The West Essex Baseball Knights have had a hot start to the season with a 16-2 record. Multiple veteran players including Senior Devin Fogg and Juniors Joe Panzarino and Chris Murano have had a big impact on the team’s success this season, bringing their dominant pitching and power-hitting to the plate every game. With a 10-0 record against all divisional teams, the Knights are currently at the top of the Liberty division and have outscored opponents 140-47. Panzarino currently leads the team in Runs Batted In (RBIs), with a whopping 19, while Fogg leads the team with 29 hits.
Along with their power-hitting, the Knight’s pitching has also remained a dominant part of the team. In 32.3 innings, Murano has a team-leading 50 strikeouts while pitching a 1.91 Earned Run Average (ERA). In a 10-0 win against Payne Tech, sophomore Caden Lozito threw a five-inning perfect game, striking out 13 batters.
“Our pitching has been really solid and has been able to keep us in games,” sophomore catcher Colin Fogg said.
Having graduated only two seniors last season, the Knights had great chemistry to build off of going into this season. Outfielder Devin Fogg and first baseman Shaun Bertonaschi, two of the senior team leaders, credit the teams’ immense success to the seasoned players and the strong bonds they share.
“Most of the starting lineup has been on varsity for a year now so that experience and everyone’s want to win has really helped us,” Fogg said.
With momentum coming off his first year, head coach Joseph Cardinale hopes to continue bringing his 10+ years of coaching experience to the players on and off the field. In just two years in the role, Cardinale has made a huge impact on the team, coaching them through two winning seasons He says that his relationship with the team on and off the field is one of his favorite parts of his job.
“Seeing our guys grow as student-athletes has definitely been one of the most rewarding things so far,” Cardinale said.
With four games left on the regular season schedule, the Knights hope to keep playing their best baseball and carry this momentum for the rest of their season. Sophomore Jake Long wants to hold their spot at the top of the division and compete for a state title.
“Our goals are to beat Caldwell, go on a run in the GNT and continue to win our games so we can make a run in the state tournament,” Long said.
The Knights started off hot in the county tournaments, with an impressive win against a strong opponent, Cedar Grove. A solid pitching performance and a large team contribution helped them tack on 10 runs in their 10-5 win. The Knights hope to continue their county tournament run against second-seed Seton Hall on May 8 and win against Caldwell at Yogi Berra Stadium on May 9.
