Vanguard district baseball championship was 23 years in the making
It’s been a long time coming for the Vanguard baseball team. The 2024 Knights secured their first district title in 23 seasons on Friday night after shutting out Belleview 2-0.
The win is filled with irony and vengeance. Belleview sent Vanguard packing in the first round of last year’s tournament. Vanguard felt a talent gap between their opponent in the first inning. This season was different from the start of fall ball.
“It’s nice to finally see the hard work pay off,” Vanguard coach Scott Schaub said. “It’s a big one for the program. A district title is everything.”
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Schaub, a 2010 Vanguard alumnus, played three seasons as a varsity starter and didn’t remember playing in a title game. He was still in little league when the 2001 team hoisted the trophy.
“It feels surreal; the whole moment happened so quickly,” Schaub said. “It’s bigger than me. It’s for the program, the guys before us, my teammates. I don’t think we played a district championship.”
The Knights' pitching staff is a big reason for the new hardware. It’s the best pitching core Schaub’s had in his nine years as the Vanguard skipper. In the championship game, ace pitcher Noah Wood stepped up at the right time.
Days before he was set to take the mound, he started to feel ill. By Friday’s game, he knew he had to be there for the team, even if it meant fighting through a fever and flu-like symptoms.
With each day, Schaub reminded Wood of Michael Jordan’s famous "flu game," in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals. Leading up to his big performance, Wood watched it on repeat.
“I just kept watching it, and it’s kind of exactly what happened,” Wood said. “I got through it one pitch at a time, and it all worked out. It was one of the best games I pitched all year. I had another level of focus.”
The Knights' run goes much deeper than a single successful season. Schaub wants to show the county that Vanguard isn’t just a football school, and snapping a 23-year drought is the best way to jump start that goal. Include wins against the top programs around the county, and Vanguard has momentum in spades.
Wood is one of five seniors on Vanguard’s roster. With this year's momentum and two-thirds of the roster returning for 2025, the Knights could be on their way to building their name on the diamond.
First, they’ll look to keep their season alive as they host Cypress Creek at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the FHSAA Class 5A Region 2 playoffs.
Also tonight in 4A Region 2, eighth-seeded Dunnellon is at top seed Merritt Island, and No. 5 North Marion plays host to No. 4 The Villages Charter. And in 6A Region 2, sixth-seeded Forest is at No. 3-seeded George Jenkins.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: FHSAA baseball regionals: Vanguard breaks 23-year district title drought
