Tag: Bobby Christensen

by Mike Pavlichko

Business as usual for St. Joseph’s Bobby Christensen, as senior leads on and off the field for GMCT finalist Falcons

It’s got to be daunting to spend three years of your high school baseball career with one coach, then have a new one for your senior season.

That’s exactly what happened at St. Joseph of Metuchen, where Mike Murray stepped down after three GMC Tournament titles and eight highly successful seasons at the helm.

But so far, the Falcons haven’t missed a beat. And while it may have taken them some time to find their sea legs, they’ve got them now. They’ve won eight straight games heading into Saturday’s Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament title game against Edison, and the last five have all been by one run, and in the final at bat, with four walkoffs, including three in the GMCT.

Last Saturday at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick, Bobby Christensen, a Falcon senior in his third year as a starter, got a huge hit against Spotswood, sending a pitch from Charger ace Carter Cumsikey to the wall in center field to drive in two and tie a 3-1 game at three-all. They would win it with the next batter, JP Zayle, on an RBI single.

Such has been life the last couple of weeks for St. Joe’s, and it doesn’t happen without a heady senior like Christensen, who’s managed to help the returning players keep a little bit of their identity, while also welcoming in their new coach, Dennis McCaffery, who won over 500 games before retiring from Cranford last off-season, then taking on the head coach role in Metuchen.

Click below to hear Christensen talk about his game-tying hit against Spotswood, the Falcons’ recent success, their new coach, and Saturday’s GMCT final against Edison:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Joseph scores early and often, then holds off No. 6 Old Bridge for 3rd straight win, 6-3 victory in Autism Awareness Challenge

St. Joseph-Metuchen went after Justin Hascup early on Sunday, and had the kind of success few do against the Old Bridge ace.

In their Autism Awareness Challenge game – moved to Fred Cole Field after rain all weekend left the fields at North Brunswick Community Park unplayable – the Falcons scored six runs in the first two innings against Hascup, and held off an Old Bridge rally in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-3 win, their third straight.

St. Joseph (5-3, 4-3 GMC Red) got out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Bobby Christensen hit a ground rule double to center on the second pitch of the game, and after Joseph Barca walked – and both advanced a base on a wild pitch – he scored on a sac fly to center by JP Zayle. Luke Palermi drove in Barca – who advanced to third on the fly ball – for the second run.

In the second, Owen Krulikowski and Luke Baranauskas led off with back-to-back singles, and the two advanced on another wild pitch from Hascup. Zach Penley drove in Krulikowski with a sac fly to center, then Christensen made it 5-0 with a two-run homer, his first of the season, and the third of his career.

After Barca struck out, Zayle hit the Falcons’ second ground rule double of the game, advanced to third on yet another wild pitch, then scored on an outside pitch to Palermo that went off the catcher Adrian Lutomski’s glove for a passed ball, making it 6-0 Joe’s.

Hascup finished the inning, but that would be it for him, going two innings and allowing six hits and six runs – five earned – with two walks and three strikeouts.

Brody Meyer came in and relief and shut the door the rest of the way, throwing five scoreless, one-hit innings, and keeping his team in the game.

Meanwhile, Old Bridge (2-3, 2-3 GMC Red), couldn’t get anything going against St. Joe’s starter Rich Zangara, who scattered just two hits over 5 1/3 innings. Matt Friedman finished off the sixth, but got in trouble in the seventh, as the Knights mounted a comeback.

Chris Crosta flied out to center to lead off the inning, but the top of the order – Brody Nugent and John Smith – followed with back-to-back singles. Friedman then hit Justin Hascup to load the bases, then plunked Erich Shikschneit to get Old Bridge on the board.

Then it got wacky(er).

DH Anthony Jannucci hit a line drive to JP Zayle at second. An attempt to double-off Hascup at second wiht a throw to the shortstop, Christensen, was a hair late, and the Falcons let Smith trot home to third, conceding the run. But the lineout was negated as the umpires decided the catcher, Penley, had interfered with Jannucci getting out of the batters’ box. So, he was ruled safe, and the run came in to make it 6-2. Akhil Penkala grounded to short to drive in Hascup, making it 6-3, and the Knights still weren’t done.

Matt Chin walked to load the bases, bringing the winning run to the plate in Noah Balbuena, pinch-hitting for Lutomski, but Dominic Elbafina came in the he struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch on the outside corner to end the game.

Zangara got the win to improve to 2-0, while Hascup fell to 1-1.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen with St. Joseph senior Bobby Christensen and head coach Dennis McCaffery:

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Lutomski struck out to end the game, but he was pinch-hit for by Balbuena.