Newman Opens With Big Win Over Lake Worth

Cardinal Newman’s Alec Duboy was 2-for-3 with two runs.

In a battle between two programs with new managers at the helm, it was Cardinal Newman’s Sean Comfort coming out victorious as the Crusaders cruised past Lake Worth 15-1 in the Falcons First Pitch Classic at Forest Hill.

Cardinal Newman (1-0) capitalized on several miscues to pull away with the victory and spoil the debut of new Trojans Manager and Lake Worth alumni B.J. Gilbert.

“It’s nice to get that first win out of the way,” said Comfort. “We have kids who are excited to play and it was nice to see them execute on the things that we have worked on.”

The Crusaders batted around the order in the bottom of the first inning to quickly erase an early 1-0 deficit.

“In baseball we try to teach the philosophy that there is always another play to make,” Comfort said. “The players adapt well to that and they’re never out of the game. They were dialed in and they put everything together. We played small ball and then we got big timely hits when we needed to.”

After manufacturing a run coming out of the gate, the Trojans (0-1) struggled to respond once the momentum had turned.

Crusaders shortstop Bruce Steel led the way by reaching base all four times, going 3-for-3 with a pair of long triples while also scoring all four times.

“We’ve worked harder than we ever have before for the past six weeks and it’s paying off,” Steel said. “I was a little out front in my first at bat, so my coaches told me to get back to my line-drive swing. I did that and it paid off.”

Lake Worth’s Rocky Victorio bats in the third inning.

Daniel Cole was 3-for-4 and also scored three times, and Zack Barrett went 3-for-3 to help pace Crusaders’ starter Anthony Zaleski.

Zaleski picked up the complete-game victory on the hill in the shortened contest, throwing five innings and tallying eight strikeouts while allowing one hit and three walks. He also added to his own cause at the plate by going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and three runs.

Lake Worth’s Kevin Hankla tallied its only run after leading off the contest with a walk, stealing second and then coming home on a wild pitch. Johnathan Rodriguez singled in the top of the fifth to break up Zaleski’s no-hit bid.

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