Gary Gill-Hill was impressive today for Kennedy Catholic. Tremendously high ceiling pic.twitter.com/Jy3TTmpGLy
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 24, 2022
Yesterday was a non-league matchup between the reigning CHSAA Champs, Chaminade, and Kennedy Catholic which is in Somers, NY. It was a particularly exciting matchup on paper being that Chaminade is probably the 1st or 2nd most talented team in NY (Poly Prep is right up there) and they were squaring off against one of the best pitchers in NY, Gary Gill-Hill.
Scouts were lined up behind home plate to watch Gill-Hill, who was mainly sitting 90 in the first inning. He did allow a run, as he walked Binghamton-commit Nick Ungania to leadoff the game and he came around to score on a bloop single by Towson-commit Brian Heckelman. He settled in after that, and it turned out to be a barnburner of a game. Gill-Hill has a nice, fluid arm action that projects very well to the next level considering his thin, athletic frame. He also showed command of a changeup with the same arm action. It has that tumbling action that generates swings-and-misses. This is one of the reasons scouts really love him.
His counter part, Seton Hall-commit John Downing, is one of the best left-handed pitchers in the region. He’s been up to 89 MPH in recent weeks. This day was a little different, though, being that with the wind chill it was about 34 degrees – which is just about as cold as they’ll allow high school players to play in. He was mainly 85-86 MPH, but obviously I wouldn’t be deterred by that given the climate.
What separates Downing from the typical HS pitcher is that he attacks the zone to all quadrants. Additionally, his CB is a weapon. He uses it to escape jams and he did just that in the fourth inning to backdoor a curve for strike three to end a potentially rally. Downing is mentally tough and he’s the type of pitcher you want on the mound in a big game. The Flyers will definitely lean heavily on him, as he proved his mettle in last year’s championship series against Kellenberg. You can basically pencil him in fora sub 2.00 ERA this season.
Downing walked the leadoff batter of the fifth inning and was taken out in favor of RHP Anthony Prisinzano. The senior worked a quiet fifth inning, but ran into some trouble in the sixth as Kennedy loaded the bases. On a 3-2 pitch, he induced a ground out to first to end the threat.
In the 7th, Chaminade went to the bullpen again. This time calling on junior RHP Jack Puvogel. He is another hard-thrower that should be an impact player for them – he’s projected to be one of their starters. He did have a hiccup, though, as he fielded a bunt and overthrew the first baseman for the tying runs to score.
In the bottom of the 7th, the Flyers went down quietly and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
As previously mentioned, Chaminade is one of the most talented teams in NY. They are the favorites to win the CHSAA again. They got red-hot last year about halfway through the season and never slowed down. Their best players were juniors and sophomores which means they are all back.
Behind the dish they have one of the best catchers on LI in Brian Heckelman, who batted cleanup for them and also shuts down the running game. He was substituted out in favor of junior Joe Chanis who gunned down a runner at second base in his only attempt.
They have the best double play duo in Marist-commit Brady Steinert and Michigan-commit Nolan Nawrocki. That combo helped them win the title last year as they convert both the routine play and sometimes the spectacular plays.
Mikey Cervoni is a sophomore that I assumed would be on JV this year given the fact that he’s a SS and behind not one, but two Division-I shortstops on the roster. But Coach Pienkos made a wise move to put him at 3B to get him in the lineup. He showed his skills on at least one occasion as he charged a slow roller and fired a seed to first base. We highlighted him as part of the “Up Next” series, and he will be a special player for them.
They also have Hofstra-commit Mike Sweeney, who batted second, and Williams-commit Anthony Lods who made the switch from catcher to first to get into the lineup.
It is an embarrassment of riches. They also called up LHP Matt Brandt last year who is uncommitted but could be a Division-I player or high-end Division-II player.
If you are a baseball fan I suggest you catch a Chaminade game this year, because it could be a long time before we see a high school team this loaded. And that’s not even mentioning their most talented pitcher, Joe Ariola, who is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and has a chance to get drafted.
