HAMILTON-WENTWORTH CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
Bishop Tonnos Titans take home baseball championship

By Larry Moko

Hats off to Julian Sabourin and the Bishop Tonnos Titans.

Powered by a pitcher - Sabourin - whose hat fell off or needed readjusting nearly every time he made a delivery, Tonnos defeated the St. Jean de Brébeuf Braves 7-2 at Bernie Arbour Stadium Thursday to capture its second consecutive Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic high school baseball championship.

Sabourin went the distance on the mound. In his seven innings of work the Grade 10 right-hander struck out 12 batters while allowing just two hits and a pair of walks.

"It didn't affect him at all," Titans coach Chris Davis said of the lid malfunction. "He was dealing, as they say."

Davis is in his first season with the Titans but knew of Sabourin's throwing habits from previous rep experience. "I coached Julian when he was 14," he said, "and his hat came off every time he pitched."

Said Sabourin: "It's been a thing since I was younger. It's basically just a part of me now. I've got to put it more on my head."

First-place Tonnos grabbed a 5-0 lead. The teams then traded two runs each in the sixth inning.

Ronan D'Andrea walked to open Tonnos' second-inning uprising. He then raced home on a double to the fence in left field by George Aitas. A Brebeuf error and a sacrifice fly by Jackson Lloyd then produced two more runs.

In the third, a leadoff walk to Jack Bar was followed by an RBI double to right-centre by Jack Hudder. After a second-straight walk to D'Andrea, Hudder stole third and came home on the play thanks to an infield error.

The Braves were held hitless until the sixth inning. After Eli Wright drew a leadoff walk and stole second, Griffin Wilson plated a run with an opposite-field ground single to right. Brébeuf's other hit was a lofted single by Dom Costantini that the left fielder lost in the sun.

The damage in the sixth by Brébeuf was limited by the fact that two of their base runners were thrown out at the plate.

"I'm of the opinion that you've got to take some risks when you're playing a really good team," Brébeuf coach Alain de Souza said. "Sometimes those risks backfire."

Tonnos added a pair of insurance runs on singles by Aitas, Lloyd and Sabourin along with a sacrifice fly by Caden Draho.

Even though Sabourin was making his first pitching appearance of the season for Tonnos, he struck out the first six batters he faced.

"We've been kind of saving him so that nobody could see what he was like," the Titans coach said. "He certainly didn't disappoint."

Brébeuf, 2-2 during the regular schedule, recently won its semifinal playoff 3-0 over the St. Thomas More Knights while Tonnos ousted the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals 7-3 in the other semi.

Despite the championship game loss, the Braves coach was thrilled with the improvement of his team this season.

"We had some jitters today," de Souza said. "We came out a little unsure. Sometimes the moment can get the better of you.

"Their starting pitcher had a phenomenal game."

Tonnos had outscored the opposition 37-3 during the regular schedule.

Other players on the Tonnos roster included John Raposo, Lucas Armstrong, Alessandro Pauletto, Andy Lock, Cohen Mullen, Jayden Pavao and Jacob Knell.

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