For two days, Sterling prepared to face the state’s strikeout leader.
The Silver Knights knew it was going to be one of their biggest tests of the season.
While Franklin Fernandez would collect his sixth straight double-digit strikeout performance of the spring, host Sterling took advantage of its opportunities on Tuesday.
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5/27 - 4:00 PM Baseball Final Pennsauken Tech 0 Sterling 5
Evan Miller and Luke Lomax had two hits apiece, while junior left-hander Gavin McCormick struck out a career-high 13 batters as the fourth-seeded Silver Knights defeated 13-seed Pennsauken Tech, 5-0, in a South Jersey Group 2 first-round matchup.
Winners of the Colonial Patriot, Sterling (19-6) will host fifth-seeded West Deptford in the quarterfinals Thursday. West Deptford defeated 12-seed Medford Tech, 10-0, in another first-round game.
Gavin McCormick (17) of Sterling pitches during the NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 2 baseball first round game between Sterling and Pennsauken Tech at Sterling High School in Somerdale, NJ on 5/27/25.Scott Faytok | NJ Advance Media
Sterling extended its winning streak to three in a row and six of its last seven. Penn Tech finished its season at 9-13 overall.
“Gavin is always around plate, he competes. He always gives me a good game,” Sterling coach Tadd Kozeniewski said. “In a game like this, ‘go ahead and get them.’ The fact that he’s always around the plate makes my job easy.”
Sterling pushed across three runs in the home half of the second inning, which proved to be more than enough on this day. McCormick was never in any trouble, striking out the side in the second, fifth and sixth innings. He fanned two in the first.
Casey Kozeniewski worked the seventh, also striking out a batter.
“I was able to work my fastball early in counts. If I had to throw in a curveball, I could work it in and get their timing mixed up,” said McCormick, whose previous high was nine strikeouts last season against Paulsboro.
“I live for these moments. I can’t wait of the next game, the next three games hopefully.”
Franklin Fernandez (19) of Pennsauken Tech pitches during the NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 2 baseball first round game between Sterling and Pennsauken Tech at Sterling High School in Somerdale, NJ on 5/27/25.Scott Faytok | NJ Advance Media
Sterling finished with seven hits against Fernandez, who threw 111 pitches over 5 2/3 innings. The senior right-hander closed out a stellar season with 137 strikeouts and a 0.84 ERA.
“He was as good as any pitcher we’ve seen this year. I was very impressed with his control, He threw two pitches for strikes,” Kozeniewski said of Fernandez. “We prepared solely for him for two practices, and he still got my first three batters to strike out. He was very difficult. He has a bright future ahead of him.”
Finishing with 311, Fernandez and Luke Pokrovsky of Schalick are the only two active pitchers in the state with better than 300 career strikeouts.
Fernandez struck out the side in the first and third innings.
“I didn’t have the best control of my fastball, but I tried to fix that by having great command of my slider,” said Fernandez, who recorded eight double-digit strikeout performances this spring. “My slider was working well and later in the game I started finding more command on my fastball and got adjusted more to everything else.
“Sky’s the limit for anyone. No matter what school you go to or what position, if you keep working hard you will get seen and you’ll achieve things with hard work.”
Luke Lomax (12) of Sterling races to third base during the NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 2 baseball first round game between Sterling and Pennsauken Tech at Sterling High School in Somerdale, NJ on 5/27/25.Scott Faytok | NJ Advance Media
With a playoff victory under its belt, Sterling will look to win a second playoff game for the first time since the 2013 season.
“Any time that you get another day or another practice, it’s great,” Kozeniewski said. “Last year, we won one playoff game. The goal was, ‘can we build on that? Let’s win two.’ So it’s good to have another day. It’s just one day at a time.”
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Kevin Minnick covers South Jersey baseball. He can be reached at kminnick@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kminnicksports
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