Douglas’ Faith Carries Team To Sixth Straight Title

7A State Championship Press Conference: Douglas

Douglas Championship Photo Gallery

It worked.

When the story of the 2026 Douglas Eagles baseball team is told for decades to come, the memories will play out like a Hollywood movie.

There was hard work, pitfalls on the field, heartbreaking moments off the field, perservearance, a re-connection three-quarters of the way through the season, and twist of a decision made in the final moments that will define not only a team, but a community.

Let’s start with the on-field results from Saturday’s 7A state championship game between the Eagles and Venice. Douglas took care of business behind a gem of a performance from ace Gio Rojas, defeating the Indians 2-1, and capturing their record 6th straight state title.

“We came together late in the season and decided that we were going to focus in on winning this title for ourselves, and for Coach Fitz,” said Ruiz. “It has been a tough year, but we are champions again, and that was the goal coming into the season.”

The on-field results, however, was only the ending to a story that has played out all season long.

Way back in August, when the Eagles came together for the new season, the goal was simple. The standard was the standard, and the Eagles were chasing ring number six. Business as usual.

Until it wasn’t.

Right before Thanksgiving, Douglas Manager Todd Fitz-Gerald’s wife, Colleen, was diagnosed with a brain cancer diagnosis. The program was suddenly thrust into the spotlight, and the Douglas family came together, along with the community, to face what was ahead.

Fund-raisers were held, practices were missed by Fitz-Gerald, as the family started the fight that would define not only the family character, but the character of an entire program and community, and ultimately, the 2026 Douglas baseball team’s season.

As treatment began, so too did the new season. As a five-time defending champion, there is no time for pause, just a dedication to work hard on the field to escape what was taking place off it.

At first, it appeared the team may crumble under the pressure. After winning their first five games, the Eagles hit a stretch where they lost three of five games, two of which came at the hands of Columbus and West Broward, teams that Douglas had dominated in recent years. The Bobcats loss, in particular, was eye-opening, as the Bobcats beat Ruiz.

From there, the Eagles went on a soul searching mission. Was this the end of their historic run? Were the circumstances surrounding the season too much for even a perennial champion to overcome?

As the season headed past the halfway mark, Douglas went off to Vegas, and went 3-1 in a tournament in which their head coach did not travel with the team. Fitz-Gerald was busy back home, supporting Colleen through her cancer treatments.

The week after the Vegas trip, Douglas suffered a loss to Flanagan, again raising questions of whether their mental states were focused on the field.

And that is when a switch went off. Something changed. Hope was restored, and the Eagles caught fire.

They rolled off four straight wins to end the regular season, defeated Taravella and Western in back-to-back shutouts to win the district title, and then crushed Coral Gables in a regional quarterfinal shutout.

A 1-0 regional semifinal win over Southwest completed the team’s fourth straight playoff shutout, and when Douglas beat Southwest the next day, the Eagles were on to the regional finals.

West Broward gave the Eagles a fight, with the teams splitting the first two games, but Douglas prevailed with a 7-0 game three win, securing the regional title.

And that brings the story back to this week. On Monday, Douglas seniors, led by Lorenzo Laurel, marched into Fitz-Gerald’s office, and said they had a plan. But this wasn’t just any player plan, this one came equipped with data, and simulations played out by Chat GPT. A player led-AI movement.

The premise was simple. The seniors told Fitz-Gerald they wanted to hold ace Ruiz back in the semifinals, and save him for a possible match up with the #1 ranked team in the country, Venice.

“Normally I would just kick them out of my office when they came to me with something like that,” said Fitz-Gerald. “But they did their homework, and were prepared with what they wanted, backed by data. So I asked them if that was what they really wanted, and they said yes. So we rode with it.”

The plan almost backfired Friday, as Hagerty gave the Eagles all they could handle in the semifinals. But these Eagles would not be denied. They were playing for something much bigger than a state title. They were all healing as a family, through baseball.

In the title game Saturday, the team showed how selflessness corrolates to winning and a winning culture. Laurel, who was ejected from the semifinal game, was thrust into a role of supporter, as he had to sit out the championship game.

Fitz-Gerald had traveled back and forth on both Friday and Saturday, to make sure he was back to help care for Colleen each night after the games.

And Ruiz, a player who is projected to be a Top 10 pick in the upcoming MLB draft, was facing a situation in the first inning, where most players of his caliber would have shot for the stars.

Ruiz came up with runners on first and third and one out. As the four-hole hitter, nobody would have blinked an eye had Ruiz swung for the fences.

But what he did, exemplified everything about this Douglas team and season.

Ruiz dropped a perfect bunt for a base hit, between the pitcher and first baseman.

“I was just thinking, they won’t be expecting that, because I am the clean-up hitter,” said Ruiz. “We needed that first run to get the lead. We knew there wouldn’t be much scoring in the game, so I felt it was important to get that first run.”

The game remained 1-0 until Douglas added an insurance run in the top of the seventh, and it ended up being as important as any run the Eagles scored all season.

In the bottom of the seventh, Douglas had to pull Ruiz with two outs. And Venice sophomore RJ Shields promptly launched a solo home run to right, cutting the lead to 2-1. Reliever Ben Bianchi then settled in and struck out the final Indian batter, giving the Eagles their sixth straight title.

The tears flowed. For a title won. For history that was made. For the feelings of watching some of the closest people to the program, getting some joy in a stressful year. And for the camaraderie of overcoming odds that seemed unsurmountable at times.

“What these kids went through this season, and how they showed up to face every challenge, it is just special,” Fitz-Gerald said. “It is kids like this that have followed a culture set before them. It is a culture of compassion, hard work, dedication, and a sense of family. There is none other like it, and it is the reason this program keeps ending up in these situations. I could not have asked for anything more than these players gave.”

So the story of the 2026 Eagles comes to a close, champions again, as the return to a bigger battle continues for Fitz-Gerald and his family. But even in that battle, Colleen had a message from back home to the Eagles family:

“I am so touched by all the support in the community and thankful that so many have respected and supported our family during this time. I am going to beat this!!!”

The Eagles manager delivered a similar message late Saturday night.

“I have been a longtime Coral Springs resident, since 1979. I am so grateful, can’t even put into words, what it has meant to have the support of this community, the school, the parents and players in the program, longtime, and new friends, that have come together. I can’t describe how we feel as a family, it is overwhelming. One day, I will pay it forward. God is good.”

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