With one ball and two strikes on the board, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School junior Sammy Beir (5) winds up to release the winning pitch of the Class 7A championship game.

Beir is a pitcher for the MSD men’s varsity baseball team. He was born and raised in Parkland, Florida.

He first got into the sport through his dad when he was about two years old. Several of his afternoons were well spent playing baseball with his father.

“I would go out into the street and hit tennis balls with a tennis racket and act like I was swinging a baseball bat,” Beir said.

During the 15 years of his baseball career, Beir has continuously trained during the summer and school year.

His intensive training paid off on Saturday, May 22, when the MSD men’s varsity baseball team won the Class 7A State Championship for the second time in five years. Beir carried the team to victory during the team’s final stretch in playoffs, competing against Christopher Columbus High School, Palm Beach Garden Community High School, and Spruce Creek High School. Beir contributed to the team’s ultimate success in the final three innings of the State championship where he pitched the last out of the game.

“The moment felt unreal. I knew how hard we worked as a team for this moment and I knew everyone was behind me as a team. I love my team and that final pitch will definitely be a memory forever,” Beir said. “Nobody in the entire world works harder than our high school baseball team. We push one another each and every day and it clearly showed out on the field. So after we won the state championship it felt like the greatest accomplishment ever.”

Second baseman Cameron Harris (6) also felt the excitement after Beir’s last pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning of the State championship and ran towards the pitcher’s mound as the ball hit catcher Santi Ordonez’s (12) glove.

“The feeling was like no other. My fellow teammates and I ran and tackled Sammy. Our hard work paid off, and I’m so happy that I got to experience this season with my best friends,” Cameron Harris said.

Teammate Maddox Raley (3) has played alongside Beir throughout the course of their spring season. Not only do Beir’s teammates consider him a major asset on the field, but also as someone who has made a positive impact on his team. When they are not on the field, the players spend time bonding with each other.

“Sammy has been one of my best friends since I was little and I love playing with him. He’s always positive, cheering everyone on and an overall great teammate,” Raley said. ” I love being teammates with him and I can’t wait to play with him again next year.”

Beir’s journey to the States has allowed him to learn valuable life skills, such as cooperation and teamwork. His strong bonds with the players on the MSD baseball team have allowed them to triumph this season.

“Honestly the state championship we won this year has been the most memorable thing in my life,” Beir said.

With everything that Beir has accomplished through pitching in the State championship, he is planning on using his experience beyond high school in his near-future in college.