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Last season the Benjamin Cardozo High School Judges baseball team was plagued with injuries.
Senior Adrian Castano, who signed with the Detroit Tigers, had injured his lower back and an elbow, senior Connor Doyle, who now plays for Stony Brook University, suffered a torn ACL, and junior Christopher Campbell hyperextended his right shoulder. All three missed the season, resulting in a loss of overall power.
But this year the Judges are looking healthier, and will be led by a triple threat of seniors.
Keith Rogers, one of the PSAL’s top pitchers, is back to lead the Judges’ rotation. David Lim, a versatile fielder and solid batter, is poised to have a career year. Also, after missing most of his junior year, Campbell is back to platoon the outfield in center.
“This year I feel like out of all three years I’ve been here we have much better team chemistry, and we might not have as many big guys, but everybody is here as a team,” Campbell said.
The three seniors showcased their talents in the Judges’ 2014 season opener on March 24, coasting to an 11-0 mercy rule win in five innings over Queens High School of Teaching.
Rogers, who is thinking of attending either Southern University or Grambling State University, had 11 strikeouts and no hits in four innings pitched.
Campbell was 1-for-1 and scored three runs, while Lim, who has received an offer from Fairleigh Dickinson University, went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Besides their individual skills, the seniors are expected to be leaders on the field as well.
“They’re my eyes on the field,” head coach Ron Gorecki said. “What I don’t see or my [coaches] doesn’t see, my guys on the field see. So we have six coaches, three of which are kids.”
And being that the seniors are leaving after this year, the guys are focused on going for the gold.
“We want to leave saying that we won the city championship,” Campbell said. “We want to bring a lot of attention to our baseball program.”
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