scoring runs,” Wolves coach Ryan Brown said. “But we had confidence … that somebody was going to step up big.”

End 2 | Saint Francis 1, Oak Hall 1

Saint Francis puts the second away after this strikeout from Sawyer Williams. Close game so far! pic.twitter.com/WXWjyzdkBI

— Tyler Brodie (@TTyler60231) April 17, 2025

Wolves Bullpen Delivers

Oak Hall took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a throwing error, but Saint Francis never panicked. Junior Sander Williams, Sawyer’s cousin, came out of the bullpen in the sixth and delivered under pressure — striking out five over two shutout innings, including three straight to escape a jam in the sixth.

“That’s just the beauty of this team,” Brown said. “There’s so many guys we can depend on to win a game.”

Eagles #16 out after Oak Hall’s last time batting in the sixth inning pic.twitter.com/sfuGC1d0HZ

— Bruna Arnaes (@bruna_arnaes) April 17, 2025

Clutch Seventh-Inning Comeback

After six quiet innings at the plate, the Wolves entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 2-1 — and needing something to spark the offense. They got it in a hurry.

Sophomore Nate Muir drew a leadoff walk, and Sawyer Williams followed with a rocket double down the left field line to put the tying and winning runs in scoring position. A wild pitch tied the game and swung momentum back to the Wolves. That ended Jones’ outing, as eighth-grader Lincoln Jones entered and immediately hit sophomore Jonah Powers on his first pitch.

That brought up Cyrus Fariborzian — and on one of the biggest swings in program history, he laced a walk-off single to score Williams and give the Wolves a 3-2 victory. As Williams crossed the plate, Saint Francis players stormed the field, piling on Fariborzian near first base while fans erupted in the stands. The celebration continued moments later when Brown raised the championship trophy high, beaming as the Wolves soaked in a moment they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.

“Man, I’m stoked for this group,” Brown said. “Actually, I believe the first one that I won as a player was on this field in 2001. And the final score was 3-2. So, man, that’s pretty nuts.”

Up Next

The Wolves (19-6) have now won eight straight and 14 of their last 15. They’ll host the Eagles (8-9) again in a best-of-three regional quarterfinal series starting Mondy having already beaten them 7-6, 5-4 (in extras) and now 3-2.

“We’re just going to keep riding these wins and keep making this fun,” Brown said. “Sometimes we’ve gone through some tough times and we’ve done everything we can to overcome those.”

 This team has adopted a fitting new motto — one borrowed from Gator basketball: “Nothing easy,” Brown said.

Final Score | Saint Francis 3, Oak Hall 2

Saint Francis walks it off in the District Championship after an RBI single from Cyrus Fariborzian. This marks the first District Championship for Saint Francis in program history. pic.twitter.com/uvD4LAb7M6

— Tyler Brodie (@TTyler60231) April 17, 2025

2025 FHSAA Baseball State Championships 1A Baseball State Championships