Playing a Poly Prep Country Day School squad that’s ranked among the Top-20 high school teams in the nation, Brunswick School’s baseball team showed how strong a program it is, giving visiting Poly Prep all it could handle on Saturday.

The Bruins, who were victorious against Brooklyn, New York, based Poly Prep last month, lost a tough 1-0 game Saturday on their Senior Day. Saturday’s matchup between the host Bruins and the Blue Devils was a classic pitcher’s duel.

Brunswick sophomore right-hander Jackson Shepelsky and Poly Prep junior righty Calder Glassman, also a righty, matched zeros on the scoreboard for most of the game.

Visiting Poly Prep scored one run in the first inning – an unearned run – and that was all the scoring in the well-played game, which featured standout pitching and fine defensive play.

“Today was Senior Day and today was the seniors’ last home game in non-conference, so I played all the seniors today and I’m proud we hung with one of the best teams in the country,” Brunswick coach Johnny Montanez said following the Bruins game on Saturday. “They didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves with errors in the first inning and a couple of walks. Shepelsky was fantastic. He’s a stud, he is one of our best.”

Shepelsky threw 31 pitches in the first inning and went on to pitch a complete game, throwing 90 pitches in seven strong innings for the Bruins.

“The first inning I was a little off, I couldn’t find the zone, my mechanics were a little off, but after I went into the dugout I found out what was wrong,” Shepelsky said. “I talked to coach, fixed it between innings and went out the next six and figured it out.”

Showcasing his variety of pitches, Shepelsky retired Poly Prep’s side in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings. He yielded one hit in the fifth inning, then pitched a perfect seventh inning.

“My cutter and slider were the best pitches for me,” Shepelsky said. “My two seamer was working, so I got ground balls.”

Senior Boston Flannery doubled for the Bruins in the first inning against Glassman, who has verbally committed to play at Notre Dame. Brunswick put two runners on base in the second inning, behind walks from senior Jurgis Schmedlen, who started at third base and senior outfielder Liam Butler, but Glassman pitched out of the jam.

Senior shortstop Riley Redahan drew walks in the third inning and sixth inning and senior catcher James Moore was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning, but the one hit the Bruins needed with runners on base eluded them on this day.

Brunswick beat Poly Prep, 6-2, in a road game on April 19 with Flannery on the mound. Shepelsky welcomed the challenge of pitching against the Blue Devils on Brunswick’s Senior Day game.

“They are ranked 19^th in the country, so it’s pretty cool to pitch against them, knowing how good they are,” Shepelsky said. “I know some kids on their team, they’re some of my friends. It was good to pitch against them.”

The Bruins are having another successful season. They sport a record of 10-6 overall and are 4-2 in the FAA heading into tomorrow’s home game against Rye Country Day School – their final league game of the season. The four-team FAA Tournament then begins, which the Bruins have qualified for.

Brunswick enters the FAA Tournament with plenty of optimism and confidence.

“I feel like our pitching staff is what’s leading us right now,” said Flannery, who has committed to play at the University of North Carolina and is a Major League Baseball Draft prospect. “We’ve seen all these teams already, so we know what we’re going to do. Hopefully, we can come out and just ball out.”

“Just playing as a team and getting timely hits are going to be the keys for us,” Flannery continued. “I have so much confidence in our pitching staff. We know what we need to do.”

Montanez has enjoyed watching his team compete all season on the mound and at the plate, as his athletes have given maximum effort.

“Our pitching staff is arguably one of the best in the country,” Montanez noted. “We need a little run support, outside of that, I thought the boys played really hard. Calder (Poly Prep’s pitcher) is fantastic he’s a Notre Dame commit. It is awesome to have those caliber athletes on the same field.”

“Our guys battled, they didn’t quit,” Montanez continued. “Our seniors – they mean everything to the program. They give more than just time, they give effort and they have done it for a number of years.”

Schmedlen, Moore, Flannery, Sealy, Redahan, Frank Williams, Butler, Player Crosby and Wyatt Triestman are Brunswick’s seniors.

“I’m so happy that I made the decision to come here and get involved in this community,” Flannery said. “It was the best decision of my life.”