PJ Kakalos comes up big in relief as Calhoun wins Nassau Class A baseball title
Calhoun pitcher P.J. Kakalos and catcher Ryan Pucella celebrate their victory over Clarke in game three of the Nassau high school Class A baseball finals, Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at Farmingdale State College. Credit: George A Faella
The ice water bath was more than welcome. Calhoun coach Art Canestro enjoyed the dowsing as he led the Colts to the school’s first Nassau Class A baseball championship in 10 years.
The Colts mashed their way to the title with a nine-run, seven-hit second inning and some brilliant relief work by righthander PJ Kakalos in a 12-6 win over perennial finalist Clarke for the Nassau Class A title Wednesday at Farmingdale State College.
Calhoun’s Matt Kalfas went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk and an RBI. Teammate Andrew Schneir added a two-run double and four RBIs. The Colts (24-3) will meet Rocky Point, the Suffolk Class A champion, for the Long Island Class A title at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue Saturday at 4 p.m.
“We are always capable of the big inning,” said Canestro, in his ninth year at the helm. “We always seem to rebound from games where we don’t hit enough to games where we explode. We had to battle through a very tough Class A bracket. Clarke is an outstanding team, and this is a very big win for our program.”
Calhoun captured the school's fourth Nassau championship and first since 2012, when it earned the Class AA classification crown.
Clarke (22-7-1) opened a 2-0 first-inning lead when Giancarlo Rengifo and Zaim Deljanin contributed back-to-back RBI singles. Calhoun starter Dan Bondi settled down after the 28-pitch inning and threw three scoreless innings as the Colts built an 11-2 lead.
Calhoun sent 14 batters to the plate in the second inning and scored nine runs with seven hit. Six Colts drove in at least one run, led by Brian Chin's two-run single and Schneir's two-run double. The barrage was helped by four Clarke errors, including three outfield bobbles.
“We’re all just taking it all in as this was our goal at the start of the season,” Kalfas said. “We put together some big innings this season. I’m seeing the ball well and just trying to hit it hard and get on base.”
Calhoun scored 15 runs in an inning earlier this season.
The Colts added two more runs in the third for an 11-2 lead. Joey Goodman led off with a single and scored on a long double by Kalfas, his second extra-base hit of the game. Kalfas scored on Schneir’s sacrifice fly.
Clarke showed some fight in the fifth and sixth, scoring two runs in each inning to get within 12-6.
In the fifth, Rengifo ripped a two-run single and after two batters walked to load the bases Junior reliever PJ Kakalos came on for Bondi and needed one pitch to induce an inning ending groundout to end the threat.
“It was one pitch, one out,” Canestro said. “Just the way we like it. We want guys to come in and throw strikes. And PJ has come in relief and done the job.”
Kakalos punctuated the title win with a 1-2-3 seventh and a punch out to end it.
“I knew what I had to do,” Kakalos said. “Coach taught me everything about pitching and I’ve been in this kind of situation so many times so I wasn’t nervous.”
The final pitch and swarm of teammates had Kakalos under the pile of smiling faces.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
