St. Thomas Aquinas throttles Nova to hand Titans first loss

Behind stellar hitting performances from seniors Nick Vera and Gabe Terry, the defending state baseball champion St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders handed the Nova Titans their first loss of the season with a 13-3 run-rule rout on Thursday at Nova High School in Davie.

Vera — who had two home runs — and Terry paced the bats for the Raiders during the matchup as they each had three RBI.

“We are aware of Nova and their skill set. You know, they are our rival and that game is always circled on t h e s c h e d u l e,” St. Thomas Aquinas coach Troy Cameron said. “I felt we had a good approach going up to the plate last night and the adjustments the players made during their at bats really made a difference in our hitting.”

Right-hander Nate Thomas picked up the victory as he went four innings for the Raiders and limited the Titans (15-1) to only two hits and their three runs. The junior improved his season record to 4-1.

Girls lacrosse

Pine Crest 12, Stoneman Douglas 9: Sophomore attacker Taylor McClain fueled the host Pine Crest Panthers over the Stoneman Douglas Eagles on Thursday in Fort Lauderdale in the girls lacrosse state regional quarterfinals as she compiled a teamhigh five goals and three assists.

Fellow sophomore Sophia Lehrman contributed to the win for Pine Crest (13-5) with three goals and one assist, while goalie Brianna Spatz was also a key component with her having recorded nine saves during the outing.

Despite a three-goal performance each from Carli Fleisher and Lauren Figas, Stoneman Douglas (16-5) failed to keep up with Pine Crest’s scoring.

Next up for the Panthers, the team will square off against American Heritage-Delray in a regional semifinal matchup on Monday at Pine Crest.

“It’s definitely going to be a challenging game,” said Pine Crest coach Eileen Pliske. “For us to win, we’re going to need to match their speed as a team and also make sure our stick-handling is up to par with their team.”

For American Heritage-Delray (20-1), the Stallions are fresh off a dominating 19-2 home victory against King ’s Academy on Thursday in the regional quarterfinals.