The Hawthorne Christian/Eastern Christian baseball co-op has been building a consistent contender since its formation in 2021. So Matthew Altomare fits right in.

The North Jersey Male Athlete of the Week, presented by HSS, is a sophomore at Eastern Christian in North Haledon. There, his non-baseball extracurriculars include set-building for theater productions. He was behind the scenes for Cinderella in March.

“I was actually on the stage crew with some of my friends,” Altomare said. “I’m in a design tech class right now. We are building stuff, and we helped with the play in the spring and last fall.”

The pitcher/infielder is now in the spotlight for the Defenders after helping them to a 3-2 start. Last week featured a rough opening act with back-to-back losses against NJIC Liberty rival Waldwick (though Altomare reached base in six of eight plate appearances and scored four runs).

Then came the dramatic conclusion at Leonia on April 10. HC/EC broke open a 2-1 game by scoring twice in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half, Altomare relieved starter Andrew Nelson and tossed three innings of one-hit ball, striking out six to earn the save.

“The fielding behind me helped me a lot,” he said.

When the right-hander is not on the mound, he’s usually at shortstop or third base. He, like a majority of the Defenders’ starters, hail from Eastern Christian, though the roster as a whole is roughly a 50/50 mix of both schools.

“We don’t really see each other aside from baseball, but it’s great how we come together at the start of the spring and kind of bond together to play for the Word of God,” Altomare said. “Our community and our team bond are strong.”

The co-op arrangement has benefitted both Passaic County non-publics. Neither program had a winning record in the 2010s, but together, they went 51-47-1 with five NJSIAA playoff appearances in their first five seasons. Former assistant Lou Batelli succeeded longtime coach Aaron Van Dyk this spring.

“Coach Lou is doing a great job,” Altomare said. “Practices are fun, and we’re getting stuff done that we need to get done, and that’s translating into the games.”

Altomare already has made a bit of history by becoming the first Athlete of the Week from the combined HC/EC squad. Hawthorne Christian hadn’t produced a baseball AOW prior to the merger, and the last Eastern Christian baseball player to earn the honor had been Craig Faber in 1984.

Altomare’s father, Joe, played at Westwood around the same time and earned all-league honors as a senior pitcher in 1985. He later played football at Rutgers.

Matthew’s older brother, also named Joe, is a senior attacker for the Eastern Christian boys lacrosse team and recently surpassed 100 career goals. The two grew up playing ice hockey in Wayne.

“Because EC doesn’t have a hockey team, he plays lacrosse in the spring and then [club] hockey the rest of the year,” the younger Altomare said. “He’s going to play hockey at NJIT.

“I used to play hockey, and then I stopped when baseball became all year round.”

Since starting Little League around age 8, Matthew has progressed to travel ball and, more recently, playing for a baseball academy in nearby Totowa.

All of this allows him to continue the building process with the Defenders.

“I’m looking forward to seeing us grow,” Altomare said. “I think that we’re shaking off the early cobwebs a little bit. Coach Lou is going to get comfortable, and we should come together and finish this season pretty well.”