Harper’s Big Day Leads Cocoa Beach To 2A-8 Championship

The 2026 District 2A-8 champion Cocoa Beach Minutemen. *Photo from &CocoaBeachBaseball.

Playing in the biggest game of the season, freshman Garrett Harper stepped up and delivered to lead the Cocoa Beach Minutemen to a 7-1 win over the John Carroll Rams in Thursday’s District 2A-8 final. Harper picked up the win on the mound with five strong innings of work, and he also accounted for half of the runs scored by his club.

Cocoa Beach (15-10) wins its first district title since 2023, and also earns a berth into the FHSAA regional playoffs. The bracket announcement for the Minutemen’s quarterfinal opponent will be announced on Monday, April 20th.

Harper was far from the only guy to contribute, although his impact was the greatest. After Hayden Wilson singled with one out in the bottom of the third, Harper followed with a base hit up the middle that allowed Wilson to come in with the winning run, following an outfield error. The freshman then cemented the victory with a three-run home run in the fourth that capped a five-run inning that had Cocoa Beach well out in front.

*Photo from &CocoaBeachBaseball.

On the mound, Harper struck out eight while limiting the Rams (7-13) to one earned run on three hits and four walks. Jack Meckel then followed by recording three strikeouts in two scoreless relief innings that closed out the game.

Wilson was 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs, and Brayden Wyman was 1-for-2 with an RBI.

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