Caldwell High Baseball Team Shares Super Essex Conference Title

The James Caldwell High School baseball team finished the season strong and eared a share of the Super Essex Conference Liberty Division title.  

The varsity team won its final two games of the season, finishing 19-7, to win the conference title for the second year in a row. This year they shared the title with Newark Academy.

“Over the past two seasons, our varsity and junior varsity teams have a combined record of 78-17, which is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Head Coach Tom Lamont.  

“I am very proud that our players won two games on the road, immediately following a heartbreaking loss in the first round of the NJSIAA playoffs to Parsippany,” Lamont added. “We had to face one of the county’s premier pitchers, Matt Ratner of Newark Academy, and we won that game, 3-1. The next day, we beat Montclair Kimberley Academy soundly, 10-3, to earn the share of the conference title.”

“Those wins showed me that our players have a lot of character,” Lamont said. “They could have folded after the loss to Parsippany; instead, they played outstanding baseball and won the conference title."

The junior varsity team also concluded the season 18-4. The junior varsity Chiefs were coached by Dan Romano. The freshman team, coached by Jeff Edwards, was applauded for finishing the season on a very strong note, improving significantly from the beginning of the season.

The varsity team was also recognized by the conference as winners of the Team Sportsmanship Award.

Coach Lamont credited all of the Caldwell Chiefs for their outstanding play this season.  “I could not be more proud of them,” he said.  

Several members of the varsity team were recognized for outstanding performances, including:

• First Team, All Super Essex Conference Liberty Division: Colin Bohnert, senior pitcher; John Gallagher, senior outfielder; Sonny Puzzo, senior third baseman; and Hunter Smith, sophomore catcher.
• Second Team, All Super Essex Conference Liberty Division: Jack Docteroff, junior pitcher; Christian Hauser; senior second baseman; and Mark Mattheiss, senior outfielder. 
• Honorable Mention, All Super Essex Conference Liberty Division: Chris Dalla Riva, senior outfielder/pitcher.
• Colin Bohnert has been selected to play in the Senior All-Star Game, for the top 100 seniors in the state, at Diamond Nation next week.
• Hunter Smith has been selected to play for Essex County in the Underclassman All-Star game vs. Union County at Kean University next week and in the Garden State Underclass Games, for the top 100 underclassmen in the state, also next week at Diamond Nation.