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In 33 years as a high school baseball coach, this is a first for Joe Russo.
After leading a veteran Cardinal Newman team to a school-record 26 victories in 2025, Russo knew this season's roster would be younger. He just didn't realize how young.
The Crusaders have no seniors.
"We graduated 14, we lost one returning senior, and a couple of juniors from last year decided not to come out," Russo said. "They didn't even try out, so it's not like we cut anyone."
When Cardinal Newman played Jensen Beach on April 1, Russo's lineup had the look of a junior varsity team — five freshmen and four sophomores in the batting order, a sophomore on the mound.
But the Crusaders didn't play like a JV team. Liam Magun pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight, and Daniel Martinez drove in three runs to highlight a 6-2 victory over the Falcons. With four wins in the last five games, Cardinal Newman has climbed over .500 at 12-11.
That may seem like a modest accomplishment for a program that spent much of the past two years ranked No. 1 in the county. But when you consider the talent the Crusaders lost — a long list that includes Blake Anderson, the Post's Player of the Year, and all-county players Gabriel Acevedo, Finn Duran and Max Gonzalez — it's clear the new kids are growing up fast.
"When we play our game, we can be pretty tough," Russo said. "It has taken time. We've tried to get there quicker, but there's no substitute for experience."
Take the pitching staff. In an astounding bit of trivia, every Cardinal Newman pitch last season was thrown by a senior. Anderson (10-0, 1.39 ERA, 73 strikeouts) and Gonzalez (7-2, 1.14 ERA, 87 strikeouts) were the best starting tandem in the county.
Russo didn't just have to replace his aces. Highly regarded pitching coach Zach Miner also left the program, so Russo hired Jacob Josey to put together a staff that could compete in the Crusaders' tough district.
Josey took three pitchers who had never played on the varsity and developed them into effective and often dominating starters — sophomore right-hander Liam Magun (1.84 ERA, 38 innings, 55 strikeouts), junior right-hander Hunter Gardner (2.48 ERA, 31 innings, 53 strikeouts) and sophomore left-hander Brady Heminger (2.94 ERA, 31 innings, 45 strikeouts).
"He's done a great job with those guys," Russo said of Josey. "They're not the hardest-throwing guys ... but they've really done a nice job with their secondary pitches. Being able to land the breaking ball for a strike has really been the key for all of them. Jacob's done a really good job calling the games."
Gardner was the hero in Cardinal Newman's signature win, throwing six shutout innings and striking out seven against North Broward Prep on March 27. That effort — coming back from a 3-0 deficit on the road against a three-time state champion — showed that the Crusaders, for all their youth, are capable of beating anyone.
Sophomore catcher David Zitnick (.333, 23 hits, 12 RBIs) has been the offensive leader, with key contributions from Martinez (.311, 6 steals, 12 RBIs), Dallas Reddoch (.319, 7 RBIs) and Luke Heminger (22 runs, 14 RBIs).
The Crusaders have had their share of adversity, weathering injuries to two key pitchers and starting center fielder Mike Newby, among others.
"Some other guys have stepped up," Russo said. "Reed Jackson is our starting third baseman. He was on JV to start the season, but we lose a couple of guys, we bring him up and he hasn't left third base. He's tough as nails."
In addition to North Broward Prep, Cardinal Newman's trial-by-fire schedule includes Jupiter, West Broward and Orlando-Bishop Moore, as well as District 13-2A rivals St. John Paul II, King's Academy and Benjamin.
"We love playing the tough schedule every year," Russo said. "I don't really look at what team I have and then try to adjust the schedule. What are you gaining by playing teams you know you can beat? You have to be in the battles and you have to put them through pressure situations and hopefully it's going to come back and help you."
And while Russo has embraced the challenge of rebuilding a program nearly from scratch, he's hoping this season is a one-off.
"Would I want to have a young team like this every year?" he said. "No. Absolutely not. We would much rather have a good mix of seniors and juniors and young guys every single year. It's been fun, though. They've really bought in."
St. John Paul II Academy, the county's top-ranked team, began last week with a 19-1 record and a 10-game winning streak.
But King's Academy and Palm Beach Central were not impressed, beating the Eagles on back-to-back nights.
On March 30, senior right-hander Daniel Cabrera pitched a three-hitter and struck out six to lead King's to a 3-0 victory — St. John Paul's first shutout loss of the season. Sophomore shortstop Alec Cabrera went 2-for-3 with a home run and a double. (Alec Cabrera also homered against Palm Beach Gardens to raise his county-leading total to eight.)
On March 31, DeAngelo Davila excelled on the mound and at the plate to highlight Palm Beach Central's 6-3 victory. Davila pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up four hits and no earned runs and striking out seven. He also went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
St. John Paul (20-3) bounced back with a 4-1 victory over Somerset Academy-Canyons.
Palm Beach County teams conclude the regular season this week, making their final bids to earn favorable seeds for the district tournaments.
Only games played through April 8 will count toward the seedings, which will be based on FHSAA rankings.
District tournaments will begin April 14. Under the FHSAA playoff system, all district champions advance to the regionals and are joined by four at-large teams in each region.
Matt Spina, St. Andrew's: Hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and had seven RBIs in a 12-7 victory over Forest Hill.
CJ Soto, Benjamin: Went 3-for-4, scored two runs and had two RBIs in a 7-2 win over Miami-Schoolhouse Prep; pitched four shutout innings in a 2-0 victory over Suncoast.
Tayegan Briskey, West Boca Raton: Went 3-for-4 with a home run, stole two bases and had three RBIs in an 8-1 win over St. Andrew's.
Joshua Burnston, Suncoast: Went 6-for-10 with three doubles, scored four runs and drove in two as the Chargers won two of three.
Reilly Moore, Berean Christian: Went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and pitched four shutout innings with nine strikeouts against Lake Worth.
Derrick Silvas, Wellington: Pitched a two-hitter and struck out six in a 3-1 win over Seminole Ridge.
Abner Garcia, Santaluces: Went 2-for-3 with a double, stole four bases and scored twice in an 8-6 victory over Palm Beach Lakes.
Monday
Park Vista at Jupiter, 6 p.m.
Tuesday
Forest Hill at Suncoast, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Palm Beach Central at Boca Raton, 6 p.m.
Thursday
Coral Glades at St. John Paul II, 4 p.m.
Friday
Wellington at Seminole Ridge, 6:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cardinal Newman baseball finds success despite young team
Continue reading...
After leading a veteran Cardinal Newman team to a school-record 26 victories in 2025, Russo knew this season's roster would be younger. He just didn't realize how young.
The Crusaders have no seniors.
"We graduated 14, we lost one returning senior, and a couple of juniors from last year decided not to come out," Russo said. "They didn't even try out, so it's not like we cut anyone."
When Cardinal Newman played Jensen Beach on April 1, Russo's lineup had the look of a junior varsity team — five freshmen and four sophomores in the batting order, a sophomore on the mound.
But the Crusaders didn't play like a JV team. Liam Magun pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight, and Daniel Martinez drove in three runs to highlight a 6-2 victory over the Falcons. With four wins in the last five games, Cardinal Newman has climbed over .500 at 12-11.
That may seem like a modest accomplishment for a program that spent much of the past two years ranked No. 1 in the county. But when you consider the talent the Crusaders lost — a long list that includes Blake Anderson, the Post's Player of the Year, and all-county players Gabriel Acevedo, Finn Duran and Max Gonzalez — it's clear the new kids are growing up fast.
"When we play our game, we can be pretty tough," Russo said. "It has taken time. We've tried to get there quicker, but there's no substitute for experience."
Take the pitching staff. In an astounding bit of trivia, every Cardinal Newman pitch last season was thrown by a senior. Anderson (10-0, 1.39 ERA, 73 strikeouts) and Gonzalez (7-2, 1.14 ERA, 87 strikeouts) were the best starting tandem in the county.
Russo didn't just have to replace his aces. Highly regarded pitching coach Zach Miner also left the program, so Russo hired Jacob Josey to put together a staff that could compete in the Crusaders' tough district.
Josey took three pitchers who had never played on the varsity and developed them into effective and often dominating starters — sophomore right-hander Liam Magun (1.84 ERA, 38 innings, 55 strikeouts), junior right-hander Hunter Gardner (2.48 ERA, 31 innings, 53 strikeouts) and sophomore left-hander Brady Heminger (2.94 ERA, 31 innings, 45 strikeouts).
"He's done a great job with those guys," Russo said of Josey. "They're not the hardest-throwing guys ... but they've really done a nice job with their secondary pitches. Being able to land the breaking ball for a strike has really been the key for all of them. Jacob's done a really good job calling the games."
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Gardner was the hero in Cardinal Newman's signature win, throwing six shutout innings and striking out seven against North Broward Prep on March 27. That effort — coming back from a 3-0 deficit on the road against a three-time state champion — showed that the Crusaders, for all their youth, are capable of beating anyone.
Sophomore catcher David Zitnick (.333, 23 hits, 12 RBIs) has been the offensive leader, with key contributions from Martinez (.311, 6 steals, 12 RBIs), Dallas Reddoch (.319, 7 RBIs) and Luke Heminger (22 runs, 14 RBIs).
The Crusaders have had their share of adversity, weathering injuries to two key pitchers and starting center fielder Mike Newby, among others.
"Some other guys have stepped up," Russo said. "Reed Jackson is our starting third baseman. He was on JV to start the season, but we lose a couple of guys, we bring him up and he hasn't left third base. He's tough as nails."
In addition to North Broward Prep, Cardinal Newman's trial-by-fire schedule includes Jupiter, West Broward and Orlando-Bishop Moore, as well as District 13-2A rivals St. John Paul II, King's Academy and Benjamin.
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"We love playing the tough schedule every year," Russo said. "I don't really look at what team I have and then try to adjust the schedule. What are you gaining by playing teams you know you can beat? You have to be in the battles and you have to put them through pressure situations and hopefully it's going to come back and help you."
And while Russo has embraced the challenge of rebuilding a program nearly from scratch, he's hoping this season is a one-off.
"Would I want to have a young team like this every year?" he said. "No. Absolutely not. We would much rather have a good mix of seniors and juniors and young guys every single year. It's been fun, though. They've really bought in."
St. John Paul stumbles
St. John Paul II Academy, the county's top-ranked team, began last week with a 19-1 record and a 10-game winning streak.
But King's Academy and Palm Beach Central were not impressed, beating the Eagles on back-to-back nights.
On March 30, senior right-hander Daniel Cabrera pitched a three-hitter and struck out six to lead King's to a 3-0 victory — St. John Paul's first shutout loss of the season. Sophomore shortstop Alec Cabrera went 2-for-3 with a home run and a double. (Alec Cabrera also homered against Palm Beach Gardens to raise his county-leading total to eight.)
On March 31, DeAngelo Davila excelled on the mound and at the plate to highlight Palm Beach Central's 6-3 victory. Davila pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up four hits and no earned runs and striking out seven. He also went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
St. John Paul (20-3) bounced back with a 4-1 victory over Somerset Academy-Canyons.
Preparing for districts
Palm Beach County teams conclude the regular season this week, making their final bids to earn favorable seeds for the district tournaments.
Only games played through April 8 will count toward the seedings, which will be based on FHSAA rankings.
District tournaments will begin April 14. Under the FHSAA playoff system, all district champions advance to the regionals and are joined by four at-large teams in each region.
Week 8 standouts
Matt Spina, St. Andrew's: Hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and had seven RBIs in a 12-7 victory over Forest Hill.
CJ Soto, Benjamin: Went 3-for-4, scored two runs and had two RBIs in a 7-2 win over Miami-Schoolhouse Prep; pitched four shutout innings in a 2-0 victory over Suncoast.
Tayegan Briskey, West Boca Raton: Went 3-for-4 with a home run, stole two bases and had three RBIs in an 8-1 win over St. Andrew's.
Joshua Burnston, Suncoast: Went 6-for-10 with three doubles, scored four runs and drove in two as the Chargers won two of three.
Reilly Moore, Berean Christian: Went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and pitched four shutout innings with nine strikeouts against Lake Worth.
Derrick Silvas, Wellington: Pitched a two-hitter and struck out six in a 3-1 win over Seminole Ridge.
Abner Garcia, Santaluces: Went 2-for-3 with a double, stole four bases and scored twice in an 8-6 victory over Palm Beach Lakes.
Week 9's top games
Monday
Park Vista at Jupiter, 6 p.m.
Tuesday
Forest Hill at Suncoast, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Palm Beach Central at Boca Raton, 6 p.m.
Thursday
Coral Glades at St. John Paul II, 4 p.m.
Friday
Wellington at Seminole Ridge, 6:30 p.m.
Rick Robb's Top 10
- 1. St. John Paul II (20-3)
- 2. Dwyer (14-6)
- 3. Jupiter (15-7)
- 4. Park Vista (13-5)
- 5. St. Andrew's (11-7-1)
- 6. King's Academy (14-9)
- 7. Palm Beach Central (13-9)
- 8. Boca Raton (13-7)
- 9. West Boca Raton (12-10)
- 10. Cardinal Newman (12-11)
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cardinal Newman baseball finds success despite young team
Continue reading...
