Baseball: Senior Co-Captains Lead Fox Lane

Fox Lane has won 13 of its first 15 games due, in large part, to the play and leadership of senior co-captains Donny Castaldo and Jake McGrath, who play centerfield and second base respectively.

Castaldo leads the Foxes at the plate with a .509 batting average while McGrath is third, batting at a .478 clip.

One reason duo has been so successful on the diamond is because of the friendship that they have enjoyed with one another off it.

“Jake has been my friend for a while now,” Castaldo said. “We are on the same page with the team and how to control everybody, how to keep the team going. We are also on the same page with coach [Matt Hillis] so we have a good thing going on what will help us in the long run.”

The co-captains have been playing baseball together since they were in middle school, according to McGrath.

“We have actually won a championship together for a Mount Kisco team,” McGrath said. “The way Donnie plays and the way he goes about his business, he’s a great example of how to lead a team. I just try to follow that too.”

Castaldo said that McGrath's personality is easy-going and he knows the game well.

“He’s a good player for the underclassmen to look up to,” Castaldo said. “He helps them with their weaknesses during practice. He’s easy to get along with.”

The senior co-captains are now hoping that they and their teammates can keep up their hot play and wind up in the Section 1 Class AA championship game, which will be played at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill.

The 4,500-seat capacity stadium is home to the Hudson Valley Renegades, the Single A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Fox Lane has played there the last three years, including a 7-2 triumph against Carmel on May 13.

“It’s a great experience,” Castaldo said. “The atmosphere is awesome. It’s great to play in a big stadium. It’s different too. The outfield is a lot bigger than a normal high-school field. There is a lot of room. The ball flies in a big stadium like that. It’s fun to play there.”

What would be especially fun is playing there for a sectional championship.

“It would be great to play a big game in such a nice park,” Castaldo said. “It would just add on to the excitement of playing in a sectional final.”

McGrath agreed.

“I love playing there,” McGrath said. “It definitely gets you pumped up to go into a stadium like that and play baseball. To play a game there that had that much importance would just be incredible. I would love to play there again under those circumstances.”

They have an excellent chance to do so because of a program that is strong all-around.

“The whole program, even JV and freshmen, I think they are both undefeated, it’s just our whole program has always been strong,” Castaldo said.

Castaldo said a lot of that has to do with the coaching they receive--from Hillis to his assistants Diz Di Fiore and Stan Latimer and the other coaches of the other teams in the program.

“It has a lot to do with our coaching,” Castaldo said. “Our coaching throughout the program is just great at teaching the game to all the young players from modified up to varsity, so by the time the younger kids get to varsity they know what to expect. That definitely helps to have a good feeder program.”

While Castaldo and McGrath have been good co-captains, McGrath said that it will take a team effort to get to Dutchess Stadium and win a sectional championship.

“It’s not one player every game, it always seems to be a group of guys that come together and hit the ball hard," McGrath said. "What it will come down to is keeping other teams off the board and how well we play on defense and the hits will come with that.”