St. Thomas Aquinas Repeats As State Champions

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When you are a program like St. Thomas, a program rich in history, with former professional players populating your alumni base, it is rare that a program-first ever happens.

But that is what Manager Joey Wardlow and his Raiders pulled off on Saturday afternoon. The Raiders won the 6A state title, 5-1, over Buchholz, becoming the first St. Thomas baseball team to ever win back-to-back titles.

“We have been saying all season, last year’s team is last year’s team, and this year’s team, is this year’s team,” said Wardlow. “They are two completely different teams, with different personalities and styles. But together, they have done something special, that has never been done before in school history. I am proud of what this team this year has accomplished.”

The Raiders spent most of the playoffs coming from behind in miraculous fashion. They had to grind out wins in game three of both the regional semifinals against West Boca, and the regional finals over Southridge.

That left what happened this weekend as a walk in the park. St. Thomas had the lead all the way through in their 4-1 state semifinal win over Land O’Lakes. In the title game, they erased an early 1-0 Bobcats lead, bys scoring two in the top of the fourth, one in the sixth, and then two more in the seventh, en route to the 5-1 win.

“We had enough drama in the regional playoffs,” said Wardlow. “It was nice to come up here and play with the lead for a lot of the time. We faced some good competition up here, but our guys stayed focused, and we played good baseball. It is always an honor to represent St. Thomas, and to bring back a title to the school is special.”

On Saturday, senior Joey Hendren took the ball, and he was lights out all day long. Mixing his pitches, and keeping the Bobcats hitters off balance, Hendren finished with five innings of two-hit ball, allowing only one run, while striking out three.

“We knew it was going to be a battle today, and I have such a good defense behind me, I had to just throw strikes and stay ahead of batters,” said Hendren.

Brady Gollan threw the final two innings for the Raiders, giving up no hits, and securing the title.

Offensively, Mauricio Clement starred from the bottom of the order. Clement went 2-for-3, with three RBI. He had several big hits throughout the game.

“We had a game early in the season where we were down eight runs in the sixth, and Mauricio had three RBI in that comeback,” said Wardlow. “He has had some big at bats all season long, and became someone we can rely on. For a sophomore to come up here and do what he has done, and what he has done throughout the year, is exciting to see.”

Hayden Robinson and Jake Carruthers had two hits eaxch for St. Thomas in the title game. Brady Buxbaum had a hit and an RBI, which came in the seventh, to take the game from 3-1 to 4-1.

“That hit came at a big moment for us,” said Wardlow. “Getting those two insurance runs in the seventh made the last inning not as stressful.”

St. Thomas finishes the season at 28-6, the second straight season they have finished with more than 28 wins.

The state title was the Raiders fifth in school history. They have now won back-to-back championships, and three in the past nine years.

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