Naples junior Jeramiah Robinson drives back to the bag, while Vicenza first baseman Zach Alderson tries to apply the tag during the Division II/III final at the 2025 DODEA European baseball championships on May 23, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – While pitch counts normally are followed closely in a tournament setting, the Naples Wildcats watched Vicenza’s Max Thrash’s like a hawk.

The three-time defending champions anticipated seeing the Cougars and their freshman ace in the Division II/III baseball title game at the DODEA European baseball championship at Southside Fitness Center on Friday evening.

And they were correct when the Cougars came back to defeat Sigonella in a semifinal matchup earlier that day.

So, Naples knew the magic number was 47 pitches – that’s all the team needed to survive before Thrash was off the mound in the final.

“We knew we had to outlast him,” Naples assistant coach Jesse Hicks said. “We knew the second they made the semis that we would have to check his pitch count because we knew he was going to pitch against us (in the final).

“It was more just weather the storm, and once the storm was over, it’s calm as you like.”

It was smooth sailing for the Wildcats after the first out in the fourth inning. From there, they overcame a six-run deficit to beat the Cougars 17-7.

The mercy rule was enacted barely one inning after Thrash, the tournament MVP, was forced to step off the rubber.

The victory gave Naples (16-3) its fourth consecutive crown.

Matt Butler, the team’s lone senior, said the team heard and read the comments about the program’s dynasty on European small-school diamonds being under threat. They players wanted to shut down all talk on the subject, he said.

“We used it as motivation,” Butler said. “Before our games, our coach would tell us, ‘Did y’all read that article? Did you read what they were saying?’

“We just kept our heads down and made sure we got that four-peat.”

For three innings, though, a fourth crown in a row seemed outside of the Wildcats’ reach.

Thrash was dealing, tossing 3.1 innings of one-hit, shutout baseball.

Thrash helped himself at the plate by producing a pair of hits, including a triple into left-center field in the top of the first.

That was one play that helped the Cougars (10-9) jump out to a 6-0 advantage though four and a half innings.

Yet, the game flipped when Thrash moved off the mound. Naples scored all 17 runs in the fourth and fifth innings, with 14 coming in the latter frame.

Naples senior Matt Butler swings at a high pitch during the Division II/III final against Vicenza at the 2025 DODEA European baseball championships on May 23, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vicenza senior Jace Herron celebrates after scoring during the Division II/III final against Naples at the 2025 DODEA European baseball championships on May 23, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vicenza first baseman Zach Alderson waives off help covering bag after fielding a ground ball during the Division II/III final against Naples at the 2025 DODEA European baseball championships on May 23, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vicenza freshman Max Thrash pitches during the Division II/III final against Naples at the 2025 DODEA European baseball championships on May 23, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Naples shortstop Jayden Ferguson throws the ball to first base during the Division II/III final against Vicenza at the 2025 DODEA European baseball championships on May 23, 2025, at Southside Fitness Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Third baseman David Manus capped off the big two innings with a bases loaded single into left field that was mishandled a Cougar. That led to the bases being cleared and Manus crossing home plate to invoke the mercy rule.

“Once that happened, I could definitely tell the swing was happening,” Hicks said of Thrash leaving the mound. “We could tell their pitchers weren’t as comfortable, and it turned to our favor.

“Our guys listened, they became more patient, they played what they needed to and they answered the call when it was given to them.”

Manus went 2 for 3 batting with a pair of runs batted in. Vicenza’s Liam Dokes also went 2 for 3 at the plate.

Although the season ended in a loss in the title game because the pitching depth felt short, Cougar coach Kelly Stacy heaped praise of his team’s improvement throughout the campaign, especially considering many of the players hadn’t stepped on a baseball diamond before.

While that could point to positive thinking for the program’s future, the Cougars are losing Thrash to a move back to the States.

“We peaked at the right time,” Stacy said. “We fell short with some pitches, but I’m proud of them.”

Naples, meanwhile, has plenty of reasons to be excited.

The Wildcats are losing just one senior in Butler. He is also the lone member of all four of consecutive European crowns.

The fact he never missed out on top of the podium throughout his high-school baseball career was not lost on him.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always been on a winning team, and to start my career and end my career on a winning team, it means the most to me,” Butler said. “I wouldn’t want to do this with any other team. This team worked their butt off.”