PALM BEACH GARDENS – When Jaydn Hylton stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 11th inning, there was a feeling in the air that something big would happen.

And just like that, it did on a 2-1 pitch.

The 6-foot-7 junior smashed the ball straight out the park with ease and effectively gave Palm Beach Gardens a 3-0 win last night (April 29) over Palm Beach Central. It was a three-run walk-off home run that propelled the Gators (20-5) to a truly hard-earned district title.

And with that, Palm Beach Gardens is now this year’s District 10-7 champion.

“It feels great,” said Hylton, who brought home junior Josh Hogue (double to start bottom of 11th), senior/Florida state signee Cade Bush (hit by pitch), and himself for the win. “I knew it was going to be a curveball. First pitch, missed that, came with a heater. So he (the Palm Beach Central pitcher) tried to give me the curve, but I knew how to get the foot down. I had to hit it.”

Hylton spoke of the Palm Beach Gardens pitching crew, which consisted of senior starter and Santa Fe College signee Tobin Moran (7.2 innings pitched, six strikeouts, four hits allowed, one walk allowed), senior reliever and Stetson signee Zane Coppersmith (2.1 innings, two strikeouts, two walks) and Bush (winning pitcher; 1.0 inning, one walk, two strikeouts).

“They carried us,” Hylton said. “Cade and Zane had bases loaded when they were in. They got 1-2-3 and got them (Palm Beach Central) out every time. I’m amazed right now.”

There were at least two situations late in the game when it seemed as if the Broncos (15-10; District 10-7A runner-up) would break the game open with at least one run scored. But the Gators pitchers and overall defense found a way to shut them down each time, getting out of multiple bases-loaded jams in the process.

This was just one of several ways in how the deeply talented and experienced Palm Beach Gardens collective overcame Palm Beach Central’s apparent swagger throughout the tightly contested game.

“We’re tough,” Hylton said. “We had to get through it. We never gave in. We were hard. We got it.”

Hylton, who moved from his home state of New Jersey to Palm Beach Gardens for a premier baseball opportunity, said he is happy to be on this team.

“The move was worth it,” Hylton said. “To come down here from the cold weather, I’m not in that anymore. I’m in hot weather now, so it’s worth it to show them what I can do.”

While Hylton belted the three-run homer to win the district title for Palm Beach Gardens, it was senior team leader and Oklahoma State signee Aidan Meola who got the Gators to the district title in the first place.

Meola belted out a three-run homer in the fifth inning and a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give Palm Beach Gardens a thrilling 5-4 home victory over Jupiter (8-12 final) in the 10-7A semifinals on Tuesday night (April 27).

“This is a really hard district,” Meola said of District 10-7A, which also consists of Wellington (19-8 final record; dropped 4-1 decision at home to Palm Beach Central in the 10-7A semifinals on April 27). “Against Jupiter, we knew they were going to battle. On Tuesday, I got a good pitch to hit. And now Jaydn got a good pitch to hit. The energy in the dugout was great…We had a lot of time practicing, so I’m glad we were able to do it.”

Palm Beach Gardens senior and FAU signee Dom Presto, who battled an early season injury, reflected on his journey to this point and how his team toughed it out to win the district title.

“Our pitchers just came out and gave up zero runs in 11 innings. That’s just insane,” Presto said. “Jadyn hit a three-run home run and our defense played great the whole game. We all did our jobs.”

And now, Palm Beach Gardens is back on its mission to win its first state title in school history.

The Class 7A state championship run officially starts on Friday, May 7 at 7 p.m., when Palm Bech Gardens hosts Treasure Coast (11-8; District 9-7A runner-up) in the 7A-Region 3 quarterfinals.

“I didn’t come back to lose,” Presto said. “I had surgery on my ankle, missed 12 weeks. Tried my hardest to get back with these guys because I know we’re gonna win states this year. We’re gonna get a ring. That’s why I came back. I could have went off to school (FAU). But I want to win with these guys. We just have to play our game. No one will beat us.”

NOTES: As the District 10-7A runner-up, Palm Beach Central will travel north for a road game in the 7A-Region 3 quarterfinals on Friday, May 7 (7 p.m.) at Vero Beach (22-1; District 9-7A champion).

If both Palm Beach Central and Palm Beach Gardens win their next games, then they will play each other for the fourth time this season in the 7A-Region 3 semifinals on Wednesday, May 12 at 7 p.m. That game would be right back at Palm Beach Gardens.

Palm Beach Gardens is 2-1 against Palm Beach Central this season.