University Charter has been in existence as a high school in Jersey City for over a decade now, but does anyone really know it? Seriously, the school opened in 2002 on West Side Avenue. It’s a school affiliated with New Jersey City University and is located in the building that used to hold NJCU’s School of the Arts.
The school’s baseball team, known as the Generals, was initiated eight years ago. For the last seven years, Josh Aronowitz has been the head coach. When Aronowitz took over, the Generals won all of one game the prior season.
That’s no longer the case. After defeating McNair Academic, 13-6, Wednesday afternoon, the Generals ran the table in the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League’s White Division, winning all 12 league games to clinch their fourth consecutive HCIAL White title.
The win gave the Generals an impressive 17-3 record as they head into their final two regular season games prior to the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group I state playoffs.
That’s right, a Hudson County baseball team has a 17-3 record – and yet hardly anyone knows about it. Just on records alone, only St. Peter’s Prep has won more games this spring.
It’s a constant struggle for the dedicated Aronowitz to gain respect for his program.
“It’s tough for us as a small school,” Aronowitz said. “It’s a big thing for us to sweep the division and win for the fourth year in a row. But we have to get some respect. It’s a process. Our team is still young. But we do need to go and play some of the bigger teams in the county to prove that we’re a legit program. I know that we are. On any given day, we could give the bigger schools a game.”
The Generals have had a few chances to dance with the big boys this season. They lost to Dickinson in the first round of the Ed “Faa” Ford Memorial Hudson County Tournament. Two days later, they were shutout by St. Anthony.
“We’ve been able to dominate in our league, but it’s tough getting the respect,” Aronowitz said. “I don’t know what it will take. I don’t know how many teams can go out and win a division four straight years and win the division without one loss. We have to go out and get a winner against teams in the upper division [the HCIAL Red].”
Last Monday, that win occurred. The Generals defeated Hoboken, 5-2, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning.
The Generals will get another crack at Dickinson in a regularly scheduled game later this week. Then, the Generals will more than likely face seventh-seeded Secaucus in the opening round of the NJSIAA state tournament on Monday.
“I’d like for us to make a little run in the state tournament,” Aronowitz said. “That might help. We did schedule some other Hudson County teams this year, but those games got rained out.”
The Generals did begin the year facing a tough Harrison team, then defeated North Arlington in the second game of the season.
“That was a good win against a Bergen County team,” Aronowitz said. “I think next year we have to open the doors a little and get games with other Hudson County teams. It would be nice to get some respect for what we do, especially coming from where we came from. We used to get blown out every single game, losing by the 10-run rule nearly every game. Obviously, that’s not the case anymore.”
NJSIAA rules state that if one team has a lead of 10 runs or more after five innings, the game is halted. There is really no bigger embarrassment in high school baseball or softball. But those days are part of the distant past for University Charter.
There will be another championship banner to unfurl later this year, another title to celebrate.
“The kids know that we’ve achieved something,” Aronowitz said. “They’re seeing the program go in the right direction. They’re held accountable for all that they do, going to practice, playing games.”
Not to mention, winning most of those games as well.
Junior right-hander Dominick Rosales is the Generals’ ace pitcher. He was the winning pitcher in University Charter’s 5-2 win over Hoboken. Incredibly, those two runs were the first earned runs Rosales has surrendered all year.
“I think he’s Hudson County’s best kept secret,” Aronowitz said of Rosales. “Teams now know when he’s pitching.”
Rosales has a stellar 0.41 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 34 innings. He hit a homer and scored four runs in the win over McNair Wednesday and he’s hitting .510 for the season with two homers and 14 RBI.
Sophomore Edwin Garcia is the Generals’ No. 2 hurler. The righty has a 5-0 record and 44 strikeouts with a 0.96 ERA. Garcia also hit a homer in the game against McNair and had three RBI. He’s batting .474 with 36 RBI.
“He has good velocity on his fastball and overpowers a lot of the hitters,” Aronowitz said. “He’s also our catcher, so that makes it tough.”
Senior Giancarlo Veras is the Generals’ third starter. He has a 4-0 record this season.
Senior Edeny Vega plays first base. Vega has three hits Monday, which gives him 98 career hits, just two shy of the milestone. Vega is hitting .462 this season with 31 RBI.
Junior Fredd Andujar is the second baseman/shortstop. It means that Andujar plays shortstop when Rosales is pitching and second when anyone else is on the mound.
“He’s really improved his fielding,” Aronowitz said of Andujar.
Junior Jose Diaz is at third base, with sophomore Isiais Pena in left field, junior Dishawn Gates in centerfield and a combination of Veras and junior Rakir Jones in right.
So the team with Hudson County’s second-best winning percentage heads to Secaucus Monday with the hope of gaining a little more than a state playoff victory.
A win just might help the Generals gain the respect and notoriety that they deserve. You can only be a little-known entity for so long.
However, it has been another championship season, one that totally flew under the radar.
“It feels good to achieve something,” Aronowitz said. “These kids deserve it. The upperclassmen have shown good leadership to let the freshmen know that there is a winning tradition here. It’s forced the freshmen to work harder to keep it going after this year. The spirit in the school is good. Other students come to our games to support us. The students come out to see us because we’re winning and everyone wants to be a part of it.”
Now, if just everyone knew about it.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.