Baseball season is in full swing for the Chaminade Flyers, as they played six games against four teams in the first 10 days of April. In what was their first heavy slate of action, the Flyers went 3-3, taking part in some tremendous finishes along the way.
Chaminade started this stretch with a two-game set against the St. Dominic's Bayhawks on April 1 and 2. The Flyers entered the series at 1-2, while St. Dominic's was unbeaten at 4-0.
The game-one pitching matchup was worth watching: junior standout Andrew Caramico '26 took the mound for Chaminade, while flame-throwing senior Luke Lang opposed him for St. Dominic's.
The Bayhawks got the scoring started in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded and two outs, Caramico uncorked a wild pitch, allowing the runner from third to score. Two pitches later, Dominic Muccia lined a single to left, scoring the other two runners and pushing the Bayhawks lead to three.
It did not take long for the Flyers to respond.
After Daniel Nawrocki '25 led off the top of the fourth with a double, Collin Anderson '25 connected for his second triple of the year to bring in Nawrocki and cut the deficit to two. Two batters later, first baseman Nolan Fernandez '26 jumped on Lang's first pitch and deposited it over the left field fence for his first varsity home run, thus knotting the game at three.
The Flyers ended up loading the bases later in the inning thanks to three walks by Lang, but the big righty buckled down and struck out Jake Madsen '26 on three pitches to end the threat.
The Flyers' inability to capitalize on that golden opportunity proved crucial as the game (and the week) rolled on:
"We haven't gotten that big hit to blow a game open," reflected head coach Patrick Kemp '04. "We're starting off hot; it's just not continuing throughout the rest of the game, and that's something we have to fix."
Things kept quiet until the Bayhawks blew it open in the last of the fifth, ambushing reliever Kenneth Meliere Jr. '25 to hang a crooked number in the runs column. The inning started with four straight hits, two of them driving in runs:
With runners on second and third, Joe Galeotafiore lined a single to center to plate another run and give St. Dominic's the lead. The next hitter, Daniel Noebel, followed with a single of his own, driving home both Connor Ackerman and Galeotafiore to make it 6-3, Bayhawks.
St. Dom's then added three more off a pair of bases-loaded walks and a sacrifice fly against new pitcher Ryan Sheehan '25, pushing the lead to six. In the end, it was too much to overcome, as Chaminade fell, 10-4.
Lang earned the win, working 5.1 innings and surrendering four earned runs while striking out eight. Meliere suffered the loss out of the bullpen for Chaminade. The Bayhawks racked up 10 hits to Chaminade's six; Muccia had three - to go along with three RBI - to lead the way for the home team.
The next day, it was back to the Wang Athletic Complex with the Flyers as the home team. On the bump, Chaminade's Carlos Pereira '26 squared off with Lucas Moseman for St. Dominic's.
This time, the Flyers jumped out to an early lead. Nawrocki and Anderson each drew walks to start the bottom of the first, and a wild pitch moved them each up a base. Daniel Anicito '25 capitalized on this by putting the ball in play and scoring Nawrocki on a groundout, and Fernandez followed with a single to score Anderson.
Chaminade loaded the bases later in the inning thanks to two more walks, but Ben Feil, in for the struggling Moseman, retired Dimitri Staphos '25 on a fielder's choice.
The Crimson and Gold added on in the second, doubling their lead to four. Nawrocki and Anderson once again immediately reached base, putting the pressure on the Bayhawks. Then, on the first pitch of Anicito's at-bat, a passed ball allowed Nawrocki to score all the way from second on what was a truly bizarre play. Soon after, Fernandez continued his hot hitting by adding another RBI single to his ledger, pushing the score to 4-0.
Another strong performance from Pereira, piggybacking off a good outing the previous week against Holy Trinity, helped contribute to the Flyers' win. The junior went five innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and striking out six. However, he ran into a bit of trouble at the end of his outing, handing the ball off to Alex Stoyer '25 to finish the job.
Pereira was quick to attribute his early-season success to the support of his teammates and coaches:
"The environment - showing up everyday with my teammates and being supported by an excellent coaching staff - has played a major role in my development," he said. "As a player, it builds confidence and a belief that I can achieve anything I set my mind to, which has directly contributed to my performance and dominance on the field."
Stoyer was thrust into a high-leverage situation in the top of the sixth. With two on and no one out, Ray Kim singled to get the Bayhawks on the board. Next, an error by Anderson following a single by Ackerman allowed the St. Dom's to plate two and cut the deficit to one.
However, Stoyer was able to dig deep and get out of the inning without any more damage. With Ackerman at third after a passed ball - and still no one out - Stoyer manufactured two groundouts and a strikeout to strand the runner, keeping the score 4-3.
In the seventh, Stoyer once again had to work around a few baserunners, but a flyout by Chris Vangelatos and a strikeout by Kim ended the threat, giving the Flyers their second league win of the season.
After the thrilling victory, Chaminade set its sights on a Friday afternoon matchup with St. Edmund's Prep from Brooklyn. This one, unlike many of this season's early games for the Flyers, was a breeze. They took advantage of nine walks by the Eagles pitching staff to win, 11-0.
Chaminade scored three in the first and six in the second to put the game out of reach early.
Anicito laced a two-run triple to get the Flyers going in the first, and Michael Gardner '25 and TJ Bradford '25 each added a pair of run-scoring hits in the second. Sebastian McEnaney '26 also contributed a two-run double in the fourth.
Luke Bartolo '26 looked good in his first varsity start for the Flyers. The lefty went four innings, only allowing two hits while striking out six.
The next opponent for the Flyers was a lot tougher: the defending state champion Archbishop Molloy Stanners. Quinn Gillen '25 toed the rubber for Chaminade, while Marcos Lopez served as his counterpoint for Molloy.
Each team's offense was on point from the get-go. Anicito stayed hot with a two-run double in the top of the first, but Charlie Lods responded with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. In the second, a balk tallied a run for Chaminade, while a fielder's choice followed by an RBI single by Molloy's Patrick DeSarno knotted it back up at three.
The Stanners took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. After a two-out double by Dylan Payano, Ayden Roman came through with the go-ahead hit to make it 4-3 in favor of the home team. Now ahead, Molloy rode reliever Liam Brower all the way to the finish line to secure a hard-fought victory on Saturday afternoon.
Brower was brilliant out of the bullpen for the Stanners. He went 5.2 hitless innings, walking just two while striking out nine.
The Chaminade pitching staff had a solid day of its own. The trio of Gillen, Sean O'Connell '26, and Jack Pfeifer '26 held the Stanners to just five hits; however, a few clutch knocks were the difference in the game.
The Flyers returned to NSCHSAA play on April 8 when they hosted St. John the Baptist. On the mound, it was Caramico making his third start of the year for the Flyers against Brady Leichtman for the Cougars.
Despite giving up only one run, Caramico's outing ended early, as he walked three batters and hit two in 1.1 innings of work. As a result, Stoyer entered the game much earlier than usual.
With the contest squared at one in the top of the fourth, St. John's blew the game open with a seven-run inning. Keegan McElligott gave the road team the lead with a two-run double, and hits by Mike Garcia, Jacob Schmutz, and Kyle Cahill helped balloon the lead to seven. The Flyers also made three crucial errors in the inning - and five in the game - on their way to a 10-3 loss.
Two days later, with Chaminade looking to avoid the sweep, they turned to Pereira for his third start of the season against SJB's Joe Randello.
The Flyers struck first in the top of the fourth, as Anderson launched his first dinger of the season. This lead would not last long, though, as the Cougars responded in the fifth thanks to a two-run single by Schmutz.
The Flyers nearly went quickly in the top of the sixth, but Anderson walked with two outs to get Fernandez to the plate. After falling behind 0-2, Fernandez came through with a clutch two-run homer to left as Chaminade retook the lead, 3-2.
"Looking at Nolan right now, he's just seeing the ball," lauded Coach Kemp.
Fernandez has certainly proven clutch for the Flyers thus far, as his two huge homers have jump-started his varsity career in an impressive way.
Pfeifer ran into some major trouble in the last of the seventh. Two walks and a bunt hit loaded the bases for Schmutz with no one out. Fortunately for Chaminade, he grounded into a fielder's choice, but one run scored. Then, after an intentional walk, sophomore CJ Everett tied the game with a sacrifice fly, thus sending the showdown to extras.
Chaminade broke through quickly as bonus baseball began. Anicito and Anderson each led off with hits, getting themselves into scoring position for the scorching-hot Fernandez. The Flyers' first baseman came through again with a sacrifice fly to put the road team in front, 5-4. Then, with two outs, Colin Cashin '25 reached on an infield single, scoring Anderson to make the score 6-4.
In the bottom of the eighth, Coach Kemp turned to O'Connell out of the bullpen, and the lefty did not disappoint, registering two strikeouts to finish off the Cougars.
After a chaotic week of games, the Flyers now stand at 4-5 overall and 4-4 in league play. The upcoming slate of games features non-league opponent Rocky Point, as well as a matchup against league foe St. Francis Prep on April 15 at Cantiague Park.
