Lincoln High’s baseball team is back in a familiar place, but the journey this time looks much different.
For the third consecutive season, the Trojans have reached the Class 5A state semifinals, chasing their first state championship since 2017. Unlike previous years, however, Lincoln arrives battle-tested after an up-and-down regular season that forced the program to redefine itself.
Lincoln will face defending state champion Mater Academy Charter at 7 p.m. May 18 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, following the 4 p.m. semifinal between Winter Springs and Charlotte.
Adversity shapes Lincoln’s season
The Trojans’ return to the final four comes after a season that began with adversity. Lincoln lost senior leader and Clemson signee Lucas Cannady to an early arm injury, removing its top hitter and a key presence from the lineup.
From there, Lincoln navigated a demanding schedule that included top competition across Florida, as well as teams from Georgia and Alabama. Even in defeat, the Trojans remained competitive, often losing close games that tested their resilience.
Instead of folding, Lincoln leaned on its younger core.
Juniors Chase Fuller and Jayson Parker — both highly regarded prospects — emerged as leaders. Parker, a Baylor commit, leads the team with 36 hits and three home runs. Fuller, a Florida State recruit ranked the No. 1 prospect in his class, has 33 hits and a team-high 29 runs while also serving as a reliable closer with five saves, most coming in the postseason.
“I’m just blessed that we get the opportunity to attempt for the third time this time,” Fuller said.
“I feel like we got the tools this year, and I feel like we are playing very well at the right time, and I think we’ll get it done this year.”
Jacob Rabion, a sophomore pitcher, also had to step up for the Trojans on the mound, especially when he started in the regional final. After his performance, he reached 50 strikeouts.
“I was so glad to get that win and see what it felt like. I’m glad to get to go back to the final four,” Rabion said.
Both players bring experience, having been part of Lincoln’s previous semifinal runs, and that familiarity has helped steady a team that needed time to find its identity.
Turning point sparks postseason surge
That breakthrough moment came late in the regular season.
Lincoln pushed Class 6A semifinalist Buchholz to extra innings in a one-run loss — a result that, while still a defeat, shifted the team’s belief just a week before the postseason began.
“We lost on a walk-off single,” Fuller said. “We were up and realized — they are one of the top teams in the state, and we were like we can compete with anybody.”
With renewed confidence, the Trojans surged.
They opened the playoffs by defeating Chiles to win the district title, then toppled their in-town rival in a three-game regional semifinal series. Lincoln capped its run by beating Niceville on the road to claim the regional championship, embracing an underdog role along the way.
Underdog mindset drives Lincoln forward against defending champs
Now, the Trojans face their toughest test yet.
Mater Academy enters with a 26-6 record and a lineup anchored by senior Yodelkis Quevedo, a 6-foot-3, 208-pound FSU recruit. Quevedo is hitting .400 and has eight of the team’s 27 home runs this season, making him one of the most dangerous hitters remaining in the bracket.
Fuller is familiar with Quevedo but remains focused on the task at hand.
For Lincoln, records no longer carry much weight.
The Trojans hovered around .500 during the regular season, a stark contrast to Mater Academy’s dominant mark. But Lincoln believes its challenging schedule and postseason run have prepared it for any situation.
“I think we can compete with any team,” Fuller said.
“I’m not going to not give them credit because they won state last year and they have a good record this year, but records can be misleading.”
With three straight semifinal appearances, a resilient roster and momentum built through adversity, the Trojans see opportunity — not pressure — at Hammond Stadium.
And if their unconventional path has proven anything, it’s that Lincoln is no longer defined by how it started, but by how it has grown — one game closer to a championship.
“We want to finish this off this year,” Parker said.
“The last two years we weren’t able to finish it off, but this year everybody is cool and wants to win state, but being there three years in a row, it kind of puts a fire in us. We want to finish it off and come home with the state championship this year.”
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Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics and Big Bend Preps for the Tallahassee Democrat. If you like to pitch a story on a high school athlete, don’t hesitate to get in touch with him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How Lincoln baseball turned season around to make third straight semis
Reporting by Peter Holland Jr., Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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