Update: Underdog Oxford Blanks Cromwell for State Title

Updated at 7 a.m. Monday

Junior pitcher Kyle Chudoba wanted the ball in the biggest game of the year.

Oxford’s ace hurler was hoping to be given that opportunity and when he was, he made the most of it Sunday in the Class S state championship game.

He pitched a complete game shutout, leading the the sixth-seeded Wolverines to a 4-0 victory over Cromwell, which helped Oxford High School complete a three-for-three weekend in state title games. He kept the ball on the corners and let Cromwell put it in play while his defense backed him up on routine plays – and some spectacular plays – time and again.

“The defense played incredible (no errors); they are the reason we got this win,” he said. “It was a total team effort; I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”

Perhaps the play of the game came in Cromwell’s half of the sixth inning. Oxford walked Logan Lessard to load the bases and give the Wolverines a chance at a double play. They got that opportunity, but not the way they thought they would. 

The following batter, Jake Regula, got up with one out and stroked a line drive over Chudoba’s head behind the second base bag. Oxford second-baseman Steve Mahoney made an incredible leaping catch to snag the ball in the air. He quickly flipped the ball to shortstop Dale Keller at second base to pick off Cromwell’s Christian Budzik, who got caught off the bag when Mahoney made the catch.

“That was just a phenomenal play,” Chudoba said. “When we made that, I was like, ‘We’ve got this ‘W.’”

Head Coach Brian Hourigan admitted that he, too, thought the stars were aligned once Mahoney and Keller teamed up for that double play.

“I was thinking, ‘if we can make that play, we’re feeling pretty good, maybe we can close this thing out,’” he said.

After his big play, Keller led off the top of the seventh inning with a walk, and catcher Neil Ring (two hits, walk) put him at third when he stroked a line drive double that skipped to the warning track in right-center field.

J.P. DeFrancesco (two hits, walk) got his second RBI of the game when he knocked in Keller with a single. The final run came when Ring scored after Kevin Loschiavo reached on an error.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Chudoba (five strikeouts, four hits, one walk) got the first batter to fly out to second, and he struck out the second batter, who looked at a ball right over the middle of the plate.

Chudoba threw a fastball to the final batter, Kevin Francis, who hit a high pop fly that landed in the glove of Michaud in center field. Chudoba threw his glove high into the air and his teammates did the same before embracing him at the mound (see video attached).

“This is awesome; I’m just so happy,” Michaud said. “This is just the best feeling in the world. …This is more than just a baseball team; this was the entire community coming together. We had the volleyball team, the softball team and now the baseball team. It’s just incredible.”

Hourigan said it’s no secret about why the baseball team finished with a win in a pressure situation.

“The kids rise to the occasion,” he said. “It’s one thing to do it in practice, but when there are a lot of fans up there, the pressure is on. It showed how tough they are that they made the plays when it counted.”