Baseball team compiles 17-6 record

It’s not by accident that good times and great wins continued this year for the Vernon Township High School baseball program.

The Vikings work hard with enthusiasm and dedication to achieve major victories on the field.

This past season, they had an overall record of 17-6 and again advanced to the post-season.

“Two of the biggest wins for us this season were our two wins over Jefferson,’’ head coach Stephen Myhren said. “They are a tremendous team (and) have had one of the best pitchers we faced all season.

“The second game we played (against) Jefferson was one of the most impressive because we had lost to them on a close game early in the season without our best pitcher, Rob Nathan. And to be able to win, 3-2, in a tight game with lots of energy was huge for us.

He said the team’s biggest win was its third game against Jefferson.

“It was our first round of the (NJSIAA sectional) state tournament, we were the nine seed and they were the eight seed. We both had our best pitchers available, and we were able to get big hit after big hit to beat them, 7-1. Rob Nathan and our defense did a great job holding them to one run and not letting them back in the game.’’

Nathan was among the team leaders during the season.

“We had four senior captains Jake Klein, Ian Schmid, Derek Lazier and Rob Nathan,’’ Myhren said. “They have been starters for us since their sophomore seasons. They all have their own roles and leadership skills and styles.

“Together as a group, they worked tremendously well to get our guys to buy into what we are doing here and how we handle ourselves on and off the field.’’

A number of players showed steady improvement throughout the spring.

“We had tremendous output from many of our new players,’’ the coach said. “Everyone seemed to grow from the beginning of the year to the end. We had a lot of growth from last year to this year from players like Anthony Marositz and Drew Ebbighausen, who provided big offensive production in the middle of the lineup. Even the guys that have been on varsity a while have shown tremendous growth. Jake Klein, who is one of the best defensive catchers in the state, turned himself into a dangerous bat, hitting .392 with 26 RBI and eight doubles.

“Jake Immesberger did a great job with the opportunities he was given and provided a great bat off the bench in key spots. Aden Karwoski had some awesome outings for us in big spots on the mound late the in the season.’’

Vernon placed second in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division with a mark of 7-3. The team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the North 1 Group 2 Sectional Tournament, where they were defeated by Glen Rock.

“We are graduating some big names and key players, but we did have some youth that produced and played big roles for us this year,’’ Myhren said. “Juniors Colin Dignan and Drew Ebbighausen, who both hit over .300, will return next year. Matthew Baumann, sophomore second baseman, who hit .321 and had on-base percentage of .479, returns.

“Two freshmen who both started and produced (in the field and on the mound) in many games, Gavin Bruno and Ryan Miller, should return next year. Matthew McGrogan, Michael Pecoraro and Aden Karwoski all had important innings this year and are returning. We also have some guys coming up that we, as a staff, are very excited about.’’

The seniors’ contributions won’t soon be forgotten.

“Seniors Jake Klein, Derek Lazier, Robert Nathan and Ian Schmid helped us win 50 games the last three years - the most in any three year span in Vernon history,’’ Myhren said. The team’s record was 18-4 in 2021, 15-6 in 2022 and 17-6 in 2023.

“They also were huge contributors to the teams that won back-to-back league championships, which had never been done in Vernon history, and our first league championship since 2003.’’