By Warren Rappleyea
Sayreville War Memorial High School’s baseball team is back at the .500 mark after winning just one of its first four games, and coach Mike Novak thinks the best is yet to come for the Blue and Gray.
The Bombers parlayed an eight-run second inning into a 12-0 victory over Perth Amboy High School April 18 to even their record at 4-4. Ace Pete Soporowski allowed just two hits and struck out five to up his record to 2-1 on the year. In the process, the Rider University-bound left-hander lowered his ERA to 1.72 in 20-plus innings of work.
“We did have a rough start and we were pressing, but I knew we would be all right because we have excellent pitching,” Novak said. “Our bats have been slow to come around, and we victimized ourselves with some poor defense. Now the guys are starting to get confidence, and it’s showing in their play.
Sayreville has won three of its last four games, and pitching has clearly played a big role. On April 15, Connor Johnson struck out nine over eight innings to help the Bombers edge Piscataway Township High School, 3-2, and gain his first win despite an ERA of 2.33. The Bombers plated Brett Dzamba with the winning run when second baseman Joe Polomene hit a ground ball to second with the bases loaded. Piscataway tried to turn it into an inning ending double play, but Polomene beat the throw to first to end the game.
On April 12, Soporowski tossed a two-hit shutout to defeat Old Bridge High School, 1-0. Once again, the Bombers scored the winning run on a groundout. This time, it was Johnson who made the productive out that scored Sean McDonnell, who had doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning.
The good news is that Novak’s team has been playing better defensively, and the bats appear to be showing some life. Soporowski, who plays first base when not on the mound, leads the team with a .417 batting average to go with a pair of home runs and five RBIs.
Dzamba, Sayreville’s center fielder, is hitting .364 with six runs scored, and Polomene is at .304. Sophomore catcher Kyle Richards has been a pleasant surprise, batting an even .300 while working well with the pitching staff. Left fielder McDonnell and Johnson, who also plays shortstop, are heating up. Both are now batting .286.
The Bombers also started slowly a year ago but finished at 17-11 with an exciting run that took them to the finals of the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament.
“We have several guys back from last year, and they know what it takes,” Novak said. “Over the first few games, we were beating ourselves by making errors and our bats weren’t going. If our defense continues to play well and we don’t give other teams life, we’ll be OK. We just need to help our pitchers a little more.”
Novak’s team was set to meet Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen (5-2) in a home-and-home series beginning April 21 with the rematch in Sayreville April 22. On April 24, the Bombers host Shore Conference power Red Bank Catholic High School (7-1) in a 7 p.m. matchup.
