Tag: Akhil Penkala

by Mike Pavlichko

Oh, Penkala! Old Bridge walks it off after Hascup surprise relief appearance holds off Edison for 4-3 win in 8 to send Knights to CJ4 title tilt

Where do we start?

In the first inning of the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, third-seed Old Bridge decided it had to attack one of second-seed Old Bridge’s two aces in John Smith.

Little did they know they’d end up facing both in one game.

Edison got three runs right off the bat, swinging at first pitches, but Smith settled in, even as Old Bridge got two back in the fourth.

But in the fifth, Smith felt something in his arm after one out and a first pitch ball to Eagles’ shortstop Anthony Calantoni, and he had to come out of the game. Not wanting to save him for a title game that might not be otherwise, Knights’ head coach Matt Doanghue went to his other ace, Justin Hascup, who finished off a strikeout of Calantoni, then fanned Robert Roma to get out of the inning.

Old Bridge’s Justin Hascup pitches in the 6th inning against Edison in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals at Fred Cole Field on June 3, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Edison’s leadoff hitter Darren Tirado started the game getting hit by a pitch, then Calantoni singled, and a Rob Roma single scored Tirado. Calantoni came home on a wild pitch, and Rom scored from second after Murphy walked and Ray Tavarez hit a ball to first that Old Bridge’s Eric Shickschneit threw into center field trying to get a force at second.

Old Bridge had gotten within a run in the fourth on a two-RBI single by Noah Balbuena.

In the sixth, Old Bridge tied it. Chris Crosta led off with a triple, and was driven in two batters later by Shickschneit on a sac fly to center.

Hascup could have come back Thursday – if Old Bridge had won – had he stayed under 50 pitches, but there was no way he was leaving this game, even if he had to pitch through the 12th.

That wasn’t a far-fetched scenario. After splitting two regular season meetings, each team winning by four runs, Edison beat Old Bridge in the first round of the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament 2-1 in 12 innings, a four-hour affair.

But this would be over much more quickly.

After a scoreless seventh, Hascup got the Eagles 1-2-3 in the eighth, and had the two through four hitters due up.

Chris Crosta reached on an E4. Hascup walked. Edison decided to intentionally walk Shickschneit, not to get to the next batter, but to get a force at any base with no one out. On an 0-1 pitch, Akhil Penkala laced a single just inside the third base bag to score Crosta for a 4-3 win, and set off delirium in the Old Bridge dugout.

And on the other side, heartbreak for Edison, which lost 7-4 in the GMC final on a walk-off grand slam by St. Joseph’s JP Zayle in the seventh.

Old Bridge will host 9th-seed Hillsborough – a 10-0 winner in five innings over 12-seed Montgomery in the other CJ4 semifinal Tuesday – this Thursday in the title game at Fred Cole Field at 5 pm.

The win went to Hascup (7-2) in relief – who also logged his 200th career strikeout in the eighth – for Old Bridge (18-10), while Dom Innocenti (1-1) took the loss in relief for Edison, which fell to 17-11.

Click below for postgame reaction from Old Bridge’s Akhil Penkala, Justin Hascup and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge earns split in split series with Edison, 6-2 behind solid start from Penkala

Old Bridge senior Akhil Penkala last took the mound for the Knights in his sophomore season, splitting a grand total of six innings over two games.

But you couldn’t tell as he worked into the seventh inning Tuesday of a GMC Red Division game at Edison.

While Penkala wasn’t overpowering, the righty went the longest he’s every gone on the mound at the varsity level. And while his team’s offense pieced together a run here, and a run there, he held Edison mostly at bay.

The Knights topped Edison 6-2 Wednesday in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 3-3 on the young season.

At the plate, senior John Smith drove in three runs, the first on a 4-3 double-play in the third, the other two with a one-out single in the fifth.

Smith hit a two-out double in the first, then scored on an RBI single by Erich Shikschneit, giving Old Bridge a 1-0 lead. They added a run in the third on that DP Smith hit into, but Edison got it back when Brody Ferrer – who lead off with a walk – was sacrificed home on a fly ball to left by Anthony Calantoni.

Old Bridge picked up another run in the fourth, when Anthony Jannucci led off with a double, then came in from third when Jared Volpe hit into a double play. Then, in the fifth, the Knights got two more to make it 5-1. Brody Nugent and Chris Crosta both got on via infield errors, then scored on a single by Smith.

The Knights got one more on the top of the seventh when Volpe hit a ball right through the third baseman’s legs into left field, scoring Shikschneit.

Then, in the bottom of the inning, Penkala came out to finish out, but only lasted two batters, after Dom Innocenti led off with a triple to left and Connor Murphy scored him with a double to left-center. That’s when Noah Balbuena came in and closed the deal, getting two fly ball outs, then after a single, got a fly out to center to end it.

Edison falls to 2-3 with the loss; freshman starter Brayden Roma took the defeat, but only allowing three earned runs. Penkala picked up the win.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen with Old Bridge pitcher Akhil Penkala and head coach Matt Donaghue:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge standouts John Smith, Akhil Penkala, talk offense, defense, and being a role model

The Old Bridge baseball team is having a great run of success these last two seasons.

The Knights won the Central Jersey Group 4 championship in 2023, and Saturday will play for the GMC title for the second time in five seasons, having won it most recently in 2019.

While many look at Old Bridge as having a strong pitching staff – with Options 1a, b and c being Frank Papeo, Justin Hascup and JT Meyer, in no particular order – the bats also have some spark, and the thing about the Knights is this: they do all the little things right.

That attention to detail is instilled in them from the very moment they enter head coach Matt Donaghue’s program. They’re good at the fundamentals. They make few errors in the field, and even make the great plays. They can hit the long ball and get extra base hits to the gap, but they can also play small ball.

Two players who tipify that are shortstop John Smith and right fielder/first baseman Akhil Penkala. Both are juniors, both big parts of last year’s team, and this year’s.

Old Bridge junior John Smith. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

John Smith – no relation to Evan Smith, a senior who plays left field – is hitting in the mid- to upper-.300s this season, and Penkala is well into the .400s. We talked with both of them this week in advance of Saturday’s GMC Tournament final, in which the third-seeded Knights will face top-seed South Plainfield at 2 pm at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick. You can hear the game on Central Jersey Sports Radio by clicking here.

Click below to hear John Smith talk about the Knights’ 2024 season:

Some of what these two do doesn’t even show up in the box score. A prime example came in the GMC Tournament Quarterfinals last week, where with two down and two on, leading 8-5 in the top of the seventh, Penkala saved the game with a diving catch on a shot into the gap by North Brunswick’s Avery Price.

Penkala said it might have been his first diving catch ever. Donaghue called it “routine” for Penkala.

Old Bridge junior Akhil Penkala. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Either way, it was critical, and it’s a big reason why not only is Old Bridge where it is now, but why they’ll also be considered a favorite to defend their 2023 CJ4 crown.

Click below to hear Akhil Penkala talk about the Knights’ 2024 season: