Baseball Season Recap: Bridgemen Saw Highlights in Otherwise Tough Season

The Bridgemen baseball team finished the season with a record of 10-16, but did qualify for the state playoffs, where they fell to West Essex Regional High School in the first round.

It was an up and down year for Fort Lee that started off on a different note for the club. Head coach Mike Raftery and his team went down to Florida to play two scrimmages and the first two regular season games. This trip was on the list of highlights of the season.

“Second trip to Disney's ESPN Spring Training Complex and a return to the state playoffs,” said Raftery in reference to some highlight moments from the season.

The Bridgemen made the state tournament for the first time since 2007, which was a great accomplishment for a team that had great moments all year provided by starting senior pitcher John Hroncic, along with Nick Gogic, Mike Frankel, Nick Gentile, Ross Fasman, Pedro Lopez and others.

The biggest regular season victory for the Bridgemen came against a strong Tenafly team that really boosted the team’s confidence.

A couple of games slipped away from Fort Lee, which could have upped the team's record to .500, but it was never due to a lack of hard work or effort. The effort put into this season is evident in the fact that the team did qualify for the state tournament for the first time in four years.

The season went well overall, and the good news is that there will be a lot of familiar faces next season.

"Outlook is good, we return seven varsity letter winners, including one first team all-league player (Ross Fasman) and two second team all-league players, Nick Gogic and Nick Gentile,” said Raftery.

The team will look to return to the state tournament next season with a lot of varsity players returning with a focus on achieving that goal.

The return of these players and others will be good for a Bridgemen team that has already taken steps in the right direction.