With numbers up, Bound Brook baseball looking for bounceback year in 2024

Dave LePoidevin, the Bound Brook baseball coach now in his fourth season on the bench for the Crusaders, had a rare problem even before the season started.

Plenty of players, not enough jerseys.

Having boosted the numbers in a small program, when his roster during Week One was missing a few numbers because they didn’t have enough jerseys to go around. Then one day, he was told to look in a closet with football gear, and there they were: plenty of jerseys.

Well, that’s one problem solved. Now, it’s about getting veterans, younger players, and some total newcomers to mesh together and put together a winning season, something the Crusaders did two seasons ago, when they went 12-10, but fell to a 7-13 record a year ago.

There are just three seniors, and one will get the ball Tuesday when the Crusaders visit rival Manville for their 4 pm Skyland Conference Mountain Division opener. That game can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko calling all the action. Pregame is set for 3:45. Click here to listen for free.

That senior is Damian Ogonowski, who LePoidevin says will be their No. 1 pitcher – at least at this early date. Ogonowski also is expected to contribute at the plate in and around the cleanup spot.

Another vet he’ll rely on is one he feels confident can handle an otherwise young pitching staff that returns just under 35 innings pitched from last season. Catcher Lucas Coleman is just a junior, but he can also hit and has speed for a catcher. He batted .415 last year and led the Crusaders with 18 stolen bases.

Then there are younger players like Aiden Boehm, a freshman who will start at first base, and who LePoidevin expects will grow.

And there are some who are veterans at other sports, like Jarred Wooden, a standout for Anthony Melesurgo’s boys’ basketball team. Or Jeremiah Norwood, who plays football in the fall for LePoidenvin. He’s a first time player, and when coach said he needed athletes, the quarterback with a strong arm stepped up. Now, he’ll be in right field.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Bound Brook baseball coach Dave LePoidevin about the 2024 Crusaders: