St. Thomas Aquinas Wins Class 6A State Championship
The 2025 Class 6A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders.
The secret is out, the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders can hit.
Coming off a monster performance in the state semifinal, the Raiders did what they have done all year when it mattered the most. Staying true to character and every bit as real as they hype, St. Thomas slugged its way to an 8-3 victory over the Buchholz Bobcats to win the Class 6A state championship, Saturday at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
It is the fourth state title for the Raiders (29-6-1), and the first for Manager Joey Wardlow. For a program with such storied history and pride, the chance to add another chapter is hugely significant to St. Thomas Aquinas. Each title was won by a different manager, a lineage of success that has fed and supported one another over the years. Ed Waters, “The Legend”, won it all in 1995, and Robert Lawson in 2003, followed most recently by Troy Cameron in 2018.
“There’s a work ethic when you step in at St. Thomas Aquinas,” Wardlow said. “We had a great message yesterday from Coach Lawson, and Coach Cameron, and Coach Waters is here with us. Some of the alumni sent us a message in a video, and it is STA Pride. It is kind of in every thing we do.”
With earned confidence and a lineup that simply could not be stopped, the Raiders wasted no time in cementing this title run. Three runs in the first were followed quickly by three more in the second that made the difference to victory, as they continued to pound the baseball, put runners on base and wear down the opposing Bobcats.
“Like I said yesterday, when we get some runs, we’ve only got to stack one or two at-a-time. Every run we get, they’ve got to score two to beat us,” Wardlow said. “So we went with that plan, we took advantage of some mistakes and it kind of worked out.”
Andrew Alvarez scores for the Raiders.
Brady Buxbaum delivered the first big blow to get the scoring started. After starting pitcher Jonathan Lopez walked and gave way to courtesy-runner Brad Sigler Jr., Zachary Malvasio singled to bring up Buxbaum, who lined a double to left field to drive in both runners. Andrew Alvarez then sent him in with an RBI single to center.
Buchholz answered back in the bottom of the first. Kai So worked a lead-off walk, and was replaced by courtesy-runner Drew Almond. Joaquin Gardner then jumped on a 2-1 offering and crushed a two-run home run over the left field fence to pull the Bobcats (33-3) to within 3-2.
“When you score runs in an inning, you don’t want to give up runs the next inning. But that guy put an excellent swing on that ball,” Wardlow said. “It was a good pitch; it was down. It’s going to happen. But that happens and you don’t panic. We talk constantly about it. We know what we are going to be able to do throughout the game.”
Proving the strength and depth of the lineup, it was C.J. Pangallo batting in the nine-hole who sparked the next scoring burst. Pangallo led off with a base hit to center, Nico Sabatino kept it going with a single as well, and Jonathan Lopez followed with a double to right field that plated them both to make it a three-run lead again. Joshua Jennings then delivered an RBI single to left to drive in Sigler.
In one of the most unforgettable moments of the entire state tournament, Sabatino then came through with his glove for a highlight reel catch that was nothing short of spectacular. Buchholz’s Zac Brown crushed a ball to center leading off the bottom of the second, on a blast that seemed destined for three bases and perhaps more in the cavernous outfield of this MLB field. But Sabatino tracked it down and reached over his shoulder to snare the ball with the incredible catch that stole all the momentum.
In his preparations in practice on the back fields, Sabatino realized that he would be able to play more shallow in this outfield. With the amount of room he had behind him, he knew that he could run down any fly ball.
“There’s always two sides of the game. Even if you’re not doing great offensively, you can make a play to save the game,” Sabatino said. “That’s how you’ve got to approach it. If you strikeout or pop out, you try to go out there and make a play. That’s what I did. I was 1-for-5, but I made a play and was able to save us a couple of runs today.”
The Bobcats eventually tallied one last run in the fifth, but never got any closer. The Raiders matched that when Alvarez scored on a wild pitch in the seventh.
Jonathan Lopez was effective and successful in his outing on the mound, giving five solid innings to earn the win. He allowed all three runs on five hits and three walks. He also recorded three strikeouts, even though he was pitching with a different game-plan in mind.
“We have a phenomenal defense, so my mentality going on the mound was just fill it up and let them hit it,” Jonathan Lopez said. “They’re playing in a big league ballpark. It’s 405 to center, 330 to the corners. I knew that if I could fill up the zone, I definitely had a chance to win this game.”
Andres Lopez closed out the final two innings to preserve the victory. The senior right-hander scattered three hits and struck out three in two scoreless frames.
Once that final out was accomplished, all that was left was to celebrate and enjoy the moment.
“The most exciting thing this whole weekend, was being able to stand at the back of the dugout and watch them dogpile,” Wardlow said. “We have a rule that we don’t dogpile unless it’s the end of the season, the last game. They’ve been waiting a long time.”
For a good many of the Raiders, another thing they have long been waiting for was their high school graduation. But as that also happened at the same time on Saturday, back in Broward County, the Raiders made the choice to have their graduation memories cemented in another manner. All 15 members of the 2025 Class donned their caps and gowns and ‘graduated’ on the field at Hammond Stadium.
The 15 St. Thomas Aquinas seniors celebrate their graduation and state championships together, while the rest of the class of 2025 graduated together back in Broward County.
“The game started at two today, and graduation started at three. They knew that. We’ve been talking about that for months,” Wardlow said. “It’s a big deal, your graduation. You’re going to remember it. We have fifteen seniors, all contributing in just so many ways. Their core memory from today is not only going to be the game and being together, but traveling together and the hotel, the dogpile, the win, the medals, and graduation that they missed. But I think they had more fun here.”
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