CLARK, NJ- The Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders varsity baseball team returned to their home field and found themselves facing a three-run deficit earlier on. They chipped away at the deficit and an eight-run bottom of the sixth inning capped off a come-from-behind 12-5 win over Elizabeth HS Thursday afternoon in Clark.
Prior to the game, the team held their Senior Day ceremony, recognizing seniors Anthony Caldiero, Mike Casalino, Kevin Metz, Ryan Spallone, Zach Thornton and Joe Turek for their years of hard work and dedication to the Johnson baseball program.
“It’s tough to see them go. When Senior Day comes, that means the light is at the end of the tunnel and the season could probably be coming to an end,” Johnson head coach Dave Kennedy said. “You have to enjoy it for the seniors, try not to look too far ahead and do everything you can to extend the season for them.”
Each senior posed for photos with their families before taking the field that afternoon, reflecting upon their careers and time with the program.
“It was just a great experience with a great group of guys. I’m sad it’s over, but it was a great run.” Anthony Caldiero said.
“It’s been an honor to be able to support our high school and play on this team because I’ve been playing with a lot of these guys for a long time, so it was nice to keep playing with them throughout my high school career,” Mike Casalino said.
“It’s meant more to me than words can describe. I like it a lot and it was a great ride and I hope [we] finish it out well,” Kevin Metz said.
“I love the community here and made lots of friends. These guys are family for life. I’m grateful for all the support that they gave me with my injury [missed 2017 baseball season] and throughout my four years of baseball,” Ryan Spallone said.
“Every year, we come in and try to get better in the offseason and it just leads up to this, the county tournament, the state tournament and it’s just been a great experience and hopefully we can finish this year strong,” Zach Thornton said.
“It’s meant a lot. It’s been great playing with my friends that I’ve been playing with since I was a little kid. I’m sad it’s over,” Joe Turek said.
Spallone got the start, but ran into trouble with two hit batsmen and surrendered a three-run home run to Elizabeth sophomore Efrian Correa. His teammates picked him up on offense as the game shifted to the bottom of the first inning.
The Crusaders loaded the bases with no outs and Metz got Johnson on the board with a sacrifice fly to center field, cutting the deficit down to 3-1. Another run came in on an error and the lead became 3-2 Elizabeth after one inning.
Back-to-back RBI singles for the Minutemen in the top of the second inning gave them a 5-2 lead. Johnson found a way to chip away to give themselves a chance at a win.
Metz hit a long two-run home run to left field to cut the deficit to 5-4 Elizabeth after three innings.
The bottom of the sixth inning would be the time where Johnson would break it open and take the lead for good on a special afternoon. Metz led off the inning with a double and sophomore Steve Harrington and freshman Kyle Adorno drew walks to load the bases.
Caldiero worked a walk on five pitches, the game-tying bases-loaded walk, scoring Metz to tie the game at 5-5. Junior Nick McCaffery worked a full count before driving home the go-ahead run on a single, scoring Harrington to give Johnson a 6-5 lead.
“It was a new pitcher, so I was trying to get a pitch that I liked and I battled through the at-bat, got it to full count,” McCaffery said. “I got what I liked and wanted to push it the other way and put it in play to score a run.”
Sophomore Saul Lopez provided the big punch of the inning, taking the first pitch he saw to deep center field, clearing the bases with a triple, making the score 9-5 Johnson. He would come in on a wild pitch to make the score 10-5, with still no outs recorded in the inning.
“I was just trying to look for the fastball, help the team out and [their pitcher] gave me the pitch and I took it. I got a triple out of it,” Lopez said.
Harrington drove home two runs with a single to finish off the scoring of another incredible comeback from the Crusaders.
Full Coverage of Johnson Varsity Baseball Come-From-Behind Senior Day Win Over Elizabeth HS Here
