Chaminade Baseball Takes First Wild Card Match

Usually when you see Michael Castigle on the mound this early in a game, you either have to be very worried about just what constituted a call to the bullpen for the junior reliever and under what circumstances the starter was sent packing.

That was before last week. Before the Flyer righty was simply confined to the later innings, grabbing a hold here and there and distributing flys that settled nicely into the leather of his outfielders’ gloves.

Last week Castigle made a leap that few hurlers make – throwing in his – and getting a win in the process.

Friday in Yaphank Castigle got his second start in the single-elimination game at Baseball Heaven Field complex against St. Dominic’s – the type of game typically reserved for the ace of a staff, not a converted reliever.

“He proved to us he that could do it,” Flyer head coach Mike Pienkos said of his decision to hand Castigle the ball.

The junior ended up lasting five-plus innings, not giving up a run and only allowing hits to the Bayhawks’ number one and two batters.

“We liked him so much for one…” pitching coach Chris McCoy started off, referring to Castigle’s innings count.

“…why not seven?” Pienkos finished, issuing the edict play on words. “Nothing like playing in heaven.”

But this isn’t heaven, this is Yaphank. Heaven for the Flyers is a few exits west on the L.I.E. at Suny Farmingdale, a route that runs a long way around through Kellenberg Saturday against a squad which they .

Castigle made the run scored by DH Robert Vani in the fourth hold up – as well as three more scored by Christoper Prete, Terence Connelly and Christopher Wren – not letting a runner get past second, while Christopher Gallic did his best impression of the Flyer he replaced on the mound, pulling a Houdini act, walking the bases loaded before getting a comebacker for the final 1-3 out.

“I was getting a little lazy towards the end,” Gallic said, agreeing it wouldn’t have been the same “if we didn’t make it interesting.”

That is what the Flyers have done all year, even at the bitter end, trying to end a log jam at the top of the CHSAA standings as co-champions with 11-7 records, Chaminade ending up 2 games off the pace and , being forced to play the role of road warriors.

“Fight hard every inning, inning-by-inning, try to get to the championship,” was Gallic’s view. “It makes my job easier when I have a nice cushion.”

“We invoke the law of averages,” Chaminade coach Jack Lyons said, referring to the Bayhawks and issuing a correction when you try to explain what that law really means.

“That’s what everyone thinks – that’s a misconception. You win, the law of averages says you’re going to continue to win. That’s what we invoke. We beat them 3 times during the regular season, the law of averages says we’ll beat them again.”

Hopefully that same law applies to the Firebirds as well Saturday.