Baseball season holds promise

Colts Neck High School rode the talented right arm of Anthony De- Sclafani for the past four baseball seasons. DeSclafani seemed to pitch every big game for the Cougars as they became one of the Shore Conference's best baseball programs.

ERIC SUCAR staff Freehold Township High School's Sean Edgeworth tries to turn a double play as Brick Memorial's Brian Duckworth slides into second base during a preseason scrimmage. Local high school baseball teams opened the 2009 campaign last week. Last year, despite the loss of the program's cornerstones — shortstop A.J. Rusbarsky and centerfielder/pitcher Dom Hayes — Colts Neck won 20 games and the Shore Conference A North Division title.

This spring, Coach Mike Yorke's Cougars will again be put to the test as they begin life without DeSclafani, who is now pitching for the University of Florida.

Last year the Cougars proved they could overcome the loss of significant contributors and they will be asked to do it again in 2009.

Colts Neck has four returning starters from the 20-win team: catcher Mike O'Reilly, first baseman/outfielder Mike Denlinger, and pitchers Charlie Lasky and Chris Leroy.

O'Reilly batted .333 last year with two home runs and 17 RBIs. He threw out 10 runners attempting to steal a base.

Denlinger was an on-base machine with his .396 batting average that included three doubles, one triple and one home run.

Leroy and Lasky were both 2-0 on the mound in 2008.

The Cougars will lean heavily on this quartet.

"[We] will need to count on the returners to lead a team which lost 11 seniors," said Yorke.

Yorke's top newcomers include Dave Liebers (outfield), Chris Baghsarian (third base), Jordan Preiss (infield), Gary Kehoe (infield/pitcher), Craig Ebinger (pitcher) and Rich Wickberg (catcher).

Coach Jon Block returned to the Freehold High School dugout last spring and promptly got the Colonials back into the state tournament. This spring the Colonials have a different look with just three returners.

The trio of Harold Bolton (third base), Gerry Plescia (second base) and Anthony Pira (pitcher) are a solid foundation for starters. They will bat No. 2-4 in the lineup and are proven run producers.

Speedy Frank Nicosia has returned to baseball after a two-year absence and won the starting job in centerfield. He can shakes things up when he's on base.

Behind the plate, Johnny Alite, a senior, is the starter, with sophomore Pat Conerty the backup.

When Pira is not pitching, he will play first base, with Chris Cotroneo backing him up. The shortstop is Chris Esola, a sophomore, with Branden Reynolds also looking for playing time at that position.

Flanking Nicosia in the outfield are Reynolds in left and Josh Leahy in right. Mike Hembling is vying for playing time in the outfield.

Caleb Browning will see action as a designated hitter and infielder.

Pira, Leahy, Kyle Pasquino and Steve Baurenfield make up the Colonials' starting rotation, with Esola in the role of closer.

"Our pitchers are not overpowering," Block said. "They throw strikes and keep the ball low. Our pitchers will keep us in a game."

How far the Colonials go this year will depend on their defense. They will have to make the plays behind their pitchers and not give teams extra outs.

Coach Frank Gualtieri and the Freehold Township High School Patriots are not accustomed to sitting out the postseason and that outcome in 2008 did not sit well with the Patriots in the off-season.

"We set a high standard here and we failed to meet it," said Gualtieri. "I take full responsibility. We've turned the page. It's the start of a new season."

Nothing short of getting back to the postseason will do, and the Patriots would like to contend for the Shore Conference A North Division honors. Gualtieri and his players are determined to restore the program's rich tradition.

"They [players] do have pride and they are playing with a purpose," the coach said.

Junior outfielder Frank Sorbara was the Patriots' shining light in 2008. He batted .441 with 30 hits, including nine doubles. He scored 15 runs and had 16 RBIs.

This year the offense is solid. At the top of the lineup, Dan Klinsky (outfield) is a leadoff hitter who gets on base any way he can. Matt Gelchion (DH/first base) missed a good part of last season with a torn ligament in his thumb. Having his .350 batting average back in the lineup will be a big lift.

Hector Henriquez (second base) and Steve Talbott (outfield) are poised to have big seasons with the bat.

In Matt Cadigan, the Patriots have a "bona fide ace," Gaultieri said. Cadigan is bound for Division I Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Mario Mennella, Mike Surick and Dan Reed all got to pitch last year as sophomores and proved they can get varsity hitters out. They give the team a strong rotation behind Cadigan. Mike Willard will be the closer.

Matt Goldberg (second base), Tyler Haines (third base), Sean Edgeworth (shortstop), Chris Gheraldi (catcher), John Caruso (pitcher), Greg Lewis (pitcher), Kevin Litus (third base/pitcher), Paul Clemente (outfield/ pitcher), Logan MacLean (first base), Tom Wojciechowski (pitcher), Brandon Coluccio (catcher) and Austin Henderson (pitcher) complete the Patriots' squad.

"We can be a good team," Gualtieri said.

At Manalapan High School, Coach Brian Boyce's Braves have what the coach said is "strong pitching, solid defense and an exciting sophomore class that needs to mature quickly."

Boyce guided the Braves to the finals of the Monmouth County Tournament last spring and they do have a good nucleus returning, led by pitcher Ryan Harvey, who is a certified ace. He was 6-3 and tossed two no-hitters in 2008. He gave the Braves confidence they could win every time he took the mound. Harvey can be overpowering, as his 55 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched will attest.

Harvey is also dangerous with the bat, having slammed four home runs last year.

Also returning are centerfielder Kevin Mulvanerton, outfielder/pitcher Lawrence Schoer, who was 3-1 on the mound, shortstop Rich Ricciardi (a sophomore who started last year) and outfielder/pitcher Nick Kreiger.

Boyce said Harvey and Mulvanerton are the team leaders.

Key newcomers include Joe LaCugna (third base), Joe Ramirez (second base), Dan Frankel (catcher) and Mike Sette (first base). They are upperclassmen.

The sophomores the Braves are looking to this spring include Alex DeCastro (outfield), Kyle Rubbinaccio (pitcher) and Chris Baird (catcher/first base).

Completing the squad are Marco Ferrante (first base/outfield), Derek Kawa (pitcher/outfield), Brandon Stakeman (infield) and Dave Schwartz (catcher/outfield).

Manalapan has the pieces to be a winner on the diamond again.

Jim Ferraro takes over at Marlboro High School with a team that is excited about the 2009 season. The Mustangs made great strides in 2008 when they went 12-12 — the first non-losing season for the program in years.

Anthony Castelli (pitcher), Sam Lubin (pitcher), Jason Klich (pitcher/catcher), Nick Martino (second base), Brandon Sarna (first base), Jason Ortiz (centerfield), Matt Weckerle (third base/pitcher) and Matt Lorenzetti (pitcher) are all back from the team that went 12-8 over the final 20 games of the 2008 season. They will be looking to ride that momentum to success this spring.

Weckerle batted .436 last year, and Castelli, who was 4-3 on the mound, proved he can dominate games. He struck out 55 hitters in 34 innings pitched.

Completing the Mustangs' squad are Michael Martinez (outfield), Michael Sohnen (outfield), Craig Helfgott (shortstop/ pitcher), Kevin Vitale (first base/DH), Chris Ayala (catcher), Cosmo Iacobellis (shortstop) and Scott Donaghue (infield).

"[We're] looking to build on a strong season with a good, young core group in an extremely tough division," said Ferraro.

A North division teams are advised ahead of time that this is not the Marlboro team they have been accustomed to playing in the recent past.