By his own standards, West Aurora’s Zach Toma has had a decent start to this season, but he hasn’t unlocked the 2025 version quite yet.
One of the area’s top two-way threats last spring, the senior left-hander/first baseman has been good enough to still be an anchor in the Blackhawks’ batting order and atop the pitching rotation.
Could his performance in a two-game sweep of Bartlett be the start of even more?
“Absolutely, yes,” Toma said. “Great series. Pitching I was getting the first-pitch strike. I haven’t been super on it this year. It’s been fine. This was a big booster for me but also the team.”
Toma went 3-for-3 in Tuesday’s 3-1 Upstate Eight Conference win at Bartlett. His solo homer tied the game 1-1 in the fourth inning. His RBI single in the fifth gave West Aurora the lead for good.
That came on the heels of Monday’s dominant pitching performance in a 2-0 win over Bartlett.
Oscar Alexander Jr. also added a solo homer in the seventh for the Blackhawks (14-4, 7-1). Tyler Fecht threw a complete game, striking out four. He allowed one run on four hits and a walk.
Josh Colaizzi chalked up two hits, including a double and the lone RBI of the series for Bartlett (10-8, 6-2). Vince Yario struck out 10 in five innings, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk.
Although he thought the start of his season was slow offensively, Toma was still hitting .475 with eight extra-base hits and 24 RBIs in the first 15 games. He was locked in Tuesday.
And he feels even more is possible.
“Hitting, I still had a good start to the season, but Oscar has been overshadowing me a little bit,” Toma said. “Lately, I’m starting to see the ball very well. When I go up there, especially with nobody out, I guarantee you I’m not striking out. I’m going to at least put the ball in play.
“I’m seeing the ball well. That’s all I can really do — hit it hard.”
On the mound for Monday’s 2-0 win, pitch count was the only thing that could stop Toma. He struck out 11 in six shutout innings.
“I haven’t been super on it but I got the first-pitch strike, off-speed was working, everything was working,” Toma said. “I was getting the first out of the inning. I just stayed efficient.”
Having this series against a quality opponent opened the eyes of West Aurora coach John Reeves.
“This was probably his best two-day stretch, to be honest with you,” Reeves said. “Offensively, people pitch around him sometimes, so he’ll expand his zone and get himself out or try to take a big swing.
“With Yario and Brandon Pelz (Monday), he was more locked in, driving the ball. That was nice.”
As a pitcher, Toma has started to resemble his 2025 self as well.
“He pitched masterfully,” Reeves said of Monday’s outing. “If the pitch count rule wasn’t in effect, he would have kept going. Big, strong kid. He’s done a fantastic job.”
Bartlett saw all of it firsthand. The Hawks only allowed five runs in two games behind the pitching of Pelz, Yario and Colaizzi. They only scored one run, however.
“We knew coming in that our strength would be pitching and defense,” Bartlett coach Alex Coan said. “We just need to continue to stick to those values and try to get it going offensively.”
Toma believes this series could be a springboard not only for him but the whole team.
“We have tons of confidence in each other,” Toma said. “We had a rough week last week. I feel like this week, against a really good team, really good pitching, that’s what we have to do.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
