Council Rock North baseball celebrated the team’s 11 seniors on Saturday. Photos provided by CR North baseball. To have your team’s senior celebration posted on the site, send photos/information to SuburbanOneSports@comcast.net.
On Saturday, Council Rock North baseball coaches and varsity players – with a police escort - did a drive-by Senior Celebration for the team’s 11 seniors – Nick D’Apolito, Andrew Del Signore, Zach Gehring, Tim Gibson, Andrew Mancini, Thomas McGovern, Jackson Meehan, Jason Mela, Devon Pollock, Matt Roda and Mitch Whitney. The players wore their uniforms, and coach Matt Schram placed flowers for the mothers at the end of each player’s home.
Coach Matt Schram says: “We were just looking to recognize our seniors as we would have done (Saturday) night during the North/South game we were playing at Trenton Thunder (Arm & Hammer Field). As much as they were thanking us for doing this, it’s such a small gesture during such a tough time for them. It’s so hard to explain how they’re feeling, but I have a daughter who’s a senior, so I’m feeling it at home too.
“Baseball is an 11- or 12-month sport – we’re together all the time. The seniors especially were so excited for the season. They were working so hard in the fall and winter between fall baseball and the winter workouts, indoor baseball and everything. Like every senior in every program across the country - when the world just stopped, there was no warning, and they’re still feeling the effects of it. They’re emotionally traumatized to this day. That’s a strong description, but it really is true. It’s an emotional tragedy to them.
“They know what Saturday’s date was – they know it was the Trenton Thunder game, the North/South game. You could be 0-16 or 0-20 – it doesn’t matter. That North/South game at Trenton Thunder is our Super Bowl for many reasons. We had a below average season last year, so these guys were so excited to show that they’re not a below average team. They were excited to prove their worth, and they were excited to prove that was just a one-year deal for us.
“Our four captains were just tremendous (seniors Matt Roda, Tim Gibson and Andrew Mancini and junior Patrick Kusters). They were such great leaders, and they didn’t even get a chance to teach our young guys how to be real leaders. That’s what captains and leaders do - they teach the young guys how to be leaders for next year. That’s one of the many different things we missed out on this year. Thank god we had the winter time together and the fall together, but it’s tough.”
Senior captain Matt Roda says: “It was very difficult not being at Trenton Thunder. I’ve been playing at Trenton Thunder – I played sophomore year, played junior year, but it was different this year, it was very different, and it was difficult not being on that field with my
teammates. It’s an atmosphere you never get to play in again, and it was just tough not being on that field this year.
“The drive-by definitely meant a lot to me. I got to put on my uniform again and relive the moments. I got to see some teammates that I hadn’t seen in seven weeks because of the quarantine. It was just an awesome experience to see some buddies and enjoy the moment.
“My junior year was definitely a struggle. I was hurt most of the year, and I didn’t get to play as much as I wanted to. I had a shoulder injury, and I’m fine now, but I was pumped for this year. It sucks this year. We had so much momentum. Going from last year, we had to hold our heads high. We had something this year, we had momentum, we had character, we had leadership. This was our year.”
Senior captain Tim Gibson says: “As a younger kid in the program – as a freshman, I watched the (Trenton Thunder) game from the stands. Sophomore and junior year, I was in the dugout, and it was just really neat to see all the seniors just really enjoy it. It’s an awesome stadium, and 
the senior recognition when everyone gets announced – it’s just a really neat experience. Hearing that Saturday was supposed to be that day was definitely sad because it’s something you look forward to. We’ve all been playing baseball our entire lives, and to play on a field like that – it’s one of the highlights. It’s definitely a bummer that we weren’t able to do that.
“It was really neat not only to see the coaches and some of the players at the drive-by, but it was a nice moment with my parents. We reflected back on all the years I’ve been playing baseball and how much fun it’s been. That was something the coaches didn’t have to do, but they went out of their way, and it really meant a lot.
“I remember middle school and ninth grade year especially – our grade really did well, and we had a great team. I remember talking freshman year – I can’t wait until we’re seniors, we’re going to make a deep playoff run. I play football as well, and North hasn’t had quite the success with wins and losses on the football field, so it would really be something neat to have a playoff run. To have the season cancelled is a bummer.”
Senior captain Andrew Mancini says: “I remember as a freshman watching the seniors walk up with their families on Trenton Thunder field. I remember watching it every single year, and that was one of those individual moments I was looking forward to as a senior. Obviously, I’m so upset about senior year just as a team because I think we had a really good team, but one of the individual moments I was really looking forward
to was walking out with my family on Trenton Thunder Field. It obviously was a little tough Saturday, but it meant a lot that coach Schram and the coaches and a few of my teammates took time out of their day to drive by my house. It was a little something, but it actually meant a lot to me. It was mixed emotions Saturday.
“I just remember talking about the year 2020 since seventh grade, so it’s really tough. Obviously, last year wasn’t the year we wanted, but I think almost all of our starters were returning while the other teams in our league lost their starters, so we had experience, we had talent, we had confidence – everything was going in the right direction. We’ll never know what could have happened. I know the whole world is going through this, but it hurts a lot because I really think we had something special this year.”
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