Brunswick School’s baseball team’s season certainly began in dramatic fashion and Connor Jones provided the drama.

Jones, a junior, centerfielder, stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Bruins facing a two-run deficit against visiting Citius Prep. With a 3-2 count, Jones got the pitching he was looking for and took a mighty swing.

Driving a fastball to deep left field, Jones delivered a three-run, bases-clearing double, giving Brunswick an exciting 6-5 walk-off season-opening win over Citius Prep Baseball Academy on Monday.

“It was amazing, it’s something you dream about as a kid – walk-off, bases-loaded, 3-2, two outs, bottom of the seventh,” said Jones, who was swarmed by his Bruins teammates at second base after his game-winning double. “I’m so happy that my teammates were able to get on and I was put in a position to hit the ball as I did and score them all, clearing the bases.”

Trailing 5-2 to start the bottom of the seventh inning, Brunswick received walks from Reed Hyde, Jackson Shepelsky, Carlo Tucci, Tyrus Ostrowski and Jayden Montanez in the inning. Montanez’s walk forced in a run, bringing the Bruins to within 5-3 of Citius Prep. Jones’ clutch hit drove in three runs, making it a happy season-opening game for the host Bruins.

“The first pitcher came that came in that inning, he was throwing a lot of balls, so I wanted to make sure I got my pitch in my spot,” Jones noted. “3-2, two outs, bases-loaded, it’s the mode where it’s got to be my pitch and if it isn’t my pitch I’ve got to take it. I wanted to make him come to me, rather than chase.”

The victory marked the first varsity win for first-season head coach Connor Redahan. A 2016 Brunswick School graduate, Redahan played baseball for the Bruins, then continued his baseball career at Southern Connecticut State University. The Redahans have quite a baseball legacy at Brunswick. Connor’s younger brothers, Aidan, a 2021 Brunswick graduate and Riley, who graduated in 2023, also played the sport at the school.

“It’s a program I’ve always loved and to have the opportunity to come back and run it is a dream come true,” Redahan said. “My experience at Brunswick was excellent and to be able to come back and be at the head position is amazing.”

Redahan takes over the helm for Johnny Montanez, who spent 13 highly successful seasons as Brunswick’s coach. Last season saw the Bruins register a record of 12-6 on their way to winning the FAA Tournament championship. Brunswick won the 2023 FAA Tournament by defeating host Hamden Hall Country Day School in the title game, 10-8. During Montanez’s coaching tenure, the Bruins captured five FAA Tournament titles and seven FAA regular season championships.

Captaining the Bruins’ 2024 squad are senior Michael Yeager, senior Jerry Guzman and junior Jackson Shepelsky. Yeager is a starting right-handed pitcher, who was the squad’s starter in Monday’s season-opener, Guzman is a catcher/infielder/pitcher and Shepelsky plays third base and pitches.

“I think we have a lot of young kids doing their role – putting the ball in play, pitching good – I feel like we’re going to perform well this year,” said Guzman, who started at catcher Monday and called a strong game.

The hard-throwing Yeager is especially impressed with the team’s dynamic.

“We’ve got really great chemistry throughout the team,” said Yeager, who will pitch at the University of Virginia next season. “Guys want to play for each other. We have good hitting, pitching and defense with a group that figures out how to win.”

“Our staff and our lineup are very strong,” Shepelsky said. “We went down to Florida (preseason trip) and we scored almost 10 runs every game.”

Brunswick’s pitching staff features starters Yeager, senior Calder Glassman, Shepelsky and senior Reed Hyde. Glassman is heading to the University of Notre Dame, where he will pitch, Hyde will take his pitching skills to Middlebury College and Shepelsky is committed to Lehigh University.

“We’ve got a pretty serious starting four and we’re going to have to rely on them to bear down and give us some innings,” Redahan said.

Senior Alex Gianuzzi brings experience and stellar defense to first base, while freshman Jayden Montanez, Johnny Montanez’s son, begins his Bruins career as a second baseman.

“Jayden is a threat on base with his speed,” Redahan noted. “He has been really solid at second base for us.”

Junior Wim Nook starts at shortstop for the Bruins, who play again today against visiting Greens Farms Academy in an FAA matchup.

“Wim has been a solid defensive player for us,” Redahan said. “He’s one of those guys – when we need a play, he’s there.

Shepelsky should see plenty of action at third base, with Guzman also filling in when he’s not catching. Redahan noted that Guzman and Tucci will handle the majority of the catching duties.

Jones helps lead the outfield from position as the squad’s centerfielder.

“Our outfield is really deep with Connor holding it down in center,” Redahan said. He has great speed, he gets great jumps.”

Along with pitching, Hyde patrols the outfield (right fielder).

“Reed Hyde makes great reads and he has a heck of an arm,” Redahan said.

Freshman Tyrus Ostrowski filled in at right field during Monday’s game and should also see time in left field and several other positions.

“Tyrus Ostrowski is going to be a really great player for us for the next four years,” Redahan said. “Having him get the reps for us is super important for the future when he is one of those key guys.”

Junior Michael Marini was the designated hitter, while sophomore Teddy Bancroft and Hyde pitched in relief for the Bruins in the season-opener. In Monday’s game against Citius Prep, Citius took a 3-0 first-inning lead. The visitors only had one hit in the first inning, but capitalized on two errors and a pair of walks.

Yeager pitched four effective innings, allowing just one hit, while efficiently mixing his pitches.

“I just tried to come out and fill it up,” Yeager said. “We have a good defense, so I trust the guys and pound the zone and try to get ahead in counts and get to my off-speed stuff. When I had opportunities to throw the change-up that worked well for me. But it was really just trying to get ahead with the fastball.”

The Bruins’ first run came in the second inning, with Montanez scoring a runner with a ground ball out. In the fourth inning, Tucci and Marini each drew walks. Tucci eventually scored on a wild throw by Citius Prep’s catcher, making it a one-run game at 3-2.

The visitors added two runs in the top of the sixth inning, extending its advantage to 5-2, yet the Bruins found a way to mount a seventh-inning rally for the victory.

“That last inning we had a little bit of energy,” Guzman noted. “Connor came up with the big hit and we won the game.”

Jones, Shepelsky, Guzman and Ostrowski had one hit apiece for the victors. Guzman hit a double to deep centerfield, while Ostrowski had a pinch-hit infield hit between short and third – his first career varsity hit in his first at-bat.

“We started the game off tough, we made a few errors and we were beating ourselves,” Redahan said. “It was a mixture between errors, walks – we were beating ourselves. But we proved it down south, we’re a very cohesive group that is resilient. We never back down.”

Indeed, Redahan’s first game as coach couldn’t have ended in much more thrilling fashion.

“Connor getting that swing was just icing on the cake,” the Bruins coach said. “We had a couple of at-bats in that last inning, where guys were seeing the ball well, they were seeing it long and finding a way to get on base. It was one step at a time and that final swing was a great way to start the year.”

Bancroft pitched two innings of relief and Hyde threw a scoreless seventh inning, helping to put ‘Wick in position for its final inning comeback.

“Teddy came in and found his way through it,” Redahan noted. “He is going to be one of those guys we rely on heavily, especially coming out of the bullpen. Hyde came in that last inning came in and had a 1-2-3 inning. He got us into the seventh and that’s when the positive stuff started to happen.”

Said Shepelsky: “Our staff is very strong. We have four college committed starting pitchers. Our depth is also great. With the younger guys we have Teddy Bancroft, Tyrus Ostrowski – they are really going to help us out.”

Brunswick hosts FAA foe Greens Farms Academy today at 4:30, then visits league foe Greenwich Country Day School Thursday at 4:30 p.m. They conclude their busy week Saturday with a home game versus Loomis Chaffee School at 1:30 p.m.

“We’ve got a really great chemistry throughout the team,” Yeager said. “Guys want to play for each other. We have good hitting, pitching and defense with a group that figures out how to win. It’s a resilient group of guys with high energy and we love to come out and play.”

Of course, expectations are high for the Bruins, who have been one of the top teams in the FAA for more than a decade.

“I feel this team is great,” Jones said. “We just came back from our spring training trip down in Florida and went 5-0, it’s the first time that’s happened in a while. The team chemistry is through the roof and we hit the baseball. In the past five games we played in Florida, we put up plus five runs in every game. This team finds a way to win and I’m excited to see where the season takes us.”

“We have a lot of games to play, but we’re prepared,” Guzman said. “We want to win it all and go back-to-back.”

Redahan knows the team will receive a lot of leadership during the course of the spring.

“We have a really good group of leaders,” he said. “Not only are our seniors are good leaders, our juniors also give us really good leadership. They come to the ballpark every day holding everybody accountable. We have a very cohesive group. Our Florida trip brought that out. Everybody is getting along, everybody is playing together at once, winning together and it feels good.”