Celebration of Ketcham's baseball state title reaches the field at Yankee Stadium

Michael Schiavone had already toured Yankee Stadium. As a lifelong fan of the baseball team and having a dad with some corporate connections, he had set foot on that field and in the dugouts more than once.

But this experience was unlike any of those.

“It definitely felt different,” the Roy C. Ketcham High School graduate said. “It was surreal, being there with my teammates and knowing that we’re on one of the biggest stages in baseball, and they’re honoring us.”

Schiavone and his teammates were celebrated there Thursday night as the New York Yankees paid tribute to the 2023 state championship baseball team, giving them big-league treatment that included a guided stadium tour and complimentary use of a luxury suite and its amenities.

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“They were definitely wide-eyed,” Ketcham coach Pat Mealy said of his players. “The majority of our team is Yankees fans, so getting to go through Monument Park and get on the field was extra special.”

While the Yankees readied to host the Detroit Tigers, the Ketcham baseball team was introduced before a crowd of more than 32,000 and welcomed onto the field before the national anthem.

As photos from their remarkable postseason run were displayed on the stadium Jumbotron — including the celebratory dogpile after recording the last out of the state final — the memories of those moments came rushing back to Schiavone and, with that, an even greater appreciation of the journey.

“The feeling of joy and excitement made those memories I’ll never forget,” said Schiavone, who recently began his freshman year at Marist College. “But then seeing them up on the screen at the Stadium, and getting to relive it in that setting, it was incredible.”

The ceremony was an early reunion of sorts, the group gathering for the first time since the school year ended. Keaton Blackwood and Brendan McGowan are away at college and couldn’t attend, but the rest of them convened in the Bronx, showing off the championship rings they received on Wednesday.

Ketcham in June captured its first Class AA state title since 2005, capping a sterling season marked by overall dominance and a nail-biting state final that won’t soon be forgotten. Ketcham eked out a 2-1 victory over Long Island powerhouse Commack, despite being no-hit.

“We were all in amazement,” said Mealy, whose son Ryan is one of the stars of the team. “We’re hugging everyone and then I turn around and Ryan is standing behind me. He’s got tears in his eyes and says, ‘Can you believe we did this together?’ That knocked me off my feet.”

Schiavone’s dad, Michael, works for a company that oversees the ticket sales for some of New York City’s largest venues, including Yankee Stadium. There, he has fostered relationships with some of the Bombers bigwigs.

After the Yankees earlier this summer honored the Class A baseball state champion, Columbia High School, Mealy contacted the elder Schiavone to ask if it was possible for Ketcham to have a similar ceremony. Schiavone put them in touch with the Yankees marketing department, which organized this event.

“We’re incredibly grateful for him doing that, and to the marketing team for setting everything up and treating us so well,” Mealy said.

Ketcham entered the spring with high expectations, realizing the talent on its roster. Players believed they were good enough to win a state title last year, but they were upset in the regional final.

“So it was in our minds that we could do it this year and we had to make it count,” said Schiavone, who was a star outfielder and leadoff hitter. “We played our best ball down the stretch and made that dream come true.”

The roster was littered with standouts including Owen Paino, Riley Weatherwax, Kevin Camacho, Ryan Mealy, and Tyler and Connor Durkin, each of whom was regarded among the best players in the Hudson Valley.

The triumph, Pat Mealy said, was “the culmination of hard work and so many moving parts coming together at the right time.”

Their summer of celebration “has been great,” the coach said. The Wappingers Falls community also has planned for the team a parade, and they’ll be recognized during a town hall meeting.

“What makes all of this even more meaningful to me is the fact that a lot of us had played together since we were little,” Schiavone said. “Some of us had been teammates since we were 7. There was no better way to cap my career than that.”

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Baseball: Yankees honor Ketcham's 2023 baseball state title team