WESTVILLE — In the hours leading up to the Westville baseball team’s game against Oakwood on Friday, Joe Brazas’ gears were already churning, trying to figure out if any team had done what his was preparing to do.
Recollecting his 18 years at the helm of the program and doing a bit of his own research, he was confident the Tigers were about to make history. So confident that the team had shirts ready to go right after the final out.
After making it happen with a 3-1 win against the Comets, the Tigers were able to put those shirts on and celebrate what they represented: back-to-back undefeated Vermilion Valley Conference championships.
“I’ve got to give it to the guys,” Brazas said. “The group we have, they all support each other. We have a great group of kids who are very athletic, but they also work at it. My coaching staff is incredible. We’re there to make the athletes better ball players. I think we’ve done that, and that turns into wins.”
This type of accomplishment has been in the works for a few years now. After a handful of losing seasons, Westville won 19 games in 2022, tying the program’s single-season wins record from 1977. The next year, the Tigers won 25 games to break the record. The next, they reached 25 wins again and won their first regional title since 1993, a team Brazas played on.
This group has changed the culture of Westville baseball to a winning one in which they’re contending for postseason hardware every year.
“We want to win the regional, go on to the sectional and do something the school hasn’t done in a long time,” Westville senior Cam Steinbaugh said. “It’s a good group of guys who work as a team. We work hard in practice and put the extra work in when we need it. All around, it’s just a good group of guys.”
Steinbaugh, as he’s done all season, played a big role in Friday’s win. He reached base in all three of his plate appearances, recording two walks and an RBI single in the third inning. He also tossed an efficient complete game on the mound, using just 75 pitches over seven innings to strike out four batters and only allow four hits.
“I’ve got a ton of confidence every time I’m on the mound,” Steinbaugh said. “I know I have a great defense behind me that will make plays.”
The third inning was when the Tigers (21-2) did all their damage. Gavin Long led off with a double, and Jace Smith followed with a walk. Then, Easton Bolin bunted them both into scoring position, setting up the lineup’s best hitters to do what they do. Steinbaugh, Easton Barney and Matthew Darling produced three consecutive run-scoring at-bats to put Westville ahead.
Luckily for the Tigers, three runs was all they needed, as Oakwood didn’t make it easy on them.
The Comets (15-11) actually outhit Westville, collecting four hits to their rival’s three. The only difference was the Tigers strung their hits together in the same inning. Oakwood was able to score in the fifth inning, when Carsen Dudley led off with a double and Loudyn Hughes drove him in two batters later.
Comets sophomore Cam Harris pitched a solid game, striking out six batters and scattering five walks over six innings. Harris is one of a number of Oakwood underclassmen who have shown their potential this season. Coach Ryan McFarland said he’s got some “pretty good stuff” and “finds a way to keep us in games.”
All in all, Friday was one of the better games the Comets have put together all season. Even though it resulted in a loss, they’re finding the positives and hoping to use them moving forward.
“It’s a nice building moment,” McFarland said. “If they play like that the rest of the year, they’ll be playing in sectionals. If they can play to that standard and that expectation against that pitcher and that team, they have a chance to win a regional.”
The same can be said for Westville, which hosts a Class 2A regional starting in two weeks. The Tigers earned the No. 2 seed and will play the winner of Hoopeston Area and Watseka in a semifinal game on May 21. Oakwood is the No. 5 seed in the same bracket and will play Georgetown-Ridge Farm in the quarterfinals on May 19.
With four games left in the regular season, Westville is four wins away from tying its wins record again. So, if the Tigers take care of business down the stretch and make some noise in the postseason, they could really put that record out of reach for teams to come.
“Heck yeah,” Brazas said, reacting to the possibility of making more history. “But we’re always going to tell them to take it one game at a time and not look ahead to sectionals and things like that. We’re going to do that, and hopefully, we can scratch together some more wins and be successful.”
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