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Miami Herald
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
St. Thomas Aquinas barrels its way into the Class 6A state baseball final
Teams can sometimes succumb to jitters when it's their first time playing at the state final four. Not St. Thomas Aquinas' baseball team. The Raiders were itching to get on the field Friday at Hammond Stadium. And when they did, they barely stopped hitting. Aquinas unleashed an offensive barrage in its first trip to state since last winning a championship in 2018, and routed Valrico Bloomingdale 15-0 in four innings in a Class 6A semifinal. The Raiders (28-6-1) will next take on Gainesville Buchholz in the 6A state championship game on Saturday at 2. Aquinas is seeking its fourth state title all-time. 'We looked to this game with anticipation,' Aquinas coach Joey Wardlow said. 'We had a long last week after that regional final and during the week as we ramped up, we could feel the adrenaline. 'When we stepped out in that first inning, it went well on defense and well on offense and it took away any jitters we might have had.' Junior center fielder Nico Sabatino was the tone-setter for the onslaught, roping a leadoff double to left off Bloomingdale starter Hayden Porter to start a five-run first inning. Sabatino would later hit his eighth home run of the season on a solo blast to right field. 'My job is to get the team going,' Sabatino said. 'I saw that fastball and I took it. I was just in that flow state and now the offense is ready to go.' Aquinas' power was a major reason it made it to Fort Myers this season as it hit 67 home runs entering the state final four. 'We kind of look at baserunners and barrels,' Wardlow said. 'If we get baserunners, somebody is gonna barrel up a ball. If they stay in the middle, they'll open it up. If we can get out front and just stack up one and another, we can hold teams down.' Cole Lasher, who has seven homers this season, went 2 for 2 with a double and three RBI. Andrew Alvarez, who has 13 home runs, went 3 for 3 with two doubles and two RBI. And Zack Malvasio, who has hit a team-high 16 home runs, went 2 for 4 with two RBI. 'We just had to put it on them early and not let up,' Alvarez said. 'We had to keep that type of energy and not let up.' Senior Thomas Giltner did the rest as he gave up two hits over four shutout innings and struck out two, sparing Aquinas from having to use any more pitchers before Saturday's final.
Miami Herald
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
St. Thomas Aquinas baseball tops Doral Academy to punch ticket to Fort Myers
The task in front of the St. Thomas Aquinas baseball team when the Raiders traveled south into Miami-Dade County on Saturday was a big one. After splitting the first two games of their Region 4-6A final best-of-3 series, the last thing the Raiders wanted was to have to play a winner-take-all contest on Doral's home field, a place they refer to as 'the birdcage' because of its match-box style unusual dimensions that have given opponents fits for years. But the Raiders never blinked. St. Thomas wrapped out 13 hits including three long home runs and brought an end to Doral's long home postseason win streak with a 12-6 victory before a standing-room-only crowd. Doral, the No. 2 seed, entered Saturday having won 13 consecutive regional playoff games on its home field dating back to a 4-1 regional semifinal loss to Belen Jesuit in 2017. Aquinas knew it would have to bring its big bats with them to beat the Firebirds at their own game and that's exactly what happened. The win clinched the program's 10th trip to the state final four and first since 2018 when the Raiders won their last of three state championships. Aquinas (27-6) will be the No. 2 seed and take on No. 3 Valrico Bloomingdale at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers on Friday in a Class 6A state semifinal. 'We just had to get back to business today,' said center fielder Nico Sabatino who went three-for-five with a double and two RBI and also hit a grand slam home run in the first game of the series to propel the Raiders to a 8-4 win. 'We didn't let Thursday's loss effect us too much. It happens, that's why it's a best-of-three, a chance to come back and make things right. We came in here today, trusted each other, did our job and this was the result.' Doral (27-7) had Jadyn Nunez, a North Carolina commit, on the mound but the Raiders were unimpressed. After retiring the side in order in the first, Nunez struggled in the second, putting two batters on by hitting them. Cole Lasher then hit a ground ball up the middle that shortstop Kobe Carrion got to but couldn't handle. He then tried to fire back to third to double back the runner but threw wild into the stands, scoring two runs when each runner was awarded two bases. Shortstop Jayden Doverspike, the No. 8 hitter in the lineup then stepped up and launched the first of three Aquinas home runs over the high net in left field and just like that, the Raiders led 4-0. The Firebirds quickly answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, a solo homer by George Pardo Jr. being the big hit, but the Raiders had an answer to that when they plated five more runs in the top of the fourth to open up a 9-4 lead. Lasher opened the inning with a base hit, was sacrificed to second before C.J. Pangello drew a walk and Sabatino followed with an RBI single which would be Nunez's last batter. Matthew Paez took over on the mound for Doral but things got no better. He gave up a walk, an RBI sacrifice fly by Zack Malvasio and then the big blow when first baseman Brady Buxbaum stepped up and blasted a three-run shot over the fence in left center to finish off the big inning. 'I just tried to change my approach today,' Buxbaum said. 'This entire series I was going up there a little too anxious trying to do too much so it was just a matter of trusting myself and trusting my guys behind me. I got a curve ball, middle, got under it and lifted it up and out. That was a big inning for us because it gave us a big cushion.' With a 10-4 lead, Aquinas starter Jonathan Lopez, normally the team's shortstop, had hung in there, battling the searing mid-afternoon heat for five innings. But when Jaivyn Francois, Gavin Ruvalcaba, Tyler Rodriguez and leadoff hitter Gabriel Milano led off the inning with four consecutive singles to make it 10-5, Lopez came out. With the bases loaded, no outs and Doral's No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters headed to the plate, reliever A.J. Lopez (no relation) induced a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of Leonardo Hernandez and then struck out Caleb Hernandez and Nunez to end the inning. St. Thomas' Andrew Alvarez then finished things off in the seventh with his team's third home run of the game, a two-run shot, again over the high net in left and the Firebirds were done, going down in order in the bottom of the inning to end the contest. The win ended years of frustrating regional losses for Aquinas coach Joey Wardlow, who took over the program a year after Troy Cameron delivered that state title in 2018. 'I don't look at things like that,' Wardlow said shurgging his shoulders. 'The way I approach things is the windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror. I'm always looking forward and that's the way we do things with our kids. We're going to go back to work on Monday doing the same things we've done, not changing anything. Today was great but we've got two more to go and I made sure our guys knew that.'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georgia track signee Brayden Williams sets new wind-aided 100-meter record
Everything is bigger in Texas—and apparently, everything's also faster. Duncanville senior and Georgia track signee Brayden Williams blew away the competition in the prelims of the Class 6A Region II meet in Waco last week running sub-10 times in the 100-meters on back-to-back running a 9.95 on Thursday, Williams ran the fastest wind-aided 100-meter time by a high school athlete in U.S. history the next day at 9.82. Williams became just the fourth high school runner in U.S. history to break 10 seconds for all conditions just over a month ago. In that meet, he ran a wind-aided 9.99 in the 100-meters. Advertisement While he may be closing in on the record for the fastest 100 meters for all conditions, Williams hasn't won that record just yet. Christian Miller out of Florida set that record last year, running a wind-legal 9.93. He did hold the record for the fastest win-aided 100 at 9.94 before Williams broke it last week. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Duncanville's Brayden Williams sets new wind-aided 100-meter record
Miami Herald
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Doral softball wins battle of top teams. South Florida dominates state hoops honors. Plus more
In a battle of top unbeaten teams, the visiting Doral Academy Miami softball team shut out FHSAA defending 2A state champ Monteverde Academy 10-0. Prior to the game, Doral was ranked fourth nationally by MaxPreps. Monteverde ranked second. Winning pitcher Meagan Villazon dominated on the mound, striking out 12 while allowing no runs, five hits and two walks in a complete game 7-inning shutout effort. After four scoreless innings, the Firebirds (14-0) erupted with six runs in the top of the fifth and four more in the seventh. Anabela Abdullah hit a grand slam home run in the fifth to ignite the offensive outburst. Zoey Abdullah went 3-for-3 with a double and scored twice. Doral Academy 10, Monteverde Academy 0: Anabela Abdullah 1-3, HR, BB, 2 R, 4 RBI; Zoey Abdullah 3-3, 2B, BB, 2 R; Ashley Tremont 2-4, 2 R; Leyani Viruet 1-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI; Sarah Breaux 1-3, 2B, BB, R, RBI; Anely Gonzalez 1-3, R, RBI; Meagan Villazon 0-1, 3 BB, RBI. Dor 14-0, Mont 9-1. State basketball honors The eight individual class finalists for the 2025 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Basketball and Boys' Basketball Coach of the Year were announced following balloting by a statewide panel of high school boys' basketball coaches and prep media members. And South Florida is very well represented with these honors, after an outstanding season in the state in boys' hoops. Every finalist was the leading vote-getter in their classification, making each the Player of the Year or Coach of the Year in their class. The two overall winners will be announced following a final round of balloting by coaches and media. Six of the state's eight classification winners (now eligible for Mr. Basketball honors) are from South Florida. They are: Cameron Boozer, Columbus, Senior, Forward, Class 7A Player of the Year: The McDonald's All-America led his team to a 27-3 record and a fourth straight Class 7A state championship by averaging 22.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Signed with Duke University. Dwayne Wimbley, St. Thomas Aquinas, Senior, Forward, Class 6A Player of the Year: Led his team to a 30-2 record and the Class 6A state championship by averaging 16.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Signed with Florida State University. Dylon Hanna, Blanche Ely, Senior, Guard, Class 5A Player of the Year: Led his team to a 20-9 record and the Class 5A state championship by averaging 16.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Shon Abaev, Calvary Christian, Senior, Forward, Class 3A Player-of-the-Year: The McDonald's All-America led his team to a 22-1 record and the Class 3A state title by averaging 20.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Signed with the University of Cincinnati. Alex Lloyd, Westminster Academy, Senior, Guard, Class 2A Player of the Year: Led his team to a spot in the regional semifinal before losing 76-75 to eventual state champion Riviera Prep. Averaged 27.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Signed with the University of Florida. Matt Able, Sagemont, Senior, Guard, Class 1A Player of the Year: Led his team to a 22-8 record and the Class 1A state title by averaging 20.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.7 steals per game. For the upcoming state's overall coach of the year honors, five of the eligible eight classification winners are from South Florida. They are: Julius Sandi, St. Thomas Aquinas, Class 6A Coach of the Year: Led his squad to a 30-2 record and the Class 6A state championship, the school's first state title since 2001. In five seasons at Aquinas, Sandi has compiled a 109-25 record. J.R. McNabb, Blanche Ely, Class 5A Coach of the Year: In his first year as head of the Ely boys' program, McNabb led his squad to a 20-9 record and the Class 5A state championship, the school's ninth boys' state title and first since 2019. McNabb also won girls' state titles with Ely in 2020 and Somerset Academy in 2018 and 2019. Edward Schuler, Stranahan, Class 4A Coach of the Year: Led his squad to a 25-7 record and the Class 4A state title. It was the school's fourth state title in the past seven years (2019-20-22-25). In five years at Stranahan, Schuler has posted a 92-30 record. Anthony Shahbaz, Riviera Prep, Class 2A Coach of the Year: Led his squad to a 25-6 record and a third straight state title. In six years, Shahbaz has compiled a 160-60 record at Riviera Prep, including a state runner-up finish in 2022. David Roe, Sagemont, Class 1A Coach of the Year: Led his squad to a 22-8 record and a third straight state title. In eight years, Roe has a 157-64 record at Sagemont, including a state runner-up finish in 2022. Other locals who placed in each classification: 7A: 2. Cayden Boozer (Columbus); 2. Coach Andrew Moran (Columbus). 4A: 3. Christian Yeargin (Stranahan). 3A: 2. Coach Cilk McSweeney (Calvary Christian). 2A: 3. Jasen Lopez (Chaminade-Madonna). State soccer honors The Florida Dairy Farmers state classification honors for boys' soccer were announced. Locals placing in the Top 3 in the state of their respective classification balloting (as voted by boys' soccer coaches and preps media) are: 5A: 3. Logan Hall (Pembroke Pines Charter). 4A: 2. Coach Davide Favaro (Mater Lakes Academy). 3A: 3. Coach Scott Davdson (Gulliver Prep). 1A: 3. Daniel Yanes (Pinecrest Prep). Baseball Doral Academy Miami baseball is also having a stellar season with two more wins to improve to 14-2-1. Between baseball and softball at Doral, they are 28-2-1 combined. Doral Academy 13, Springstead Spring Hill 3: Gabriel Milano 2-3, 3 RBI; Dylan Prince 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; Tyler Rodriguez 1-2, 2 RBI; Caleb Hernandez 2-3, 2 RBI; Bryan Mesa 2-4, RBI; Marcelo Rodriguez (winning pitcher in relief) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB; Anthony Leon 1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K. Dor 14-2-1. Doral Academy 19, Gulliver Prep 6: Gabriel Milano 2-2, HR, 2 RBI; Dylan Prince 2-2, HR, 2 RBI; Jadyn Nunez 1-2, HR, 3 RBI; Leandro Hernandez 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; Winning Pitcher Arron Elissalt 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 K. Dor 13-2-1. Boys' volleyball Going into the break, the American Heritage Plantation boys' volleyball team won again to even its mark at 3-3. American Heritage Plantation d. Don Soffer Aventura 25-7, 25-21, 25-9: Amare Stoudimare 15 kills, 5 service points, 3 blocks; Aiden Itzkowitz 14 digs, 2.15 reception rating, 11 service points, 3 aces; Sean Kanji 30 assists, 5 digs, 2 blocks. AHP 3-3. Water polo In a tight contest of two solid teams, Gulliver Prep Miami boys' water polo edged Columbus Miami 10-9 with Sebastian Peidra scoring the winner. BOYS: Gulliver Prep 10, Columbus 9: Sebastian Piedra (junior) 2 goals, 5 earned exclusions, 2 steals, 2 assists; Juan Sebastian Ibarra (junior) 9 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist; Alberto Escobedo (senior) 2 goals, 3 assists, 3 steals; Alejandro Altman (freshman) 1 goal, 2 steals. GP 13-7. Send high school sports results For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, if you have varsity results and top performers (with stats), email hssports@ They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. Send after the game, the next day or weekly. You will be alerted when it will appear in the newspaper and online. --- Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone jvarsallone@
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georgia football freshman WR suffers ankle injury, needs surgery
The Georgia Bulldogs football program received some rough injury news, as four-star freshman wide receiver Tyler Williams suffered torn ligaments in his ankle on Saturday, according to Dawgs247. He is set to have surgery on Monday, more than likely ending his spring with the Bulldogs. Williams was an intriguing freshman entering this spring. The four-star recruit was a star at Armwood High School in Seffner, Florida. He had 30 receptions for 796 yards and 10 touchdowns in his senior season, helping lead his school to a 12-1 record and the FHSAA Class 6A quarterfinals. He committed to the Georgia Bulldogs in June of 2024, over Miami, Florida, Syracuse and UCF. He was one of five members of the Bulldogs receiver class of 2025, joined by Talyn Taylor, C.J. Wiley, Landon Roldan, and three-star Thomas Blackshear. Williams had a great chance to emerge out of that young group, but unfortunately, the injury bug bit him and will set him back a bit. The Bulldogs will start practicing again on Tuesday for their fourth spring practice. This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Georgia Bulldogs true freshman wide receiver suffers ankle injury
