Nazareth baseball returned to the Catholic High School League and showed it can be one of its top teams.
The Kingsmen squad used its speed and defense to clinch second place in the Class A baseball division by defeating Cathedral Prep 3–0 last Thursday at American Legion Field.
“We came out and played defense, we scored just enough, and made enough plays,” Nazareth coach Oggie Quiles said. “The defense played and I tell the team when we play defense we have a chance to win.”
Nazareth, which scored all three of its runs without recording a base hit, wasted no time showing that it was an aggressive team when Gus Quiles, the coach’s son, laid down a suicide squeeze to get his team on the board in the first inning. The Kingsmen also used stolen bases to take advantage of errors and wild pitches to post runs in the second and sixth to grab a secure lead over third-place Cathedral (6–5).
“We are a very fast team — that is one of our biggest assets,” Coach Quiles said. “We try and used it to the best of our ability.”
Starting pitcher Shamariah McCullough allowed just four hits, two walks, and struck out three in six innings of work. Reliever William Navarro tossed a scoreless seventh. The coach saw his team battle like that all season long, and it paid off with a positive result again.
“I think we surprised quite a few people,” he said. “We are really young. We are freshmen and sophomores. There are a lot of good teams in the CHSAA.”
After playing in the Private School Athletic Association last year, Nazareth came back to the Catholic High School Athletic Association this season. The more demanding schedule has not affected the team’s performance on the field. Nazareth is 8–4 and sits behind just first place and unbeaten Sacred Heart of Yonkers in the standings.
“There are a lot different teams, a lot competitive teams, a lot more traveling,” Coach Quiles said.
The tougher schedule has helped Kingsmen catcher Gus Quiles, who was two-for-two, stay focused on the game.
“This league is a lot more compact,” he said. “Baseball doesn’t stop right now, it keeps you focused.”
Nazareth, which can be at the top of the league for a long time with a young team, enters the playoffs in a good position to try and make a run at a title. Going forward, Coach Quiles is hoping the pitching can hold up as his young team matures.
“We want to see if our kids have grown mentally from the beginning of the year,” he said. “We are a very young team.”
