By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — Ocean City wrestling coach Dave Castellini and his counterpart, Egg Harbor Township’s Mike Caiazza, each spent the better part of Wednesday afternoon running through their heads the dozens of scenarios of how the match between the Red Raiders and Eagles would play out. They probably didn’t expect the kind of intensity and wild matches the night would bring. The matchup featured comeback wins, a bout that saw each wrestler nearly get pinned, a thrilling double-overtime bout, and a late run by Ocean City that came up just short. Egg Harbor Township sophomore Connor Agostino was nearly pinned in his 195-pound bout with Mike Gardner, but fought back to get the pin in the third period, and those six points ended up sealing a 29-25 win by the Eagles. Gardner was nearly pinned early on before he flipped the advantage. The ending wasn’t without drama, however. Ocean City needed 12 points in the final two bouts to steal the win, but although the Red Raiders won both bouts, they didn’t get enough bonus points. EHT's Kenny Kleshick tries to break the hold of Ocean City's Will Nickerson during their bout at 138 pounds. EHT’s Kenny Kleshick tries to break the hold of Ocean City’s Will Nickerson during their bout at 138 pounds. “It was a crazy ending. I almost got pinned and I was kind of surprised by that,” Agostino said. “I was just thinking ‘don’t get pinned, don’t get pinned.’ But I got out and got lucky there, I guess.” At 220 pounds, Kyle Strunk tried desperately to get the pin Ocean City needed. He followed Castellini’s advice of continually letting up then taking down his opponent in an effort to set up a pinning combination. Ocean City trailed 29-18 heading into that match, meaning it needed two pins in order to win. “I knew a tech fall wouldn’t win us the match because if it came down to a tie we would have lost (on criteria). So I was just trying to go neutral and just catch him there (for a pin),” Castellini said of the strategy. “I knew the tech fall still wouldn’t have won it. I thought he could get a takedown and go for the half or something.” The match certainly had a postseason atmosphere, which should help both teams prepare for the state team playoffs next week. “It’s good. This will help us when we get to the playoffs. It was great having a close match, that was exciting,” Agostino said. “We’re both having a real good year right now and we’re both going to the playoffs next week, so we knew it was going to be a good match,” Castellini said. “It’s good for both teams to get that right before the playoffs. It was the closest match of the year, and we both had it that way on paper.” Caiazza said he loves the type of competition a team like Ocean City brings to the gym. “It’s definitely a confidence booster. This is a league match so it’s one we have to wrestle, but along with that we go out and try to wrestle (good teams). We’re not worried about wins and losses, we’re trying to get the best competition we can get,” Caiazza said. “We try to get in these battles every week because when the postseason comes along, eventually you’re going to meet up that kid who is really good and we need to be prepared for that.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays  [adsense]