Brach, Tucker, Webber head All-District baseball

BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Manalapan’s Kyle St. Angelo, shown here participating in the home run contest at Saturday’s Ocean-Monmouth Senior All-Star game in Middletown, was among the area’s top sluggers this year, earning his place on the 2004 All-District Baseball Team.

Freehold Township stole the spotlight on the baseball diamond in 2004.

Frank Gualtieri’s Patriots raised the bar high this spring and cleared it by winning their stated preseason goal, the Shore Conference A North Division public schools crown. It was the school’s first baseball title since 1987.

Led by pitcher Brad Brach, Freehold Township advanced to the Central Jersey Group IV championship game, losing to defending champion Steinert, 4-1, in the final.

The Patriots, ranked No. 1 in the Shore during the season, were 18-6 on the season.

Mike Yorke’s Colts Neck Cougars (15-10) had the finest season in school history, winning a single-season record 15 times. Seniors Nick Tucker and Matt Webber led the team to its record total of wins and the Cougars’ first trip to the state sectional semifinals.

Howell and Freehold Borough were the comeback teams of the season.

Bill Gallacher’s Howell Rebels went from one win in 2003 to a 14-13 record that included the team’s first state playoff win since 1999. Matt Watson, Joe Sandomierski and host of underclassmen were the keys to the turnaround.

Freehold Borough missed out on the state playoffs, but first-year coach Steve Kochinski got the Colonials to .500 (11-11) with a lot of promise. Chris Coulson and Steve Morreale were the catalysts.

Manalapan (11-13), which has been the standard-bearer for baseball in recent seasons, again made the state playoffs, thanks to veterans Kyle St. Angelo and Chris Schoer.

Brach, Tucker and Webber head the News Transcript’s 2004 All-Freehold Regional District Baseball Team. Watson and Freehold Township’s Conrad Renner join Brach in the pitching rotation. The infielders are Tucker, Coulson, Morreale, St. Angelo, Schoer and Matt Hehner of Howell. The outfielders and Howell’s Chris Mirrione, Freehold Township’s Greg Corcoran and Marlboro’s Kyle Dunleavy.

Webber and Manalapan’s Jordan Noval are the catchers, Sandomierski, the designated hitter, and the utility players are Marlboro’s Chris Lopresti and Manalapan’s Chris Marino.

Brach, a senior who is headed for Monmouth University in the fall, was the dominant No. 1 pitcher all championship teams need. He took the ball in the big games and didn’t falter. He welcomed the challenge. He won both of the Patriots state playoffs game (one in relief when he entered the game with the bases loaded and no outs and did not give up a single run) and was the starter in the important A North games.

The right-hander was 7-3 with a 2.11 earned run average. With his two saves, he had a hand in half of the team’s 18 wins. In 70 innings of work, he struck out 78. He tossed eight complete games and had two shut outs.

The Patriots rode the hard-throwing Brach to its best season since the glory days of Bernie Goldwater.

Ascolese, co-captain with Brach, came up with a big season for the Pats. He batted .352 with six doubles and two home runs among his 31 hits. He had 20 RBIs. As a pitcher, he was 4-0 with a 2.58 ERA. He’ll continue his baseball career at Rowan University.

Pitching wins championships, and with Renner, the Patriots had the division’s best rotation. The senior was 4-1 with a 2.70 ERA. Like Brach, Renner started what he finished, registering five complete games. He struck out 57 in 49 innings of work. He’ll be pitching for Rowan next year, joining teammate Ascolese.

The biggest difference between Howell of ’03 and ’04 was starting pitching. In Watson, the Rebels had a legitimate No. 1 starter, and they responded by playing with confidence behind him. The junior was 7-3 with a 2.65 ERA.

Webber was an offensive and defensive force for Colts Neck. He batted .449 and had 13 doubles. He and Tucker were Mr. Steady, hitting safely in 23 of the team’s 25 games. As a catcher, Webber threw out 10 of 19 baserunners. He also went 4-3 on the mound.

Tucker did it all for the Cougars. He led the team in batting at .455 with six doubles, one triple and one home run. He stole 13 bases and finished his career with 99 hits and a .400-plus average.

Mirrione, a sophomore, had one of the biggest offensive seasons in the Shore area, banging out 42 hits and hitting .461. He had seven home runs and five doubles while scoring 29 times and collecting 28 RBIs.

Sandomierski was right behind Mirrione in production. The junior backstop led the team with 29 RBIs. He batted .365 with five double, one triple and five home runs among his 31 hits. He was 2-1 as a pitcher.

The third of Howell’s big run producers was another junior, Hehner.He batted .411 and had 37 hits. He had 10 doubles and three home runs and had 22 RBIs and scored 18 runs.

Howell has every reason to believe that next year could be its year on the diamond.

Shortstop Coulson was a three-year starter for the Colonials and had his biggest season in ’04. He led the team in hits (34), doubles (14), home runs (two) and runs scored (25) while batting .453 with 17 RBIs. His 14 doubles were tops in the Shore.

The leftside of Freehold Borough’s infield was as solid as any team’s with Morreale lining up at third. The junior, who will be the cornerstone of next year’s club, led the team with a .478 batting average and 21 RBIs. He had 33 hits, scored 14 runs and had five doubles. He’ll be one of the area’s top college prospects next year.

Outfielder Corcoran was Freehold Township’s Most Improved Player. He gave the Patriots much more than expected with his .347 batting average, three home runs and team-best 24 RBIs. His outfield play was equally effective.

For the Braves, St. Angelo was as steady as ever. He batted .379 with six doubles and a home run among his 33 hits. He had 17 RBIs. The senior made the most of his home run, it was a walk-off winner against Middletown South.

Schoer was in the middle of most of Manalapan’s rallies. He batted .426 and had an on-base percentage of .518. He scored 15 runs and drove in nine.

Noval led the Braves with 18 RBIs. He batted .352 and rapped out nine doubles. A strong arm made him a defensive asset for the Braves.

Three-year starter Dunleavy was a force with the bat and glove for Marlboro. He batted .325 with 15 RBIs and eight doubles. The center fielder also had five outfield assists. He kept base runners from grabbing the extra base on outfield hits.

Lopresti, a three-year letter-winner like Dunleavy, batted .330 for the Mustangs with 10 doubles, a home run and 18 RBIs. He won two games and saved two games for the Mustangs.

Marino made his contributions to Manalapan in the same way. He hit .320 with 14 RBIs and six doubles. The lefty was 1-1 on the mound with a 2.80 ERA. He’ll continue his baseball career at Wagner.

Those earning Honorable Mention for 2004 are: Jon Harrison, Dominick Hayes and A.J. Rusbarsky, Colts Neck; Mike LaCava, Mike Marx, Brian Bresnahan and John Marx, Freehold Borough; Billy Smith, Ross Feibisch and Damian Csakai, Freehold Township; Tom Lisi, Kirk Brancato, Joe Blood and Jesse Borrelli, Howell; Kevin Ernst and B. J. Martin, Manalapan; and Nick Tutrone, Marlboro.