OXFORD, Ohio — The St. Xavier baseball team is a regional champion.
The Bombers defeated Oak Hills 6-5 in a Division I regional final Thursday night at Miami University’s Hayden Park.
St. X (25-5) advances to play Lewis Center Olentangy Orange (24-5) in a Division I state semifinal at 7 p.m. June 11 at 7 17 Credit Union Park in Akron. Next week will be the Bombers’ third trip to the baseball state tournament.
St. X has earned a trip to the baseball state tournament for the first time since 2003 when the Bombers won the Division I state championship with a 4-3 victory over Milford. St. X was also a 1994 Division I state semifinalist.
"I was with it in '94 when we went to the semifinals up at state, 2003 I was with it - glad to be back in 2026," St. X coach Don DiGiacomo said. "Super special for our community."
The players and coaches have taken a great deal of pride in the program’s turnaround.
St. X won 10 games in 2024 but experienced a total paradigm shift. The Bombers won 16 games in 2025 and have won 25 games this season.
"They paid the price the last couple of seasons," DiGiacomo said. "We came into a culture that needed to be adjusted and these seniors bought into it when they were freshmen. They have been a part of this for a long time."
St. X led 4-1 through four innings Thursday. However, Oak Hills rallied with four runs of its own to take a 5-4 lead through five innings.
St. X senior Jack Ryan’s sacrifice fly to left scored Dillon Brus and tied the game.
St. X junior Logan Von Holle’s sacrifice fly to right scored senior Brayden Bricking to give the Bombers a 6-5 lead for good.
"What a baseball game," DiGiacomo said. "Kudos to Oak Hills. They battled back."
Thursday was the second meeting with Oak Hills this season. The Bombers defeated the visiting Highlanders 11-1 on May 9.
It was a quite a regional tournament for the Bombers.
Ryan, a Boston College signee, threw a no-hitter in the Bombers’ 1-0 win over Elder in a regional semifinal on Wednesday afternoon.
St. Xavier’s most recent no-hitter prior to Wednesday was also thrown by Ryan on May 10, 2024 against Badin at Great American Ball Park.
The most recent time prior to Wednesday that St. X allowed no hits in a postseason game was a combined perfect game on May 17, 2022 in a first-round game against Mount Healthy. That game was started by Thomas Ryan, who is Jack’s brother. It also involved Luke Pappano and Brady Fitzpatrick.
