BY GABY MALANGA
Sports Copy Editor
The Knights baseball team continued where they left off last season with a 16-6 record. They seek to repeat as NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 4 Champions and earn a GMC Title for the first time since 2019.
The team beat St. Joseph Metuchen 6-4 in the first round of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. Justin Meyer earned the win with a 2 run, 6 strikeout game. Meyer also went 2-3 at the plate in the game. “The game against [St.] Joes was a hard battle,” mentioned Meyer.
In the Quarterfinal round against North Brunswick this past Saturday, the defense struggled on the field with five errors, leaving Justin Hascup fighting for every pitch on the mound. North Brunswick held the Knights hitless into the fourth inning until Meyer turned the momentum, earning the first hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth.
Heading into the fifth inning, the boys trailed 4-1, but they tied it up on RBIs from Christopher Crosta, Frank Papeo, and Hascup. “We knew the game was coming close to the end, so we needed to fight back,” said Crosta.
After North Brunswick took the lead back by scoring one run in the top of the sixth, Michael Altman led off the bottom of the inning with a double. Then, Meyer drove him to tie it back up. Christian Cavanaugh dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Meyer into scoring position. With two outs, Crosta drove in the go-ahead run on his double.
With Crosta on second base and two outs, Papeo went yard, hitting a two-run homerun for Old Bridge to take the lead 8-5, resulting in a big win. “I had a lot of confidence going into that at bat, I kept telling Crosta to get on base for me so I could put the game out of reach,” said Papeo. “Being able to help the team out late in the game in an important spot was great for us going into the next inning and ending the game.”
Luke Hagen came in as closer to finish up the game, and North Brunswick worked two walks to get the tying run to the plate before junior Akhil Penkala made a game-ending diving catch. “We battled all game, and I’m just glad I was able to make the play,” said Penkala, who is hitting .412 to lead the team.
On May 11, the boys took on Sayreville in the semi-final round. In the fifth inning, the Knights completed the mercy, ending the game 10-0. Meyer earned seven strikeouts on the mound in five shut-out innings. “It felt great,” expressed Meyer, who has accrued a 0.91 ERA.
The team had a big game at the plate. Penkala went 3-3, and Evan Smith hit a bomb to left field, sending three runs in. “It felt great hitting the homerun,” stated Smith who is tied on the team in homeruns (2). “I’ll do whatever it takes to help my team win.”
Old Bridge has relied heavily on its pitching this season. Seniors Papeo, Meyer, and Hagen and junior Justin Hascup have all had a massive role on the team, securing big wins. The four have combined for 139 strikeouts this season. “It’s a great thing to have four reliable pitchers to trust going on the mound,” said Papeo.
Although battling an injury to his pitching arm, senior Papeo continues to showcase his talents with an ERA of just 0.25. Papeo has proved more than just a pitcher, recording 20 hits at the plate and a batting average of .357. “When I suffered from my shoulder injury, I knew it was going to be a while to come back and try to be at my best physically and mentally to pitch on the mound,” expressed Papeo. “Once I figured that I could not pitch for a good amount of time, I needed to make an impact up at the plate and help my team more with the bat.”
Hascup, GMC’s 2023 Pitcher of the Year, hopes to keep improving on the mound. “I feel like I can really improve on trying to strikeout, meaning, throw more off-speed pitches a little out of the zone instead of just leaving it close to the plate for them to make contact,” mentioned Hascup who leads the team with 49 strikeouts.
The team lost ten valuable seniors to graduation, but a new set of players have stepped up. A talented young addition to the team, sophomore Crosta earned his spot on varsity and in the starting lineup. “Every day, I will continue to work hard to be a great teammate and perform to the best of my ability to help this team win a GMC championship and NJSIAA State championship,” said Crosta.
Meyer served as a reliable contributor to the team this season. Whether on the mound, at plate or center field, Meyer continues to make game changing plays. “Every time I get the chance to pitch, I pitch to win but not just to win for me, I pitch to win for the people behind me,” explained Meyer who has a 26/8 K/BB ratio.
Junior John Smith has a huge role on the team as the leadoff hitter. “When I lead the game off, I look to start the team off with a hit. This way, it gets the whole team excited and hyped up for the game,” said Smith who leads the team in hits with 24.
Penkala continues to improve each game. He has already tripled his hit total from last season. “I feel like I have been seeing the ball well recently, and my swing feels great,” said Penkala who has 19 hits and 11 runs scored.
The team chemistry has built tremendously since the team trip to St Peterburg, Florida in March. “As a team, we got so close with each other and play so well, I don’t think we can be stopped,” stated Meyer, who is second on the team in RBIs with 13. “We have won many games this season, and if we keep it up and play for each other, there will be many more victories ahead of us.”
The Knights will wrap up their regular season schedule with a home game against Milburn today at 4pm and Senior Night Wednesday at 6pm. Come out and support the Knights as they aim for a GMC championship this Saturday at 2:30pm at the Middlesex County Magnet School in East Brunswick.
Posted on 5/13/24
Photos by Caitlin LaFlower
Knight Life 