CLARK, NJ- The Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders varsity baseball team found themselves trailing by six runs to the South Plainfield High School Tigers coming into the home half of the seventh inning and attempted a late rally to get back in the game.
The eighth-seeded Crusaders added four quick runs to get closer, but came up short, losing to the ninth-seeded Tigers 7-5 in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 First Round Monday afternoon in Clark.
Sophomore Saul Lopez and seniors Mike Casalino and Zach Thornton recorded singles with no outs to load the bases for the Crusaders. Senior Joe Turek stepped up, looking to keep the rally going. He recorded a single to left field, scoring Lopez to cut the deficit to 7-2 and still going.
Senior Kevin Metz knocked one into the outfield, scoring two more to make it a 7-4 game with still no outs.
“If you play the game a long time, you always want the opportunity to be a swing away and we were. That’s the really good thing about what happened in the seventh inning,” Johnson head coach Dave Kennedy said. “We still lost, but that’s the really good thing about it.”
Sophomore Steve Harrington kept the rally going with a deep flyball to left field for a sacrifice fly, scoring Turek to cut the deficit down to 7-5.
The Crusaders would not be able to push across any more runs, as South Plainfield rebounded by getting the next two outs to close the door and punch their ticket to the next round of the state tournament.
Pending weather, with the Johnson Crusaders scheduled to host Union Catholic HS Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., the careers of seniors Anthony Caldiero, Mike Casalino, Kevin Metz, Ryan Spallone, Zach Thornton and Joe Turek officially come to a close.
Some of the players reflected upon their careers with the Johnson varsity baseball team.
“The bond started from eight-year-old travel [baseball] to now. It was great to play with all of these guys for so long and share so many great memories with them,” Mike Casalino said.
“The best thing was playing with all my friends since I was a little kid and watching us grow as a team was special,” Joe Turek said.
“I feel like what separates the typical athlete is the family a Johnson athlete makes,” Ryan Spallone said. “My brothers were more than supportive and involved in my recovery and they were there for me every step of the way, which only made me want to get back out there faster.”
Spallone pitched three innings out of the bullpen to keep the score as it was heading to the final inning.
“I loved being out there again this year with them and couldn’t ask for a better way to end my career,” he added.
