DETROIT — The stage was set at Bishop Foley for the Archdiocese of Detroit CYO baseball championship that featured the No. 1 Chargers of Saint Joan (Saint Clair Shores) versus the Rebels of St. Raphael (Garden City).
The last trip to the baseball finals for St. Raphael was in 1997, when they beat St. Joan. The Chargers’ latest appearance was
in 2001.
St. Joan kick-started its offense early, sending eight men to the plate in the first inning. The biggest blow was off the bat of team catcher and clean-up hitter Michael Kostuch that traveled just short of the left field fence.
Before the hit, the Chargers had managed to get a couple of runners in Tristin Richardson and Josh Wilk on base. They both easily scored, but Kostuch was not satisfied yet. He flew around the bases and eventually touched home plate before a late throw from the St. Raphael outfield.
Before the frame was over, the offense pushed across one more run to make it 4-0 Chargers heading into the second.
Meanwhile, the starting pitcher for St. Joan, Richardson, retired five straight on the mound before giving up a single with two outs in the second.
He followed that up with his first strikeout against the Rebels to end the small threat.
On the other end, Kelly, the Rebels’ starting pitcher, shut the door after giving up those early runs. After the first inning, he faced 14 batters, allowed only two more base runners on a single and a walk, and induced a trio of one-two-three innings.
With the solid defense by the Rebels, they were looking for some offensive production. The opportunity came in the top of the third, when Centafonti led the inning off with a single. He was eventually brought around thanks to singles by both Kelly and Makitmetuss.
In the top of the seventh a run was already in for St. Raphael to push the tally to 4-2, and there were runners on first and second with no outs.
A ground ball was hit in the infield and fielded by Adam Hilu at first base, at the same moment the two runners sprinted off the bag after the hit. One was tagged out by the shortstop, Connor McCarron, and the other just barely made it back safely to second.
With two outs and one runner on, Richardson was able to bear down and get the final out so his team could celebrate.
Coach Charles Kaiser spoke highly of his squad after the game.
“It was really a team effort,” he said. “We had a great group of kids, and every one of them stepped up when called upon.”
Jeremy Otto is a senior at University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy and is president of Cub Sportscast.
