Owls celebrate Oakton's Division III World Series win
This story was updated to correct Oakton's final record, which was 44-17.
The four-year dynasty of Tyler Junior College has come to an end: Oakton Community College is the 2018 NJCAA Division III World Series champion.
Both teams fought it out over three games in Greeneville, Tennessee, ending the series with a 13-inning, 14-11 Oakton victory. Not only did Oakton end the Tyler reign, it was the first championship in Owls history.
Aside from the Oakton players, the emotions of a Division III World Series victory were expressed by head coach Bill Fratto. As Oakton lifted its new trophy high, he reflected on the achievement as an Oakton alumnus.
"Oakton is real special to me because I went to school here," Fratto said. "For the city of Des Plaines, they put us on the map nationally and it's something special."
Oakton made incredible improvements from last season as its record jumped from 25-28 to 44-17. But it was not all smooth sailing for Oakton, despite dominating opponents with a .335 team batting average.
Early on, the Owls lost their rhythm and dropped six in a row. When it came to finding their groove again, the Owls reflected on their subpar season the year before and adjusted, going on a six-game winning streak.
"It was great leadership by our sophomores," Fratto said. "They took the freshmen by the hands and said we are coming off a subpar season and we want to make sure we make amends for what happened last year, then taking us to a place we had never been before."
Sophomore pitcher Alex Crinigan closed out Game 3, throwing 2 shutout innings.
"We blew it the past three innings, and I felt like it was my time to go in and close the door," Crinigan said.
Oakton is satisfied for now with its first World Series victory, but the school has larger expectations heading into next season and beyond.
"Everybody knows that Oakton baseball is a nationally ranked program and now, being national champions, hopefully it's a start for something bigger and better," Fratto said.