A large dose of late drama sends Eagle Baseball to the TAPPS D-I state tournament for the third time in four seasons and the 11th appearance since 2010.

Shortstop Anthony Equale ‘23 (Washington University in St. Louis) crushed a two-run home run with no outs in the sixth inning for a pulse-pounding 4-3 win over Plano John Paull II in a regional playoff at The John Cooper School. Equale’s long ball heroics followed third baseman Billy Theroux ‘24 who drilled a single through the left side and stole second. The mammoth blast over the left field wall in the cavernous confines gave the Eagles their first and only lead after trailing 3-0 in the first inning.

Eagle Baseball advances to face San Antonio Antonian at Clay Gould Ballpark at the University of Texas-Arlington May 16 at 4:00 p.m.  Championship head coach Adam Massiatte returns St. Thomas to the state Final Four after navigating the Eagles to the 2019 state final and 2021 state semifinals sandwiched around the 2020 season that was canceled due to the response to the pandemic.

The bring-your-own-guts verdict keeps alive the drive for the 25th state championship in the rich history of Eagle Baseball. St. Thomas is aiming for its fifth state crown in 13 seasons.

Dual-sport dynamo Donte Lewis ‘24 and lefthander Jack Clinton ‘23 combined for six clutch shutout innings. Lewis locked into a staredown against 23 batters, allowing only two earned runs while walking two and striking out three. He took command to retire seven straight Cardinals during one stretch to stabilize the tense win-or-go-home tango.

Iceman Clinton cometh to rack the final five outs, including a bang-bang play at the plate to end the top of the sixth that proved pivotal to the survival match.

Nine-hole hitter Josh Caldwell ‘23 ripped a two-out single in the second to score Theroux with the Eagles’ first run. Second baseman Brayden Salinas ‘23 (Antelope Valley College) closed the margin to 3-2 in the fifth with an infield RBI hit to set the stage for the thrillamatic close.

The Eagles dropped two of three to Antonian in the regular season. Clinton blazed a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts to salvage the 6-0 victory in the final game of the series in San Antonio. The Eagles dropped 4-3 and 4-1 decisions to open the set.

Eagle Fight Never Dies!