The Athletics were born over a few beers between Sven Jenkins and Greg Crouser in December of 2015. The roster is mainly comprised of a combination of former HVMSBL35+ Knights and HVMSBL18+ Seals.
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2021 HVMSBL Champions
9/27/2021 – Hopewell Junction, NY – One for the thumb!
The Bridge City Athletics won their 5th Hudson Valley MSBL championship in the last six years by defeating the NY Mariners 9-0 in a decisive Game 3. Ace Jim Petrosino threw a complete game shutout, the exclamation point on his 9th MSBL Cy Young Award. The offense banged out 16 hits in the game, including three each from second baseman Nick DeMarco and catcher Mark Petrosino. The Athletics defense was highlighted by a rally killing 9-3 assist-putout from right fielder AJ Torre. Torre's assist erased a potential 2-rbi single to end the 4th inning.
For the season, the A's used a fantastic combination of pitching and defense to go 17-3-1, including playoffs. The club allowed just 57 runs in their 21 games. The Athletics were led by pitcher Jim Petrosino, who finished the season 11-2 with a 1.69 ERA. Alex Forster was an excellent #2 in the rotation, going 4-1 with a 4.76 ERA. Defensively the club was as solid as you'll find in amateur baseball. Their combination of play-making and consistency created a very difficult run scoring environment for the opposition, as proven by the 2.7 runs allowed per game.
Mark Petrosino led the 2021 offense against a league loaded with quality pitching. The 2021 MVP award winner had 20 RBI out of the cleanup spot, consistently coming through with clutch base hits. Leadoff hitter and center fielder, Dan Slate, had another monster season, racking up 27 hits, 23 runs, and 19 SB. Four-time MSBL MVP, Nick DeMarco, had 20 hits including four triples. Manager/shortstop, Sven Jenkins, reached 20 hits, 15 runs, and logged a .557 OBP. Left fielder, Chris LaForge, and third baseman, Kris Anderson, both had huge postseasons. The duo combined for 18 hits, 12 runs, and 9 RBI in the five playoff games.
Congratulations guys!!!!
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2020 HVMSBL Champions
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2019 Season Highlights
(L-R, Dan Pettigrew, Jim Petrosino, Sven Jenkins, and Chris LaForge represented the A's at the All-Star game)
(Greg Crouser was enshrined in the HVMSBL Hall of Fame)
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2018 HVMSBL Champions
October 1, 2018 – Beekman, NY - Three-peat! The Bridge City Athletics won their third straight HVMSBL championship Monday night, defeating the Kent Pirates 3-1. The pitchers' duel ended on a 10th inning walk-off home run from A's centerfielder, Dan Slate. The MVP candidate's blast easily cleared the left field fence as it disappeared into the Dutchess County night.
Athletics pitcher, Jim Petrosino, threw all 10 innings and allowed just one run on five base hits. Petrosino fanned 14 on a night when he grew stronger as the game progressed. Jim finished the game with six consecutive perfect innings, including striking out the side in the 10th. This was quite the exclaimation point on his second consecutive league Cy Young Award.
The Pirates got on the board first with three consecutive singles in the top of the 3rd. However, with two outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, the Athletics' defense took over. Catcher Mark Petrosino and shortstop Sven Jenkins used a back-pick play at second base to end the threat. In the 4th, the Pirates threatened again, and again it was the A's defense that kept the Pirates off the scoreboard. With two outs and a runner at second base, the Pirates hit a soft pop fly single down the left field line. The runner on second attempted to score, but Jenkins scrambled to the ball from shortstop and fired home to nail the potential run.
The Athletics evened the score 1-1 in the bottom of the 5th thanks to a single by Mike Strutt, a walk from P.J. Panesa, and an RBI single by Dan Pettigrew, scoring Strutt. The Athletics had base runners in every inning of the game, but Pirates' pitcher Jason Argenti kept the club off-balance and runs off the board, pitching a complete game (9 2/3 inn).
Finally in the 10th, Pettigrew came up big again when he singled with two outs, which brought Slate to bat. His home run came on a 3-1 pitch and the celebration was on...
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2017 HVMSBL Champions
October 12, 2017 - Stitzel Field - Poughkeepsie, NY – The Bridge City Athletics clinched their second consecutive championship with a convincing 7-2 win over the New York Mariners. The A's were led by HVMSBL Cy Young winner Jim Petrosino, who began the game with 4 1/3 perfect innings. The lefty finished with a 3-hitter and faced just four batters over the minimum.
Offensively, the Athletics banged out 10 hits and put pressure on the Mariners all game. Leading 1-0 in the 2nd inning, three consecutive singles from Dan Pettigrew, Paul Panesa, and Chris LaForge grew the lead to 3-0. In the 4th, Greg Crouser's hustle put him into scoring position for an Eric Bjorkman RBI single. The Mariners got back into the game in the top of the 5th, scoring two unearned runs, however, the A's responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Mark Petrosino led off with a single, followed by a one-out HBP from Eric Bentley. A line drive single off the pitcher's foot from Sven Jenkins loaded the bases. With two outs, Mike Strutt drew an RBI walk for a 5-2 lead and Tommy Manaher followed with a 2-rbi single.
The A's infield trio of Nick DeMarco (2B), Sven Jenkins (SS), and Eric Bjorkman (3B) combined for 11 assists and 2 putouts without an error. The final out of the game was recorded by Mike Strutt (LF), who made the defensive play of the year by diving in and towards the line to catch a sinking line drive.
2017 Season Highlights
Win-Loss 21-2 (both losses were by one run)
W-L Regular Season 17-2 (1st Place)
Runs Scored – 195 (playoffs included)
Runs Against – 53 (playoffs included)
Offense (including playoffs)
Team Avg/OBP/Slg/OPS - .385/.474/.470/.943
Eleven A's had at least 15 Hits (the entire playoff qualified lineup)
Nine A's had double-digit Runs scored
Ten A's had double-digit RBI
HVMSBL MVP – Nick DeMarco
League Leaders (regular season)
Nick DeMarco - H, 3B, HR, .AVG, .SLG, OPS
Eric Bentley - OB%, HBP
Mark Petrosino - Runs, Games, Plate Appearances
Mike Strutt - Sacrifice Bunts
Pitching
HVMSBL Cy Young - Jim Petrosino (led the league in ERA, WHIP, K, W, Sv, CG, SHO, G, GS)
Petrosino followed a dominant regular season by pitching even better in the playoffs. He completed all four of the A's playoff games, winning all four and throwing one shutout. He whiffed 20 in 25 innings with a miniscule 0.84 WHIP and 1.08 ERA. Jim was also enshrined in the HVMSBL Hall of Fame during the All-Star game.
Defense (including playoffs)
Team Double Plays - 22
Sven Jenkins (SS) - zero errors in 84 total chances
A's outfielders - one error combined
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2016 HVMSBL Champions
10/3/2016 - Dutchess Stadium - Fishkill, NY – In their first year of existence, the Athletics defeated the Isotopes by the score of 7-3 to capture the 2016 HVMSBL 35+ championship. The A's were led by their pitching and defense all season and the championship game was no exception. Starting pitcher, Jim Petrosino, struck out six batters in six innings against a tough Isotopes lineup and righthander Greg Crouser closed the game in the 7th. The A's turned their 21st double play in a season that they made just 23 total errors.
The Athletics jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning with an Eric Bentley lead off triple, followed by an RBI single from Mark Petrosino. Petrosino later scored on a throwing error. The A's made it 3-0 in the 2nd inning when Chris LaForge's aggressive base running forced a throwing error to get into scoring position, followed by an RBI single from Bentley. The Isoptopes cut the lead to 3-1 in the 3rd but in the bottom of the 4th the A's struck again. Dan Pettigrew drew a 1-out walk, followed by a LaForge line drive triple. Two batters later, Petrosino's RBI single made the score 5-1. In the top of the 5th, an Isotopes rally was killed with a 6-4-3 double play, but they still came back to score twice in the 6th to make it a 5-3 game. Bret Jenkins led off the bottom of the 6th with a single for the A's, followed by Dan Pettigrew reaching on an error. A LaForge sacrifice bunt put both runners in scoring position, and after a wild pitch and fielder's choice, the A's had a 7-3 lead. Greg Crouser took the mound for the 7th and the final out was recorded by first baseman Kyle Dwyer on a sliding catch of a pop-up in foul territory.
