It may go down as one of the best pitching performances in the history of Hudson County high school baseball that didn’t result in a victory.
Last Tuesday, Memorial’s ace senior right-hander Jesus Castano, fresh off his dominating victory over St. Peter’s Prep in the HCIAA Coviello Division championship game, took the mound in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV semifinals against Kearny and pitched his heart out.
Castano allowed just one hit and struck out an amazing 18 batters over 10 innings. He was in complete control, displaying a fastball that had to be topping the 90 mile-per-hour mark and a curveball that had a nasty bite and break.
Unfortunately for Castano, his pitching opponent, Eric Valdez of Kearny, was equally up to the task, keeping the usually strong Tiger offensive attack at bay.
The game went into the 14th inning, where Kearny capitalized on three Memorial errors en route to scoring three runs and taking a 4-1 decision, ending the Tigers’ season.
“That was a great performance by Jesus,” veteran Memorial head coach Tony Ferrainolo said. “They really never threatened until the 14th inning. If you give Jesus Castano the ball, you’re going to be in the game. He’s not going to give up runs and he just keeps getting better and stronger as the game goes on. He’s our catalyst and a bulldog on the mound. As far as pitchers I’ve ever had, I’d match him up with anyone. We kept him in there for as long as we could.”
NJSIAA rules state that a pitcher cannot pitch more than 10 innings over a span of four days, never mind more than 10 innings in a single day. So after Castano pitched his very best for as long as he could, he had to leave the game, turning the ball over to Steve Leon.
Leon was also a game performer on the mound and only hurt himself when he threw a ball he fielded off a bunt into centerfield for an error. That play turned the game around in extra innings and propelled Kearny to move on, while the Tigers’ season ended once again in the sectional semifinals.
While many coaches might have been disconsolate and devastated by losing a tough extra inning affair in the state tournament, Ferrainolo wanted to focus on the positive, which was defeating state-ranked St. Peter’s in the county title game, a Marauder team that was simply expected to repeat as county champs.
Castano almost personally made sure that the Marauders were not going to win the title, with his pitching performance last week.
“He saved his best for last,” Ferrainolo said. “I’ll tell the kids that they had a great season, that they did win the county championship.”
The Tigers did finish the season with a 22-5 record and the school’s first HCIAA baseball title since 2003. It was the ninth time in Ferrainolo’s storied career that he has guided the Tigers to an HCIAA crown.
“It’s always rewarding when you win and it’s not expected,” Ferrainolo said. “We had almost a new player this year at every single position. People said that they didn’t think we would be there at the end. They thought we would be good, but not as good as the others. We ended up becoming a team and we had to beat four good teams (Bayonne, Emerson, Hudson Catholic and St. Peter’s) to win the county title.”
The Tigers ended up having solid pitching from Castano, Andy Ortiz (who won the sectional quarterfinal game against Roxbury last Saturday) and Leon.
“But we really didn’t know what we would get in terms of support behind them,” Ferrainolo said.
Their position players were mostly all underclassmen, led by junior shortstop Ramon Feliz, who continues to have the look of a professional player. If he stays healthy, Feliz will more than likely get drafted by some major league team when he becomes eligible for the draft next June.
Catcher Abel Blanco developed into a top-flight backstop with a cannon of an arm. Left fielder Jose Zaldana is only a freshman. The prospects are endless for Zaldana. Sophomores Randy Castillo and Rudy Estrella also have bright futures. Estrella ended up leading the Tigers in RBI with 32.
“We had all basically underclassmen,” Ferrainolo said. “These are the kinds of things that keep me coaching. It was one of the more rewarding years we’ve had, considering no one expected us to win the county. I just hope I have a few more (county champions) in me.”
Although Castano will take that talented right arm elsewhere in the fall after graduating, the Tigers should be in the hunt for another HCIAA Coviello title in 2007.
– Jim Hague