By Christopher Carillo ’19
On the afternoon of Thursday, April 27, the Chaminade JV baseball team tackled a resilient Kellenberg side. These two talented teams renewed their year long rivalry which provided countless innings of intense and spirited play. The inaugural season for the two teams culminated in the 2016 Freshman Championship game which granted the Flyers their first championship of their high school careers. Kellenberg finished the 2016 campaign with a fire in their belly and looking to avenge their loss in the 2017 season.
Following a strong start against St. Anthony’s, Paul Igel ’19 took the mound for the Flyers. He began the game efficiently with an astounding four-pitch inning. Igel continued to pound the strike-zone en route to a complete game, giving up only two-hits and striking out five batters in the shutout.
The Flyer’s defense excelled behind their starting pitcher in their best performance of the season. Anthony Tramonte ’19 called an excellent game from behind the plate and showed off his rocket arm as he repeatedly threw out potential base stealers. Shortstop Brendan O’Hara ’19 contributed to the spectacular defensive showing, turning in a number of defensive gems.
Offensively, the Flyers pounced on the Firebirds early, scoring four runs in the first two innings. Paul Orbon ’19 beat out a hard hit ground ball in the first inning, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Anthony Tramonte and Spenser Warantz ‘19 also recorded key hits early on to keep the offensive momentum alive. Tommy Sriuso ’19, Michael SanFilippo ’19 and Frank Iadevaia ‘19 provided some speed on the basepaths. These players purloined a number of bags, placing runners in perfect scoring position for the power hitters of the Flyer batting order to bring home. SanFilippo also laid down a perfect bunt to complete a suicide squeeze. However, the player who truly sparked Chaminade’s offense was Aidan Umhafer ‘19. He recorded a double that nearly cleared the fence, as well as a two-run single. The Flyers emerged victorious, beating the Firebirds 6-0.
Chaminade performed exceptionally during game one of the series, but unfortunately couldn’t carry the momentum into the next two games. Despite this, the latter two games only made Chaminade hungrier for victory, and they will look to redeem themselves against Kellenberg in the playoffs. Chaminade is looking forward to taking on St. John the Baptist this coming week in their last league series of the season. After this, they will head to the playoffs where they will attempt to defend their CHSAA Championship.
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