Chester celebrates first state title with homecoming parade of support

Chester’s first state championship in any sport turned the ride home into a townwide celebration, as residents lined streets and front lawns and waited for the baseball team to return to Chester around 5 p.m. after beating Medina 3-0 for the Class B crown at Binghamton University in Vestal. The escort back through Orange County included the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, the Town of Chester Police Department, the Village of Chester Police Department and the Chester Fire Department.

Inside the title game, junior left-hander Aidan Francisco delivered a four-hitter while Chester scored once in the first inning, once in the second and once in the fifth. That steady push at the plate and a composed outing on the mound gave Chester the kind of finish that matched the weight of the moment: a state title secured with no late drama, against a Medina team that had been standing in the way of a championship the school had never before won.

The victory capped a postseason run that had already carried Chester through a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Putnam Valley and a 5-2 semifinal victory over Center Moriches on Friday in the greater Binghamton area. Before reaching states, Chester had also defended its Section 9 Class B title with a 13-3 win over Spackenkill at Cantine Field in Saugerties, then carried a nine-game winning streak into the final. Chester finished 2026 with a 15-4 record.

For coach Mike Doucette, who has led the program since 2022 and also serves as Chester Union Free School District’s director of physical education and athletics, the title carried historic weight. He said it was the first state championship in any sport in Chester history, and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association’s past champions list had not included Chester as a previous baseball winner before Saturday.

The congratulations quickly spread beyond the dugout. Town of Chester Supervisor Brandon Holdridge, Councilman Bob Courtenay and District Attorney David Hoovler all sent messages recognizing the achievement, with Hoovler calling it a point of pride for Chester and Orange County. By the time the team rolled back into town, the championship had become more than a baseball result, becoming a shared civic moment for a community that treated the win as its own.