Patrick Cassells lives and breathes baseball, whether it’s been with his ‘Hustle’ or ‘Wow Factor’ travel teams, or perhaps on the ‘Perfect Game’ circuit of summer ball, including at Diamond Nation, where college exposure is always a plus.
But, now is now, and the full focus this spring season is on helping to boost the fortunes of his high school team at Seton Hall Prep, where he is a first-year varsity performer as a junior while adding much zip to the lineup as a hard-hitting outfielder, and also adding much more to his wide-ranging role as a superb addition on the mound where he is emerging as one of the pitchers to watch for veteran Coach Mike Sheppard, Jr.’s very promising diamond squad.
The powerful 5-foot-11, 190-pound Cassells had quite the recent stretch as SHP (4-0) has burst out of the gates as a team to watch once again on the statewide scene. He has gone 4-for-9 at the plate with 4 RBI, including a pair of runs knocked in during the Pirates’ 4-0 start to the new campaign, which included an important early-season Super Essex Conference-American Division 4-0 win at Livingston on April 3, a contest where he started in center field and also pitched an efficient, 16-pitch scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts to seal the deal in the big SHP win while excelling in relief after SHP’s No. 1 starting pitcher, senior major league prospect Marcelo Harsch worked the first six frames allowing just one hit, walking one and fanning seven.
Cassells then came through with his own masterpiece as a starting pitcher, hurling a 5-inning no-hitter vs. Millburn in an 11-0 Pirates’ homestanding victory at Porcello Field on Tuesday, April 8. He walked one and struck out eight while facing just one batter over the minimum while recording 15 outs in the contest halted after four-and-a-half innings due to the NJSIAA’s 10-run rule.
For his superlative efforts in beginning his first varsity season with such gusto, Cassells is the Parisi Fairfield/Sideline Chatter Athlete of the Week.
The West Orange resident and Rutgers University commit, who said he has thrown three or four no-hitters dating back to his junior baseball days, is another of those in a long line of talented SHP Pirate baseball players who simply live and breathe the game year-round.
“If I’m not playing baseball, I might have a little time to hang out with friends, but I’m probably busy with my work which might be off-season weight training or doing whatever I need to do to prepare for my next start,” said the serious-minded, up-and-coming SHP player to watch. “The thing that I see when I watch any major league pitcher is that they all have confidence whether they succeed or not out there, and you have to be ready every time you go out there.
“It still always comes down to the type of stuff you have on that particular day, but you always have to be prepared and have a plan on how to pitch to each batter, plus have that confidence in your ability.”
Cassells said he relied mainly on his fast ball and curve to tame the Millers in tossing his first high school varsity no-hitter.
“I just tried to throw strikes and do my job which is to get hitters out,” he said. “With the cold weather we’ve been having to start this season you don’t want to waste pitches or try to do too much.”
He needed just 54 pitches in tossing his rather-efficient 5-inning no-hitter vs. Millburn.
The versatile SHP standout enjoys working under an experienced coaching staff headed by Shep, Jr. now in his 38th season with the Pirates, and longtime assistant Frank Gately, who has started his 34th year in the program.
“Our coaches are great, and they give us the room to do what we need to do to get ready to pitch as long as we stay on top of our bullpen work,” added Cassells. “I feel very fortunate to pitch and play for the first-class program we have here at The Prep!”
Shep, Jr. (875-236-7), who is second on the state’s all-time victories list behind the now retired Ken Frank of Toms River South (934 victories), is pleased with the progress of his junior pitcher-outfielder.
“Pat is an athletic baseball player who is skilled as a position player (OF) and as a pitcher,” he said. “The key to his performance vs. Millburn was getting ahead of hitters.”
For Cassells, beyond continuing to hit well while manning one of the outfield positions for the Pirates, and also doing his part as either a starter or reliever for the pitching staff, is to see SHP reach the pinnacle of the sport in 2025.
“Our No. 1 goal is to win a state championship, no doubt about that,” said the talented SHP standout. “I believe we have the team to do it, and our pitching staff is really good, whether you’re talking about Marcelo, (fellow junior right-hander) JJ (Drennan) or a number of other guys who also can get big outs for us.
“We know that we face the best teams in the state, but I have the utmost confidence in the abilities of our team to play at a very high level.”
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Parents and coaches are invited to visit their website for additional information at www.parisifairfield.com or contact their Director, John Cirilo at 973 227-0199.
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