Spotswood only led once in Commanders’ Cup XVI against East Brunswick: when it counted.

The Chargers had twice tied the score after trailing 2-0 and 4-2 against the Bears at “The Swamp” Wednesday afternoon, before coming back to win 6-5 in extra innings, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The teams went to extra innings tied at 4. East Brunswick went ahead 5-4 in the top of the eighth when Dustin McGinnis scored from third after a wild pitch by Spotswood reliever Tyler Lewandowski with the bases loaded.

But they say baseball is a game of redeeming features, and Lewandowski showed that old adage still holds water.

In the bottom of the 8th, after left fielder Nicholas Vitale grounded to short and third baseman Ethan Williams popped up to first, DH Justin Prasch walked, and right fielder Matt Frobosilo did the same.

With two on and two out, Lewandowski – 0-for-4 on the day, and whose wild pitch allowed the go-ahead run to score for EB – drove a ball deep into the power alley in left center. East Brunswick left fielder Zack Zebro and center fielder Dylan Lugo converged on the track, and the ball went off the chainlink outfield fence, falling to the warning track.

Jackson Walsh – the starting pitcher, pinch running for Prasch – came home on the deep fly ball to tie the game, and Frobosilo followed him home, giving Spotswood a 6-5 walkoff victory.

Click below to listen to Dom Savino with the game-winning call:

The win keeps the Bill Thompson Memorial Commander’s Cup Trophy with Spotswood for another year. They’ve had it since a May 31, 2017 victory against East Brunswick, the latest one being their fourth straight in the series, which the Bears now lead 8-7-1.

The Chargers have also won five of the last six meetings dating back to 2015, which was the first and only other time the series had been played at SHS. They are now 2-0 all-time in the series at “The Swamp.”

Click below to hear Dom Savino with postgame reaction from Tyler Lewandowski and Spotswood head coach Glenn Fredricks:

Spotswood and East Brunswick will play their annual Commander’s Cup game on Wednesday, a matchup that was born out of Post 25 American Legion baseball.

You can hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with pregame at 3:45 and first pitch at 4 pm, as Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino call all the action. Click here to listen.

Chargers’ coach Glenn Fredricks, a Spotswood alum who’s now in his 17th year as the program’s head coach, took over the Milltown Post 25 baseball team in 2004, and says the game came about because of adjutant Bill Thompson’s love for baseball.

The team, of course, featured kids from both high schools and all three towns, since high school students in Milltown attend Spotswood.

The next year, when Fredricks first led Spotswood, he decided the high school teams should play each other every year, with the winner keeping Thompson’s trophy.

Click below to hear Fredricks talk about the origins of the Commander’s Cup:

All-Time Commander’s Cup Trophy Results
East Brunswick leads 8-7-1

5/19/21 – Spotswood 6, East Brunswick 5 (8 inn.) (at SHS)
5/8/19 – Spotswood 3, East Brunswick 0 (at EB)
5/17/18 – Spotswood 5, East Brunswick 3 (8 inn.) (at EB)
5/31/17 – Spotswood 6, East Brunswick 0 (at EB)
5/7/16 – East Brunswick 6, Spotswood 1 (at EB)
5/2/15 – Spotswood 5, East Brunswick 4 (at SHS)
5/3/14 – East Brunswick 13, Spotswood 7 (at EB)
5/4/13 – East Brunswick 4, Spotswood 2 (8 inn.) (at EB)
5/18/12 – East Brunswick 4, Spotswood 2 (at Michelin Field)
5/9/11 – East Brunswick 16, Spotswood 9 (at EB)
5/19/10 – East Brunswick 5, Spotswood 4 (at EB)
4/26/09 – East Brunswick 13, Spotswood 3 (at Trenton)
4/27/08 – Spotswood 5, East Brunswick 4 (9 inn.) (at Trenton)
4/21/07 – Spotswood 6, East Brunswick 0 (at Trenton)
4/30/06 – Spotswood 5, East Brunswick 5 (8 inn.) (at Trenton)
5/9/05 – East Brunswick 5, Spotswood 4 (at EB)