By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
BATAVIA – The baseball season couldn’t have started much better for the Webster Thomas Titans.
They rattled off four consecutive victories to begin April and, in doing so, outscored opponents 36-6. Hopes were justifiably high for the senior-laden squad.
And then, just like that, April wasn’t even over and the Titans had a losing record. They lost five in a row and suddenly weren’t so invincible.
“We had the shock of realization,” junior shortstop Tyler Estelle said.
But there was no panic by head coach Kevin Neenan. He’d been through a similar experience before, and not all that long ago.
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“Back in 2021, we won our first nine, lost four in a row and then got rolling and won it all,” Neenan said. “I just told this group, ‘Why not this year, too.”
Why not, indeed. It has been déjà vu all over again for Thomas – right down to the Section V championship block.
The Titans (18-5) ran their winning streak to 14 and captured their third sectional title in five years with a 4-3 victory over the Churchville-Chili Saints on Friday evening in the Class AA finale at Dwyer Stadium.
Designated hitter Owen Zimmer delivered RBI hits in the first, third and fifth innings, Trevor LeRoy’s RBI ground out drove home the eventual winning run and pitchers Jake DiCicco and Connor Smith got every necessary out as the Titans earned a berth in the Far West Regional.
“The whole season we never stopped working hard as a team,” Zimmer said.
While fourth-seeded Thomas will spend the next week preparing to play the Section VI champion at 10 a.m. on June 7 at Innovative Field, Churchville-Chili’s season came to end one victory short of the school’s first sectional title in 16 years. The second-seeded Saints finished 19-5.
“This was a great baseball game,” Neenan said, “against a very good team.”
Thomas knew that first-hand. Churchville-Chili handed the Titans two of those losses back in late April, 11-4 and 5-4.
But on Friday the Titans gained revenge. Twice they opened one-run leads. Twice the Saints tied it. A two-run top of the fifth turned out to be the difference.
Thomas struck quickly, scoring a run in the top of the first off left-hander Bobby Rule Jr. Estelle lined a single to center, advanced on a single by Joey Baller and scored on Zimmer’s single to left.
The Saints retaliated in the bottom of the inning off DiCicco when a one-out single by Aaron Reina drove home Luke Karelus.
In the third, a two-out double to the wall in right field drove home Estelle to put the Titans ahead 2-1.”
“He’s been clutch all year” Estelle said. “I know when I’m on the bases to be prepared for a ball in the gap.”
Again the Saints rallied. Marcus Roney led off the fourth with a triple and scored on a ground out by Jamie Derleth.
The Titans immediately regained the lead, scoring twice in the top of the fifth. AJ LaLoggia reached on an error, Estelle single and, one out later Zimmer delivered an RBI single. LeRoy’s grounder to second drove home Estelle (his third run of the game) and Thomas led 4-2.
The Saints were able to push across a run in the sixth, using a Roney double, a Nick Vaccaro Jr. single and an error, but DiCicco stranded two by recording three consecutive second outs.
“Jake kept on battling,” Neenan said. “When the job gets a little tougher, he has been able to rise to the occasion.”
Smith then preserved the victory with a scoreless seventh and the Titans celebrated the championship. In four sectional games, Thomas outscored the opposition 48-5.
“The pitching and defense have been outstanding all year and the last eight to 10 games the hitters have really started to put some good at-bats together,” Neenan said.
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