T-Birds Win State Sectional Championship

’s Varsity Boys Baseball team has already achieved two major milestones this season. Earlier in the year, the boys won the Big North League Championship for the second year in a row, and with an 11-0 victory over Pequannock last Friday, they became the Group Two State Sectional Champs.

The team, which has a 22-6 record this season, played “a great game,” head coach Jeff Remo said. Junior pitcher Chris Baldi pitched a no-hitter, which Remo called, “very rare, especially in the finals.” Catcher CJ Musemeci “had great hits, and did a nice job catching defensively,” he said.

Remo credited a bunch of players with “really clutch hits” during the game, which allowed the T-Birds to rally such a high score. Junior Eric Kaplan, who leads the team in RBIs, and sophomore Matt Krupa added home runs to hits by Brendan Brown, Adam Hanig, Cole Fabio, Shane Woelfel, and Andrew Shuart.

Team chemistry has been the key to the Thunderbirds’ success, Remo said. “We have no selfish players,” he said. “It is truly a team effort, and every single player on the team contributes to our wins.”

Nearing the end of a very winning season, Remo said the team has “a new hero every game. We’ve got everyone pitching in at different times, doing something to help us win. It’s just a really good mix on the team.”

So far, the team won four playoff games in order to be crowned Group 2 champs. Tuesday, the team will take on Madison High School in the North Jersey Championship. If they win there, the T-Birds will head to the state championship game Saturday.

“We are taking it one game at a time,” Remo said. “When you start playing teams from towns you’ve never heard of, it gets interesting.” But, he said he is proud of all of the team’s accomplishments thus far this season. “Everyone is contributing, and they’ve all done well.”

The members of the boys Varsity baseball team are seniors Adam Hanig, David Gagliardotto, Andrew Shuart, Kyle Morgan, Ian Curry, Ross Lasker, Bobby Wright and Brendan Brown; Juniors Cole Fabio, Eric Kaplan, Chris Baldi, CJ Musemeci, John Pantano, Greg Rozar, Mike Altamuro and Liam Kantanas; Sophomores Matt Krupa, Shane Woelfel, Jason Stepp, David Carrillo and Zack Fregueletti; and Freshmen Ryan Remo and Ben Hartwick.

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