St. Thomas Aquinas holds off Sarasota to win third state title
FORT MYERS — After coming from behind in a bout of nationally ranked teams in a state semifinal, St. Thomas Aquinas had a scare and nearly put itself on the wrong side of a comeback in the Class 8A baseball championship game on Saturday night.
Leading by four runs, the Raiders allowed Sarasota to creep back in and get within one, but then Caleb Roberts, the man they’ve counted on to drive in runs all season, came through with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth.
Roberts cleared the bases with a triple off the right-field wall to put St. Thomas back up, 8-4, which would end up being the final as the Raiders won their third state title (1995, 2003) and first under coach Troy Cameron at Fort Myers’ CenturyLink Sports Complex.
For Roberts, it was redemption for committing the error that extended the fifth inning and allowed the Sailors to score three runs that inning.
“I let my team down on the field, so to come up with the bases loaded is what you dream for,” he said. “He threw a fastball low and in, and that’s where I like it, so I put a good swing on it.”
Roberts, the third baseman signed to UNC, finished 3 for 4 with four runs driven in to cap his stateleading RBI total on the year at 53.
“When he was coming up to hit, I told him, ‘Right man, right spot’ because of that,” Cameron said. “He’s had a season that is one for the record books. He deserved to get up in that situation. He deserved to get that big hit. We’re here because of guys like Caleb and the other seniors.”
Pitt-signed shortstop Andres Antonini was 3 for 3 with two RBI and three runs scored.
Nate Thomas, who threw 25 pitches on Friday — with a near six-hour delay between his two innings of work — threw 77 more on Saturday over 4 innings to earn the win for St. Thomas (27-3).
“It’s just all mental,” Thomas said. “Coaches helped me very much with just keeping my mind straight and locked in for the game.”
The sophomore committed to Miami was an out away from getting through the fifth with a four-run lead before Roberts’ throwing error.
Left-handed pitcher Isaiah Hood got a strikeout to escape the fifth and pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings, including the punchout to bring the Raiders storming to the field in celebration.
St. Thomas got the hitting started right away. Matt Archer and Antonini hit back-to-back doubles to lead off the game, with Archer scoring on Antonini’s. Two batters later, Roberts roped another double down the left-field line to score Antonini.
After letting Sarasota get one back in the second on a passed ball, the Aquinas top of the order was back to doing damage in the third. Cade Fergus, hitting third, doubled to bring home Archer, who went 2 for 3, and Antonini after they reached with an infield single and double, respectively.
Antonini was in the middle of producing another one in the fourth. His RBI singled pushed Riley Rosario home.
“All I was trying to do was do my job, my role,” Antonini said. “My mentality was just be aggressive, 1 for 1 every AB.”
The postseason run for Aquinas saw them win the first three regional matchups by a combined score of 34-1 after winning the District 14-8A title. The Raiders topped Lakeland George Jenkins, ranked seventh nationally by Baseball America, 6-3, in the semifinal on Friday night to reach Saturday’s final. to center field that gave Jupiter its first lead. It was part of an eight-run sixth inning as the Warriors topped Miami Columbus 9-4 Saturday afternoon in a game postponed from Friday night at CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers.
The Warriors (19-11), who rode a remarkable run to the District 9-9A title as No. 3 seed and won three regional contests in a season that included several walk-off and come-frombehind victories, were scheduled to face Orlando Timber Creek in their first state title game Saturday night. The Wolves are the defending state champs and last year eliminated Jupiter in the semifinal.
“Resilient. Just bulldog resilient,” Jupiter coach Andy Mook said. “That’s how the whole season has been. … Once the fire was lit, it just flamed on and they kept riding with it.”
Added Mitch Hartigan, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI: “I think we just like proving people wrong. We haven’t been predicted to go very far all playoffs, and we just keep pushing through it.”
Robinson made up for two misplays earlier in left field that helped Columbus (22-6) lead 3-0 and 4-1 before the Jupiter rally. Although neither one was scored an error, he overran one high fly ball near the foul line that dropped fair and had a line drive hit at him skip in front and past him for a double.
“I was just trying to make up for my mistakes, honestly,” Robinson said.
dfurones@sunsentinel.com, @DavidFurones_