It is the sound that best represents Paul VI’s season, a loud “ping” followed by a roaring crowd. It is the sound senior outfielder Zach Costello has produced time and again for the home-run happy Panthers.
Costello was at it again last Thursday in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game at Povich Field in Bethesda. His two solo home runs gave top-ranked Paul VI all the offense it needed in a 5-0 shutout of St. John’s.
The Panthers earned their first WCAC title since 1993 and helped ease the sting of back-to-back championship game losses. They did it while demolishing the program record for home runs in a season with 32. And they still had games remainingto build on that record, beginning with Tuesday’s Virginia Independent School state quarterfinal vs. Trinity Episcopal.
“Two homers in a championship game is kind of a dream come true. I almost don’t know what to say. It leaves you speechless,” said Costello, who had seven home runs entering Tuesday night’s game. “It’s something we’ve been doing all year. We don’t try to hit home runs. But we have our own little hitting philosophy that’s all about just making contact and there are a lot of guys on this team who can hit it a long way when they do.”
Junior pitcher Mike Mitchell didn’t need much offensive support on Thursday against St. John’s. The converted catcher tossed a complete-game one-hitter for his fourth shutout of the year. But two days earlier Paul VI found itself in an 1-1 extra-inning battle with No. 4 seed Gonzaga. Always with a flair for the dramatic, Costello blasted a three-run homer over the right field fence in the bottom of the ninth to give the Panthers a 4-1 semifinal victory.
“You almost come to expect it when Zach’s hitting,” said Mitchell. “He always delivers for us.”
Costello batted .410 and committed just two errors in center field. He also led Paul VI with 35 RBI. He will play baseball next year at Delaware, one of the top programs in the Colonial Athletic Association.
“Zach is a kid who we all thought should have been first-team All-WCAC player and he wasn’t,” Paul VI coach Billy Emerson said of Costello, who was named second-team all-league. “But he didn’t complain or cry about it. He just went out and proved it, instead.”
Panthers Pride
» Paul VI is 76-18 since 2004 with three WCAC finals appearances. Won the VIS state title in 2004 and was runner-up in 2006.
» Ten different players hit home runs for Paul VI, including four each from juniors Reed Bromley and Tim McCormick. Old program record was 23.
» Junior OF Peter Verdin, one of the top underclassmen in the Washington, D.C. area, has verbally committed to play baseball at Georgia.
