Marathon baseball wins another district title after dominant postseason run

Marathon baseball kept its title streak alive with a postseason run that never really let either opponent breathe. The Dolphins opened by routing Moore Haven 11-0 in the 1A Rural District 8 semifinal on April 15, then survived a razor-thin championship game two nights later to beat Fort Meade and claim their second straight district title.

The semifinal turned fast. Marathon led by one run until the third inning, then blew it open with a four-run rally before scoring six more in the fourth. Jason Stubblefield fueled the surge with a double, a triple and three RBIs, while Massimo Quargnali, Roco Piscetello and Bradley Buigas all added to the damage. Gabriele Cirina struck out six over three and two-thirds innings, and Jack Chapman finished with one and one-third hitless innings of relief and three strikeouts. Marathon also drew 10 walks, was hit by a pitch once and took advantage of four Moore Haven errors.

If the semifinal was a runaway, the title game was the opposite. Marathon and Fort Meade managed only two hits apiece in a game head coach Joey Gonzalez described as one of the better pitchers’ duels of his coaching career. The Dolphins scored first on a dropped third strike, then stretched the lead when Roco Piscetello broke for home on a passed ball. Marathon played clean defense all night and made none of the errors that hurt the Miners, while Fort Meade committed three.

Dylan Williams delivered the biggest swing on the mound, striking out 10 in five innings and finishing exactly at 100 strikeouts for the season. Cirina came on to earn the save, closing out a win that sent Marathon home with its second straight Rural District 8 trophy and another sign that the program’s 2025 breakthrough was no fluke.

The title also gives Marathon a clearer path into the regional round. Gonzalez said the Dolphins have a near-certain chance to host a Sweet 16 regional game at Simic Field, where a home crowd could matter in a bracket that begins later for Rural teams than for 1A through 4A schools. The Florida High School Athletic Association had Rural regional semifinals set for late April and early May, with the state championship event scheduled for mid-May at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

For Monroe County, Marathon’s run fits into a larger surge. The Dolphins won the South Florida Baseball Conference championship in 2025, and their 2025 district title ended a 45-year drought, the school’s first since 1979. The back-to-back crowns make this run look less like a hot streak and more like the clearest chance yet for Marathon to make real noise beyond district play.