Star Ledger: HS baseball hot takes: Saddle Brook/Bogota playing as one, Aviators flying

by | May 14, 2021

Saddle Brook/Bogota has players from two schools, two coaches and two hitters who have combined for 28 hits and 20 runs batted in through Wednesday’s games.

The key for this team, however, is the ability to play as one.

Saddle Brook/Bogota is off to a sensational 8-2 start. Even though it has cooled off a little (splitting its last four games), it figures to be in the thick of the race for the NJIC Patriot Division title until the final strike is called.

Saddle Brook/Bogota shares the division lead with Waldwick (9-3). Both teams are 8-2 in division play, while Park Ridge is 7-3 and Hawthorne Christian is 4-2.

Saddle Brook/Bogota already has wins over Midland Park (7-3) and Waldwick (2-1). It also has a loss to Hawthorne Christian (5-4) with the second round of division games underway.

Coached by Tim Sheldon and Daniel Limone, Saddle Brook/Bogota has some impressive numbers. As a team, it is hitting .333 (81-for-243), scored 75 runs, belted seven homers and drawn 55 walks – 10 by senior John Hacker.

Leading the offense has been senior Paul Figueroa, who has 15 hits, 15 runs scored and 18 RBI. Senior Jon Dempsey has 13 hits, eight runs scored and 10 RBI.

The pitching staff has focused on attacking the zone. As a group, its pitchers have 111 strikeouts and only 35 walks. Opponents have 29 hits its 58.2 innings and have scored only 12 earned runs.

Hacker has 42 strikeouts in 19 innings, while Figueroa has 40 in 22 innings of work.

Aviators flying

Another team opening some eyes in the NJIC is Hasbrouck Heights. Heights, which owns an 8-3 overall record and a division-leading 8-2 mark in the Meadowlands Division, had outscored the opposition 104-42 through Wednesday’s games.

Heights had its five-game winning steak ended Tuesday by Ridgewood. Since May 3, Thomas Capozzi is 8-for-14 with 10 runs scores and nine RBIs. Dario Morales is 7-for-18 with five runs scored and seven batted in.

Hasbrouck Heights has a huge set of games coming up that will determine what it does in the divisional race. On May 24, it hosts surging St. Mary (Ruth.), May 25 it plays at Wood-Ridge and on May 27 it hosts Wallington.

NJIC TOP 10

  1. Rutherford (10-1)
  2. St. Mary (Ruth.) (7-3)
  3. Wood-Ridge (13-2)
  4. Waldwick (10-3)
  5. Dwight Englewood (-3)
  6. Hasbrouck Heights (8-3)
  7. Park Ridge (8-3)
  8. Glen Rock (7-5)
  9. Pompton Lakes (7-4)
  10. Cresskill (6-5)