Dominant rotation helps Hawks to state title

Matt Metcalf
Posted 6/23/15

The Hendricken baseball team led the state in runs scored and also surrendered the fewest runs per game during the regular season.

So Hendricken’s defense rarely had to survive without a …

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Dominant rotation helps Hawks to state title

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The Hendricken baseball team led the state in runs scored and also surrendered the fewest runs per game during the regular season.

So Hendricken’s defense rarely had to survive without a high-powered offense to support it. That is, until the playoffs rolled around.

In the Hawks’ Final Four series against Moses Brown, their offense totaled three runs in 19 innings.

But Hendricken’s dominant pitching staff stifled the Quakers’ bats, not allowing a run over those 19 innings, sending the Hawks to McCoy and towards a shot at a fourth straight state championship.

The only hiccup in the rotation came in game one at McCoy, as Anthony Cofone surrendered a three-RBI double to Tyler Calabro in the top of the second, which proved to be all that Cumberland would need in a 3-1 win.

But Mike McCaffrey and Matt Kennedy responded with masterful performances.

McCaffrey turned in a complete-game shutout last Wednesday against the Clippers, twirling a gem in which he allowed a mere two hits in helping Hendricken stave off elimination.

Kennedy may not have gotten the win in game three, but he sure did deserve it.

The junior kept Cumberland off the board for eight innings before yielding one run in the ninth. He then gave way to reliever Mike Webb, who picked up the win, working one high-stressed inning in which he escaped a bases-loaded jam with no one out.

The Hawks’ offense exploded for nine runs in game two of the title series, but it failed to plate more than two runs in the other four games between the Final Four and state title series.

That left a lot of weight on the shoulders of the Hawks’ rotation, but it was up for the task, as it has been all season long.

In the postseason, many teams around the state use their top pitcher and improvise as the playoffs unfold.

Hendricken could’ve done that, but head coach Ed Holloway was determined not to break his three-man starting rotation that he used during the regular season – and he didn’t.

Not only did Holloway’s strategy keep his rotation fresh, but he also did it because none of the three gave him any reason to believe that they shouldn’t be out there.

After all, McCaffrey, Kennedy and Cofone hadn’t lost a game during the regular season, and had done so in dominant fashion.

And they rewarded their head coach by continuing to rack up the wins in the playoffs.

In eight playoff games over the past month, the Hawks’ staff allowed just 11 runs.

Hendricken catcher Gian Martellini had a front row seat to the rotation for the past three years, and arguably no one has been more impressive than McCaffrey.

The southpaw never lost a game in his Hendricken career, compiling an overall record of 34-0. So when Hendricken’s back was against the wall following game one, it was still supremely confident knowing that McCaffrey was taking the ball for game two.

“McCaffrey is just unbelievable,” Martellini said. “Nothing surprises me anymore. He just goes out there and does his job – he’s very calm, cool and collected. He’s just a stud.”

McCaffrey deferred the credit to those playing behind him, but there’s no denying the brilliance of a 34-0 record.

“When you have a defense like that, it’s hard not to just throw strikes and let them make the plays behind you,” McCaffrey said. “Everything else takes care of itself.”

In Kennedy’s final two starts – one in the Final Four and one at McCoy – he allowed one run over 16 innings of work.

It’s hard to keep up with McCaffrey at the top of the rotation, but Kennedy wasn’t far behind.

“Gutsy,” McCaffrey said of Kennedy’s performance in the state title clincher. “For a kid that’s never pitched at McCoy before to just go out and do that, it was impressive.”

For a position player outside of the rotation, playing with a staff as efficient as Hendricken’s was this season was special.

More than anything, it took pressure off the rest of the team.

“We say that we score two runs and that’s enough,” Hendricken shortstop John Willette said of his squad’s staff.

And that was really all that the Hawks needed, allowing less than a run and a half per game for the playoffs.

Hendricken’s offense may have hit a slump at the wrong time, but its pitching staff was there to pick it up at the most important time of the year.

Pitching truly does win championships.

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