For First Time in Years, Hopatcong Hosts Men's Softball Team

Every Sunday and once during the week, Bryan McKenna would drive into Bergen county to play softball.

But have you seen those gas prices recently?

McKenna decided enough was enough. In July, McKenna created the Hopatcong Hitmen, a men's softball team in the Double-AA Sports league. While his decision has nothing to do with saving gas, McKenna will ultimately do so, now that the Hitmen will play at Veterans field in town this fall.

"I started it because I had to drive to Mahwah or Paterson, they were always far away," McKenna said. "With a team closer to home, my wife and kids could come. This is much easier for the family. It's something that could happen every week. Something I could share with my family, friends of the community. So I did it."

It started with McKenna getting permits to play at Veterans Field. After two months, the town awarded the Hitmen the field on Sunday mornings and Wednesdays to practice.

McKenna spread the word to his friends and posted flyers up around town. Before he knew it, McKenna had a full squad. He even had to let a few people go.

The Hitmen will play 16 games over the next eight weeks. Each Sunday, the Hitmen will play doubleheaders. In November, after the 18-game season has been completed, the playoffs will start. Out of the 64 teams in Double-AA league, 32 will make the playoffs.

On Sunday, the Hitmen defeated Paterson's Silk City Bombers, dropping McKenna's old club, 14-9 and 12-7.

Ryan Hakim led the Hitmen at the plate with four hits and four RBIs over the two games. Jason Sgroi had five hits in six at bats while driving in three. Jose Ovalle won both games on the mound for the Hitmen.

Every player had at least two hits Sunday. All but two players had two runs. The Hitmen batted .564 as a team.

"When we signed up for the league to make sure we put them on our schedule," McKenna said of the Bombers. "We didn't necessarily want to play them the first week, but we wanted to play them and beat them."

McKenna heard the trash talk, and it was expected. At the end of last season, McKenna was swinging a big stick and showcased some pop. So when McKenna failed to hit a home run in the teams first two games against his old club, he heard about it."

"There was a whole lot of trash talking," McKenna said. "They were notorious for that even when we played with them. Especially with my brother-in-law, they were non-stop the entire time. They were busting on me that I must be getting weaker. They kept saying, 'Warning track power.'"

Hopatcong will host Millbrook Pub Sunday at 9 a.m.. You can get a full schedule of the games at http://www.doubleaasports.com/scheduleWest.htm.

Roster

Bryan McKenna, Vinncent Eckerson, Kevin Egli, Tim Bullas, Andy Mauro, Jim Haws, Norm Sutton, Jason Sgroi, Jose Ovalle, Joey Gramma, Rich Hoer, Pedro Godoy, Eric Sabol, Ryan Hakim, Robert Mullharin