Airport’s quest for back-to-back 4A baseball titles ended just short of the finish line as the Eagles were swept by AC Flora in the championship series. 

Rain delays pushed the start of the series back two days as the teams took the field for game one last Thursday. Airport went on the road and put up a strong effort late into the night, but eventually lost 2-1 in a 10-inning fight. 

The Eagles and Falcons got little time to rest, having to turn around and play game two the next day at Airport. AC Flora took the lead in that one and never looked back, winning 4-0 to take the series. 

“It was a heck of a week, but I was proud of our guys,” Airport head coach Casey Bradwell said after the game two loss. “There wasn’t a lack to compete, the moment wasn’t too big. We just got beat by a better team right now.”

While losing the championship game stings, it takes nothing away from what the Eagles have built over the years. 

In the past two seasons, the Eagles have won a combined 54 games. Last season’s win was the first state title in program history, and Bradwell believes they can get back.

“This isn’t something easy. They don’t give it to you just because you’re supposed to be here,” he said. “You've got to go work. That’s something our program is built on. I wanted to set the standard early. We’re not taking any time off. We’re going to get right back in the weight room, and we’re going to work, we’re going to fix the things we need to fix. We’re going to be ready to go next year.”

Airport will lose a few key pieces who have been integral to the team’s success over the past two years, but they will also retain a lot of talent. 

Bradwell knows that to sustain a program, the next group up always has to be ready to play at a high level. 

The Eagles have come a long way since Bradwell first returned to the school as an assistant. Fans of the program noticed a couple of years ago and have begun to show up in droves to support. 

Bradwell said other teams better continue to take the team seriously, or it could come back and cost them. 

“We built a program. We’re here every year.” Bradwell said. “It used to be that when you see Airport, you didn’t care about playing. But if you see us on the schedule, you better show up to play or we’re going to get you.”