From Falcons to Broncs, a brotherly connection

By Benjamin Shinault

Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, is a juggernaut of a high school baseball team. The team has won four district championships, one state championship and their league championship 23 times. 

Pennsbury saw 10 of their alums reach professional baseball and countless Falcons have committed to play collegiate baseball.

On the 2021-22 team were two Rider Broncs, junior pitcher Gavin Hawkes and sophomore infielder Joe Tiroly.

In the fall of 2022, Hawkes made his way to Rider University and following behind a year later was Tiroly, sparking a new level to both their teammate chemistry as well as their brotherhood.

This season

Tiroly and Hawkes had their fair share of both individual successes and leading the team to victories. 

For the former Falcons, Hawkes is first in ERA in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and he has already shattered his previous season-high in strikeouts with 29. Hawkes has allowed the least amount of runs, hits, home runs and has only walked 12 batters in his 38 and one third innings of action.

“The past two years, I went out and I wasn’t 100% confident and I wasn’t 100% myself so I think that was the biggest change for me,” Hawkes said to his starkly improved numbers.

Tiroly is third in the MAAC in batting average, first in slugging percentage, second in on-base percentage, first in RBIs and first in home runs. Before the 2025 season started, Tiroly was named to the All-MAAC preseason team, which served as a warning to the Broncs upcoming opponents.

“I think it was just having my freshman year under my belt, that year of just perspective and growth because I know what I’m getting myself into,” Tiroly said. “Nothing really changed in terms of training, I think it was just knowing what I was getting myself into and being prepared.”

Tiroly and Hawkes took home MAAC honors for the week of April 15, with Hawkes winning pitcher of the week and Tiroly winning player of the week for the second time. But before they were dominating competition in college, Tiroly and Hawkes had a special brotherly connection in high school.

‘Come to Rider’

Back in 2022, the Pennsbury Falcons controlled the Suburban One League, finishing with a record of 19-6 and had a dominant conference record of 13-3, and would go on to the league championship.

At practices, Tiroly and Hawkes were throwing partners but there was a lot more to their friendship than tossing the baseball around before practice.

“We threw together everyday, [Tiroly] was my throwing partner. We were over there together at third base, he took my spot and he made sure I didn’t hit in high school so I would talk to him everyday,” Hawkes said.

Hawkes committed to Rider as an unranked recruit according to Perfect Game and Tiroly was quick to congratulate him.

Hawkes turned himself into a recruiter and tried to get Tiroly, the 15th ranked third baseman in Pennsylvania, to commit to Rider as well. 

“I was begging him to come as soon as I committed and he knows that, everyday I would say, ‘yo, come to Rider, come to Rider,’” Hawkes said.

Hawkes, in his first year at Rider, would always stay in contact with Tiroly and would sometimes get in former Head Coach Barry Davis’ ear about getting Tiroly to Rider.

“I was talking to him more than anything, I never really talked too much to Davis besides when Davis would ask questions about him and stuff like that but it was pretty much like telling him he should come here because I knew how much he could impact our 

program,” Hawkes said. 

After enough time with Hawkes being in his ear, Tiroly committed to Rider.

In his first year, Tiroly made an immediate impact as a freshman. He found himself on the All-MAAC second team and as a member of the all-rookie team. He slammed 10 home runs, hit nine doubles and finished with a batting average of .284.

Part of the credit to Tiroly’s comfortable first year in Lawrenceville was due to his high school teammate.

“There was just a sense of comfort that he gave me just knowing that I knew somebody on the team,” Tiroly said about Hawkes. “He’s going to be someone I can go and talk to… Gavin was just a huge part of me coming to Rider and feeling comfortable.”

The relationship between the two did not change much when they both swapped in their orange Pennsbury jerseys for the black Broncs jerseys.

“We have to get up in the morning together, we have our morning runs in the fall, we will drive together,” Hawkes said. “He’s the first person I see when I’m miserable at like 5 a.m.”

However, one thing did end up changing.

“The one thing that did change though was that we can’t throw together anymore,” Hawkes said.

‘He taught us the right way’

Their head coach in high school,  Joe Pesci, saw a special bond in the two teammates and was not surprised about the success they are having in collegiate baseball.

“They played really significant roles for us,” Pesci said. “The type of people that they are draws kids toward them which is great because you want them to set the tone for a program and they did.”

For Tiroly and Hawkes, being formerly coached by Barry Davis and now interim Head Coach Lee Lipinski, they spoke out on what it meant to have Pesci in their ear at high school practices.

“He was a big influence, we were with him everyday, getting yelled at by him everyday, he’s kind of made practices easier now because everyday I’m not getting screamed at,” Hawkes said with a smirk. “He has definitely made the transition to college much easier.”

Tiroly, who was considered ‘Captain America’ in high school, offered his insight on what it meant to have a more verbal head coach at a younger age.

“Because of how stern he was during our practices and on the field, you get yelled at a few times but I think overall it definitely helped us not just with mental toughness but just perfecting your 

craft,” Tiroly said.

When Tiroly and Hawkes were in high school, they emerged as leaders in the eyes of Pesci, which proved to be a critical piece to the team’s success in the 2022 season.

“Guys like Joe and Gavin could hear the message through the method,” Pesci said to his load coaching approach. “I try to justify what I do out of passion and sometimes I know its a little over the top but then there’s also guys that go on to college and they are like, ‘Man, I was prepared for that level of intensity,’” Pesci said.

Off the field

When the two are not getting up at 5 a.m. for runs in brisk weather or hitting the batting cages, the two can be found talking and hanging out or, most likely, grabbing food.

“We go to the Yardley WaWa because we pretty much live there… Joe always has to have his Buffalo Wild Wings too, he loves the All-American burger,” Hawkes said. 

“It’s a good burger,” Tiroly said in defense.

When the season comes to a close, everyone can expect for the Hawkes-Tiroly combination to not grow weak. 

In the summer, the two have ‘intense’ live at-bats. They do not keep the stats from those one-on-one battles but one believes they have the slight edge.

“It’s a lot of fun, we definitely have bested each other a few times but I do remember the stats and I think I have you [Hawkes] right now but I wouldn’t say either of us have dominated each other,”        Tiroly said.

To ensure the brotherly-like relationship, Tiroly sometimes tries to hang out with Hawkes but it is  usually a swing and miss, believe it or not.

“I text him but he never calls me,” Tiroly said with a laugh. 

Hawkes added, “Yeah, I hate you Joe.”