By Michael J. Lewis
If you have one dominant pitcher on a high school baseball team, you’re already ahead of most opponents.
But double that number of outstanding hurlers, and you’ve got a recipe for a ton of wins and likely a championship.
At Chaminade High School this year, opposing batters get no break.
Senior pitchers J.J. Gatti and John Downing are both Division I college signees who throw in the high 80s/low 90s, can buckle your knees with breaking pitches, and show no signs of relaxing even though their futures are set for the next few years.
Downing, a lefty, went 6-0 with a 1.33 ERA last season for the Flyers, striking out 37 hitters in 36 innings. He’s signed to play for Seton Hall in the Big East Conference next year.
“He’s just really solid, terrific control with a great changeup and doesn’t walk many,” said Chaminade coach Mike Pienkos. “He knows how to pitch and doesn’t get rattled on the mound at all, and he works very hard on his game.”
Right behind him (or next to him, since they’re equally effective) is Gatti, a righty who went 3-1 in 25 innings last season, tallying a 2.55 ERA. The overpowering pitcher averaged more than a punchout per inning in 2021, with 30 K’s in 25 innings.
He’s committed to play for Dayton, in the Atlantic 10 Conference, next year.
For now, as the spring baseball season gets going, Downing and Gatti are looking to lead the Flyers to another Catholic High Schools Athletic Association title, and perhaps a state championship as well.
“J.J. is a real tough kid, gets it up to 90, 91 miles per hour, and also can throw a nice breaking ball,” Pienkos said. “He’s a really good athlete and competes hard every game.”
“I honestly think last year we were just scratching the surface of what we could do,” Gatti said. “We’ve been working hard and both of us have gotten a lot stronger and a lot better.”
Downing, who said he also considered St. John’s and Sacred Heart as college options, said he agreed with Gatti about their potential, and that having someone as a teammate who knows exactly what you’re going through is beneficial.
“Whenever we’re in the dugout and not pitching we’re talking about pitching or baseball,” Downing said. “Having him on the team, knowing that sometimes he can relieve me if I’m not pitching well, and I can relieve him, is a great feeling.”
While Gatti throws a little bit harder, both said they rely on their changeup to get batters out. Downing started this 2022 season 2-0 and Gatti 1-0, with a win over rival Kellenberg on April 6 a particular highlight.
Both Gatti and Downing attribute a lot of their improvement over the past year to playing offseason ball with Next Level Baseball, an amateur program based in Farmingdale that helps develop lots of top Long Island talent.
“It was just a big boost to me to play with all the talented kids that go there,” said Gatti, who chose Dayton over Villanova and Sacred Heart. “You play tournaments with top players and coaches who just do so much for you.”
Downing said he and Gatti are both motivated to repeat as CHSAA champions, and go further this year. After two Covid-affected seasons, there will be the chance for Chaminade to play for a state championship this year. With 13 other college signees on the squad, the Flyers certainly have a great chance.
“We have a lot of talented guys who’ve played together for a while and we want to go out on top,” Downing said. “We all have confidence we can do it.”