With Cumiskey and Buchan gone, Spotswood leaning on senior trio and young prospects as Middlesex visits

Losing a guy like ace pitcher Casey Cumiskey or Will Buchan, both of whom were among Spotswood’s best hitters a season ago, is tough for any team.

But they’re not all the Chargers lost to graduation after the 2025 season. Six players with 40 ore more at bats are gone from the lineup, and only one – Leo Carone, who only had 14 at bats – hit over .300 on the year.

Don’t get it wrong, veteran head coach Glenny Fredricks isn’t crying in his soup. In fact, he’s excited about a solid core of seniors he has back – second baseman Gavin Romeo, centerfielder Sebby Saracino, and third baseman Ryan Orth – as well as some highly-touted kids from Milltown who decided to stay home, stay public, and play for the Chargers.

All will be on display again as Spotswood loos to earn a split of its season-opening home-and-home with Middlesex, following a 6-1 Opening Day road loss Tuesday. They’ll play Thursday at 3 pm, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame set for 2:45 as Mike Pavlichko calls all the action; click here to listen.

Those two who stuck with Spotswood rather than a non-public – and they had offers – are Jack Abrams and JoJo Modeste. Abrams will see time at first base, while Modeste is a switch-hitting shortstop with power. Fredricks calls them “help a year early” as they will immediately contribute as freshmen.

Orth is the top hitter back amobg those with more than 40 at bats, swinging it for a .244 average and seven runs batted in. Romeo hit .233 with eight RBIs, while Saracino hit .2176 with nine runs driven in, and a home run, a grand slam which came in a blowout season-opening win last year over South Amboy.

Click below to hear Spotswood head coach Glenny Fredricks talk about the season and Thursday’s game against Middlesex with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: