Matt McDermott wanted one last shot to wear the colors he wore proudly for the last four years.
“I loved my time at [St. Peter’s] Prep,” McDermott said. “It was a tough year. We didn’t finish out the way we wanted to. We played with the best in the state.”
The St. Peter’s Prep infielder’s team lost to Ferris in the Hudson County Tournament semifinals, sending the Bulldogs to their first county title game in almost 50 years.
Fernando Zayas was part of that Ferris team.
Both were the only representatives from Hudson County to get selected to participate in the New Jersey Scholastic Baseball Coaches Association’s All-Star Classic at Diamond Nation in Flemington last month.
Hudson County generally has a strong participation, but this year, the only selections were McDermott and Zayas, teammates on the Northeast All-Stars.
“It was cool,” said McDermott. “It gave me the opportunity to play my natural position [second base] and I got to play with some guys who I’m friends with. I was able to go out and get one more chance to put on the Prep uniform, which meant a lot to me. It was awesome to wear that Prep jersey one final time.”
McDermott thought he had a good chance to get selected to the game.
“I started off the season strong, but then I struggled a bit, then finished strong, so I thought I had a good opportunity,” said McDermott, who was recently selected to the Hudson Reporter All-Area team for a second straight season.
McDermott had to deal with some adversity during the season, when former teammate and 2015 Hudson Reporter Most Valuable Player Dan Cooney died after being hit by a train near where he was attending school at Babson College.
“After a while, I was able to get my mind off things and just play baseball,” McDermott said. “It was tough dealing with that, both on and off the field.”
Before he heads off to play baseball at William & Mary, McDermott is spending his summer playing in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in Utica, N.Y. McDermott will be playing there until August, then it’s off to NCAA Division I baseball at William & Mary.
“I’m getting good playing time,” McDermott said. “It’s getting me ready for the next level.”
Zayas made the team as a pitcher and he did well in his lone inning of work, striking out the side.
“I did feel a little nervous,” Zayas said. “Then I threw one pitch and I settled in. I didn’t even know about this game until after the county championship game. It happened so fast that I didn’t even know how I felt. After the game though, I realized it was really nice to end my high school career this way. I met a lot of nice people at the game.”
Zayas is headed to pitch at Kean University in the fall.
“After pitching well against some of the top hitters in the state, I feel pretty confident going into college,” Zayas said. “Don’t get me wrong. I know I still have to work hard. But I just felt that I could do my own thing in this game. I just had to go out and stay within myself and I would be fine.”
Zayas is spending his summer playing for the Jersey City Sharks, the organization that was initiated by Ed “Faa” Ford some eight years ago.
“It was actually pretty cool to know that not a lot of people make the team,” Zayas said. “I’m glad I did.”
“I would have liked to see more Hudson County guys there,” McDermott said. “But I got a chance to play with the best in the state.”
The team was coached by Ferris’ Mike Hogan and Hoboken’s Jack Baker. Vin Bello, a Jersey City native now the head coach at Pope John of Sparta, was also on the Northeast coaching staff.
Another local product making an appearance at the All-Star Classic was long-time Hoboken coach and St. Anthony coach Buddy Matthews, who was presented with the NJSCBA Man of the Year award.
Matthews served as Hudson County’s liaison to the game for many years and was an assistant coach with the Northeast All-Stars seven times.
“This came out of nowhere,” Matthews said of the award. “I never knew an award like this existed. All the time I was at the game, I was busy coaching and getting ready for the game. I noticed this time it’s the biggest honor given to a coach and I certainly didn’t think I’d get it. This is surprising and humbling. I never thought it would happen.”
Matthews said that when he was on the selection committee for the game, he had one thing in mind.
“I always wanted to stick up for the Hudson County kids,” Matthews said. “That was my mantra. There’s a pride factor involved, being from the county at games like this. Without a doubt, there was a source of pride.”
Matthews said that he was proud to have only one assistant coach throughout his days in Hoboken, namely Bruce Radigan.
“He was always there for me,” Matthews said.
With St. Anthony closing, it should be interesting to see what Matthews’ next move is.
The District 7 11-and-12-year-old All-Star Tournament is well underway. Washington Park of Jersey City has scored two big victories in round robin play against Hoboken and West New York and looks to once again be one of the favorites in the tourney. A big winners bracket game between Elmora of Elizabeth and Washington Park was slated for last Wednesday night after press time.
We will have more on the District 7 tourney in next week’s EXTRA INNINGS, as well as a look at two local standouts now playing pro baseball on the same team.
EXTRA INNINGS focuses on the best stories that come from local baseball and softball leagues throughout the area, from Little League action through travel leagues.
If you have any noteworthy information to contribute to the EXTRA INNINGS, feel free to contact Jim Hague by phone at (201) 303-5792 or via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com.
The e-mail would be the best way of getting in touch.
Please include a telephone contact name and number, in order to secure further information for a possible story. Also, if you have a picture to be used with the story, that would be a great help….–Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
