Chaminade has captured the 2021 CHSAA Championship with a 4-1 win over Kellenberg ! pic.twitter.com/jmozQfolci
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 10, 2021
Under normal circumstances, you would get anxious when the potential tying run steps to the plate in Game 2 of the CHSAA Finals but with a team like Chaminade that lives and dies with pitching and defense, somehow the base runners just don’t feel that likely to score.
The Chaminade Flyers defeated Kellenberg, 4-1, to capture the 19th championship in program history. They outscored the Firebirds 14-2 over the two game series and won four of five games against them this season. And this was with a team that was considered inexperienced by coach preseason and vulnerable by many.
This game did have a much different vibe than Game 1 – which was decided earlier. With a pitcher like Jack Hughes on the hill for Kellenberg, they certainly felt confident. They also jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter C.J. Picone continued his outstanding season with a single to center. He advanced on an errant pickoff throw and came around to score on an RBI single to left by Phil Schurr. Just like that, they had the lead against sophomore southpaw Matt Brandt.
Where the Flyers thrive, though, is not letting things get out of hand. Brandt was able to settle down and not just keep his team in the game, but completely stifle the Firebirds from that point on. Hughes allowed just a walk to Brian Heckelman in the first inning and a single to Tyler Burke in the second inning before throwing a 1-2-3 in the third inning. At that point, it appeared that the Flyers might just be able to hold off the Flyers.
It was not the case. In the bottom of the fourth, Vin Roman started the inning off with a walk and Heckelman was hit by a pitch to move him into scoring position. Andrew Park dropped down a perfect bunt that went along the third base line for an infield single to load the bases with nobody out. That brought up sophomore Michael Sweeney, who ripped one into center field that was nearly caught by Picone – who made an excellent attempt – but it scooted past for a bases-clearing triple to give Chaminade the 3-1 lead. The ensuing batter, Tyler Burke, ripped one past the drawn in infield to extend the lead to 4-1. With the Flyers ability to prevent runs, it was more than enough.
Chaminade coach Mike Pienkos following Chaminade’s latest NSCHSAA Championship pic.twitter.com/gA9EI86hsn
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2021
Brandt went back out and fired the all-important 1-2-3 inning to keep the momentum in the Flyer’s favor. In the sixth, after retiring the first two batters, he walked Peter Murphy. That was it for him, as Coach Mike Pienkos went to his most trusted reliever, Andrew Heiderstadt. The junior came in an allowed a single to Andrew Koshy but escaped any damage with a soft lineout to third off the bat of pinch-hitter Vin Napolitano.
In the seventh, Kellenberg was hoping for some magic. Max Mongelli reached on an error to get on base. Brendan McCann was hit by a pitch to bring the potential tying run to the plate with nobody out. But Heiderstadt has a way of putting out the most dangerous of fires. He got Picone to fly out to left and Joe Durso to ground out to third. Big lefty John Kwiatowski got into one to left but it hung up long enough to be secured for the game-ending, championship-clinching out.
Chaminade didn’t necessarily face adversity this season but they did start out with a modest 3-3 record. As stated in the interview, Coach Pienkos said they began to click about halfway through. They do not lack in talent, and they practice defense more than anything so they are well-equipped to handle these low-scoring games.
The bad news for the league is that they only have more talent coming. There are several 2023 players such as Jack Puvogel and Tyler Jones that will join the varsity team next season along with all the ones that were called up this season like Brandt and Sweeney. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything, but they’re not going anyway.
