Broadcast Journalism interviewed representatives of the Madison Baseball team. Representing the team were Senior captains Tyler Shannon and Carmine Toto. 

When mentioning the Dodger’s current statistics and promising lineup for the 2023 season Shannon stated: “our team has a goal and we plan to achieve it this year.”  Carmine agreed, stating his excitement to lead the younger generation of Dodgers to continue this senior class’ legacy. 

The team’s opening game was on April 4th, resulting in a tough loss against Mountain Lakes. Their efforts did not go unnoticed. The team followed it up with back-to-back wins against Parsippany Hills then Whippany Park. The scores were an astounding 13-1 and 10-0 respectively.

Pitching for the team this year are Seniors Zach Taddeo, Joaquin Izzo, Jack Eckhard, William Forrester, and Freshman James Doehner. On the mound, Forrester leads the team in strikeouts, with twelve, while only letting up one earned run. 

Currently, Senior Colin Melvin leads at the plate, with five hits and an impressive .625 average. Forrester leads RBI’s with five. Senior Sean Mariani leads the team with three runs.

The team practices at the High School field nearly every day, with an emphasis on building strength and practicing the essential skills, such as fielding and hitting. The reps seem to pay off, as any avid spectator of the Dodgers can claim that the team looks well polished for their games. 

The varsity spots consist of nineteen athletes this year, nine filling the field. Seniors fill ten of these slots. When asked how this will affect the program going forward, Carmine said “this program will be perfectly fine,” even going as far as to say, “this current freshman class is loaded with talent.” Tyler agrees, saying that it is “one of the best that have come through here.” 

Three seniors on the team are going to continue their baseball careers into their collegiate years. Tyler Shannon has committed to play at the University of Hartford. Carmine Toto has committed to play at Clark University. Will Forrester has committed to play at Gettysburg College. 

When asked how the captains are preparing to be members of their college team, Carmine responded that he is “working as hard as possible, whether in the weight room or in the (batting) cage”. Tyler said that he is “trying not to look that far down the line… I’m more worried about my senior year”. 

Asking about confidence for the upcoming season, Joaquin Izzo says that the “team’s starting off good and the chemistry is good. Looks like it’s going to be a good season”. Zach Taddeo says that “with so many people returning, this is OUR season.”

Looking to the future, Madison faces Oratory Prep on April 10th, then Kinnelon the very next day. Madison looks to continue their four-game win streak against Oratory, going all the way back to 2013. Oratory currently has an 0-2 record so far this season. Madison has  won three of the last five matchups against Kinnelon, who have a 1-2 record in the 2023 season.