BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield High School summer baseball team couldn’t ask for a better ending to its season.
The Bengals won their final three games of the final week to finish with a 6-4 record.
It’s an encouraging sign, as the Bengals hope to bounce back from suffering their second straight losing season this past high school season in the spring.
“We did some good things,” said BHS head coach Mike Policastro, who completed his 19th year as the Bengals head coach. “We started off a little bit slow. The first couple games were a rewatch of what we did during the (high school) season – didn’t play good defense, didn’t hit – and then we started to pick it up a notch. We started to do things a lot better.”
Though they still were committing errors in the field, the Bengals started to hit better at the plate and do things that they are capable of, said Policastro.
In addition, the pitching improved.
Brady Cole, a rising junior, was the team’s top hurler this past spring. Unfortunately, he got hit in the head in the 3-2 win over Hoboken and suffered a concussion, missing the rest of the season.
When he returned for the summer, he was understandably timid, but got stronger. In the final week of the season, he pitched six strong innings against Morristown. Offensively, Cole collected eight hits in the final three games and finished with a .500 batting average for the summer.
Sean Sayers, a rising senior, also had a good summer at the plate and on the mound, as he batted .500 and recorded a few saves in the final week. When he wasn’t pitching, he played well in the outfield.
The Bengals are hoping to bounce back from the past two seasons, when they went 8-19 in 2024 and 7-18 this past season. They missed the state sectional tournament this past season for the first time since 2010. Those were the only times they missed the postseason in Policastro’s tenure.
In 2010, teams needed at least a .500 mark to qualify. Since then, the Bengals managed to clinch postseason berths a few times when they were under .500.
Policastro noted the 3-2 loss to Glen Ridge was a big blow to their state tournament hopes. Bloomfield led 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth, before Glen Ridge scored three unanswered runs. The Bengals had second and third with one out in the seventh, but couldn’t get the tying run.
With the summer complete, the Bengals are now focused on offseason work, including working out in the weight room. Policastro has been impressed by his players’ commitment to the weight room, as the Bengals had about 17 players on the summer roster, with strong attendance. A few incoming freshmen also saw some time.
The following are the summer results:
- Loss, Passaic County Tech, 2-1.
- Loss, Montclair, 8-0.
- Win, Morristown, 3-1.
- Win, Morris Hills, 8-2.
- Loss, Bayonne, 8-0.
- Win, Weehawken, 7-0.
- Loss, Hanover Park, 16-10.
- Win, Montclair, 7-6.
- Win, Morristown, 12-5.
- Win, Bayonne, 3-2.
Notes – Policastro has led the Bengals to five North 1, Group 4 sectional final appearances, including in his first two seasons in 2007 and 2008. They won the sectional title in 2008. They were sectional runner-up in 2007, 2014, 2019 and 2023.
Policastro completed his 19th Bengals Baseball Camp this summer at Bloomfield Middle School field, which is the home field for the Bengals. The three-week camp was for boys in grades 2-8.
BHS notable summer stats
- Sayers: .500 batting average, eight hits (one triple), five RBI, 8-of-9 stolen bases. Pitching: 3.70 earned run average, 5.2 innings, six strikeouts, four hits allowed, five walks.
- Cole: .500 BA, 12 hits (one double, one triple), 4 RBI, 5-of-7 stolen bases. Pitching: 1.68 ERA, 16.2 innings, 20 strikeouts, 8 walks, 3 hits by pitches, 19 hits allowed.
- Jack Menake, rising junior: .313 BA, five hits, (one double, one triple), 3 RBI.
- Braeden Weber, rising senior: Pitching: 0.95 ERA, 7.1 innings, 9 strikeouts, 4 walks, 5 hits allowed.
- Conor Ennis, rising junior: Pitching: 0.63 ERA, 11 innings, 14 strikeouts, 2 walks, 7 hits allowed.
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