Csakai, Cuneo, Rusbarsky lead District baseball

BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Colts Neck started the season with a bang, upsetting eventual Group III state champion Monmouth Regional and state-ranked Red Bank Regional in the first week of the season.

Mike Yorke’s Cougars would go on to play like an underclass-dominated team, but finished the season on a high note with a school record of 16 wins (16-12) and appearances in the Shore Conference Tournament (SCT) and Central Jersey (CJ) playoffs.

Freehold Borough’s goal from the start of the season was the state playoffs. After coming up one game short in 2004, the Colonials did not suffer the same fate this spring and qualified for both the CJ and the SCT.

Driven by head coach Frank Gualtieri, who didn’t want to accept a rebuilding season, Freehold Township made the state tournament and pulled off a pair of upsets to advance to the quarter finals.

Players from these three teams are well represented on the News Transcript’s 2005 All-Freehold Regional District baseball team.

The infielders are: Ryan Cuneo, of Freehold Borough; A.J. Rusbarsky and Joe Monush, of Colts Neck; Dave Becker, of Manalapan; Joe Sandomierski, of Howell; and Joe DiCaro, of Freehold Borough. The outfielders are: Damian Csakai, of Freehold Township; Dominick Hayes, of Colts Neck; John Marx, of Freehold Borough; and Dan Buckiewicz, of Freehold Township.

Marlboro’s Chris Hecht and Manalapan’s Jordan Noval are the catchers. Howell’s Matt Watson is the designated hitter (DH), and Freehold Township’s Mike Hennessy is the utility player. The pitchers are: B.J. Martin, of Manalapan; Jason Nardi, of Freehold Borough; Sean Stewart, of Freehold Township; and Anthony DeSclafani, of Colts Neck.

Csakai had one of the best all-around seasons in the Shore. He, along with Hecht, Cuneo and Martin were named to the Shore Conference’s Carpenter Cup all-star squad. The junior ignited the Patriot offense, batting .415 (39-for-94) with 20 runs scored. He made things happen on the base paths with his speed, stealing 16 bases during the season. His speed and sure hands made him an outstanding defensive outfielder.

Cuneo, one of the stars of the Freehold Township Little League Senior League All-Star Team that won the Senior League World Series last summer, proved he can crush pitching at any level. The junior first baseman batted .448 (30-for-67) with 22 RBIs and scored 13 times. He was one of the leading power hitters in the Shore with seven round-trippers. He also had six doubles. He was walked 15 times and had an on base percentage of .554.

Marx had a very solid year for the Colonials, batting .414 (29-for-70) with nine doubles, one home run, 18 RBIs and 12 runs scored. He had a knack for coming up with the big hit.

DiCaro was the table-setter for the Colonials and his .443 on-base percentage got things going. The senior batted .353 (24-for-68) with five doubles and a home run. He led the team with 17 runs scored and had 11 RBIs.

When a sore arm sidelined Cuneo, who started the season as the Colonials’ top starter, Nardi stepped up and became the ace. He went 6-3 and had one save. He had a 4.38 earned run average (ERA) and pitched two complete games.

Rusbarsky and Hayes, also members of Freehold Township’s World Series champions, have put up career numbers in just two seasons.

There was no sophomore jinx for these talented players as they took their place among the Shore’s best.

Shortstop Rusbarsky batted .417 with 35 hits. Of those 35 safeties, 15 were for extra bases, nine doubles, three triples and three home runs. He scored 28 times and drove in 18.

Hayes banged out 40 hits and batted .392. He had five doubles, one triple and one home run, while scoring 19 times and driving in 17 runs. He was also one of the team’s leading pitchers.

One of the big additions to Colts Neck was freshman hurler DeSclafani, who went from talented prospect to Colts Neck’s No. 1 hurler.

He was 5-4 with 62 strikeouts in 54.1 innings of work. He had three shutouts and a paltry 1.55 ERA.

Colts Neck’s future is very bright with this trio returning.

Senior infield Monush was one of the most improved players on Colts Neck. He was the team’s big run producer with a team-high 23 RBIs. He was clutch when the Cougars made their drive to the postseason. He batted .333 with six doubles, a triple and one home run. He scored 16 times.

Howell’s Watson was the best pitcher in the District entering the 2005 campaign. He was already signed and sealed to Wagner College. In his second start of the season, he felt a pop in his pitching elbow and found out the worse later, that he had a torn ligament and would require Tommy John surgery. Determined not to give up on his senior baseball season, Watson returned after surgery to be the Rebels’ DH and did a wonderful job. He batted .433 (26-for-60) with nine doubles, three home runs and 15 RBIs. He’s still off to Wagner, where he will rehab his freshman year and be ready to return to the mound the following season.

Sandomierski enjoyed another big season with the bat. The senior was 25-for-70 for a .357 average. He had seven doubles, three home runs and his 17 RBIs led the team.

Hecht was the premier catcher in the area. He made the Carpenter Cup team and earned all-state honors. He batted .444 with 16 RBIs and 14 runs scored on a team that struggled to score runs. Defensively, he canceled running games by throwing out more than 50 percent of the base runners who tried to steal.

Noval came up with another big season for the Braves, batting .429 (27-for-63). He had nine doubles, a triple and led the team with 16 RBIs.

Hennessy bounced back from a injury-plagued junior year to be one of the catalysts behind Freehold Township’s drive to the postseason. The senior batted .365 (23-for-63) overall and .625 in the state playoffs.

Stewart emerged as a big-time varsity pitcher this spring. The 6-7 junior was 4-2 with a 2.59 ERA. He went the distance when Freehold Township beat Princeton to qualify for the state playoffs,

Martin was just 2-5 with one save for Manalapan, but his inclusion on the Carpenter’s Cup team is an indication of just how much opposing coaches thought of the junior.

Martin got little run support to go along with his 2.12 ERA. In 46.1 innings of work, he fanned 73, putting him among the leaders in the Shore. Hitters will not be happy to see him back on the mound.

Martin didn’t do too badly with the bat either, hitting .375 and driving in 15 runs.

Sophomore Becker had one of the biggest impacts on the Braves. The first baseman batted .367 (22-for-60). He had six doubles, scored 13 runs and had 11 RBIs.

Buckiewicz came up with an outstanding senior year for the Patriots and was named the team’s Most Improved Player for his all-around play. He batted .322 with 28 hits that included three doubles, three triples and two home runs. He was second on the team in runs scored (18) and RBIs (15).

Those earning Honorable Mention are: Mike Regina, of Colts Neck; Jason Bresnahan and Steve Morreale, of Freehold Borough; Brett Brach, Mike LaCava, Rob Ruhl and Shawn Boysen, of Freehold Township; Miguel Medina, of Howell; Dave Schoer, Eric Barsnica, Mike Kircher and Rob Falk, of Manalapan.