By Erin Bruehl
With the game tied at 2, Royals starter Brian Ferrara headed out for the eighth, having given up just four hits and two walks.After retiring the leadoff batter, he gave up a single to Peter Loeb, who then stole second and advanced to third courtesy of a throwing error by CK catcher Luis Vega. Dino Chiodo at then hit a RBI-single to left, giving Prep the lead.Like Ferrara, Casal returned in the eighth, despite a 100-plus pitch count.He started with a 0-2 count on the first batter, Cliff Rau, and tried the curve again. But it hit Rau to put the tying run on base for the Royals (5-19, 1-16 CHSAA).Prep (16-6, 12-4 CHSAA) then caught a break when Rau was tagged out in a rundown trying to steal. Casal then retired the next two hitters to preserve the victory.”I was thinking strikeout and I was angry that I hit him,” said Casal, who gave up three hits and one walk while striking out five. “I decided the next two guys were not going to hit me.”Despite the win, which clinched second place in Brooklyn/Queens (behind Xaverian) and a first-round bye in the seeding tournament, Prep head coach Bro. Robert Kent was not pleased with the way his team – with the exception of Casal – played heading into the playoffs.”We hit mostly pop-ups,” he said. “And we have to work on our intensity. Robert pitched a hell of a game and saved us.”The Terriers scored first in the third inning on a Royals error and CK tied it in the fourth on a double play. Robert Paccione then hit a two-out RBI single for Prep in the fifth to make it 2-1 and finished 2-for-4. Greg Scarpulla tied it again in the sixth with a two-out RBI-double for CK to make it 2-2.
