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From Little League to Major League: 2 Chaminade students, former teammates call Mets-Mariners game with ESPN

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Roman Brunetti (L.) and Thomas Gamba (R.) sit next to each other in the Williamsport broadcasting booth.
Photo provided by Roman Brunetti

While many may think of calling major league plays on air with ESPN as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, for Chaminade seniors and former Little League teammates Roman Brunetti and Thomas Gamba, it’s something they plan to repeat. 

Both aspiring sports broadcasters and self-described sports fanatics, Brunetti and Gamba announced the Little League Classic between the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners in Williamsport, P.A., on Aug. 17. The duo, both 17 years old, called plays alongside the ESPN team live on national television for the duration of the Major League game.

“It was really spectacular to work with the amazing ESPN crew,” Gamba said. “The producer, Doug Whitehorn, and our director, Mike Dressman, were in our ears, working back in the production trailer.”

If they have their way, they’ll be back on ESPN before long. Brunetti and Gamba both plan to study sports broadcasting and announce collegiate sports at college next fall, though they’re still deciding where they’ll bring their passion. 

“I’m a Mets fan, so if I could follow in the footsteps of Gary Cohen or Howie Rose, that’d be phenomenal,” Brunetti said. “Honestly, I would do anything; I’d broadcast for any MLB team. I’m also a huge college sports fan. Announcing college football or college basketball and going to some of these crazy environments, I think, would be really cool, and I’d love to do that.” 

Brunetti and Gamba said their opportunity to step up to the major league last weekend was made possible by their participation in the Bruce Beck Sports Broadcasting Camp. The camp runs for a week in mid-July. After coaching and an audition process, two high schoolers are selected to announce the classic.

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Brunetti and Gamba stand together at the August match.Photo provided by Roman Brunetti

The pair are no strangers to announcing sporting matches. They’ve been working for companies like Varsity Media and the Hampton’s Collegiate Baseball League, through which they’ve called other high school and college matches across the island during their high school careers.

“It’s been really cool. It’s gotten me a ton of reps, which is really important in the business, and it’s allowed me to meet a lot of cool people,” Gamba said of announcing games through those companies. “It’s a great experience.”

“It’s a bit of a drive out to the Hamptons,” Brunetti said. “But I’m always telling my mom, it’s going to be worth it in the end.” 

They have also both been announcing Chaminade sports matches together since their freshman year on the school’s sports media team, which the pair said was great preparation for their Major League debut.

“I was a little nervous at first, but then I just told myself, ‘This is just like any other Chaminade game,’” said Brunetti about his first time announcing a Major League game. “My nerves kind of settled right there. Then it was just a breeze. It was a blast, really, from there on out.”

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Friends and announcers Gamba and Brunetti team up at a baseball field.Photo provided by Roman Brunetti

But it wasn’t Gamba’s first time on the national stage: he announced last year’s Little League Classic between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers on ESPN, too. He also voiced a televised animated NHL series, called NHL Hockeyverse Matchup of the Week, where he provided post-game commentary on Major League matches this past hockey season.

But he said nothing is quite like the experience of calling a ballgame like last weekend’s live. 

“It was just beyond belief,” Gamba said about calling the Major League game. “To do this is just really, really incredible, and to do it with a friend I’ve known for a while…and done so many sports media things with it’s just really, really awesome.”

It isn’t all fun and games, though, they say. Announcing a match like last weekend’s takes a significant amount of preparation and research. 

“If you don’t prepare, it’s like going into a test when you didn’t study. You’re nervous the whole day,” Gamba said. “But Roman and I prepared so much…we had some incredible interviews during the game. I thought they went really well, and it was just a lot of fun. 

“If you don’t prepare, you get caught in a bad situation, you’re not ready, and then it’s just not fun anymore,” Brunetti said. “It was fun to prepare for this game. There are so many different stats and stories I learned about the MLB players that I’d watched play so many times, but never knew some of these facts.”

Both were formerly on various baseball teams through their childhood, and they believe their place in the world of sports is in the stands instead of on the field.  

“I love sports. But I’ll be straight up: I stunk at sports,” Gamba said, laughing. “I was horrible. This is my way to keep myself in the sports realm. To get paid to watch a sports game and talk about it is literally my dream.”

Brunetti agreed, saying he was excited to keep announcing any game he could. 

“Anything that could get me into the industry, I’d love to do,” Brunetti said. “I want to see where the journey takes me.”

Once the school year starts, those looking to catch the pair locally before their planned move to the national stage can tune in to Chaminade games.

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