Aviano’s Triston Sauceda tosses a pitch home backed by the newly working scoreboard at Aviano Air Base, Italy, during the Saints’ 9-2 victory over the Vicenza Cougars on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – A year ago, the Vicenza Cougars made it all the way to DODEA-Europe’s Division II baseball title game.
On the way, they defeated the Aviano Saints, who won only four games all season.
As is so often the case in DODEA sports, this year’s squads bear almost no resemblance to last year’s models.
For the Saints, who don’t have a senior on the roster, that’s actually good news.
“I think we’re going to be contenders,” coach Joshua Fannin said after watching his team sweep a doubleheader, 9-2 and 15-0.
Aviano’s newest player, Prince Asaeli, hasn’t even been in the country for a week. He just transferred from California and could play for the Saints because he had met the mandatory practice rules before he arrived.
The junior didn’t waste a lot of time making his mark, doubling in his first at-bat, reaching on an error in his second and tripling on his third.
He also made a snow cone-like catch at shortstop on a line drive with the bases loaded to keep the Cougars from rallying in the fourth.
“Great pickup,” Fannin said with a laugh.
Holdovers Jonathan Sanchez, Chance Borne and Brylee Hillis each had their moments.
Sanchez was behind the plate for both games, scored four times and made a sparkling catch at shortstop in the second game that turned into a double play. Borne had three hits. Hillis had two hits, scored four times and tossed three shutout innings in the second game.
But newcomers also shone. Freshman Kamden Beck had four hits and scored five times from the leadoff spot. Junior Triston Sauceda drove in four runs and shut down the Cougars in the opening game after coming in relief of Beck.
Aviano's Prince Asaeli starts to swing at a pitch that he turned into a double in his first at bat as a Saint on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza's Aedan Lee goes through his delivery to throw a pitch towards home plate Saturday, March 21, 2026, during the Cougars' 7-2 defeat to the host Saints at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Chance Borne is back safely at second while Vicenza's David Spencer tries to handle the throw Saturday, March 26, 2026, in a DODEA-Europe baseball game at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Brylee Hillis delivers a pitch during his three-inning stint in the Saints' 15-0 victory over Vicenza on Saturday, March 21, 2026 at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
The second game was never close as Aviano struck for five runs in the first and nine in the second – despite only one hit in that inning.
The first game was a different story as the Saints led only 3-2 after two innings before pulling away with five runs in the fourth. Sanchez and Hillis both drove in runs that inning.
Cougars coach Kelly Stacy didn’t seem that upset with the losses. Only one of his two returning starters played Saturday. And he’s got nine freshmen and sophomores on the roster.
“At this point, it’s all about preparation,” he said. Getting the team ready for May’s championships “is always the goal. The regular season doesn’t really mean anything. Maybe for seeding, but the way that the DODEA season is set up and the amount of games we play, seeding doesn’t really mean a lot usually.”
Fannin wasn’t arguing.
“We like to win ball games obviously,” he said. “But it’s all about getting repetitions and playing time at this point of the season.”
