HAWKS
April 1, 2007 - CJ Hawks Open Season with a win
The Central Jersey Hawks took the first game of the season against the NJ Angels in Bridgewater, NJ. The Hawks won 5-3 behind a strong pitching performance and some key clutch hits. Jake Pravkewitz threw six stunning innings of shutout work allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 9. Tarmo Tammaru came in relief for three innings allowing 3 runs (none earned) on 2 hits and 3 strikeouts.
The Hawks struck first blood in the 6th inning when they scored three runs on a bases clearing double by Hawks catcher, Ryan Troutman. The final two Hawks runs came in the top of the 9th inning when Bill Vezzosi drove in two runs with an opposite field double.
October 29, 2004 – Fall Ball Post-Season is taking shape
For the 3rd consecutive season, the Central Jersey Hawks have made it to the playoffs. This year, the Hawks are looking to better their 2nd place finish last fall. It has been a long year of waiting for the opportunity to prove to the league that the Hawks deserve the title of the states best. There were many key aquisitions this year that have propelled the Hawks to the top of the league. Milton Yong Yow joined the team and has produced greatly at the #2 spot in the lineup. He also shows speed on the bases and covers a lot of land out there in Centerfield. Anthony Mangine brings solid defense and one of the best pitching arms in the game throwing at 93 mph by the 4th inning of work. He has worked both as a starter and a closer for the Hawks this year.
Come see the Hawks take on the Cubs this Sunday at 11am at the South Plainfield Varsity Field. The Hawks must find away to avoid the power of the Cubs lineup and score runs early if they want to win.
March 29, 2004 – Pre-season comes to an end
The pre-season came to an end this past Sunday. The Central Jersey Hawks went 3-0 with 39 runs, 34 hits, and a team ERA of 3.12.
GAME 1
The Central Jersey Hawks first win came against the Freehold Mets on March 13. The Hawks came out on top 6-4. Manager Jim Lawson on the win, “This is our first exhibition game and we looked a bit rusty, but I am happy with the outcome.”
GAME 2
The second exhibition game came on Saturday, March 27th against the Bronx Royals. The All-Bronx team from 2003 made the trip to Johnson Park for a friendly game of hardball. Craig Magnani pitched 6 solid innings for the Hawks picking up his 2nd win of the pre-season. Frank Morrelli closed out the game with 3 scoreless innings for his second straight appearance of the pre-season. The Hawks scored 17 runs in the game and didn’t allow a run after the third inning. The bats came alive like never before according to coach Pete Magnani, “Today was like one of those hit parade-parties and the whole team was invited.” The balls were being launched off the bats and the team fielding was amazing. Final score, 17-11. This team is prepared to take on any team in the ABA.
GAME 3
Exhibition game number three came a day later on Sunday, March 28th at Johnson Park, but the Hawks lacked the 4 biggest bats of the lineup. The CJ Hawks took on the Monmouth Yankees, an expansion team out of Freehold, NJ. Once again, the bats were alive and pitching was impeccable. Tommy Dalton picked up a win during his 3 solid innings of pitching. Relief pitching by Pete Barbano, Sean Crockett, and minor-leaguer Calvin (just Calvin for now) was also near flawless allowing only 1 run to preserve the 16-5 victory over the Yankees. The team is showing power from all parts of the lineup according to the newly acquired 2nd basemen John Trader who went 1-2 with 3 walks, 5 stolen bases, and 3 runs scored, “It feels good to be a part of such a great group of guys that have the potential to win it all this season.” The Hawks appear to be on top of every aspect of the game. The bats are phenomenal, fielding is sensational, and the running game is in high gear. Look for some great things from this team in 2004.
March 5, 2004 
Closed Door Talks Among Top Executives
It seems that after such a dramatic improvement in performance by the team last fall, the owner is getting greedy. Sources say that the owner had a closed door meeting with the GM and coaching staff of the CJ Hawks sometime during the end of February in Miami Beach. Specific instructions were given to the GM on what needs to be done in order to take a championship. Some names were tossed around the meeting, but details of that information has not been made public.
Although no one has been signed as of yet, this sportswriter will be looking for some big time names to join the Hawks prior to opening day.
December 21, 2003Post-season through end of year
It has been a while since this site was updated, but there a few things that should have been posted much earlier than this. First of all, congratulations to fantastic season. We managed to open many eyes by making it to the championship game. We came into our second season without a legit win under our belt. The rest of the league looked at their schedule and assumed a win for their game with us. We did what we wanted to do this year. Although a couple tmes we looked like the "Banana" Hawks of the past, we still came through. I dont usually put much blame on the umpires, but we may have had the championship won if we had a decently called game. But that's in the past. Now we look forward to a new year and a new season. Jim and I are hoping all of us are ready to play hard and have fun in 2004.
Come the end of January, we will be getting the team together via email to make sure everyone will be back. Some players may be leaving and some of our original Hawk players may be back. If you know anyone who can play decent ball, let one of the coaches know and we may have tryout for interested ball players. I know I have three that want to play, 2 of them are pretty damn good.
The team will probably begin meeting at the cages in late February. Along with the batting cages, we will rent the pitching cage a few times to get the arms in shape. Speaking of our pitchers, please continue to excersise that arm and throw a bit. The Hawks coaching staff is looking forward to a wonderful year in the ABA. Happy Holidays and we will be tough. Please continue to check the website bi-weekly for updates into the end of January. Also, if you have not already, sign up for paypal and save up a few bucks for Spring registration.
November 4, 2003 Hawks make Post-season
Piscataway, NJ - The odds of getting stuck by lightning are 1:600,000. How about hitting the winning loto numbers? About 1:40,000,000. Well in their 2nd season of existence, the Central Jersey Hawks seemed to beat similiar odds by making the playoffs. A team that won zero legitimate games in their first season of play is now contending for the top spot in the ABA fall classic. Some critics say that the Hawks had the advantage all season. Here is a team coming off a horrific season, pretty much a laugher throughout the league. The only thing the Hawks had to do to improve and impress is win just 1 game. There was no pressure or expectations for the Hawks throughout the league. Now you get a team like the Falcons or the Knights and they are expected to win. They have the pressure to be the best. They are the Yankees of the ABA. But here you have the CJ Hawks, maybe comparable to the Florida Marlins?? A team that if they lose, no one skips a beat... but if they win? Well that will turn some heads. The Hawks performed well this season finishing at 4-6-1. Most of their losses due to 1 or 2 run deficits. The Hawks led the ABA Central in batting at an impressive .439 clip. Compared to the 28 teams throughout the 3 ABA fall leagues, they ranked 3rd. The also led the Central league in OBP at .500, hits at 133, doubles at 29 (10 more than 2nd place), RBI's at 68, runs at 89, slugging at .574, SAC's at 12, and just one stolen base shy of the league leader at 39.
The team had 8 players bat .400 or better during the regular season which is unprecidented. The team was led by the bat of veteran Dave Ferdetta who led the team in hits, doubles, RBI's, OBP, Slugging, batting average, and tied the team lead in HR's and walks. Now where do the Hawks go from here? What is to be expected on the crisp cold morning of November 8th when the starting temperature is expected to be a cool 38 degrees? Manager Jim Lawson comments, "The bats have come alive. Just when we thought our bats were at their best, we demolish the Barnstormers 21-5 batting .714 in our last game. Even Magnani who has been struggling all season got 3 sharp hits." It looks like the bats are coming alive just in time for the post season. Every Hawks player seems to be seeing the ball good and errors are hard to find on the field. The outfield is showing tremendous range while the infield is solid. Pitching will be the key throughout the post season. If the arms hold up, nothing will stop the Hawks from taking the championship.
Should the Hawks not win the championship? Well then they exceeded everyones expectations by a long shot, except maybe their own. And should they win the fall classic? Well this reporter won't be a bit suprised...
September 28, 2003 Hawks Vs. Garden Key Realty
Today's double header against the Realty was cancelled due to rain. No official date has been set for the make-up, but the commisioners office appears to be leaning towards October 26th. Final details should be made public soon. Tickets to today's games will be honored in full at the make-up double-header.
September 22, 2003Suspensions
ABA commisioner Larry Frank has handed down a partial decision in the scuffle at home plate on September 21st between Hawks Short Stop and the Reds catcher. Larry Franks' official statement, "The Hawks SS will be suspended for 1 game (the first game of the DH on 9/28) for making intentional contact with the catcher and being the principle instigator in this altercation." No suspensions were handed down to the Middlesex Reds catcher. Franks went on to say that both teams have been warned and must keep players under control. He also added that if it is decided that the game will be finished at a later date, The commisioners office has still not decided on how the outcome of the game will be decided.
Both teams are very eager to put this behind them. According to both managers,neither team tolerates fighting on or off the field and this was just an isolated event. Both Managers are also hoping to get the teams back on the field to finish this excellent game between two great teams.
September 21, 2003Hawks vs. Reds
A beautiful morning in Middlesex, NJ. Preparing for a 9am start under blue skies, the Hawks sent Craig Magnani to the mound asking for 4 good innings. He did more than that giving 6 tremendous innings before the game was cut short. Hawks got out to an early 2 nothing lead. The reds came back to get 3 runs in the 3rd inning on a couple errors in the field (1st two of season). Hawks came back to get one more tieing it up 3-3. In the 5th inning, Craig gave up a solo homerun (1 of only 2 decent hits by Middlesex Reds all game) to put the Reds up by 1. But the Hawks still came back to pick up a run in the top of the 6th inning on a sacrifice by Pete Magnani after a picture perfect bunt by Brian Farkas. In the top of the 7th inning with 2 outs, Frank Morelli rounded 3rd base for home, but surrendered when the ball beat him half way down the line. Frank was hip-checked, some trash talk followed, and a scuffle ensued by Morelli and the Reds catcher clearing the dugouts. The two were separated fairly quickly with no injuries reported. Gearing up to start the bottom of the 7th inning, it was realized that the umpires left after the benches cleared. It is understood that one of the umpires was stuck under the pile and left for his own safety which is understandable. At his time, there is no word on how the outcome of the game will be decided. Hawks 2nd baseman Frank Morelli and the Reds catcher were both unavailable for comment. Both teams are eagerly awaiting word from the commisioners office on suspensions and how the outcome of the game will be decided. Both teams are willing to sit the two players for a game as well as finish the game from the 7th inning minus the two involved players. Hell of a game between two excellent teams.
September 14, 2003 Hawks Vs. Freehold Mets (12noon)
The Hawks opened up the fall ball season in impressive fashion, winning legitimately for the first time. The Hawks kept the Freehold Mets at bay with 9-7 victory in seven innings in the first game of the Hawks double header. Craig Magnani, the Hawks opening day starter, due to his impressive pitching during the Hawks spring season, was only able to pitch 1 inning due to arm problems he was having. Craig gave up 2 runs on 1 hit, walked 1 and struck out 1. And believe me, only giving up two runs in an inning is a huge improvement for the Hawks from the prior season. In relief Colin Jannone was able to keep momentum in the Hawks favor, by pitching 6 innings of near flawless ball. Colin struck out 8 and gave up five earned runs. The only blemishes were the five walks and the two run homer given up in the 6th inning to players that the Mets pulled off the street. On the offensive side, something the Hawks never really lacked. The Hawks were led by Craig, Frank, Mike, and Colin's multi-hit game. Colin, as well as pitching was impressive with the bat, with a double and a triple with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Craig went 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored. Frank went 2 for 4. And Mike Green (rookie) went 2 for 3 with a run scored. Defensively, the Hawks committed no errors, something Management did not expect to see happen for another year. With this group, management was impressed enough to start booking the hotel rooms is Disney World
September 14, 2003 Hawks Vs. Garden State Senators (3pm)
The Hawks, playing exhausted, were defeated by the Garden State Senators 8-2 in the 2nd game of the double header. Another strong pitching performance by Mike Green, 3.1 inn, 4 K's and 8 runs. Game was finished by Colin Jannone, pitching another 2 innings striking out 2 and giving up no runs. The bats were silent in the second game. The lone bright spot was Dave Ferdatta, going 2 for 2 with 2 doubles. Next week, the Hawks will be at Middlesex High School for a 9:00 game against the Reds.
September 5, 2003New Homefield
Johnson Park in Piscataway has been designated as the Central Jersey Hawks homefield. The homefield is now the icing on the cake to make us a real ball team. To view directions to Johnson Park, click here.
