St. Thomas Aquinas’ baseball team secures first back-to-back state championships
St. Thomas Aquinas’ baseball team has been known for its prolific hitters over the past two seasons.
But when it came down to it, the Raiders rode their pitching all the way to a repeat.
“We talked about it every day and yesterday. I was a hitter and we love hitting and we hit a lot, but we preach pitching and defense,” Aquinas coach Joey Wardlow said.
The Raiders proved they could win with more than just their bats all weekend at the state final four.
A day after senior Julian Diaz delivered a strong performance in the state semifinals, senior Joseph Hendren and junior Brady Gollan combined on a two-hitter to help St. Thomas Aquinas beat Gainesville Buchholz 5-1 on Saturday in the Class 6A state final at Hammond Stadium.
The Raiders (28-6) repeated as state champions for the first time in program history, and won their fifth state title overall.
“These guys challenge each other and compete at everything, and I mean everything, every day, all day and it just carries to everything that they do,” Wardlow said.
“These guys are champions forever. Nothing can change that. That’s amazing for them.”
Aquinas beat Buchholz for the second consecutive season in the state final. But while the opponent was the same, the Raiders relying more on their pitching was a contrast to the way they won last year’s state title when they hit 68 home runs for the season.
“Two different teams. Two different personalities, but this is a fun bunch and they never worry about being behind,” Wardlow said.
Aquinas proved this true again on Saturday.
After rallying twice last week to beat Miami Southridge in the regional finals, the Raiders fell behind 1-0 in the bottom of the third against Buchholz.
Hendron walked Tyler Thurmond to lead off the inning. Thurmond then stole second. Hendron retired the next two batters, but Roen Kresak singled to left field to drive in Thurmond.
Hendron limited the damage beyond that point, striking out three, and allowing two hits and two walks after five innings.
Gollan locked things down the final two innings, allowing only one walk, no hits, and striking out one.
“A little different today. Julian (Diaz) yesterday was more emphatic, attacking. Joseph is more tactical,” Wardlow said. “He plans ahead and he takes that from his golf game. He worked that method and we planned since last Sunday we’d follow him up with Brady and he did what he does.”
Although the pitching was strong, Aquinas wasn’t without its timely hits.
And the Raiders showed off their depth as it was sophomore Mauricio Clement, who delivered at the plate with two hits and three RBI.
Clement’s two-out bloop single scored Jake Carruthers and Hayden Robinson to help Aquinas erase its one-run deficit immediately in the bottom of the fourth. Clement hit another bloop single to score Carruthers in the top of the sixth and give the Raiders an insurance run.
“I just went up there trying to stay simple,” Clement said. “It’s a big field so I just wanted to hit line drives and place it in the gap and I got the job done.”
Aquinas gave itself more breathing room in the seventh when Brady Buxbaum singled to right to score Yuniel Paredes. After Carruthers walked to load the bases, Robinson singled to score Nico Sabatino.
“It just makes us learn not to quit and overcome obstacles,” said senior Jaden Doverspike, whom Wardlow praised for his consistent defensive excellence in the outfield throughout his career. “Being in these high pressure moments, it makes us better baseball players every day and not to quit.”
