Sports

Baseball Success at CHS

By Michael Nitti
687/600

This year at Columbia High School (CHS), the majority of the athletic teams did not have much success. However, one team performed that exceptionally well was the baseball team. Led by coaches Joe Fischetti and Matthew Becht, the Cougars managed to win 23 games and lose just four. The 23 wins set a school record. Along with the 23 wins came a conference championship in the Liberty Division as they had 15 wins and one loss in league play. Despite all the wins, the Cougars had two second round exits in the Greater Newark Tournament (GNT) and in the State Tournament. Nonetheless, this year will be considered a historically amazing season for the program.

Last season, the Cougars won just 10 games and lost 18 games. Across the board the team improved. This year, the team had a combined batting average (AVG) of .340, which was .097 points higher than last years .243. Along with the improvement of AVG came the power surge, in which they hit 62 XBH, which was 28 more than last year. Almost everyone made strides at the plate, but most notably sophomore catcher Quinn Krais, who hit just .236 last year with 3 extra base hits (XBH) and 5 runs batted in (RBI). This year he hit nearly twice as well with a .468 AVG, 6 XBH and 14 RBI. Another player who vastly improved was senior four-year varsity second baseman Anthony Starzynski, who hit just .182 last year with 6 RBI and 1 XBH. This season he managed a .322 AVG with 22 RBI and 9 XBH. When asked about the turnaround, Starzynski ‘15 said, “I went into the season setting my mind on that I’m going to have fun, and with having fun I played well.” Krais ‘16 had a similar view, “Everybody was supporting each other, which made it fun to play.” The most impressive of the hitters was senior shortstop Eric Lax, who opened eyes around the county last year hitting .486 with 22 RBI and 18 XBH. In what seemed to be a year that would be hard to improve from such numbers, Lax ‘15 did just that, hitting .586 with 41 RBI and 23 XBH. The 23 XBH included 4 HR, one of which was a solo shot in the 6th inning of the first round of the state tournament. “The one moment that really stands out for me was when I came up in the state playoff game against Bayonne and hit a solo shot and our team and the crowd were going crazy and I felt like I got our energy back up.” says Lax '15, when asked about his favorite memory of the season. At the time the Cougars were down 2-0 in the bottom of the 6th inning against Bayonne, and Lax’s home run sparked a 2 run rally to tie the game, which they would eventually win on a walk-off walk by sophomore outfielder Daniel Cotler. Lax will continue his baseball career at the University of Tampa.

Along with the great hitting came the fantastic pitching, led by the core of senior Jesse Evans and sophomores Danny Boehmer and Peter Nolet. Evans ‘15 went 5-0 with a 2.31 earned run average (ERA) and 59 strikeouts (K) in 50.67 innings pitched (IP). When asked about how he was enabled to have the season that he had, Evans ‘15 said, “I knew that this was it. This was the last chance I had at doing everything in my power to bring us home a state title. I was going into the season with no (college) offers (to play baseball) and I think that was what pushed me to be the best pitcher I could be.” Evans ‘15 was the winning pitcher in the Cougars’ GNT win and in the state playoff win. Boehmer ‘17 went 6-2 with a 3.22 ERA and 66 K in 50.33 IP. Nolet ‘17 went 8-1 with a 1.37 ERA and 56 K in 46 IP.

Despite what will be a loss of 8 seniors next year, the Cougars will look to build off this season’s success.

Cougars take a team photo after clinching the Liberty Division title following a 10-0 victory over N. 13th Street.
Image courtesy of the Columbia High School Baseball Boosters Facebook page.

2015 NBA Finals Preview

By Michael Nitti

505/400

Following two quick conference finals series, the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is set, as the Cleveland Cavaliers go up against the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers finished the regular season with 53 wins and 29 losses, while the Warriors finished with an NBA best and club record 67 wins to just 15 losses.

For the Cavaliers, small forward/power forward (SF/PF) LeBron James looks for his 3rd championship in 5 years, with his 2 rings coming as a member of the Miami Heat. Despite the Cavaliers’ dominant performance in the playoffs thus far, they are short handed, as PF Kevin Love has already been ruled out for the entire playoffs after suffering a shoulder injury in the first round against the Celtics, and, even though he will be ready for game one, point guard (PG) Kyrie Irving has been dealing with a knee injury. James has been stellar, averaging 27.6 points, 10.6 points, and 8.4 assists over 14 games. Irving has been the team’s second leading scorer with 18.7 points per game. Other contributors to the Cavs’ success are their mid-season acquisitions; shooting guard (SG) J.R. Smith, SG/SF Iman Shumpert, and center (C) Timofey Mozgov. However, the X-factor has been PG Matthew Dellavedova, who after playing a limited amount during the regular season, has seen extended playing time due to Irving’s back injury. In Irving’s absence, Dellavedova scored 28 points in 82 minutes in games 2 and 3 against the Hawks, both of which the Cavaliers won.

For the Warriors, they look to win the franchise’s first championship in 40 years. They are led by the regular season Most Valuable Player PG Stephen Curry, who’s averaged 29.2 points and is shooting an incredible 44% from 3-point range over 15 games this postseason. Curry has not done it all on his own though, as he has a very strong supporting cast, which includes All-Star SG Klay Thompson, All-Defensive second team member C Andrew Bogut, and former All-Star and 2-time NBA All-Defensive team member SF Andre Iguodala. However, often regarded as the most important player on the Warriors outside of Curry is SF/PF Draymond Green. Green is averaging 14 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists over 15 playoff games. In his 3rd NBA season, Green has made the NBA All-Defensive first team and was runner-up in both the Defensive Player Of the Year award and the Most Improved Player award.

The biggest question for Golden State is Thompson, who suffered a blow to the head in the previous series against the Rockets. Despite being diagnosed with a concussion initially, he will be ready for game one, stating, “I feel great, honestly, these past two days, I feel like I've got my wind back. Tomorrow is the final tuneup. [I’m] just trying to stop the nerves and anxiousness, or keep them down as much as possible.” The first game kicks off Thursday, June 4th, 9 PM Eastern standard time at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry
Image Courtesy of NBC Sports' Pro Basketball Talk