7/30/2019 Baseball 7
1/1
WWW .T HED AILYJ OUR NAL .CO M Saturday, May 25, 2013 B5
Question 1) What do you think about yourteams chances heading
into the Non-PublicA South playoffs?
Answer: I think our team has character and anyday of the week we
can come out and play ourbest baseball. If were able to keep that
mentalityrolling in the playoffs, I think we can make a
deeprun.
2) Your team is on a hot streak right now (sixwins in a row).
Why?
A: I feel like weve just really come togetherlately. Once that
happened, I think everyone justopened their eyes and realized this
is how the restof the games can be.
3) You pitch, play outfield, DH and first base.If you could pick
one spot, which would itbe?
Once a three-sport star at St. Augustine Prep,junior Joe Gatto
has narrowed his focus down tobasketball and his top sport of
baseball, where histalents led him to commit to the University
ofNorth Carolina. The Hermit recently took time outto talk to The
Daily Journal about Prep athleticsand life outside of the
diamond:
A: Its got to be pitching. I like being in controlout there.
4) When pitching earlier this season youwere hit in the head by
a comeback linedrive. How did you move past that?
A: It was scary because you always think thats theworst thing
that can happen to you as a pitcher.When you get back on the mound
youre a littleconscious of it. Its been good though, the moreyou
pitch the easier it gets.
5) As a freshman you were the Preps start-ing quarterback. Was
it tough to give upfootball?
A: A lot of people told me from the beginningthat I should drop
football, but it was something Iloved so Id say it was one of the
toughest deci-sions Ive had to make in a while.
6) Do you have a preference between base-ball and
basketball?
A: Baseball is my No. 1, and again everyone says Ishould drop
basketball, but I love it and Im goingto keep playing.
7) Whats your favorite hobby outside ofsports?
A: Hanging out with my friends, especially be-cause Im never
around much.
8) Wheres your favorite place to eat?
A: Famous Daves (Bar-B-Que in Mays Landing).
9) Do you have a favorite band or musicalartist?
A: Im a rap guy, so Id have to say probably LilWayne.
STARTING NINE
JOEGATTO
St. AugustineJuniorPitcher
Delsea Regional High School baseballcoach Tom Carney has
experiencedplenty of success in his three differentstops as leader
of varsity programs.
So when he deals out the type ofpraise that he did for Crusaders
seniorNick Freijomil, it shouldnt go unno-ticed.
In my 25 years coaching, Ive neverseen a kid carry a team like
he has withus this season, Carney said of Freijomil.
Delsea, which ended its 2013 cam-paign 21-7 following Fridays
loss in theGroup III South quarterfinals, had todeal with its fair
share of setbacks this
season. The biggest hindrance was ashoulder injury to pitcher
and infielderBryan Dobzanski that kept the junior outuntil the last
week of April.
Dobzanski was supposed to provide a1-2 punch with Freijomil at
the top of theCrusaders pitching rotation. Instead,Freijomil, who
is also a dynamic short-stop, was left to tote the majority of
theload for Delsea.
Any questions of whether or not hecould handle it have been
answered byFreijomils 6-1 record on the hill, whichincludes a 1.69
ERA and area-best 65strikeouts.
Thats what I like, Im real compet-itive, I want to be in those
situations,Freijomil said of having the spotlight onhim. I expect
to be someone the team iscounting on. I thrive on that.
In the highly-contested Tri-CountyConference Royal Division, a
pitcher ofFreijomils stature is a necessity.
Just ask Carney.I had to save him for every big
game, Carney said of the right-hander.He faced (divisional
rival) William-stown twice, GCIT. ... He pitched all thebigger
games.
Freijomil also excelled with the bat.The senior captain was
hitting .385
with a team-high 30 hits and 17 RBIs en-tering Friday. Freijomil
was also tiedwith catcher Christian Cortese for the
team lead in runs with 19.You want to lead by example,
Freijo-
mil said. Last year as a junior I was acaptain, but if I didnt
get a big hit therewas someone else to look to. This year,
that guy is me and you have to want thatpressure on you.Even
Carney was caught a tad off
guard by Freijomils assertiveness thisseason.
Hes leading the team in hitting, hesplayed a Gold Glove
shortstop and hesthe ace of the whole pitching staff, Car-ney said.
Its mind boggling really, be-cause he didnt put up those types of
num-bers last year. Hes by far and away beenour leader.
Freijomil will attend LIU Brooklyn inthe fall, but was hoping to
end his senior
year by going out on top with Delsea.That meant winning a
sectional title andplaying for the right to earn a
statechampionship.
Unfortunately for Freijomil and the
rest of Crusaders, the team took a stepback this season after
reaching thesemifinals in 2012. Delsea did reach anew milestone by
making the presti-gious Diamond Classic for the first timesince
2006.
Though Freijomil isnt the type to set-tle for a consolation
prize, the early exitfrom the state tournament cant takeaway from
the standout year he had.
Hes a high-character kid and I hopethe best for him, Carney
said. Playerslike Nick dont come around too often.
CARRIED THECRUSADERS
DelseaRegionalseniorNickFreijomil
was anall-aroundforce thisseason.STAFF
PHOTO/CODY
GLENN
Freijomil wasbackbone forDelsea this season
By Anthony [email protected]
1. Washington Township...........23-62. Gloucester Catholic
................24-53. Eastern
......................................22-34. St.
Augustine............................19-65. Bishop
Eustace.........................19-66. Audubon
...................................19-47. Delsea
........................................21-68. Camden
Catholic.....................17-99. Pennsville
..................................19-310. Ocean
City...............................19-311. Vineland
..................................20-712. Buena
.......................................21-613. Cherry Hill
West.....................15-614. West Deptford
.......................17-715. Sterling
....................................16-6* Records through
Thursday
MEAN 15
HittingHitsJohnny Malatesta, Vineland.........35Robert Bunton,
Buena.... .............33Kyle Cox, Millville.....
...................33Mike Elfreth, St. Augustine ..........33Ethan
Francis, Schalick.................31Gabe Rosado, Millville
.................31
Nick Freijomil, Delsea...................30Christian Adorno, St.
Augustine...29Denny Brady, Buena....... .............29Joe Gatto,
St. Augustine ..............29Barry Buchowski, St.
Augustine....28Marco Rios, Buena.......................28JaQues
Colon, Vineland..............27Sean Carew, St.
Augustine...........26Jon Cosenza, Delsea....... .............26Don
Money, Vineland..... .............26Tyler Chiarello,
Cumberland.........25Jarred Corniell, Buena..................25Jay
Higbee, St. Augustine.............25Austin Griffie, Cumberland
..........24Dom Lopez, Buena ......................24Roberto
Rivera, Millville...............24AverageJohnny Malatesta,
Vineland..... .449Gabe Rosado, Millville...............449Kyle Cox,
Millville ......................423Mike Elfreth, St. Augustine
...... .423Barry Buchowski, St. Augustine .406Cody Sadreameli, St.
Augustine .404Austin Griffie, Cumberland ...... .400Sean Carew, St.
Augustine....... .397Don Money, Vineland..............
.393Christian Adorno,St. Augustine .392Jon Cosenza,
Delsea..................388Denny Brady,
Buena..................387Bryan Dobzanski, Delsea.......... .387Joe
Gatto, St. Augustine .......... .387RunsMarco Rios,
Buena.......................33Robert Bunton, Buena....
.............32JaQues Colon, Vineland ..............31Christian
Adorno, St. Augustine...30Daniel Cardona,
Schalick.............25Johnny Malatesta, Vineland.........25Jason
Davis, Bridgeton.................24Barry Buchowski, St.
Augustine....23Taylor Cheli, Buena......... .............23Mike
Forte, Vineland....................22Sean Carew, St.
Augustine...........21Denny Brady, Buena.......
.............20Tyler Chiarello, Cumberland.........20Joe Gatto, St.
Augustine ..............20Christian Cortese, Delsea
.............19Nick Freijomil, Delsea...................19Jay
Higbee, St. Augustine.............19Garrett Mayhew,
Cumberland......19RBIsBarry Buchowski, St. Augustine....25Ethan
Francis, Schalick.................25Jarred Corniell,
Buena..................24Johnny Malatesta,
Vineland.........23Michael Foytik, Cumberland.........21Joe Gatto,
St. Augustine...............21
Denny Brady, Buena....... .............20Mike Elfreth, St.
Augustine ..........20Jay Higbee, St. Augustine.............20Adin
Kolansky, Delsea .................20Jon Cosenza, Delsea ........
............19Dom Lopez, Buena.................. .....19Don Money,
Vineland ............. .....19Sean Carew, St.
Augustine...........18Taylor Cheli,
Buena.......................17JD Donnelly, Sacred Heart......
......17Nick Freijomil, Delsea...................17Andrew Gee,
Vineland.................17Home runsBarry Buchowski, St.
Augustine......5Taylor Cheli, Buena...........
.............3Michael Foytik, Cumberland.... ......3Ethan Francis,
Schalick...................3Chris Repice, Sacred
Heart.............3Sean Carew, St. Augustine.............2Bryan
Dobzanski, Delsea................2JD Donnelly, Sacred
Heart..............2Austin Griffie, Cumberland ...... ......2Jarred
McCafferty, Schalick............2Steven Steigerwalt, Sacred
Heart...2
PitchingWinsDon Money, Vineland....... .............8Chris
Oakley, St. Augustine............8Chris Capriotti,
Buena.............. ......6Michael Foytik, Cumberland....
......6Nick Freijomil, Delsea.....................6Eli Helsel,
Delsea ...........................5Justin Rivera, Vineland
............ ......5Eric Stratoti, Schalick ...............
......5Zach Warren, St. Augustine ...........5InningsDon Money,
Vineland..... .............60Johnny Malatesta,
Vineland.........59Michael Foytik, Cumberland......5423Nick
Freijomil, Delsea ................5213Austin Griffie,
Cumberland........4613Chris Oakley, St.
Augustine..........45Roberto Rivera, Millville............4413Chris
Capriotti, Buena ...............4213Jeffrey Soto Balbuena,
Bridgeton.42Zach Warren, St. Augustine.......4123Eli Helsel,
Delsea.......................3823Calvin Clark, Millville...
.............3723Joe Gatto, St. Augustine ..............37ERAMark
Rowan, Vineland.............0.95Jon Cosenza,
Delsea..................1.16Calvin Clark,
Millville.................1.18Eli Helsel, Delsea................
.......1.34Justin Rivera, Vineland............. .1.33
Zach Warren, St. Augustine...... .1.34Don Money,
Vineland................1.40Chris Oakley, St. Augustine
.......1.56Nick Freijomil, Delsea.. ..............1.69Joe Gatto,
St. Augustine............1.70Joe Brewin, Delsea......
..............1.90StrikeoutsNick Freijomil,
Delsea...................65Johnny Malatesta,
Vineland.........56Zach Warren, St. Augustine..........55Chris
Oakley, St. Augustine..........49Michael Foytik, Cumberland
........45Joe Gatto, St. Augustine ..............43Steve
Steigerwalt, Sacred Heart...43Calvin Clark,
Millville...................42Austin Griffie, Cumberland
..........42Chris Capriotti, Buena..................34Eymar Huerta,
Bridgeton .............33Bryan Dobzanski, Delsea..............30Don
Money, Vineland..... .............29Eric Stratoti, Schalick
...................29
* All stats submitted by coachesthrough Thursday* Sacred Heart
and Schalick did notreport.Buena pitching did not report.
AREA LEADERS
m
1. St. Augustine (19-6) Hermits are the areas hottestteam after
winning six straightgames entering today.m 2. Delsea (21-6)
Crusaderssee this season as Group III Southtitle or bust.m 3.
Vineland (20-7) Toughweek for the Fighting Clan, wholost three
meaningful games.m 4.Buena (21-6) Chiefs willneed to overcome some
dings tonavigate through the postseason.m 5. Millville (11-11)
Boltsshowed well in a Group IV Southplayoff loss to top-seeded
Easternon Monday.m 6. Cumberland (13-10) Colts couldnt manage to
findtheir way at the end of the season.* Records through
Thursday
LOCAL POLL
St. Augustines Jay Higbee takes a swing against Vineland during
a 4-0win on Thursday. The Hermits regained the top spot in this
weeks LocalPoll. STAFF PHOTO/CHARLES J. OLSON
the
the
T H E D A I L Y J O U R N A L
