Aviano sophomore Triston Sauceda throws against Sigonella in the championship game Friday, May 22, 2026, during the DODEA-Europe Division II/III baseball championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Just a bit more than three months ago, four members of the Aviano baseball team were wrapping up the worst basketball season in the school’s history.
Friday, they were among the Saints celebrating a Division II/III baseball title.
“Coming off an 0-18 season in one sport and then winning a championship in the next … it’s just amazing,” sophomore Brylee Hillis said after helping the team to a 13-3 victory over Sigonella that was called in the fifth inning due to DODEA-Europe’s mercy rule.
Triston Sauceda, a 6-foot-4 sophomore who looks like he should be playing basketball, was the star of the game Friday. He went the distance on the mound, giving up four hits and striking out nine.
He didn’t want to take credit, though. And he’s not going to play basketball.
“They keep asking me, but no,” he said with a smile.
His teammates helped him out by scoring four runs in the opening inning. Sigonella never got closer than three runs after that.
“It definitely took off some of the pressure,” Sauceda said. “And they helped me stay up when I was feeling a bit down.”
That first inning was a sign of things to come for the Jaguars, who knocked off four-time defending-champion Naples 10-8 in the semifinals earlier in the day.
Sigonella's Max Kinney slides into second as Aviano's Alex Cereceres tries to handle the throw Friday, May 22, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe Division II/III baseball championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella's Braedon Doss tries to quickly toss the ball to first base Friday, May 22, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe Division II/III baseball championshps in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella pitcher Gage Keck throws a pitch to Aviano's Prince Asaeli during the DODEA-Europe Division II/III baseball championships Friday, May 22, 2026, in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella's Keiron Cayton takes a swing a pitch that lands in the glove of Aviano catcher J.J. Sanchez during the DODEA-Europe Division II/III baseball championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella's Max Kinney slides into second as Aviano's Alex Cereceres tries to handle the throw Friday, May 22, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe Division II/III baseball championships in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Junior Gage Keck, who shut down the Wildcats in the semifinals, didn’t have his control in the opening inning. He walked the first four batters he faced. The Saints then sprinted around the bases. And each time a runner got to third, he scored on a wild pitch or passed ball.
“We decided early on in the season we were going to be aggressive,” Aviano coach Joshua Fanin said.
That trend continued throughout the game, with the Saints putting pressure on four Sigonella pitchers every time they got on base.
Aviano was up 7-3 entering the fifth. Sauceda doubled off the center-field fence to drive in one run and scored on Chance Bourne’s single to right. Two batters later, Kamden Beck was hit by pitch to load the bases. Alex Cereceres drove in another run with a walk.
That brought on the third Sigonella pitcher of the inning. J.J. Sanchez, named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, then stepped up to the plate. Facing a two-strike count, he drilled a two-run single to left field. The ball was misplayed and another run scored, bringing the gap to 10 runs and ending the game.
Fanin, who doesn’t have a senior on his team, said almost everyone should be back next season.
“So maybe we’ll be here again,” he said. “We set a goal in February that this is where we wanted to be this year. And here we are.”
Sigonella coach Matt McKown said Aviano deserved the title Friday.
“All credit to the coaching staff at Aviano,” he said. “They managed their pitching well and they’ve got some really good players.”
