May 21, 2021
By Paul Silverfarb
Although the start of the season was like being on a roller coaster for the Brunswick School baseball team, head coach Johnny Montanez and the rest of the Bruins wouldn’t trade it for the world.
After starting 1-2 overall, the Bruins turned the corner and were able to right the ship and up their record to 9-8 as of press time. On Monday they kept the good times rolling in dramatic fashion.
Needing a victory to claim at least a share of the Fairchester Athletic Association championship, the Bruins got some timely hitting and clutch pitching to upend Hopkins School 1-0.
In the regular season finale on the Edwards campus, it was a battle of top-notch pitching. Brunswick’s Josh Feldman was lights out, throwing a complete game shutout. He struck out nine batters and walked only four while giving up three hits on the afternoon.
Although Feldman was dealing, his counterpart from Hopkins was also battling. Also pitching a complete game, he gave up only three hits and struck out nine while walking one batter.
“He threw the ball in the mid- to upper 80’s, he had great offspeed stuff and his changeup was great,” Montanez said. “His curveball was good and kept us off-balance all game. But our boys didn’t give him easy outs. The first time through the lineup, their pitcher threw 41 pitches. Our lineup just battles and there isn’t a sure out.”
Brunswick broke through in the fifth inning. With two outs, Nick Bianco drew a walk on a seven-pitch at bat and stole second base two pitches later. With Riley Redahan at the plate, he crushed a liner up the middle that drove home Bianco and gave the Bruins their 1-0 lead.
In addition to Redahan, Aidan Redahan and Adonys Guzman each picked up singles in the game.
“Between the timely hitting and having such a great pitcher like Josh Feldman commanding the strike zone tonight, it was brilliant,” Montanez said. “Even early in the game was great, as Josh walked their first hitter, and our catcher picked him off at first. Adonys called the pitchout so he could pick the kid off on his own. It was really cool to see and I think it set the tone.”
The way that the FAA held its season was that each team played each other at least once and only the first time that two teams played each other would count on their record. The overall best record after everybody played each other is considered the FAA champion.
With their 1-0 victory over Hopkins School on Monday afternoon, the worst the Bruins could do this season is capture a share for the FAA title this season. Not that bad for a team that was considered rebuilding at the start of the season and also lost seven games this year due to being in quarantine.
“After losing eight players to college baseball last year, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year,” Montanez said. “What’s pretty amazing is that our pitching staff has been incredible and they have really done a great job winning games for us.”
And after missing an entire season last year, Montanez and the rest of the Bruins were just thrilled to step onto the field once again. Just before the 2020 was canceled, Brunswick traveled down to a tournament and, out of 55 teams competing nationally, the Bruins finished third overall.
“It’s simply great to be on the field again,” Montanez said. “I am fortunate enough to coach other seasons at Brunswick and we missed out on football and basketball and it was a bummer watching the kids not get a chance to play their season. Last season we would have had probably one of the best baseball teams we’ve ever assembled, on paper. We had a great tournament in March and when we came home the world shut down. So this year it’s really cool to be back out there again.”
With no spring training trip this year, Montanez’s team was more than eager to get the season underway.
“We have been very fortunate,” said Montanez. “We had a bunch of kids come out for try outs. Not having athletics in the fall and winter this year, that encouraged kids that might have been on the fence to come out and play. It was great because we had a record high amount of kids at try outs. We picked our kids and they were young, but they were definitely ambitious and hard working. I can’t express enough how great of a season this has been.”
At one point, Brunswick was 1-2 overall and just before the game started for their fourth game, two kids tested positive for COVID-19. Just like that, the rest of the squad was put in quarantine and the season was put on hold.
“Our excitement was curbed by reality, but what was really cool was that we stayed connected with the kids,” Montanez said. “We did virtual workouts and made sure we connected. And when the boys came out of quarantine I think they saw how fragile sports is right now and how vulnerable we are to this epidemic.”
And getting back into the swing of things was tough. A couple of games after coming back from quarantine, Brunswick couldn’t seem to find its way. They dropped a few games where Montanez thought the team should have won, and barely won others that they should have easily come away with the victory.
“Then we put it together,” the head coach said. “Kudos to the coaching staff and captains for keeping everyone together and driven. Before you know it, we went from 2-6 to 6-6. Now we are 9-8 and 7-1 in our league. It was a great turnaround for us. Tremendous work by the boys and they bought in. Our pitching staff, offense and defense really got better as the days went on.”
Leading the way for the Bruins this season have been senior captains Aidan Redahan, Cole Mascolo, and Billy Carangelo.
“Our captains have done a phenomenal job of doing what’s asked of them,” Montanez said. “They aren’t being knuckleheads and not asking others to do it. They are setting the bar and achieving whatever it is that we’re asking. One of the captains took it upon himself this year to walk up and down the dugout between innings making sure that every kid has a mask on. Billy isn’t a starter, but he’s making sure every kid is involved and supporting each other. He’s a phenomenal kid. All three captains are leading in their own way and it’s great to see.”
On the mound, Brunswick has been led by Feldman. In four games, Feldman has gone 3-1 overall and struck out 20 batters. Two newcomers to the team, sophomore Player Crosby and freshman Mike Yaeger, have stepped in to throw some key innings. Crosby has a 4-0 record and has struck out 27 batter and walked only eight, while Yaeger has gone 2-1 and has given up 15 hits.
Helping the pitchers out has been Guzman, who Montanez said could be one of the best catchers in the country and one of the best players to ever come out of Brunswick. At the plate, Guzman has belted four homers in 17 games and picked up 23 hits and 15 doubles. In addition to calling a solid game behind the plate, Guzman has picked off eight runners on base and six runners have been caught stealing.
“One of the great things about our guys, and I say it proudly, is that they compete above their ability,” Montanez said. “It’s crazy to me that kids so young know how to do that. The way they come together was great because they all want to work their tails off and be a part of something bigger than them. Everybody is making a sacrifice in order for them all to be successful. To me, that’s what being on a team is all about. They are putting the ‘we’ in front of ‘me.’”
