Before They Brandished a Radar Gun

Before They Brandished a Radar Gun . . .

   Note from Ted . . .
   On May 3, 2010, during the Phillies' telecast, Tom McCarthy mentioned Chris
Cashman as the guy holding the radar gun behind home plate. I told the wife, "Hey,
I know that guy!" Of course she muttered, "No, you don't." I told her who Chris
was, and about his special accomplishment in the 2004 CL final, and then decided
to cross-check with Carroll's head coach, Fran Murphy, and assistant, Fr. Edward
Casey, who also happens to be the school president, to make sure I had the right
Chris Cashman. Turns out Chris has been working for the Phillies in marketing/PR
since graduating from Saint Joseph's. Niiiiiiiiice.
   Anyway, below are TWO stories. Because that '04 final was a two-part job.
   Hope you enjoy them.

Pour timing suspends Catholic title game

Jun 03, 2004

By TED SILARY silaryt@phillynews.com

Chris Cashman is playing baseball these days with multiple stress fractures in his lower back.

His ability to carry his teammates remains unaffected.

Moments after being given a reprieve when his foul popup was dropped in the top of the seventh inning in the Catholic League championship game at La Salle University, Cashman crushed a grand slam far over the fence in dead leftfield to give Archbishop Carroll High a stirring, monumental, memorable . . .

Lead.

Not a victory.

Almost the instant Cashman finished his joyous trip around the bases, a drop or three became rain. It then intensified by perceptible degrees as the Patriots' next two batters, Brian Rorick and Colin McHale, reached base via an error and hit.

With those guys on third and second, respectively, and nobody out, the umpires halted play. Though the downpour lasted only 8 minutes, it turned the dirt infield into a partial swamp. Plus, the timing was bad because La Salle's groundskeepers, who work until 4:30, had just gone home for the day.

The verdict? The game will be completed today at noon. With Carroll ahead of Archbishop Ryan, 5-3.

Cashman, a senior shortstop and No. 3 hitter, will be the guy with bags under his eyes. Bags the size of suitcases.

"I'm not going to be able to sleep; I don't know about the rest of the guys,'' Cashman said, laughing. "I had trouble sleeping [Tuesday] night.

"We had graduation practice at 9:45 [yesterday morning]. I woke up at 6. I kept going back to bed. Till 7. Till 7:30 . . . This was a long day. I can't imagine what tonight's going to be like. ''

The seventh began as senior lefthander Tom Dolan, a Temple signee, issued walks to Matt Lisowski and Dave Puliti. Senior righthander Mike Szelagowski came on and hit John George with his first pitch. He then went 3-0 on Cashman.

The first rumble of thunder came as Szelagowski threw a strike. Next, Cashman lofted a high popup in front of the third-base dugout. The wind carried the ball close to the foul line. Szelagowski flat-out dropped it.

"When I hit it, I thought it was way out of play,'' Cashman said. "When I saw the guy underneath it, I thought, 'Oh, geeeeeez. ' But then I got lucky. ''

Cashman was all over the next pitch. The ball reached the building maybe 50 feet behind the fence, landing on a loading dock. The grand slam was the first in a CL title game and only the fourth overall in postseason action.

"I've had some game-winning hits and made game-winning plays, but nothing ever like that,'' Cashman gushed. "Plus, it's my senior year in the Catholic League . . . But it's not over yet. ''

Rallying was nothing new this year for the Patriots, who are seeking their sixth title in 9 years. They came back from 3-0 vs. St. Joseph's Prep in the second round and from 6-1 vs. Conwell-Egan in the semifinals. In those games, though, they got rollin' much earlier.

"This time we were on our last three outs,'' Cashman said. "We did it before. We knew we could do it again. ''

As one could imagine, Ryan's players, coaches and fans were shellshocked.

"There's no time limit to baseball. That can happen,'' Dolan said. "As coach [Ron] Gerhart told us, Carroll's known for being able to hang around . . . That kid hit a grand slam on a decent pitch. My hat's off to him. We've gotta live with it. ''

Dolan said he willingly left the mound because he was gassed. Gerhart said Dolan's pitch count was over 100 and he had no hesitation to yank him.

"If I could have gotten a couple of quick outs before maybe having to turn it over to Mike, that would have been great,'' Dolan said. "Couldn't get them. ''

Even if Ryan gets through the rest of the inning unscathed, it will bring 8-9-1 to the plate in the bottom half. Senior righthander Brandon Gribbin worked a perfect sixth in relief of Rorick (4 1/3 innings) and soph Andrew McDonnell (line-drive doubleplay on the only pitch he threw).

Ryan's three third-inning runs were unearned due to McHale's errant throw in a rundown. Rob Fisher (single) and Anthony Carter (double) did have hits for RBI, though.

As for Cashman's bad back . . .

"The doctor thinks I got the stress fractures just playing baseball,'' he said. "They just happened over time. I play through the pain. When I'm out there, that's the last thing I'm thinking about. ''

Last night, all night, probably staring straight up at the ceiling with a huge smile on his face, he was thinking about his once-in-a-lifetime moment.

And how it had not completely resolved anything. *

Practice makes perfect
Stewart, Cashman lead Carroll to title

Jun 04, 2004

By TED SILARY silaryt@phillynews.com

Ryan Stewart and Chris Cashman maintained a tradition throughout their senior baseball season.

The night before every game, the good buddies headed to a batting-cage facility, The Dugout, in Bridgeport and hammered away for four rounds apiece.

"There's a line on the wall marking singles, doubles, triples . . . " Stewart said. "We would always get excited when we'd make good contact. It was always, 'That's what we're going to do tomorrow! . . . that's what we're going to do tomorrow! '

"We always made sure to end on a good note. With a real good hit. "

He smiled. "If we were struggling a little, and we got a good one, we'd just end it and let the machine keep running for the rest of the round. "

Stewart is a senior centerfielder for Archbishop Carroll High - he'll graduate today, in fact - and Wednesday night he and Cashman had to rewrite the definition for their batting cage visits.

Before games. And "during" games.

You see, the Catholic League baseball title game was halted by rain Wednesday afternoon soon after Cashman, a senior shortstop, hammered a grand slam to dead leftfield in the top of the seventh inning at La Salle University to give the Patriots a 5-1 lead.

It was the first slam ever in a CL title game.

"While we were hitting last night," Stewart said, "it was tough not to talk like we already had it won. "

They did have it won, as it turned out. Stewart helped see to it.

The resumption began at noon, with only about 75 people in attendance. It lasted just 12 minutes and Stewart provided the only highlight.

With Brian Rorick and Colin McHale on third and second, respectively, and with the infield drawn in, Stewart began play by reaching reliever Rob Fisher for a grounder that took a wicked hop past second baseman Shawn Costello for a two-run single.

That was pretty much it, folks. Carroll went meekly from there, Brandon Gribbin set down Ryan 1-2-3 in the bottom half and Carroll had a 7-3 victory. Along with its sixth title in 9 years.

Gribbin, who's bound for Winthrop, in South Carolina, had a spotty senior season due mostly to control problems. Yet, thanks to his teammates' comeback powers (the Patriots overcame deficits in all three playoff wins) and his own effectiveness, he finished with back-to-back victories.

Stewart, in the No. 6 hole, went 2-for-4 with a double in addition to the two-run single. He's bound for Penn State. Cashman is headed for St. Joseph's.

"It feels great to go out like this," Stewart said. "Every senior wants to win a championship in his last year.

"I had to do something when I came up. Two guys were right there, waiting to come around and give Brandon even some more insurance. "

Carroll finished 23-8 overall and lost only once - in extra innings, at that - from mid-April on.

While acknowledging that this squad paled in comparison with other Carroll champs from the power standpoint, coach Fran Murphy (coach of the last four titlists) loved the way they hit for average. He credited heavy attention to batting practice.

"I don't think there was a day," he said, "where we didn't do a lot of hitting. "

The reason: Carroll had seven returning starters and had something to prove after last year being no-hit by La Salle's Dan Waters in a semifinal.

"That was a terrible feeling," Stewart said. "To blow them out the year before in the title game [16-0], then get no-hit, that really bothers you. It was really bad for the seniors. Imagine going out like that. "

Murphy had deep appreciation for the leadership shown by Stewart and Cashman, the co-captains.

"Sometimes the best decision you make as a coach is to stay out of the way," he said.

He was smart enough to do so right after the game, too. Thus, a popular assistant, the Rev. Edward Casey, was the target of the bucket-of-water dousing.

"I'll take that any time!" he kept roaring, beaming from soaked ear to soaked ear. *