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June 30, 2004

Chugger has a blast at Citizens Bank Park

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


“There’s a long drive to left center. Watch this baby. It’s way outta here. Home run, Chugger LaCasse.”

Harry Kalas wasn’t at Citizens Bank Park last week when the recent Ocean City High School graduate smashed his drive in the Carpenter Cup but that is probably the way it would have sounded if he had been.

LaCasse, who shared the lead in home runs this spring for the Raiders with three, homered in the first inning for the Tri-Cape team in the semi-finals of the tournament, co-sponsored by the Phillies, that spotlights some of the best high school baseball players in the Delaware Valley.

“It was an incredible feeling,” said LaCasse. “It really wasn’t my best hit of the season. The count was 0-2 and the ball was about knee high. I leaned into it and made good contact. I didn’t feel the ball hit the bat. I knew it was hit pretty well but I was halfway to second base when I realized it was gone. It was amazing.”

That home run sailed over the 369-foot sign in left center. Observers estimate it carried more than 400 feet.

The next time up, LaCasse nailed one to straightaway center. “I might have hit that one better,” he said, “but the centerfielder pulled it down right in front of the wall in center.”

All of this power contributed to the semifinal win by Tri-Cape and a spot in the Carpenter Cup championship game the next night. It also put LaCasse on the spot. He was scheduled to play in the Adam Taliaferro Football Classic later in the week but, because his baseball all star team reached the final, he could not play in both.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association requires five practice sessions before playing in a football all star game and Chugger could not meet that requirement if he played in the Carpenter Cup championship game.

“It was a difficult choice,” he said, “but since the baseball game was a championship game, I decided to stick with that team and see what happened.”

The Tri-Cape team lost the championship game at Citizens Bank Park and, two days later, LaCasse was at Eastern High School watching the Taliaferro Classic.

“It was frustrating,” he said, “but it was also fun watching the top players from around here, guys I had played against. Our team got beaten pretty badly and I don’t know if I could have been much help. That part of it was tough to watch.”

LaCasse didn’t hesitate when asked what he would have done had he been forced to choose between the Carpenter Cup and the Taliaferro Classic before any games were played.

“I’d have picked the football game, definitely,” he said, “but I think I made the right choice under these circumstances.”

LaCasse is the nephew of two successful OCHS athletes – John and Chris Gunnels. And his grandfather, Riley Gunnels, played in the NFL. Chugger hit .344 for OCHS both this season and last. As a junior, he handled a school record 125 chances without an error. In football, he led the team with 77 tackles, 28 of them solos last fall. He had two interceptions, recovered two fumbles, forced two fumbles and blocked three extra points.

In mid-August, LaCasse will head to Peddie School, one of the top prep schools in the country. They plan to use him as a middle linebacker and as both an offensive guard and fullback. He is already working out with Peddie’s training program. “I want to be in the best shape possible when I go,” he said.

By the way, were you wondering what happened to that ball LaCasse drilled over the Citizens Bank Park fence?

“I’ve got it,” Chugger said. “One of the guys working out there gave it to my uncle. That home run was a moment I will always remember and the ball is something I’ll always have.”



Read more of Tom Williams' columns