FORT LAUDERDALE — Summer time came a little bit early for the St. Thomas Aquinas softball team on Thursday night.
Given the nickname “Summer Time” when she was a U8 softball player, when host St. Thomas Aquinas needed a big hit, senior catcher Summer Givens delivered.
Behind Givens’ three-run triple, the Raiders who had rallied from an early deficit, got some insurance and then thumped visiting South Fork 10-1 for the Class 5A regional championship, sending St. Thomas Aquinas (16-12) to its first state softball final four since 2017.
The senior delivered the bases-clearing triple off the right-field fence in the bottom of the fifth inning, extending the Raiders’ lead to 5-1 amid a seven-run outburst and leading to St. Thomas Aquinas’ fifth straight win.
“It feels great and I did it for my team,” Givens said. “When my teammate (junior Sara Wrzosek) got walked before me, it hyped me up. We knew we couldn’t let down and had to keep going. I was able to get the hit.”
Senior Christina D’Agostino and junior Brianna Sims both reached on bunt singles, and after a fielder’s choice and a walk to Wrzosek, Givens cleared the bases with her hit that chased Bulldogs starting pitcher Mackenzie Brown (10-5). St. Thomas Aquinas made it 6-1 on an RBI single by junior Ashlyn Ward.
“We have to stay as a team, and we created a family atmosphere,” D’Agostino said. “We are all in this together. I know I could use my feet to get on, so I just decided to lay down a bunt because the people behind me could hit me in. I did it on my own. Coach didn’t know.”
D’Agostino and junior Jessica Sacca are the only two members of the team who have been to the state tournament as they both reached the final four when they were members of Coral Springs Charter. They transferred two years ago.
A base-loaded double off the left-field wall by D’Agostino extended the lead to 9-1. The hit scored freshman Melanie Sweet, freshman Reese Randall and senior Victoria Brunette as St. Thomas sent 11 batters to the plate.
“Once we got a runner on, we knew we could ride that train to the win,” D’Agostino added. “This is it. It’s our last chance. We have three seniors, and we have all graduated. It would be the greatest to win.”
The Raiders closed out the scoring on a solo blast by Wrzosek in the bottom of the sixth over the left-center-field wall to make it 10-1.
“I am so proud of my teammates for getting this win,” said Wrzosek, who clubbed a home run in her third straight playoff game, giving her four for the season. “Honestly, we were a little down at the start, but once we started jacking the ball, we got really excited.
“I just changed my mindset and started picking the right pitch,” Wrzosek said of her late-season power surge. “I have confidence now in hitting the ball the way I can.”
South Fork (17-7), which entered the contest on a seven-game winning streak, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Elliana Hernandez that drove in Emma Ortiz, who led off the game with a double.
St. Thomas tied the game in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI double by Brunette. Sweet led off with a walk and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Randall, setting the stage for Brunette.
The Raiders loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth with no outs, yet they could only plate one run on a bases-loaded walk by Ward, which scored Sacca, who led off the inning with a double. It gave the Raiders the lead for good at 2-1.
During his 31-year career, St. Thomas Aquinas coach Bryan Baucom has led the Raiders to four state champions, the most recent coming in 2014. They have also won two slow-pitch state titles.
“When Covid hit in 2020, we kind of hit a wall as a team,” Baucom said. “The kids have been grinding, and the kids have been great. At this school, there is a standard, and that is to get to state, and we haven’t been holding up our end for a while.
“I am just so proud of these kids,” Baucom added. “They have worked so hard. Christina and Jessica both know what it is like to go to states, but these other kids don’t. I know we are a good-hitting team, but we just haven’t put it together in a game yet. We showed it tonight, and if we can do that for a whole game, pitch well and get good defense…we have a chance.”
Raiders’ freshman pitcher Lavinia Miller (10-1) settled down after allowing two hits and a run in the first inning. She scattered two more hits over the next six innings before running into a little trouble in the seventh.
South Fork loaded the bases with one out with three straight singles before Miller struck out Shelby Yetter and enticed Zoe Wilson to pop out to second to end the game. St. Thomas Aquinas will play in the state semifinals in Longwood on Thursday.
Game times and sites provided by FHSAA.com
Regional finals
Thursday
7A
2. Western 5, 4. West Broward 4
1. Wellington 4, 2. Jupiter 0
6A
1. Doral Academy 15, 2. South Plantation 0
5A
1. St. Thomas Aquinas 10, 2. South Fork 1
4A
1. American Heritage 9, 3. Key West 0
3A
2. Somerset Academy Silver Palms 4, 1. Coral Springs Charter 3
State semifinals
In Longwood
7A
Western vs. TBA, Friday, May 23, 2 p.m. or 4 p.m.
Wellington vs. TBA, Friday, May 23, 2 p.m. or 4 p.m.
5A
St. Thomas Aquinas vs. TBA, Thursday, 2 p.m. or 4 p.m.
4A
American Heritage vs. TBA, Thursday, 10 a.m. or noon
Originally Published: