Shore Sports Network Journal 2015 Spring Preview

April 7 2015 Volume-VII Issue-7

The first thing fans, players, coaches and parents want toknow after the big game is always,

”Is this going to be on ”

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Table of ContentsSSN Divisional

Predictions................................................Page 4

Boys Lacrosse:

Divisional Previews.....................Pages 6 thru13

2015 Shore Conference Baseball:

What to Watch For..........................Page 14-15

Baseball

Divisional Previews................Pages 16 thru 26

2015 Basketball All-Star

Review....................................................Page 28

BASEBALL1. CHRISTIAN BROTHERS ACADEMY

With Luca Dalatri on the mound, CBA was quite literally unbeatable last year. If the junior right-hander picks up where he left offin 2014, it will likely mean more of the same considering CBA has many of its top hitters back last year’s Shore Conference andMonmouth County Tournament championship teams. Keep an eye on CBA in the game following the game that Dalatri’s nameappears in the box score. That will indicate if this is going to be a special year.

2. JACKSON MEMORIALThe hype for TR North is warranted and any objection to the Jaguars going ahead of the Mariners is perfectly reasonable, but part of thereward for bringing a bunch of key players back from a state championship team is getting to sit in the big chair to open the year. Yes,technically CBA has the top spot, but the Jaguars should at least start the season as the top-ranked Group IV school in the Shore.

3. TOMS RIVER NORTHThe gap between the Mariners and the next team is fairly wide considering there is not body of work yet. Teams ranked in the topthree rarely run away and hide, but as far as pure talent goes, it’s hard to argue with TR North being the top team if everythingbreaks right. They can hit one-through-nine and they are likely to run out at least five quality pitchers over the course of the season.Over the long haul, this will be a tough team to take down.

4. COLTS NECKAt this point in the top 10, track record is still important, especially since nothing is clear from here on out. Colts Neck got the mostout of its roster last year and the Cougars might actually be a little better in some areas this year. How coach Mike Yorke and hisstaff use left-hander Chris Murphy will be one of the more interesting sub-plots of the first two weeks, only because using him inrelief worked so well last season. Yorke said Murphy will get a chance to start this year, so it could simply be that Colts Neck willhave a lock-down starter going six or seven innings every five or six days.

5. BARNEGATDespite losing one of the best players in the country to IMG Academy, Barnegat should still feel pretty good about its chances tobuild on last year’s 20-win season. The Bengals still have three proven pitchers, with another wave of arms coming up, and thelineup has a chance to be even better now that Jared Kacso, Ed Rogan, Nik Fraim and Aaron McLaughin are all a year older. And ifyou’re bummed you won’t get your fix of an imposing pitcher at Barnegat games, fear not: the Bengals went from a 6-foot-6 No. 1starter with Jason Groome to a 6-9 No. 1 starter in Seamus Brazill.

6. Wall 7. TR South 8. Manasquan 9. Marlboro 10. Middletown SouthTeams to Watch:Manalapan, SJV, RBC, St. Rose & Central

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C l a ss A No r th 1 . Christian Brothers Academy2 . Ma r l bo r o3 . M i dd l e t own Sou th4 . Mana l apan5 . Howe l l6 . F r eeho l d7 . M i dd l e t own No r th8 . F r eeho l d T ownsh i p

C l a s s A C en t r a l 1 . Manasquan2 . S t . J ohn V i anney3 . Rumson - Fa i r Ha ven4 . Monmouth5 . Sho re6 . Ho lmde l7 . Ra r i t an

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C l a s s B Sou th 1 . Ba rnega t2 . C en t r a l Reg i on l3 . J a ckson L i b e r t y4 . P i ne l ands5 . Po i n t Bo r o6 . Donovan C a tho l i c7 . Manches te r8 . L akewood

BOYS LACROSSE1. Southern2. Rumson-Fair Haven3 CBA4. St. John Vianney5. Howell6. Manasquan7. Freehold Twp.8. Colts Neck9. Barnegat10. Wall

GIRLS LACROSSE1. Rumson-Fair Haven2. Shore Regional3. Red Bank Catholic4. Freehold Twp.5. Manasquan6. Ocean7. Wall8. Red Bank9. St. John Vianney10. Toms River SouthSouthern’s

Dylan JinksSouthern’s



Dylan JinksRumson’s

Maggie JenningsRumson’s



Maggie Jennings

Photo courtesy of:

Julie Gilbertson

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Southern Regional senior ChrisSmith was extraordinary in theface-off circle, but it was hisplay in a more familiar rolethat ultimately delivered theRams one of the biggest winsin program history.Smith picked up a ground ball, turned and fired a shot that bounced in for

the go-ahead goal with 1:43 left in regulation to complete a furiouscomeback and lift Southern, ranked No. 1 in the Shore Sports Network Top10, to a 16-14 Shore Conference nondivisional victory over No. 2 Rumsonon Saturday at Borden Stadium.Southern trailed 14-11 with 5:42 left in the game before scoring three

times in a span of 1:42 to tie the score. Smith’s tally put the Rams up forgood, and Dylan Jinks added an insurance goal with 1:07 to play to give theRams a bit of redemption after falling to the Bulldogs in the ShoreConference Tournament final each of the last two seasons and four straighttimes overall.“I’ve played four varsity years and this is by far the best feeling after a

win I’ve ever had,” Smith said. “It beats championships, everything. It justfeels so good to finally come out on top against them.”“It’s an awesome feeling that for the first time in our careers we beat

Rumson,” Jinks said. “We’re sky-high right now.”The loss is the first against a Shore Conference opponent for Rumson

since an 8-6 defeat to Jackson Memorial on April 8, 2013. EnteringSaturday’s game, Rumson was 57-1 against Shore Conference competitionsince 2011. The Bulldogs were 0-3 before Saturday, albeit with losses toCaldwell, Summit and Bridgewater-Raritan.“We still felt like we were the underdog,” Southern head coach John

Pampalone said. “I know they graduated peopleand what their record is, but they are alsoplaying the best teams in the state, and

(their record) is notevident of how

g o o dthey are.They’re apowerhouse.We came inhere withsomething toprove.”Jinks finished

with a team-highsix goals and oneassist, while Smithhad a hat trick andtwo assists. NickSimonelli, Will Johnsonand Kyle Mulrane eachscored twice and ShawnMcManus had a goal and two assists.Robbie Garavente led Rumson (0-4) with

six goals, including all five of the Bulldogs’second-half points. Griffin Schultz had a hattrick and Bryan Hess scored twice.Smith recorded 63 points as a junior, but entering

this year had never been a face-off man. Last season theRams had Billy Dowd on draws, and he won 75 percent ofthem en route to being selected as the SSN first team All-Shore specialist. How the Rams would fare on face-offs was aquestion mark coming into the season.Smith proved he is the man for the job with an incredible 19-for-21

performance that included a whopping 21 ground balls. He gave the Ramsa consistent possession advantage throughout the game and also scoredtwice directly off draws, each time spurring a Southern scoring run.“Chris Smith did an outstanding job,” Pampalone said. “He never faced-

off going into this year and he worked all summer, fall and winter on hisgame. It’s a tremendous edge to have. That’s how games are swung. Wewere able to go on a long run to finish this game because he kept winningface-offs.”“We have one of the best face-off guys in the Shore right now,” Jinks

said. “He’s stepping up in a huge way.”Saturday’s game was all about scoring runs for each team. Not

once did the teams alternate goals, which made for some excellentdrama.The Bulldogs struck first when Schultz scored at 10:53 and

pushed their lead to 2-0 on Hess’s goal at 6:22. The Rams firedback to take a lead on goals by Jinks, Simonelli and McManus in aspan of just over three minutes, but Seamus Walsh netted theequalizer with 1:47 left in the first quarter, leading to a 3-3 tie afterone.Southern would go up 5-3 in the first two minutes of the second

quarter. Smith won the opening draw and raced down the field toscore just seven seconds in. At 10:04, Jinks found some room andunleashed a left-handed laser that beat Rumson goalie Kyle Knappup high. The Bulldogs responded with goals by Schultz and HenrySillen, the latter off a pass from Ryan Tuorto, to knot the score atfive.On the ensuring face-off, however, Smith won the draw clean

and scored immediately to start a three-goal run for Southern.Smith’s goal came at 5:39, and another face-off win by him led toSimonelli setting up Mulrane on the crease at 5:24. Johnson’s goaloff a rebound at 2:43 put the Rams up 8-5, and it looked like theywere starting to take control.Rumson wouldn’t go away that easily, though. The Bulldogs scored four

times in the final 2:08 of the second quarter to grab a 9-8 lead at halftime.Garavente fed Schultz for a goal to start the comeback, and Hess sank agoal at 1:49 to make it 8-7. Garavente set up Lucas Seckler with 37.2seconds left to tie the score, then scored himself with just 2.1 seconds left.The scoring pace slowed considerably in the third quarter, playing into

Rumson’s style. Garavente scored unassisted at 7:55and again at 5:44 to give the Bulldogs an 11-8 lead.Now it was Rumson that appeared to be ready topull away.“It almost seemed like we didn’t pay attention

to the score,” Smith said. “We didn’t really lookthat we were down. We just kept

grinding it out.”Southern scored the nextthree goals to tie the scoreat 11 heading to thefourth quarter.Johnson took a passfrom McManus andscored with 4:20 leftbefore McManus

assisted onJinks’ goal at3 : 0 5 .

Simonelli then putback a rebound at2:56 for the tyinggoal.G a r a v e n t e

continued to carryRumson by scoringthe next three goalsto put the Bulldogs up14-11. He scoredunassisted at 8:44,off a pass fromWalsh at 7:02 andagain unassistedat 5:42. Thetough scenariofor Southern

w a s n ’ tthat it wasdown by three,but that justunder sixm i n u t e sremained againsta Rumson

program that knows how to use the clock to its advantage. The Ramsneeded a goal quickly, and got one when Jinks scored at 4:17. It was Jinks’fourth goal of the game, but he wasn’t done yet.“It’s hard to slow him down and when he starts feeling it he’s one of

those players that’s going to find the back of the net,” Pampalone said.Just 12 seconds later and again off a face-off win, Smith fed Mulrane to

pull the Rams to within one. Smith kept the momentum going by winningyet another draw, and Jinks netted the equalizer by picking up a groundball and scoring up high while just outside the crease.“We had a nice little rotation going and their defense slid nicely,” Jinks

said. “Chris Smith popped open on the wing and he went to shoot butdropped it out the back. I picked it up and hit it top corner.”Smith’s eventual game-winning goal came off a mad scramble after both

teams seemed to have secured possession. Once he picked up the groundball, he was basically one-on-one with Knapp.“The ball was loose and I got it, picked up my head and realized it was

just me and the goalie,” Smith said. “I saw that bottom corner open and Ilet it rip.”Southern was now up 15-14 with 1:43 left, the comeback now complete.

Smith won the next face-off and Jinks put the finishing touches on theRams’ monumental victory by cutting inside and scoring with 1:07 to go.“This senior class has played together so long they are determined not to

give in,” Pampalone said. “We were going to fight until the final hornsounds. I can’t say enough about them. They earned this today.”“We have tough kids who are grinders,” he continued. “We knew we

could come back, we just have to keep fighting and getone goal at a time. We may not win every game, but Iknow these kids will never quit on us.”

The challenge now is for Southern to keep the momentum going. Itsbiggest goals still lie ahead, namely becoming the first Ocean County teamto win the Shore Conference Tournament. Saturday’s win was huge, nodoubt, but there’s a game in mid-May they want more.

“It was a big game and there’s no denying it,”Pampalone said. “If we reach our goals we’llprobably see them again, and it’s going to beanother war.”“I think we are gong to get back to practice, fix any mistakes we had and

come back even better,” Smith said.If that’s the case, Saturday’s win will be just the start of a historic season

in Manahawkin.

5

by:

Bob Badderswww.shoresportsnetwork.com

Photos by:Ray Rich Photography

www.rayrichphotography.smugmug.com

Southern’s Chris Smith guarded by Rumson’s Bryce Clark

Southern senior attack Dylan Jinks

No. 1 Southern Rallies For a DramaticVictory Over No. 2 RumsonBy Bob Badders – Staff Writer

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CHRISTIAN BROTHERS ACADEMYHEAD COACH: Dave Santos, 17th season (214-82) 2014 RECORD: 14-42015 OUTLOOK: The Colts graduated 15 seniors from last season’ssquad, so they are young and inexperienced, especially on the attacklines and defensively. Four of the top scorers graduated, includingdynamic seniors Matt McGuinness and Thomas Deiner, along withface-off ace Tom Palisi. The development of the first-time starterswill be key to the Colts repeating as A North champs and making deepruns in the Shore Conference and state tournaments. Casner was ableto find room last year with teams focusing on McGuinness andDeiner, but he’ll garner much more attention this season.TOP RETURNERS: Sophomore Nick Casner leads the offense afterscoring 30 goals and adding nine assists during his freshmancampaign. Senior Nick Gazzillo and junior John Salcedo each had 11goals and five assists last season and provide experience in themidfield. Senior Joe Ventura anchors the defense in front of seniorgoalie Evan Bynoe.

COLTS NECKHEAD COACH: Jeff Rosenberg, 11th season (94-75)2014 RECORD: 9-82015 OUTLOOK: The Cougars made a Cinderella run to the SCT

final four last season beforelosing to eventualc h a m p i o nRumson-FairH a v e n .Their toptwo leadings c o r e s ,

Andrew

Anzalone and Rob Halmi, along with bruising defenseman AnthonyGargiulo (now at Navy for football) have graduated, along with 12other seniors. How quickly a young team comes together will be keyto contend in a division that includes Shore power CBA along withHowell and Freehold Township.

TOP RETURNERS: Junior goalie Andrew Halmi returns after astellar season that included leading the Cougars to the ShoreConference Tournament semifinals as the No. 12 seed. The Cougarsare deep at goalie with senior Dan Callery, one of the team’s captains,also an option between the pipes. Senior Alex Peltzman leads thereturning midfielders while senior captains Derek Price and Connor

McGowan anchor the defense along with junior Nick Gargiulo. SeniorLucas Becce and junior Thijs Smit lead the returning attackmen.

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIPHEAD COACH:Mike Ferrando, 3rd season (22-10)2014 RECORD: 10-62015 OUTLOOK: The Patriots graduated somescoring but return the versatile Sasso, who uppedhis scoring as a junior while continuing to beone of the Shore’s top FOGOs. He could bein a line for a big season. Nunez also couldbe in store for a big scoring season, andDunn should approach 20 goals or moreafter seeing time as a freshman. Thedefense looks solid with O’Brien,Bitsko, senior Mike DeBaere andjunior Ty Sebor along with Pineat LSM. Billy Patten and MattSchroepfer are the goalieswith the starter yet to bedetermined. The Patriotsagain look like a team that willbe competitive with the top teamsin A North and should be in themix for runs in both theconference and state tournaments.TOP RETURNERS: Seniormidfielder Billy Sasso, a YorkCollege recruit and third-teamSSN All-Shore selection lastseason, returns as the team’sleading scorer after netting 21goals and adding 27 assistswhile winning 74 percent offace-offs. Senior attackmanBrandon Nunez pumped in18 goals with 21 assistslast season and seniormiddie John Poolealso scored 18goals. JuniorMatt Lach (13goals) and

sophomore DrewDunn (six goals)

join Nunez on thefirst attack line. Senior

defenseman Mike O’Brien,an all-division pick, leadsthe defense along with seniorCollin Bitsko and senior defensivemidfielder Matt Pine.

HOWELLHEAD COACH: Anthony Bonjavanni, 3rd season (20-17)2014 RECORD: 9-92015 OUTLOOK: The Rebels return eight starters and are poised tomake a run at the A North title while pushing deep into the ShoreConference and state tournaments. Howell has a whopping 15 seniors,with Rossi as the only non-senior starter, so this is a team built to winnow. Buannic and Sherman along with senior Matt Marsh comprisethe starting attack line with Ornstein, Verdoni and Rossi in themiddle. Senior Cameron Perrotto is the defensive midfielder withPozsonyi, senior Colin Mastowski and senior Frank Lamela leading afast and athletic defense. Senior Ian Colmorgan steps in as the startinggoalie.TOP RETURNERS: Senior attackmen Mark Buannic and JakeSherman, both of whom were second team all-division picks by the

coaches last season, lead the offense. Sherman scored a team-leading45 goals last season while Buannic led the Rebels with 66 points.Senior Zack Ornstein, a Merrimack College recruit and anothersecond team all-division selection, banked 38 goals and won 75percent of face-offs last year patrolling the midfield. Senior RyderVerdoni and junior Nick Rossi complete a solid first line ofmiddies. Senior Anthony Pozsonyi anchors the defense.

MARLBOROHEAD COACH: Alex Sinkovich, 2nd season (7-11)2014 RECORD: 7-112015 OUTLOOK: The Mustangs graduated leading scorerChris Coyle, now at Delaware Valley, along with specialistBrian Prestigiacomo. Both were second team all-divisionselections last season. Overall, the Mustangs will need to findconsistency and someone to step up and fill the scoring gapleft by Coyle to contend in Class A North and chase a berth inthe SCT.TOP RETURNERS: Senior Ben Metzger anchors the teamfrom his midfield position while senior Brandon Hanley isback in goal after emerging as the Mustangs’ No. 1 netminderlast season. Sophomores Chris Kelly and Tim Dwyer shouldbe in for bigger contributions after playing on the attack

line as freshmen.

MIDDLETOWN NORTHHEAD COACH: Ryan Hilla, 2nd season (5-14)

2014 RECORD: 5-142015 OUTLOOK: It’s all about making progress in theLions’ second year as a varsity program, and with a rostercomprised mostly of juniors and seniors they’re inposition to do so. They play in a tough division withpotentially four teams that could be ranked in the top 10,but if they can get to the postseason those games shouldserve them well.TOP RETURNERS: The Lions return three 20-goal scorers

led by senior attackman Justin Russo, who sank 37 goals lastyear along with 12 assists. Junior attackman Bryan Flannigan

scored 28 goals as a sophomore. Senior midfielder Chris Fishercontributed 20 goals and a 13 assists last season while senior middieTom Terranova finished with 20 points. Junior Hayden Fairhurst had88 ground balls last season and returns to anchor the Lions’ defense.

MIDDLETOWN SOUTHHEAD COACH: Frank Finochio, 2nd season (5-11)2014 RECORD: 5-112015 OUTLOOK: Like their crosstown rivals, the Eagles will lookto make progress in their second season at the varsity level. Lacrossehas exploded in Middletown with great numbers in the youth levels,so it seems like a matter of when, not if, the Eagles will field asuccessful squad. The Eagles and Lions split games last season withSouth winning 5-4 on April 8 and falling 12-7 on May 10. This year’sgame on April 22 is no doubt circled on the calendar.

NEPTUNEHEAD COACH: Robert Schulte, 2nd season (1-12)2014 RECORD: 1-122015 OUTLOOK: The Scarlet Fliers look to rebound in the secondseason under Robert Schulte, but have a tough division in which to doit in. They have several teams on the schedule similar to them in termsof experience, so an improvement in wins could be in the cards thisseason.

By Bob Badders – Staff WriterTeam listed in alphabetical order

Freehold Photo by:

Ray Rich Photography www.rayr i chphotography.smugmug.com

Colts Neck’s Andrew Halmi

reehold Twp's Billy Sasso

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BRICK MEMORIALHEAD COACH: Brent Middlemiss, 9th season (48-71)2014 RECORD: 8-82015 OUTLOOK: The Mustangs return their entire starting attackline with Visser, Sharpe and Porter, so the offense should beproductive once it can set up. Having Vescovi back as FOGO after hesplit time with Griffin Carney is big as well. The key will be stayingsturdy on defense after the graduation of second team all-divisiondefenseman Jake Lombardo and starting goalie C.J. Guarino.TOP RETURNERS: Dylan Visser, Sr., A/M (15g, 28a, 45gb); BaileySharpe, Sr., A/M (34g, 16a, 32gb); Matt Murphy, Sr., D (26gb, 13takeaways) Bill Porter, Jr., A/M (11g, 8a, 55gb) Luke Vescovi, Jr., M(34gb, 57% F/O).

BRICKHEAD COACH: Len Zdanowicz, 4th season (29-24)2014 RECORD: 8-112015 OUTLOOK: “We have a lot of experience back in our defenseand that should be the strong point of our team. We need to replacesome very good offensive players. The offense should be led byseniors Hunter Palmer and Pat Adamitis. We are counting on some ofour younger players from last year to take a big step up on varsity thisyear.” – head coach Len Zdanowicz.TOP RETURNERS: Hunter Palmer, Sr., A, (18g, 26a, 28gb); PatAdamitis, Sr., M/FO (14g, 8a, 61gb); Carter Smith, Sr., LSM (54gb);Mike Woo, Sr., D (36gb); Kyle Leary, Sr., D (52gb); Josh Schieber,Sr., D; M.J. Fazio, Sr., M; Sean Ward, Sr., M; Phil Sammarco, Sr., M;Nick Dzugan, Sr., M/FO; Mickey Holland, So., M/FO (4g); ZionPowell, So., D; Nick Marra, So., A.

JACKSON MEMORIALHEAD COACH: Joe Pienkowski, 1st season2014 RECORD: 9-92015 OUTLOOK: TheJaguars have graduated aton of talent over the lastfew seasons, so there’splenty of work to do underfirst-year head coach JoePienkowski. Senior TroyWolf, a University ofTampa commit, is theteam’s top offensiveplayer after scoring 48goals with 26 assists lastseason. SophomoreDylan Furnback playedbig down the stretchlast season in goal,and a full season ofthat type ofproduction will becrucial. One thingthat stands out is the standouts fromother sports who have joined thelacrosse team this year likefootball players Zack Tetro, BradGreenway and Jared Calhounalong with wrestlers FredTerranova and Nick

Shimonovich.

TOP RETURNERS: Troy Wolf, Sr., A (48g, 26a); Dylan Furnback,So., G (8-2, 70.1 save percentage, 6.0 GAA, 14.1 saves per game);Alex Aguilar, Sr., A; Justin Bliss, Sr., D; Dane Bodamer, Jr., D; MattGeorge, Sr., M; James Grimaldi, Sr., M; Billy Plungis, Sr., A; EricQuaranta, Sr., M; Henry Smith, Jr., M; Marc Stevenson, Sr., A; ChipStraniero, Jr., LSM.

LACEYHEAD COACH: Shane Allen, 7th season (26-62)2014 RECORD: 13-52015 OUTLOOK: The Lions graduated a tonof firepower in attackman Joe Long andmidfielder Dan Cannon along with defensemanCasey Sullivan, all of whom were all-divisionselections, after the best season in program history.Mahon leads the cast of returners after a stellarsophomore campaign that included 30 points,100 ground balls and a very good face-offrecord. He is one of seven returning starterswho will look to keep Lacey’s program onthe rise. Sullivan graduated, but the defenselooks strong with Peaney, Zega and Sayre asreturning starters. Seniors Tim Gleason(attack), Kiernan Quinn (attack), DanMcAvoy (midfield) and Bailey Dickinson(defense) will look to make an impact askey newcomers.TOP RETURNERS: Ryan Mahon, Jr., M(20g, 10a, 100gb, 67% F/O); ConnorWilson, So., M; Lucas Sirotniak, Sr., A;James Peaney, Sr., D; Ian Gillen, Sr., LSM;Zach Zega, Sr., D; George Sayre, Sr., D.

SOUTHERNHEAD COACH:John Pampalone, 9th season (102-48)2014 RECORD: 20-32015 OUTLOOK: The Rams are loaded with aphenomenal senior class after another great seasonin which they won the Class A South title andSouth Jersey Group IV championship for thesecond season in a row while reaching the SCT andGroup IV finals. Senior Dylan Jinks led the state andset a Shore Conference record with 93 goals lastseason, and the Hartford commit should be in foranother big year. There’s plenty of scoring depth on theroster with Shawn McManus, Chris Smith and Nick Simonelliall capable of scoring at least 40 goals. The offense will bedynamic again. Senior Mike Adragna, a second-team SSN All-Shore selection, leads an experienced defense in front of one of

the best goalies in the Shore and state, senior Brendan Lefanto. TheRams will be in contention for division, conference, sectional andstate titles this season as a top 20 team in the state.TOP RETURNERS: Brendan Lefanto, Sr., G (251 saves, .750 savepercentage); Dylan Jinks Sr., A (93g, 43a); Nick Simonelli, Jr., A(24g, 20a); Shawn McManus, Sr., M (51g, 40a); Chris Smith, Sr., M(33g, 30a); Mike Adragna, Sr., D (78gb, 45 takeaways); Evan Henken,Jr., D; Anthony Triola, Jr., LSM; Matt Boero, Sr., D; Gordon VonSchmidt, Jr., LSM; John Manzo, Jr., D-M.

TOMS RIVER EASTHEAD COACH: George Peters, 11th season (75-88)2014 RECORD: 1-142015 OUTLOOK: The Raiders will try to rebound after a one-win

season and get back into the thick of the Class A South division race.TOP RETURNERS: Erick Johnson, Jr. M; Robert Lang, Sr., A; JakeHyde, Jr., M/A; Colby Dineen, So., LSM/D; Mike Cutillo, Jr.,LSM/D; Mike Grasso, Jr., M; Nick Price, So., M; Landon Zagacki,So., D; Christian Lynch, Jr., LSM/D; Brad Correia, Jr., D/LSM; CodyJoffe, Jr., M/A; Jake Dallago, Jr., G; Billy Buckler, Sr., D/LSM.

TOMS RIVER NORTHHEAD COACH: Brett Smith, 11th season (81-71)2014 RECORD: 6-72015 OUTLOOK: Led by a Kean University

recruit, senior midfielder Tyler Foss,the Mariners will look to buildoff last season in which

they were

competitive inmost games against top

teams and qualified for theNJSIAA Tournament.

TOMS RIVER SOUTHHEAD COACH: Matt Zuech, 11th season (70-86)2014 RECORD: 5-92015 OUTLOOK: The Indians hadsome big wins last season despite a sub-.500 record, such as a 6-5 win over FreeholdTownship, and they will look to build onthat in the rugged A South division whilebooking a trip to the SCT as well as theNJSIAA Tournament.

By Bob Badders – Staff Writer

Team listed in alphabetical order

Photo by:


FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATIONContact : Steven Meyer 732-233-4460 steve.meyer@townsquaremedia .com

Jackson Memorial’s Troy Wolf

Southern senior attack Dylan Jinks

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HOLMDELHEAD COACH: Sal Guastella, 8th season (57-46)

2014 RECORD: 9-82015 OUTLOOK: The Hornets graduated a slew of talent includingmidfielder Mark Scherzer and All-Shore defenseman Tim Davis, butreturn first team All-Shore goalie Justin Ruiz as the backbone of whatshould remain a strong defense. Seniors Adam and Joe Ibrahim alongwith junior Chris Tascione and junior long-stick middie ShaineNorton will be relied on heavily as an inexperienced offense tries tofind its way. Every year the Hornets always find a way to becompetitive, and this year shouldn’t be any different, but there couldbe some growing pains early.TOP RETURNERS: Justin Ruiz, Sr., G (257 saves, .719 savepercentage); Tom Rogan, Sr., M; Adam Ibrahim, Sr., D; Joe Ibrahim,Sr., D; Chris Tascione, Jr., D; Shaine Norton, Jr., LSM; Jack Cook,So., M; Frank Entwistle, Jr., M; Zack Marcigliano, Jr., M; ParkerAldredge, Jr., M; Billy DeMaio, So., A.

LONG BRANCHHEAD COACH: Frank Pannullo, 2nd season (0-20)

2014 RECORD: 0-202015 OUTLOOK: The Green Wave picked up their first varsity winin program history with an 8-7 victory over Union City on openingday. They will try to build on that, and have top athletes from othersports all over the field such as football players Brandon Lane andEarl Mackason, football lineman/wrestler Joey Jasio, and wrestlersChristian Berrocal and T.J. Conlon.TOP RETURNERS: Christian Berrocal, Sr., G(.720 save percentage); Ishmael Best, D; DaxDavis, M; Ronald Guidetti, M; Joey Jasio, Jr.,

D; Raphael Lara, M; BrandonLane, D; Earl

Mackason, D;H u n t e rMarhan, D;

JeffersonRamirez, M;

Andrew Tomas,M; Lazaro Valencia, M; David Van Lew, M.

OCEANHEAD COACH: Warren Towns, 7th season (31-72)

2014 RECORD: 7-102015 OUTLOOK: The Spartans madereal progress last season, especiallytoward the end of the season when theystunned Red Bank in the first round ofthe state tournament. They return theirtwo top scorers, juniors Joey Appio andErik Rant, along with outstandingsenior LSM Steven Graziano, who had145 ground balls last season, plusjunior middie Connor Daly. The loss ofgoalie Bobby Graziano to graduationleaves sophomore David Walkbetween the pipes. B North is thedeepest division in the ShoreConference, so each game will be abattle, but the Spartans have thegoods to jump their record over.500, qualify for the SCT andmake a run at a spot inthe top 10.

TOP RETURNERS: Steven Graziano, Sr., LSM (145gb, 1g); ErikRant, Jr., M (48g, 14a, 70gb) Joey Appio, Jr., A (31g, 49a, 50gb);Chris Psomias, Sr., D; Haydn Matarazzo, Sr., D (42gb); ClaytonHauck, So., D; Connor Daly, Jr., M (23g, 54gb); Alex Bravo, Jr., M(70% face-offs); Sam Hanna, So., M (18g, 9a); Christian Goslin, Sr.,A (8g, 30gb); David Walk, So., G.

RANNEYHEAD COACH: Denis Noonan, 1st season

2014 RECORD: 5-102015 OUTLOOK: Bucknell University-bound seniormidfielder Peter Gerhard looks to lead the Panthersinto the Shore Conference and NJSIAATournaments as they continue to improve in theirfirst season under head coach Denis Noonan.TOP RETURNERS: Peter Gerhard, Sr., M.

RED BANK CATHOLICHEAD COACH: Dave Erdman, 1st season

2014 RECORD: 10-82015 OUTLOOK: The Caseys bring backtwo of their top three scorers in Barile,a VMI commit, and Habich, a SienaCollege commit. Also returning isstandout defenseman Matt Pieringer, a first teamSSN All-Shore selection last season, along with juniorgoalie Matt Benjamin. Look for a big year out of Habich,who is big and physical and should be a load to handle foropposing defenses. This team can certainly contend for thedivision title and make a deep run in the SCT.TOP RETURNERS: Tim Barile, Sr., A (24g, 29a); MattPieringer, Sr., D (40gb); Brett Habich, Jr., M (28g, 22a,35gb); Matt Benjamin, Jr., G (212 saves, .644 savepercentage); Liam Kerekes, Sr., D; Alec Mintz, Jr., A (10g);Liam McArdle, Jr., M (7g, 33gb)

RED BANK REGIONALHEAD COACH: Don Femminella, 5th season (48-34)

2014 RECORD: 14-7

2015 OUTLOOK:The Bucs graduated ACentral Player of theYear and SSN first team

All-Shore midfielder JakeSmolokoff, along with defensemen

Zach Bradley and Ryan Seely, but return asolid core that should have them in contention all season

long. Brian Fagan and Dan Vilardi were ground ball machineslast season while junior Cole Smolokoff is the leadingreturning scorer. Goalie Jon Pierce should be among the bestin the conference, and he’ll need to be in front of aninexperienced defense. Red Bank has a pair of CBA transfersin the fold in sophomore midfielder Kevin Paz and juniormidfielder Ryan Gilmartin, the latter of whom should make amajor impact after sitting out because of the NJSIAA transferrule.

TOP RETURNERS: Brian Fagan, Jr., M (31pts, 111gb);John Pierce, Jr., G (251 saves, .630 save percentage);Cole Smolokoff, Jr., A (45pts, 32gb); Dan Vilardi,Sr., M (38pts, 118 gb); Ryan Martino, Sr., D(21gb); Brayden Seely, Jr., A (8pts, 32gb); JackO’Connor, Jr., M (4pts, 29gb).

RUMSON-FAIR HAVENHEAD COACH: Andy Eastwood, second season (17-4)

2014 RECORD: 17-4

2015 OUTLOOK: The Bulldogs graduated 18 seniors, includingfirst-team SSN All-Shore selections Colin Shea, Chris Hubler and J.T.Jennings, off a team that won a record fourth straight SCT title andreached the South Jersey Group I final. It’s still Rumson, however,and there’s no doubt there are talented players stepping in who havebeen waiting for their chance to shine. The feeder program in

Rumson is tremendous, so there shouldn’t be a big drop-off.The Bulldogs aren’t the overwhelmingfavorites they’ve been over the last fewseasons, but they are still aformidable bunch and theShore’s best teamu n t i l

p r o v e notherwise.

TOP RETURNERS: Cooper Cuje, Sr., D(24gb, 11 forced turnovers); RobbieGaravente, Jr., A (27g, 17a, 32gb); Matt

Waters, Jr., M (18g, 22gb); Lucas Seckler, Sr., M(17g, 20gb); Jack Moore, Sr., LSM (23gb, 12 forcedturnovers); Bryan Hess, So., M (5g, 3a, 13gb).

ST. JOHN VIANNEYHEAD COACH: Gregg Malfa, fifth season (36-33)

2014 RECORD: 5-122015 OUTLOOK: In going 10-7 last season, theLancers lost by three goals or more just once, andthat was to St. Augustine Prep, a top 10 team in thestate. Graduated are second team All-Shore midfielder

T.J. Coleman and all-division attackman Dan Louriero, but theLancers return standout goalie D.J. Soriano along withmidfielders Ryan Gilfillan and Matt Adelfio, plus hulkingdefenseman Lou Iovine. Junior middie Tom Hanson had a biggame in a season-opening, double-overtime win over FreeholdTownship with the game-tying and game-winning goals, asdid senior long-stick middie Kyle Boyle. The offense isyoung in terms of chemistry, but the Lancers proved in theirfirst game they can be a factor in the division race.TOP RETURNERS: Lou Iovine, Sr., D; Kyle Boyle, Sr.,

LSM; Aiden Cole, Sr., D/LSM; D.J. Soriano, Jr., G; Ryan Gilfillan,So., M; Andrew Poretta, So., A; Matt Adelfio, Sr., M; Rich Mullarkey,Sr., M; Mike Gentile, Jr., D.

SHOREHEAD COACH: Gregg Malfa, fifth season (36-33)

2014 RECORD: 5-122015 OUTLOOK: Coming off a year in which they graduatedseveral top players, the Blue Devils suffered their first losing seasonsince the program began in 2011. They return this season with keyreturners like senior attackman Chris Johnson, senior James Bedell,who will play both attack and defense, and junior midfielder DougGoldsmith as they look to rebound and be competitive in the division.TOP RETURNERS: Chris Johnson, Sr., A; James Bedell, Sr., A/D;Mitchell Candido, Sr., LSM; Paul Wedel, Sr., D; Billy Deerin, Sr., M;Michael Cooper, Sr., A/M; Max Sobrano, Sr., A/M; Doug Goldsmith,Jr., M; Jack Britton, Jr., M; Eric Graham, Jr., D; Casey Rogers, Jr.,D; Matt Laytham, So., M; Ean Delehanty, So., LSM/M.


Red Bank’s John Pierce

Rumson’s Stephen Edler

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Rumson Photo by:


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BARNEGATHEAD COACH: Ryan Dalon, 8th season (41-82)2014 RECORD: 13-32015 OUTLOOK: The Bengals lost all-division goalie MattGrobelny and leading scorer Ethan Tonneson, but return a solid coreafter turning in their best season ever in 2014. Ricky Gerena, RyanReynolds, Matt Manno and J.J. McKenna give Barnegat an explosivegroup of scorers. The question is on defense where, along withGrobelny, sturdy defenseman Greg Moran graduated. SophomoreKyle Kessinger takes over in goal behind defensemen HunterNarozniak, Phil Wambach, Ryan Parker and LSM Joe Jinks. If thedefense can come together the Bengals will be in the hunt for theirfirst division title.TOP RETURNERS: Ricky Gerena, Sr., M (27g, 16a, 60gb); RyanReynolds, Jr. A (25g, 12a, 27gb); Matt Manno, Sr., A (19g, 7a, 21gb);J.J. McKenna, Jr., M (36g, 11a, 46gb); Zach Flaherty, Sr., M (8g,36gb); Joe Jinks, Jr., LSM/D (21gb); Hunter Narozniak, So., D(29gb); Phil Wambach, Jr., D; Ryan Parker, Jr., D; (22gb).

DONOVAN CATHOLICHEAD COACH: Dean Yack, 1st season.2014 RECORD: 2-112015 OUTLOOK: The Griffins will look to rebound in their firstseason under new head coach Dean Yack and be a factor in thedivision race after four consecutive sub-.500 seasons.

JACKSON LIBERTYHEAD COACH: Anthony Dzienkiewicz, second season (4-13)2014 RECORD: 4-132015 OUTLOOK: The Lions return the majority of their startinglineup and boast a veteran core as they try to climb the ladder in BSouth during the second year under head coach AnthonyDzienkiewicz. Cabrini College-bound junior LSM ChristopherStefanowicz anchors the defense in front of Mulholland.TOP RETURNERS: Chris Mulholland, Jr., G; Patrick Gahagan, Sr.,D; Austin Doel, Jr., D; Christopher Stefanowicz, Jr., LSM; JackTrubiano, Sr., M; Andrew Ferullo, Sr., M; Shawn DeJesus, Sr., M;Christian Pongracz, Jr., M; Walter Matthies, Jr., M; Mike Roche, Sr.,A; Matt Ferullo, Jr., A; Dylan O’Connor, So., A.

MANASQUANHEAD COACH: Sean Cunningham, 1st season2014 RECORD: 11-62015 OUTLOOK: Led by returning leading scorer Jarrett Birch theWarriors look to continue their solid run under first-year head coachSean Cunningham despite the graduation of standouts Blaine Birchand Joe Murphy.

POINT BOROHEAD COACH: Guy Lassen, 1st season2014 RECORD:

2015 OUTLOOK: The Panthers will lean on their team-wideathleticism to grow the program in their first season at the varsitylevel.TOP RETURNERS: Darian Healey, Jr.; Tom Pickering, Sr.; KylerRossi, So.; Dylan Broussard, Sr.; Vincent Ceres, Sr.; Jake Woodring,

Sr.; Collin Ansbach, Jr.; Bill Buttino, Jr.; Courtland Hackel, Jr.;Schwartz, Jr.; Youmans, Jr.; Jesse Harris, Sr.; Ryan Bedle, Jr.; NickPalazzo, So.; Liam McCarthy, So.

ST. ROSEHEAD COACH: Kevin Preston, 2nd season (7-8)2014 RECORD: 7-82015 OUTLOOK: Senior attackman Matt Frost, the team’s leadingscorer the past two seasons, leads the Purple Roses in their secondseason under head coach Kevin Preston. The most encouraging factorhas been the size of the roster, which has doubled over the last twoseasons. Frost is in line to break the program records for career goalsand points.TOP RETURNERS: Matt Frost, Sr., A; Scott Dimmit, Sr., A; LouisMelone, Sr., D; Andrew Sarre, Sr., D.

WALLHEAD COACH: Chris Knight, 10th season (80-68)2014 RECORD: 11-52015 OUTLOOK: The Crimson Knights graduated an excellentsenior class that included their top three leading scorers and No. 1defender, so they will enter 2015 with a young team looking to findits identity. Junior attackman Mike Steppe returns to led the offensewhile sophomore Joseph Belko, a Monmouth University recruit,anchors the defense. Even with having to fill the voids left bygraduation, the Crimson Knights should remain contenders for thedivision crown.TOP RETURNERS:Mike Steppe, Jr., A; Joseph Belko, So., D; DylanBosco, Sr., M; Casey Foley, Jr., Ma; Liam Ferguson, Sr., M; EvanGacos, So., M; Zachary Harrell, Jr., G; Lucas Iarossi, Jr., M;Christopher Kellett, Jr., D.


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ith the 2015 baseball seasonunderway, the Shore Conference is

hoping for another banner season after having aconference-record three teams win NJSIAAGroup titles to cap 2014, including a St. JohnVianney squad that finished ranked No. 1 in thestate.

That is just one of many storylines across theShore, as Shore Regional (Group I), St. JohnVianney (Non-Public A) and Jackson Memorial(Group IV) all look to defend their statechampionships, while top-ranked ChristianBrothers Academy is looking to repeat as ShoreConference and Monmouth County Tournamentchampions while making a run at the Non-Public A crown.

Here are some players andstorylines to watch as theseason unfolds:

A host of top talentreturns in 2015

Jackson Memorial seniorpitcher/infielder BrandonJanofsky, who was lights-out in leading the Jaguarsto the Group IV title lastseason, is a first-teamAll-Shore pick who isback along with TomsRiver North shortstopJoey Rose, anOklahoma Staterecruit who is one ofthe top juniors inNew Jersey.

Christian Brothers Academy ace and NorthCarolina recruit Luca Dalatri, who had aseason for the ages in going 11-0 with a 0.39ERA to earn SSN Pitcher of the Year honors lastseason, is back as a junior to try to put his namein the CBA record books and help the Colts grabmultiple tournament titles like they did lastseason. Rumson-Fair Haven senior MorganMaguire, fresh off a strong basketball season,also returns after a huge season at the plate as a

junior. He also is a standout on the mound who iscommitted to Old Dominion.

Wall senior Dan Wondrack, a College of Charlestonrecruit, returns as one of the top backstops in the Shorealong with CBA junior North Carolina recruit BrandonMartorano. Virginia recruit Jon Meola is back as a seniorat shortstop for Toms River East, and Rutgers recruitCarmen Sclafani returns as a senior at shortstop for Brickin a Class A South division that is one again chocked fullof talent. Another member of a loaded CBA squad, senioroutfielder Will Morgan, another Old Dominion recruit, is

back after pounding out15 extra-base hits lastseason.

MonmouthRegional senior MattVincenti also looks to beone of the Shore’s topoutfielders after a second-teamAll-Shore season in which hehit .346 with a .474 on-basepercentage. Wall alsobrings back do-it-all seniorRyan Orender, a pitcher-third baseman who looks to

be key to the CrimsonKnights’ Class BNorth title hopes.While losingsuperstar pitcher

Jason Groome to IMG Academywas a blow to Barnegat, theBengals do return second-teamAll-Shore pitcher John Corbett,who was 6-2 with a 1.49 ERA lastseason.

Colts Neck brings back third-team All-Shore first baseman Tyler Kapuscinski,a Marist recruit who hit .406 anddelivered several clutch hits last season.Matawan returns senior outfielder JoePiscopo, who is also a basketballstandout, after he hit a scorching.453 last season in earning third-team All-Shore honors from SSN.St. Rose senior outfielder JohnnyKussmaul looks to be one of ClassB Central’s top players under newcoach Chris Lemore after hitting arobust .509 last season. In B South,Central senior Anthony Arneth

returns to try to fill the shoes of Alabama freshmanAndrew DiPiazza, the SSN Player of the Year for 2014,after Arneth went 5-3 with a 1.14 ERAlast season.

Two other third-team selectionsfrom last season return in thepitching-rich Class A North –Middletown South junior AustinMarkmann and Marlboro senior AndrewNardi, both of whom had ERAs under 2.00last season. Nardi is a Radford Universityrecruit.

Who’s No. 1?This could be dependent on who’s on the mound thatday. When Luca Dalatri is pitching, anyone ChristianBrothers Academy is facing is the underdog. The Coltsstart the season No. 1 in the Shore Sports Network Top

10 and are also ranked in the top five in thestate by several media outlets. There’s alsoClass A South powers like defendingGroup IV champion Jackson Memorial,one of the deepest and mostcomplete teams in the Shore,although the Jaguars lost twicein the first week and need towork out some kinks and getsome key players healthy. Aloaded Toms River North teamwith good depth in the pitchingdepartment and some big-time bats led by OklahomaState recruit Joey Roseshould also be right inthe mix, and a ColtsNeck team looking

to make a run atback-to-back

division titles in its newhome in Class B North afterwinning Class A North lastseason is another to watch.

B y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

CBA's

Shore Regional's James Kelly

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Jackson Memorial's Brandon Janofsky

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Can any of last year’s state champsrepeat?After bringing home a conference-record three Group

champions last season, the best bet for arepeat looks to be Jackson Memorial. Thepitcher the Jaguars rode to glory lastseason, Brandon Janofsky, is back inthe fold along with some key offensiveparts, although Janofsky has battledshoulder tightness early in the seasonand may not pitch until late April or

early May.

Meanwhile, ShoreRegionaland St.

JohnVianneyhave a lot of greatplayers to replace fromgraduation. Shore seems toconsistently make noise inGroup I, so I think by the timethe playoffs roll around and thenew guys behind MonmouthUniversity recruit JamesKelly are acclimated, theBlue Devils should onceagain be a factor.

As for St. JohnVianney, the hope is thatthere were just othertalented players stuckbehind All-Shore-levelstarters last season andthe wins will keepcoming. The differenceis that Non-Public A isthe hardest bracket inthe state. It’s not easyfor any team to repeat inthat bracket given thegauntlet that has to be runto take the title. St. JohnVianney did it last seasonand ended up No. 1 in thestate, so it shows therespect that is given tothe champion of thatGroup. The Lancers are off

to a solid start in 2015 with anew group, so they certainlyshouldn’t be counted out.

The last Shore team to winback-to-back Group titleswas Manalapan, whichbrought home the Group IVcrown in 2011-12.

Can CBA junior aceLuca Dalatri repeatan incredible season? The numbers were straight PlayStation for the NorthCarolina recruit last season in earning SSN

Pitcher of the Year honors: 11-0,0.39 ERA, 90 Ks in 72.1

innings and only 37hits. It’s hard to askanyone to duplicatesomething likethat, which goesdown as oneof the great

pitching seasonsof any player in

Shore Conferencehistory. I still think it’s going tobe awfully hard for anyone topin a loss on him this season.The best hope is to run hispitch count up and take yourchances against CBA’sbullpen, but that’s mucheasier said than donebecause he pounds the strikezone.

Is Barnegat more thana one-man team? Potential first-round MLB draft pick

Jason Groome is now at IMG Academy inFlorida, and the Bengals are out to show that theywill still be a factor in Class B South and thepostseason without him. They won 14 gameswhere he didn’t pitch last season, so they will playwith confidence, and they have a good 1-2 punchat the top of the rotation with John Corbett andSeamus Brazill. The big X-factor for them isoffense. Can they score runs when one of their bigguns on the mound is dueling the other team’sace? That will determine whether they can getback to a sectional final and finish the job aftercoming up one win short of school history lastyear.

Is Rumson’s Morgan Maguire thebest all-around player in the Shore?

He earned first-team All-Shore honors last seasonwith a monstrous year at the plate, leading the Shore

with a .600 average and a .702 on-base percentage andwas second with an .883 slugging percentage that is thebest of any returning player in the Shore. The Old

Dominion recruit also went 7-3 with a 1.45 ERAon the mound for the Bulldogs. I would puthim right there as an early Player of theYear candidate depending on how the

Bulldogs do as a team compared tothe big guns at places like CBA,Toms River North, Jackson

Memorial and others.

Barnegat's John Corbett

CBA's Brandon Martorano

Luca Dalatri P h o t o s b y :Ray Rich Photography

www.rayrichphotography.smugmug.com

Bi l l Normi lewww.billnormile.zenfolio.com

Doug Bostwickwww.SportShotsWLB.com

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It’s not often that a baseball team is successful thanks inlarge part to one player, but there is one instance in which

that’s the case. It’s not a revelation that the pitcher has themost control over the outcome of a game, but the fact that hedoes not pitch every game limits his impact over the course ofthe season. High school baseball, however, is a sport thatallows one player to dominate a season because not only aremany pitchers good hitters, but they also have a chance topitch in about a third of their team’s games.

What does this have to do with anything? The top projectedteams in Class B South are built on pitching and in one case,a pitcher. The regular season will be a measure of pitchingdepth vs. one dominant starter, unless of course the team withthe ace also has some secret weapons on the mound. Theremay be some divisions that have an edge in quantity ofpitching talent, but no Shore Conference division has the top-level arms that can be found in Class B South.

JACKSON MEMORIALHEAD COACH: Frank Malta, 11th season2014 RECORD: 20-7 (10-4, tied first in A South)

TOP RETURNERS: Brandon Janofsky (Sr., SS/P), Joe DeMaio (Sr., CF), Kyle Johnson (Jr. 3B/SS), Rich Rountree (Sr., OF), Matt Crispe (Sr.OF), Chris Hawryluk (Jr., P/1B), Ryan Takacs (Sr., P), Kyle Lona (Jr.,OF/C), John Carello (Sr., INF), Nick Rocco (Sr., C)KEY NEWCOMERS: Dylan Kanner (So., 1B/P), Dave Harlinski (Sr.,P), Matt Castronuova (Sr., INF), Lorenzo Spinelli (Jr., INF/P)

TOMS RIVER NORTHHEAD COACH: Andy Pagano, 2nd season2014 RECORD: 15-9 (9-5, 3rd in A South)TOP RETURNERS: Joe Rose (Jr. 3B), Mike Tiplady (Sr. 1B/C), KevinBlum (Sr. CF/P), Jeff Ciervo (Jr. OF), Joe Venditto (Sr. OF), OwenSulfrain (Jr. C), Brett Hyers (Sr. P), Doug Molnar (Sr. P), Ryan Larsen(Sr. P), Brandon Fischer (Jr. INF), LeBar (Sr. P0), Anthony Deceglie (Jr.P/1B), KEY NEWCOMERS:Mike Nyisztor (So., SS), Zach Burns (Jr., P), DavidCordoma (Jr., OF), Jake Loffredo (Jr., 2B/1B)

TOMS RIVER SOUTHHEAD COACH: Ken Frank, 37th season

2014 RECORD: 15-10 (8-6, tied fourth in A South)TOP RETURNERS: Ryan Shiffer (Sr. C), Spencer Kapp (Sr. 1B/OF),Jake Ryan (Sr. RF), Ray Liguori (Sr. 3B/P), Trevor Wagner (Jr.OF/INF/P), Austin Gonella (Sr. INF), Anthony Carfora (Jr. INF/P),Chandler Thompson (Sr. P), Tyler Mellott (Sr. P), Vinny Scrudato (Sr. P),Corey Nase (Sr. DH)KEY NEWCOMERS: Tyler Wisniewski (Jr., C), Michael Conover (Jr.,OF), Ben Montenegro (So., 3B/OF/P), Matt Shiffer (So., INF/OF/P),Connor Feeney (Jr., 1B/3B), Justin Fall (So., P/1B), Anthony Genchi (Jr.,INF), Nick Scrudato (Jr., OF/INF), Rich Thomas (Jr., INF), StephenAltman (Sr., 1B/OF/DH), Jesse Liguori (Sr., INF), Joe Meyers (Sr., OF),Chris Famularo (Sr.), Jake Regan (So., INF), Dylan Danielson (Soph.,OF), Joe Lodato (Jr., INF)

BRICKHEAD COACH: Jason Groschel, 10th season2014 RECORD: 12-12 (6-8, sixth in A South)TOP RETURNERS:Carmen Sclafani (Sr., SS), Dan Berg (Sr. 2B), MattGreenberg (Sr., 3B), Nick Moglia (Sr., P/1B), Dan Finelli (Jr., 1B), SteveCole (Sr., P), Nick Chirichello (Jr., P), Trevor Rowe (Jr., C), RonParliament (Sr., OF/INF), Brandon Weber (Sr, P)KEY NEWCOMERS: John Canterelli (Sr., DH), Dominick Nesser (Sr.,P), Matt Rosace (Sr., OF), Joe Sclafani (Jr., OF), Hunter Rizzuto (Jr.,OF/P), Tom Zbranak (Jr., OF), Matt Schleifer (Jr., OF), Tito Morales (Jr.,P), John Prato (So., OF), Mike Soldo (So., P), Gerry Hutchison (So., C)

BRICK MEMORIALHEAD COACH: Evan Rizzitello, 5th season2014 RECORD: 11-15 (8-6, tied fourth in A South)TOP RETURNERS: Matt Cathey (Sr., 2B), Brian Markoski (Jr.,1B/OF), Nick Matteo (Sr., OF), Tim Santiago (Jr., OF), Jake Voss (Sr., C),Matt Cuppari (Jr., SS/P), Ian Ambrose (Sr., P), Kyle McCabe (Sr.,P), J.T.Hazelet (Sr., P/INF), D.J. Wilson (Jr., P)KEY NEWCOMERS: Corey Cathey (Sr., OF), Cole Kachelhoffer (Sr.,P/INF), Steve Schocket (Sr., P/3B), Shane Shekon (Sr., P/1B), ChrisSullivan (Sr., P), Drew Zytko (Sr., P), Justin Bates (Jr., C), David Clark(Jr, INF/P), James Donlon (Jr., OF/P), Dylan Evans (Jr., OF/P), TeddyGonzalez (Jr., 3B), Andrew LaRosa (Jr., INF/P), Alec Merritt (Jr., P),Dylan Nolan (Jr., C)

TOMS RIVER EASTHEAD COACH: Dan Dietrich, 1st season2014 RECORD: 17-8 (10-4, tied first in A South)TOP RETURNERS: Jon Meola (Sr., SS), Josh Sommerer (Sr., OF), WillJohnson (Sr., 3B), Nick Cottone (Sr., P)KEY NEWCOMERS:Matt Corsi (Sr., INF), Bailey Engelhard (Jr., 1B),Tyler Idzinski (Jr., LF), Chad Leonard (Jr., CF), Kyle Catania (Sr., P),Kevin Brown (Sr., P), Jon LoBello (Sr., P), Randy Spillane (Sr., C), JordanLaBoy (Sr., C), Nick D’Arcy (Sr., OF/C), Justin Arnold (Sr., DH/1B), ColeRobbins (Jr., INF)

SOUTHERNHEAD COACH: Tom Natoli, 6th season2014 RECORD: 7-15 (3-11, SEVENTH IN A SOUTH)TOP RETURNERS: Ronnie Velardi (Jr., SS/P), Mike Lee (Sr., 2B),Antonio Dinis (So., OF), Zach Mason (Sr. P/1B), Jared Lubanski (Jr.,P/OF/SS), Zach Fillmore (So., P), T.J. Ring (Sr., C)KEY NEWCOMERS:Matt Malatesta (Sr., OF), Joe Shine (Sr., P), ChrisLeung (Sr., P), Anthony Mannarino (Sr., P), Mike Bruno (Sr., OF), JaredHaugland (Jr., 1B/P), Chris Darcy (Jr., 3B), Pat Barrett (So., P/3B), JoeyRobertson (So., OF/DH), Nick Simone (So., P), Nolan Watson (So., C)

LACEYHEAD COACH: Corey Hamman, 3rd season2014 RECORD: 6-15 (2-12, eighth in A South))

TOP RETURNERS: Anthony Elefante (So., OF/SS/P), AnthonyRuggerio (Jr., UTIL), Justin Weigand (Sr., INF/P), George Peddie (Sr.,1B/P), Brett Kinsey (Sr., OF/P), Dan Greener (Sr., INF/OF), Rich Hurley(Sr., 3B/1B/P)KEY NEWCOMERS:Donald Zellman (So., INF/P), Paul Carluccio (So.,C), Brandon Haggerty (So., P)

Division LineupRYAN SHIFFER, CATCHER, TOMS RIVER SOUTH – Three-year varsitybackstop is a proven hitter and showed last year he can help a young staff.

BRIAN MARKOSKI, FIRST BASE, BRICK MEMORIAL – On-basemachine (.480 OBP) also broke out the big lumber for nine extra-base hitsand flashed the wheels with seven steals.

BRANDON JANOFSKY, SHORTSTOP, JACKSON MEMORIAL – Theclassic dilemma: Is Jackson Memorial a better team with its best pitcher onmound or with its best shortstop in the field? When Janofsky is as red-hotas he was in late May and early June, it’s a good problem to have.

JON MEOLA, SHORTSTOP, TOMS RIVER EAST – The offense has beengood over the last three years, but not enough people talk about Meola’sdefense and athleticism at shortstop.

RUSS PETRANTO, 3B, MONSIGNOR DONOVAN – Injury derailed abreakout sophomore season, but Petranto still hit .367 with three doubles.

JOE ROSE, THIRD BASE, TOMS RIVER NORTH – Now at his naturalposition on the hot corner, the Oklahoma State recruit should be morecomfortable. Then again, he went .425/.530/.687 as a sophomore last year,so either playing shortstop did not affect him or he is about to have acolossal season.

JEFF CIERVO, OUTFIELD, TOM RIVER NORTH – Somewhatovershadowed by Rose, Ciervo was another sophomore standout for theMariners and could end up leading the Shore in a bunch of categories.

JOE DEMAIO, CENTER FIELD, JACKSON MEMORIAL – A classic rightfielder, Ryan threw out a whopping 11 baserunners from right to go withseven extra-base hits at the plate.

CARMEN SCLAFANI, SHORTSTOP, BRICK – Although he lost the end ofthe season to injury, the Rutgers recruit was an all-division player and stillslugged 10 extra-base hits with 20 runs scored.

Division RotationCHANDLER THOMPSON, RHP, TOMS RIVER SOUTH – Thompson’sseason went relatively overlooked because of all the great pitching in theShore Conference, but his emergence has the Indians thinking about an ASouth crown again this season.

DOUG MOLNAR, RHP, TOMS RIVER NORTH – Steady strike-throwerposted an ERA under 2.00 and a WHIP under 1.00 thanks to a strikeout-to-walk rate better than 5.00.

CHRIS HAWRYLUK, RHP, JACKSON MEMORIAL – Although Hawrylukgot hit a few times during his sophomore season, he showed exceptionalcontrol that bodes well for a player with a tall, athletic build and room toimprove.

BRETT HYERS, RHP, TOMS RIVER NORTH – Despite not being 100percent all season, Hyers still threw strikes and gave the Mariners a chanceto win most times he was out there.

RYAN LARSEN, RHP, TOMS RIVER NORTH – The Mariners had one ofthe statistically underrated pitching staffs in the Shore Conference last yearand Larsen is the underrated pitcher of the underrated bunch.

Breakout Players to WatchANTHONY ELEFANTE, OF/SS/P, LACEY – Showed flashes of promise as afreshman last year with a couple doubles and a homer.

TIM SANTIAGO, OF, BRICK MEMORIAL – Slugged .400 as a sophomorelast season and will get more at-bats this year.

ZACH MASON, LHP, SOUTHERN – Big arm from the left side will bevery tough with improved control.

MIKE NYISZTOR, SS, TOMS RIVER NORTH – Fresh off a breakout onthe basketball court, Nyisztor now takes his act to the diamond.

RAY LIGOURI, 3B/RHP, TOMS RIVER SOUTH – Threw 12 2/3scoreless innings out of the bullpen thanks to a plus curveball. Somewhatironically, he is a very good fastball hitter with home run power.

By Matt Manley – Staff Writer

Teams listed by predicted order of finish

17

/ /18

The 2014 Shore Conference baseball season will beremembered for the championship postseason runs of

four teams: St. John Vianney, Jackson Memorial and ShoreRegional in their respective NJSIAA Group Tournaments, andChristian Brothers Academy in both the Shore Conference andMonmouth County Tournaments. The Colts rode lights-out aceLuca Dalatri to both titles and proved themselves a tournament-ready squad that also almost slugged their way past St. JohnVianney in the South Jersey Non-Public A semifinals withoutmuch pitching left to lean on.As great as CBA was last year, the Colts did not win 20 games

and finished third in Class A North – three games behinddivision champion Colts Neck. Strangely enough, one of theconference’s best divisions does not have a defending divisionchampion now that Colts Neck has moved to B North, but itdoes have a potential juggernaut in the Colts. With Dalatrireturning to the top of the rotation and three other sluggersreturning to the lineup, CBA has the foundation in place toexceed the season it put together last year.As Colts Neck showed last year, though, it takes an entire roster

to put together a steady enough 14 games to win a division like thisone. CBA is the favorite, but Manalapan, Marlboro andMiddletown South all return strong rosters with good pitchingstaffs that could give CBA a problem on the right day. FreeholdBoro gives the division a new look and the Colonials return ayoung roster that held its own in B North last year, while Howell,Freehold Township and Middletown North remain dangerousdespite some key losses. There is still a wealth of talent in A North,particularly on the mound, but one team has talent that standsabove the rest.

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS ACADEMYHEAD COACH:Marty Kenney, 42nd season2014 RECORD: 18-8 (8-6, third in A North)

TOP RETURNERS: Brandon Martorano (Jr., C), Will Morgan (Sr.,OF), John Moschella (Sr., 1B), Andrew Buccellatto (Sr., 2B), Luca Dalatri(Jr., P/1B), Mike Garvey (Sr., P), Griffin Arnott (Sr., OF)KEY NEWCOMERS: Trey Nelson (Sr., 3B), Matt D’Angelo (Sr., SS),James Miller (Sr., P), Shane Turk (Sr., P/OF), Brendan Shaw (Sr., 2B),Brendan Galvin (Jr., C), Cid Porter (Jr., OF), Kenny Campbell (Jr.,

P/INF), Luke Chece (Jr., P/OF), Joe Gargana (Jr., P), Austen Tieri (Sr., P),Mike Triandafellos (Jr., 1B), Ryan Nelson (Jr., P)

MARLBOROHEAD COACH: Jim Ferraro, 7th season2014 RECORD: 11-12 (5-9, seventh in A North)TOP RETURNERS:Mike Santaromita (Sr., CF), Steve Santigate (Sr.,3B), Phil Saglietto (Sr., RF/P), Brian Reilly (Jr., 1B), Matt Discuillo (Jr.,OF/P), Will Trochiano (So., SS), Andrew Nardi (Sr., P), JeremyDyzenhaus (Jr., P), Kyle Ondar (Sr., C), Steve Epstein (Sr., P)KEY NEWCOMERS: Dylan Finn (Jr., OF), Andrew Gambardella (Jr.,INF), Noah Thomas (So., OF), Chase Sandler (Jr., C), Justin Kaplan (Jr.,P), Jeremy Bello (So., P), Donnie Alfano (Jr., P), Matt Dean (Jr., P), GeneNapolitano (So., C)

MIDDLETOWN SOUTHHEAD COACH: Ryan Spillane, 7th season2014 RECORD: 11-14 (6-8, tied fourth in A North)TOP RETURNERS: Johnny Zega (Jr., SS/P), Zac deRocco (Sr.,1B/2B/P), Nolan Pereless (Sr., CF), Zach Schild (Jr., C), AustinMarkmann (Jr., P/1B), Freddie Yahn (Jr., UTIL), Colin Bergen (Sr., P),George Putykiewicz (Sr., P)KEY NEWCOMERS: Tom Frandsen (Jr., OF), Tom Gannon (Jr.,OF/INF), Zach Grant (Jr., P), Bobby Gyurindak (Jr., P), DavidMangarelli (Jr., OF), Joe McLaughlin (Jr., P), Ian Schuer (Jr., P/1B),Maxx Imsho (So., OF), Jeremy Joyce (So., INF), Jeff Lewandowski (So.,OF/P), Jon Martin (So., P), Ben Popora (So., 3B)

MANALAPANHEAD COACH: Brian Boyce, 10th season2014 RECORD: 11-14 (6-8, tied fourth in A North)TOP RETURNERS: Jake Sadowitz (Jr., 1B/P), Chris Rodriguez (Jr.,SS), Stephen Hansen (Jr., CF), Stephen Carbonara (Jr., C), Ryan

By Matt Manley – Staff Writer

Teams listed by predicted order of finish

CBA’s Luca Dalatri

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McGrane (Sr., 1B), Nick Serra (Sr., P), Nick Marotta (Sr., P), A.J. Kawa(Sr., P)KEY NEWCOMERS:Matt Klepper (Sr., 3B), Joe Ciaccio (Sr., OF), JakeKupfer (Sr., OF), Nick Surhoff (Sr., 3B), Marc Benevento (Jr., OF), TylerStafflinger (Jr., P), Carmine Rainone (Jr., 2B), Chris Winters (Jr., 2B/C),Mike Mollica (Jr., OF), John Crockett (Jr., OF), Matt Rosenberg (Jr., OF)

HOWELLHEAD COACH: Eric Johnson, 6th season2014 RECORD: 9-12 (6-8, tied fourth in A North)TOP RETURNERS:Rob Napolitano (Sr., C), Troy Miller (Jr., SS), MikeParisi (Sr., 1B), Andrew Larsen (Sr., OF), Dan Matrisciano (Sr., 3B),Justin Steel (Jr., 2B/C), Brian Chaballa (Jr., OF/P), Chris Barone (Sr.,OF), Connor Fey (Sr., P/2B), James Wynne (Jr., OF/P), Matt Fletcher (Sr.,OF/P)KEY NEWCOMERS: Corey Cathey (Sr., OF), Cole Kachelhoffer (Sr.,P/INF), Steve Schocket (Sr., P/3B), Shane Shekon (Sr., P/1B), ChrisSullivan (Sr., P), Drew Zytko (Sr., P), Justin Bates (Jr., C), David Clark(Jr, INF/P), James Donlon (Jr., OF/P), Dylan Evans (Jr., OF/P), TeddyGonzalez (Jr., 3B), Andrew LaRosa (Jr., INF/P), Alec Merritt (Jr., P),Dylan Nolan (Jr., C)

FREEHOLDHEAD COACH: Jon Block, 24th season2014 RECORD: 10-13 (7-5, fourth in Class B North)TOP RETURNERS: Dante Cuzzolino (Sr., 2B/P), Nick Belka (Sr., 3B),Tommy Colon (Sr., OF), Chris Cassandra (So., SS), Nick LaMorte (Jr.,C), Ryan Yee (Jr., OF), Dan Chiusano (So., P), Steve Rullo (Jr., P/OF),Frank Granato (Sr., OF), Dom Matteo (Sr., C), Anthony Matteo (Sr., 3B),Nick Murphy (Sr., P), Marco Meleo (Sr., P/1B), Todd Burger (Sr., P)KEY NEWCOMERS:Nick Zuppe (Jr., P/OF), James Manos (Jr., P/OF),Matt Cunha (Jr., OF), Tom Holdorf (So., P/1B), Mark Costanzo (Fr.,P/SS)

MIDDLETOWN NORTHHEAD COACH: Justin Nathanson, 1st season2014 RECORD: 7-14 (4-10, eighth in A North)

TOP RETURNERS: Kyle Capo (Jr., 3B), Conor Youncofski (Sr., DH),Phil Pecherski (Jr., P/OF/1B), Ed Sena (Sr., SS), Anthony Pianoforte (Sr.,1B/P)KEY NEWCOMERS: Walter Shopf (Jr., C), T.J. Vivian (Sr., P), TylerRas (Fr., INF/OF/P), Josh Brucato (Sr., P), Marc Cerbo (So., 2B/SS), SethZiegler (Jr., 1B/2B), Anthony Vetrano (Jr., C/1B/OF), Cole Fluta (Jr.,2B/SS), Hunter Rinn (Jr., P), Vince Pianoforte (Sr., 1B/C), Chuck Estelle(Sr., P/OF), Mike Cavallino (Sr., P)

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIPHEAD COACH: Todd Smith, sixth season2014 RECORD: 7-7 (10-4, second in A North)TOP RETURNERS: Joe Silvestrone (Sr., C), Rob Erikson (Sr., 2B), KyleFenton (Sr., UTIL)KEY NEWCOMERS: Kevin Gordon (Sr., C), Brandon Roth (Sr., OF),Austin Ramos (Sr., OF), Jason Spieler (Sr., OF), Tom Benedict (Sr., P),Jimmy Feingold (Sr., P), Pete Nielsen (Jr., P), Brian Oliver (Jr., INF), LaneShapiro Jr., (INF/OF), John Carroll Jr., (1B/P), Matt Gorman (Jr., OF),Andrew Ventura (Jr., P), Jake Russo (Jr., 3B), Rob Nitti (Jr., C), PeteGambino (Jr., P), Ralph Gambino (So., SS/P), Mike Pirrotta (So., P/1B)

Division LineupBRANDON MARTORANO, CATCHER, CBA – The North Carolina commitshowed off his wheels with five triples last year, matching a CBA single-season record.JOHN MOSCHELLA, FIRST BASEMAN, CBA – On a team with somegood hitters in the lineup, Moschella might have been the one opponentswere most afraid to pitch to by the end of the year.ANDREW BUCCELLATTO, SECOND BASEMAN, CBA – Overlooked abit on a talented team, but Buccellatto had good at-bats when CBA neededthem and played a solid second base as well.JOHNNY ZEGA, SHORTSTOP, MIDDLETOWN SOUTH – The offensehas not been there yet, but the defense and performance on the mound hascollege scouts checking in on the Eagles junior.CHRIS RODRIGUEZ, SHORTSTOP, MANALAPAN – One of the bestathletes on the Shore Conference diamond, Rodriguez will man shortstopfull time for Manalapan after playing more of a utility role last year as asophomore.WILL MORGAN, OUTFIELDER, CBA – One of two Shore Conferenceplayers headed to Old Dominion, Morgan will look to follow up a bigstatistical junior season by anchoring a lineup the Colts hope can contend

for consecutive Monmouth County and Shore Conference tournaments, aswell as a state title.MIKE SANTAROMITA, CENTER FIELDER, MARLBORO – Athletic,rangy center fielder with some pop in his left-handed bat to go with thegood glove.STEPHEN HANSEN, CENTER FIELDER, MANALAPAN – Another ofManalapan’s talented juniors up the middle of the field, Hansen came upwith a number of big hits as a junior and put up solid numbers in apitching-rich division.ROB NAPOLITANO, CATCHER, HOWELL – An improved defensivecatcher from his early high school years, Napolitano still makes his markwith the bat, as displayed by a junior-year slugging percentage approaching.700.

Division RotationLUCA DALATRI, RHP, CBA – The North Carolina commit is coming offone of the great pitching seasons in CBA and Shore Conference history andhe is still only a junior.ANDREW NARDI, LHP, MARLBORO – Broke out as a sophomore in2013 and did not miss a beat as a junior. One of the best aces in the Shore.AUSTIN MARKMANN, RHP, MIDDLETOWN SOUTH – As asophomore, Markmann threw a pair of 1-0 shutouts in the MonmouthCounty Tournament, including one against Non-Public A champion St. JohnVianney.JAKE SADOWITZ, LHP, MANALAPAN – Pitched to an ERA a tickabove 2.00 and also put up a .400 on-base percentage at the plate as asophomore. He is already committed to the University of Pennsylvania.DANTE CUZZOLINO, RHP, FREEHOLD – The Colonials have a goodstaff coming back, led by their right-handed senior.

Breakout Players to Watch

KYLE CAPO, THIRD BASEMAN, MIDDLETOWN NORTH – The numbersdon’t jump out, but this is a difficult division in which to put up numbersand the tools are there on both sides of the ball.BRIAN REILLY, FIRST BASEMAN, MARLBORO – Emerged as asophomore starter for the Mustangs and will be a big part of this year’slineup.TROY MILLER, SHORTSTOP, HOWELL – Faced some bad luck onballs in play while also showing patience. With another year to develop, bignumbers should be on the way.DAN CHIUSANO, LHP, FREEHOLD – A strong freshman year has tohave people around the Colonials program thinking about another versionof Jake Yanez, the lefty who helped lead Freehold to a Group III final in2012.MATT D’ANGELO, SHORTSTOP, CBA – St. Peter’s commit will havehis turn playing shortstop for a team with its eyes on every big prize outthere.

/ /20

Last year’s Class B South division race flew in the faceof the old adage that pitching wins championships.

Although division champion Jackson Liberty had the third-best pitching staff in the division, Barnegat and Central eachran out multiple Division I-caliber arms. Despite Barnegatboasting the likes of Vanderbilt commit Jason Groome andHofstra signee Seamus Brazill and Central offering a 1-2punch of Alabama right-hander Andrew DiPiazza and currentsenior Anthony Arneth, neither team finished better than 7-7in the division.

On the flip side, both teams stood out during the tournamentseason and in that regard, both were constructed to win insome capacity. While all of these B South teams would like toclick in time to make a postseason run, the first stop is the BSouth title. While it could be anyone’s game, there is one teamthat just seems due.

BARNEGATHEAD COACH: Dan McCoy, 4th season

2014 RECORD: 20-10 (7-7, tied fourth in B South)

TOP RETURNERS: Nik Fraim (Sr., C), Jared Kacso (Jr., 3B/P), Ed

Rogan (Sr., 1B/P), Aaron McLaughlin (So., SS), Collin O’Conner (Jr.,CF), Seamus Brazill (Sr., P), John Corbett (Sr., P)

KEY NEWCOMERS:Max Rittner (Jr., LF), Justin Diefenboch (So.,INF/P), Christian Padilla (So., 2B), Anthony Lani (So., UTIL)

CENTRALHEAD COACH: John Scran, 8th season


TOP RETURNERS: Frank Rose (Sr., 3B), Jake Dominguez (Sr.,2B/P), John Forrester (Sr., 1B), Anthony Arneth (Sr., P/OF), RyanPaul (Jr., P/1B), Joe Firetto (Sr., SS)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Matt Ernhardt (Sr., 2B), Anthony Colbert

(Sr., C), Sean Van Lew (Sr., 1B), Eugene Loverde (Sr., OF), ClayRourke (Sr., OF), Mike Quick (Sr., OF/P), Joe Zedalis (Sr., INF),Chris Kowalski (Jr., SS/OF), Matt Aires (Jr., OF), Joe Bassett (Jr.,INF/P), Harry Eaton (Jr., OF)

JACKSON LIBERTYHEAD COACH: Jim Rankin, 8th season

2014 RECORD: 15-12 (10-4, first in B South)

TOP RETURNERS: Matt Pinto (Sr., OF), Kyle Tavaska (So., OF),Dylan Milleman (Sr., INF), Howard Taylor (Sr., P/INF), Ryan VanWickle (Jr., INF/P), Sean Galvin (Sr., INF), Brandon Pallante (Jr.,P/INF ), Mike Zak (Jr., P)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Jon Gonzalez (Sr., OF), Ken Pommerencke(Jr., OF), Jared Pommerencke (Jr., C/OF), Billy Hart (Fr., C)

PINELANDSHEAD COACH: Rob Sanzari, 3rd season


TOP RETURNERS: Mitch Merrill (Sr., SS), Sage Sysol (Sr., 3B),Patrick Spagnola (Sr., 2B), David Lunn (Jr., CF), R.J. Rodriguez (Jr.,OF/C), Austin Hartman (Sr., OF), Chad Astemborski (Sr., P), DavidDeFeo (Sr., P/1B), Darien Martinez (Jr., P), Jared Miller (Jr., P)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Erik Steffens (Sr., P), Ray Jeffs (Sr., 1B), BradO’Brien (Jr., C), Ryan Ross (Jr., OF), Jared Strang (Jr., OF), ChrisBurke (So., INF/P), Joey McDonald (So., P), Tommy Allen (So., P)

By Matt Manley – Staff WriterTeams listed by predicted order of finish

Barnegat’s John Corbett

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POINT PLEASANT BOROHEAD COACH: Dave Drew, 5th season

2014 RECORD: 9-11 (8-6, tied second in B South)

TOP RETURNERS: Jack Fitzsimmons (Sr., 3B/OF), Sam Monaco(Jr., SS), Frank Graziano (Jr., OF/P), Mike Falconetti (Jr., 1B/P), BillFeehan (Jr., 2B/OF), John Youmans (Sr., C/1B), Tim Rossi (Jr., P/OF),Mark Leyble (Jr., 3B/P), Sebastian Severio (Jr., C/1B), Sean Connor(Sr., 2B/SS)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Dan Bellofatto (Sr., OF), Dan Cornish (Sr.,OF/3B), Dan Cornish (Sr., OF), Anthony Kondas (Sr., 1B), GabePesante (Sr., 2B), Ethan Cannon (Sr., P), Ryan Carne (Jr., UTIL),Pierce Dzrymkowski (Jr., OF), Gene Franceschini, (Jr., OF/1B/P),Frank Spano (Jr., P), Ryan Carr (So., OF), Patrick Feehan (So., SS),Josiah Gliddon (So., P/3B/1B), Thomas Paul (So., P/SS), Justin Rafi(So., C/UTIL)

DONOVAN CATHOLICHEAD COACH: Paul Murray, 12th season

2014 RECORD: 8-18 (5-9, seventh in B South)

TOP RETURNERS:Matt Drake (Sr., SS), Steve Lazicki (Sr., C/3B),Russ Petranto (Sr., 3B/2B), Charlie Dimino (Sr., 2B/OF), Kyle Malloy(Jr., OF/P), Zach Mann (So., P), Andrew Jarvis (Jr., P), AaronHolowienka (Jr., OF), Mike Marron (So., INF/OF), Alex Loffredo (Sr.,OF), Matt Puleo (Sr., P), R.J. Berardi (Sr., 1B), Bart Goble (So., 1B/P), Nick Povoa (Jr., P/OF), Ryan O’Sullivan (So., 2B)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Mike Dimino (Fr., 1B/P), P.J. Armstrong (Jr.,C)

MANCHESTERHEAD COACH: John Musolf, 19th season

2014 RECORD: 1-12 (8-6, tied second in B South)

TOP RETURNERS: Jon Meaney (Jr., 2B/OF), Mark Wernoch (Jr.,1B), Darrius Garcia (Jr., C), Ryan Vanderham (Jr., SS), RyanBowker (Sr., 3B/P), Steven Rodriguez (So., 2B), Pat Williams (Sr.,OF), Dan Mills (Sr., OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Joe Felipe (So., P/1B), P.J. Martinez (Jr.,INF/P), Dillon Barry (Jr., P), Matt Miggliaccio (So., OF)

LAKEWOODHEAD COACH: Gene Drumright, 11th season

2014 RECORD: 10-13 (4-10, eighth in B South)

TOP RETURNERS: Harry Brown (Sr., OF/INF), Eric Segui (Sr.,C/INF), Juan Nunez (Sr., 2B), Alex Guzman (Jr., C/INF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: John Vargas (Sr., P/INF), Nicholas Millheiser(Sr., P/OF), Hector Figueroa (Sr., P/OF), David Santiago (Sr., 3B),Jason Holguin (Jr., INF/OF), Javiel Figueroa (Jr., 1B), RaymondAlvarez (Jr., P/INF/OF), Tayon Conover-Hart (So., OF/P), JoelHernandez (So., P/INF/C), Julian Zingler (Fr., P/1B)

Division LineupNIK FRAIM, CATCHER, BARNEGAT – Caught arguably the Shore’s bestpitching staff while also slugging three homers, the third-most of any returningcatcher behind Dan Wondrack of Wall and Rob Napolitano of Howell.

ED ROGAN, FIRST BASE, BARNEGAT – The Bengals’ most reliable RBIguy knocked in 22 last year with a simple approach.

RUSS PETRANTO, 3B/2B, DONOVAN CATHOLIC – One of few players inthe Shore Conference to post both an on-base percentage and sluggingpercentage above .500.

MITCH MERRILL, SHORTSTOP, PINELANDS – Missed his sophomoreseason with an injury and came back as one of the best players in the division.

FRANK ROSE, THIRD BASE, CENTRAL – Injuries slowed his junior year abit, but not that much. Rose clocked four doubles and two homers, whichshould be an appetizer compared to this season.

JON MEANEY, OUTFIELD/2B, MANCHESTER – Meaney emerged as theHawks’ best hitter as a sophomore and will play a bigger role in the field and asa leader this season.

KYLE TAVASKA, OUTFIELD, JACKSON LIBERTY – Speedy player whoshowed a knack for getting on base and handling the outfield despite hisrelative inexperience.

HARRY BROWN, OUTFIELD, LAKEWOOD – Combination of speed and

skill was on full display last year when Brown ripped eight doubles and stole 13bags, all while maintaining a .333 average in a pitching-heavy division.

JARED KACSO, THIRD BASE, BARNEGAT – A two-way threat who flexedhis home run muscle three times last year, including a big one against Group IVchampion Jackson Memorial in the Ocean County Tournament semifinals.

Division RotationANTHONY ARNETH, RHP, CENTRAL – The 6-5 right-hander emerged asthe second banana to Andrew DiPiazza last year, and now he looks to assumethe mantle as the best pitcher in Ocean County.

SEAMUS BRAZILL, RHP, BARNEGAT – Groome’s monster season andCorbett’s postseason run overshadowed a very good campaign by the 6-9 right-hander, who is headed to Hofstra next year.

JOHN CORBETT, RHP, BARNEGAT – Pitched the Bengals to wins in threeof the first four Shore Conference Tournament rounds, including a 2-0 shutoutof Wall in the semifinals.

HOWARD TAYLOR, RHP, JACKSON LIBERTY – Taylor was quietly adriving force in Jackson Liberty’s division title run last year as the No. 2 pitcherbehind current Seton Hall freshman Dan Serreino.

JAKE DOMINGUEZ, RHP, CENTRAL – After a slow start to the year on themound, the Ramapo recruit finished the season strong with a win each overJackson Liberty and Toms River East.

Breakout Players to WatchAARON MCLAUGHLIN, SHORTSTOP, BARNEGAT – The glove and batalready played as a freshman last year and the Rutgers commit is poised to takeanother step as a sophomore.

FRANK GRAZIANO, OF/P, POINT BORO – In two high school years, hehas shown flashes on the mound with strikeouts and at the plate with extra-basepower. Consistency comes with experience.

CHAD ASTEMBORSKI, P, PINELANDS – If there were ever a year forPinelands, this would need to be it, and if there is a pitcher to step up and leadthe staff, it’s the senior Astemborski.

ZACH MANN, RHP, DONOVAN CATHOLIC – Pitched against qualitycompetition down the stretch and should have his confidence going into thisseason.

MARK WERNOCH, 1B, MANCHESTER – The Hawks will lean on theoffense a little more this season, and Wernoch is poised to build on his .260average now that he is an established junior.

/ /22

You might have heard of a division with two defendingco-champions. Now, meet the division with two

defending outright champions. Colts Neck joins Class B Northfresh off a Class A North championship in 2014 and willchallenge a Wall team that went 14-0 in this division last year.Class B North was almost home to three division champions,as Red Bank Catholic moved in from A Central after finishinga game behind St. John Vianney in the standings last year.

In addition to the three perennial contenders at the top, thedivision of champions also has some depth to it, with Oceanreturning a team that won 13 of 15 games prior to its NJSIAATournament loss and Matawan bringing back a significantpart of a nucleus that tied Ocean for second in the divisionlast year and advanced to the Central Jersey Group IIsemifinals. The Huskies are the unestablished name thatcould make some history by making a run to the top, and in adivision where everyone could end up hammering oneanother, that outcome is just one of a number of realisticpossibilities.

COLTS NECKHEAD COACH: Mike Yorke, 16th season

2014 RECORD: 16-6 (11-3, first in Class A North)

TOP RETURNERS: Tyler Kapuscinski (Sr., 1B), JordanGonzalez (Sr., C), Tyler Kay (Sr., RF), Sam DeVitis (Sr., SS),Mike Antico (Jr., CF), Joe Varile (Sr., 3B), Chris Murphy (Sr.,P), Mario Ferraioli (Jr., P), Lou Rondinella (Sr., OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Justin Hanewald (Jr., P), Tim Cavrak(Jr., INF), Andrew Conforti (Jr., OF), Jake McTigue (Jr., OF),Nick Umbro (Jr., INF), Jeremy Slad (Jr., C), Dante Caruso(Jr., OF), Henry Aufiero (Sr., P), Walter Kelso (Sr., P), BryceRichardson (Sr., P), Mike D’Attavio (Jr., P), Chris Laresca(Jr., P), Jonathan Weitzman (So., P/1B)

WALLHEAD COACH: Todd Schmitt, 18th season

2014 RECORD: 21-6 (12-0, first in B North)

TOP RETURNERS: Dan Wondrack (Sr., C), Ryan Orender(Sr., 3B/P), Nick Martinez (Sr., OF), Brendan Barcas (Sr., OF),Charlie Cosenza (Sr., P/INF), Nick Maciejewski (Jr., OF),Christian Carlson (Sr., OF), Regan Dombroski (Sr., P)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Noah Cloney (So., P/SS), JamesLoesch (Jr., C/1B), Mike Nocchi (Jr., P), Connor Metelski (Jr.,P), Mike Yard (Jr., 3B/1B), Joe Castellucia (Jr., INF)

Colts Neck’s Chris Murphy


23

RED BANK CATHOLICHEAD COACH: Buddy Hausmann, 8th season

2014 RECORD: 20-7 (11-3, second in Class A Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Chris Bender (Sr., LF), Tom Merl (Sr., RF),Evan Madigan (Jr., SS), Doug Facendo (Jr., C), Mike Spinelli (Jr.,2B), Mike Ianelli (Sr., 1B), John Poccia (Jr., P), Jack Ipsen (Jr., P),Tom Montano (Sr., P), Griffin Keller (Sr., 2B), Joe Montano (Sr.,OF/P)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Justin Liggett (Jr., P), Jack Smith (Jr., P),Aaron Ahn (So., 3B), Anthony DeRosa (So., 3B/1B/P), Dom Caraballo(So., OF), Nick Ianelli (Sr., P), Eric Klimowicz (Sr., P)

OCEANHEAD COACH: Cip Apicelli, 6th season

2014 RECORD: 19-8 (8-4, tied second in B North)

TOP RETURNERS: Anthony Bartolomei (Sr., 1B/P), BrianKochenash (Jr., SS), Sam Maxwell (Sr., CF/P), Frank Henry (Sr., 2B),Blake Demeter (Sr., P), Jake Talarico (Jr., P/OF), Marcus Blackmon(Sr., OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Denny Galvin (Sr., C), Brian Olesen (Jr., 1B),Marc Chernin (Jr., C), Kenny Pickett (So., OF), Phil Demarco (So.,OF/P), Bo Britton (Sr., OF), Anthony Tedesco (So., C), Tyler Rossback(Jr., 3B), Alec Keezer (So., INF/P), Jon Zimmerman (Sr., P), RobertPiantanida (Sr., 1B), Scott Keller (Sr., OF), Joe Aldarelli (So., OF),Travis Lillie (So., P), J.T. Toomey (Jr., P), Scott Bradley (Jr., P), BradSchoenberger (Sr., P)

MATAWANHEAD COACH: Bobby Carnovsky, 3rd season

2014 RECORD: 14-10 (8-4, tied second in B North)

TOP RETURNERS: Joe Piscopo (Sr., CF), Adam Elliott (Jr., SS/P),Billy Rodriguez (Sr., LF), Nick Smith (Sr., P/1B), Alex Cella (Sr.,3B/OF), Matt Esposito (Sr., 1B), Kyle Chapman (Sr., OF), ColinThompson (Jr., P), Nick Villanueva (Sr., UTIL), Isaiah Phillip (Jr.,OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Dylan Dobbin (Jr., INF), Anthony Hirojo (Jr.,P), Chris Vetter (Jr., C), Jeff Fishetti (Sr., 2B), Jeff Graham (Sr., OF),Brandon Rivera (Jr., 2B/3B/P), Makel Caldwell (Jr., OF)

RED BANK REGIONALHEAD COACH: Nick Tucker, 2nd season

2014 RECORD: 7-17 (3-9, fifth in B North)

TOP RETURNERS: Connor Kelly (Sr., OF), Isaiah Sestito (Sr.,OF/P), Leo DiGuilio (Sr., INF/OF), Ryan Santos (Sr., C), A.J.

Forgione (Sr., P), Nick Massa (Jr., P/INF), Matt Reardon (Jr.,P/INF), Matt Santos (So., P/INF), Drew Cook (Sr., INF)

KEY NEWCOMERS:Marc DeRosa (Sr., P/INF), Jack McLoone (Sr.,P/INF), Derrick Bradley (Jr., C), Claudio LoBracio (Jr., INF/P), ColinYoung (Jr., P/INF), Will Grant (So., INF), Josh Horowitz (So., P), WillWeaver (So., P), Zeke Weston (So., OF)

NEPTUNEHEAD COACH: Kevin Frederick, 1st season

2014 RECORD: 4-11 (2-10, tied sixth in B North)

TOP RETURNERS: James Hand (Sr., C), Hunter Daly (Sr., 1B/P),Matt Jegou (Jr., SS/2B), Peter Marucca (So., 3B/SS), Thomas Hallgring(Sr., 1B), Mike Hand (Jr., OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Justin Tucker (So., LF), Sean Maxcy (Jr., RF),George Barreto (Sr., 2B), Jake Giblin (Jr., CF), Keysan Johnson (Sr.,OF), Ernesto Rodriguez (Jr., 1B), Tyler Schembri (Jr., 2B/3B), ZachKrause (Jr., C), Alon Height (Jr., OF), Kobe Poe (Jr., OF), SeanShannon (Jr., OF)

LONG BRANCHHEAD COACH: John Perri, 4th season

2014 RECORD: 5-17 (2-10, tied sixth in B North)

TOP RETURNERS: Travis Carroll (Sr., 3B), Nick Conklin (Sr., C),Anthony Brier (Sr., 1B), Zach Piatkowski (Sr., OF), Austin Cannon(So., CF), Sean Cuddy (Jr., OF/1B), Joe Montague (Sr., INF),Christian Sanchez (Sr., P), Louis Trezoglou (Sr., P/2B), SaioneWashington (Sr., P/OF), Xavier Chatman (Sr., P/OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Carlos Pacheco (Jr., P), Matt Mincieli (Fr.,INF), Alonzo Rawls (Jr., INF), T.J. Brewer (Fr., P/C/OF), PaulBitterly (Sr., OF), Gaetano Jones (Sr., OF)

Division LineupDAN WONDRACK, CATCHER, WALL – If there were park-adjustednumbers in high school baseball, Wondrack would reap the benefits consideringhe has to (and does) hit a legitimate college home run to clear the fence at hishome park.

TYLER KAPUSCINSKI, FIRST BASE, COLTS NECK – Coaches love theterm and the concept of “a professional at-bat,” and more than any player in theShore Conference, that’s what Kapuscinski is all about.

EVAN MADIGAN, SHORTSTOP, RED BANK CATHOLIC – Slides overfrom second to shortstop this season, where he is already comfortable afterspelling Al Molina last year when Molina pitched.

BRIAN KOCHENASH, SHORTSTOP, OCEAN – On his way to being a four-year starter and the offense is steadily catching up to a very nice glove.

RYAN ORENDER, THIRD BASE, WALL – Last year was a breakout seasonin every respect for Orender, who not only put up the numbers, but came up big

in some crucial spots as both a hitter and a pitcher.

JOE PISCOPO, CENTER FIELD, MATAWAN – Piscopo increased hisbatting average by more than any other Shore Conference player from 2013 to2014 and will look to repeat his breakout season for a Matawan team with highhopes for 2015.

MIKE ANTICO, CENTER FIELD, COLTS NECK – The offensive numbersdon’t jump off the page yet, but the speed and defense are special, which is whySt. John’s scooped up the junior center fielder.

NICK MARTINEZ, OUTFIELD, WALL – A gruesome wrist injury endedMartinez’s season in early May. If he is over the injury, a .400 average is wellwithin the realm of expectation for the senior who led Wall in hitting as asophomore in 2013.

SAM MAXWELL, CENTER FIELD, OCEAN – Another speedy centerfielder, Maxwell is a terrific defender that contributed to the offense from thebottom of the order.

Division RotationCHRIS MURPHY, LHP, COLTS NECK – Dominated out of the bullpen lastyear, and with most of Colts Neck’s rotation gone, it’s Murphy’s time to see ifhe can be even more dominant as a starter.

ADAM ELLIOTT, RHP, MATAWAN – One of the division’s best all-aroundplayers as a sophomore, Elliott is simply one of the most productive two-wayplayers in the Shore Conference as he enters his junior year.

BLAKE DEMETER, RHP, OCEAN – Only two players – Liam Olausen ofMater Dei (27-to-2) and Luca Dalatria (90-to-12) – who threw 15 or moreinnings last year posted a better strikeout-to-walk ratio than the 49-to-10 ratiologged by Demeter.

ANTHONY BARTOLOMEI, RHP, OCEAN – Ryan Lillie went into theseason as the No. 1 pitcher, but by the end of the year, Bartolomei was just asreliable, as was every other starter for that matter.

A.J. FORGIONE, RHP, RED BANK – Walks were a little high (27), butForgione was a workhorse last year who managed to strike out 42 batters in 41innings as the Bucs’ ace.

Breakout Players to WatchSAM DEVITIS, SS, COLTS NECK – The Cougars just need his defense, butthe College of New Jersey recruit likely has a solid all-around season in him ashis senior year beings.

AARON AHN, 3B, RED BANK CATHOLIC – Already committed to Navy,Ahn will get a chance to contribute right away and he could settle in as one theCaseys’ top hitters in his first varsity season.

TRAVIS CARROLL, 3B, LONG BRANCH – After hitting .290 as a junior,Carroll is in line for his best season in his last season after contributing for allfour of his high school years.

JAKE TALARICO, RHP, OCEAN – It’s hard to argue with 10 scorelessinnings, which is what Talarico produced last year with four starters ahead ofhim in the rotation.

LEO DIGUILIO, SS, RED BANK – A .262 batting average on balls in play isbound to get better for a senior who walked 13 times, struck out just eight andpopped a couple of doubles as a junior.

The 2014 season was a wildly successful one for Class ACentral on the whole. Two teams – St. John Vianney

and Shore Regional – won NJSIAA Group championships,and Rumson-Fair Haven advanced to the Central JerseyGroup II championship game. In light of the widespreadsuccess of the division, the race for this year’s title remainswide open, both because of the talent throughout thecollection of teams and due to a significant list of graduationsfrom the division’s success stories.

Two non-public juggernauts have ruled A Central over thelast two years and with the most recent realignment, one ofthem – Red Bank Catholic – is gone to Class B North. St.John Vianney, meanwhile, graduated eight of the nine playersin its starting lineup and two of its top three pitchers, whileShore lost four of its top five hitters and three of its top fourpitchers. The exodus leaves the division race wide open for thepublic schools of the group to jump into the division race,although Vianney remains a real threat because of its depth.

The regular season is anybody’s game and regardless ofhow the division race plays out, there are a at least five teamsin A Central that could make postseason noise in either theShore Conference Tournament, the state tournament, or both.

MANASQUAN

HEAD COACH: Dennis Van Pelt, 6th season

2014 RECORD: 10-12 (6-8, sixth in A Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Max Hawkins (Sr., CF), TyHawkins (Sr., DH), Tyler Bradley (Sr., C), Tanner Cowley(Sr., RF), Matt Edwards (Sr., SS), Jack Sheehan (Jr.,3B/P), Tommy Sheehan (So., P/1B), Matt Paturzo (Sr.,2B), Marc Galvan (Sr., P)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Adam Schreck (So., 3B/OF),Liam McAllister (Sr., P), Austin Castellanos (Sr., P),Kevin Fay (Sr., P), John Masselli (Sr., P)

ST. JOHN VIANNEY

HEAD COACH: Mike Morgan, 9th season

2014 RECORD: 20-7 (12-2, first in A Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Nick Gugliara (Sr., OF), NickDeLuise (Sr., INF), Dan Schirmacher (Sr., P), JeffMcPeek (Sr., P), John Michael Broderick (Sr., P), VinceDurso (Sr., SS), Ciaran Devenney (Jr., C), Chris Perez(Sr., P), Dan Gesior (Sr., P), Brandon DeKovics (Jr.,P/INF), Steve Adami (Sr., OF), Victor Jamandron (Jr.,INF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Zach Richards (Jr., OF), SeanRutkiewicz (Jr., P), Chris Angolia (Sr., INF), ConnorByrne (Sr., P), Ryan Donovan (Sr., OF), Tyler Ford (Sr.,INF), Kevin Callari (Jr., INF/P), Chris Cerniglia (Jr.,INF/P), John Domino (Jr., OF), Nick Ficsor (Jr., INF),Joey Raia (Jr., P), Sebi Bellone (So., INF/C), SeamusCoyle (So., INF), Ryan DeMille (So., P)

RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN

HEAD COACH: Kevin James, 13th season

2014 RECORD: 14-11 (7-7, tied fourth in A Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Morgan Maguire (Sr., P/1B/OF), Max Goione(Sr., SS/P), Kenny Ferrare (Sr., 1B), Shane McCabe (Sr., OF), MickeySchluter (Jr., C), Matt Fahey (So., OF/P)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Jackson Rissucci (Jr., 3B/P), Jake Caruso (Jr.,2B), Sam Chandler (Jr., SS), Teddy Sourlis (Jr., P/1B), Sid Farber (Jr.,P), Max Pfrang (Jr., C/1B), Anthony Mazzucca (Jr., P), Mike Frissor(Jr., P), Connor Dupree (So., INF)

MONMOUTH

HEAD COACH: Paul Crivello, 2nd season

2014 RECORD: 13-13 (7-7, tied fourth in A Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Matt Vincenti (Sr., OF), Marc Marcinak (Sr. OF), Christian Hoplock (Jr., OF/P), Joe Berner (Sr., INF/P), JimGreen (Sr., INF), Tim Reynolds (Sr., OF), Garrhet Rheedy (Jr., C),Christian DeFazio (Sr., P), Corey Shevlin (Sr., P/OF), Bill Herman(Sr., P/INF), Matt Hamilton (Sr., C), Andrew Slinger (Jr., INF/P),John Patti (Sr., INF)

KEY NEWCOMERS:Matt Doucette (Sr., INF), Preston Mellaci (Jr.,OF), Chris Raike (Jr., P), Christian Boujaoude (Jr., INF/OF), SkylarMarvin (Jr., INF), Josh Jackson (So., C/INF), Mark Abrams (So.,OF), Paul Birzin (So., P/INF)

SHORE

HEAD COACH: Patrick O’Neill, 4th season

2014 RECORD: 19-9 (8-6, third in A Central)

TOP RETURNERS: James Kelly (Sr., 3B/P), Sam Parrino (Sr.,OF/P), Matt McCarthy (Sr., 1B), Justin Halper (Sr., OF), Ryan Campi(Sr., OF/P), Kevin Donegan (Sr., OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Alex Mango (Sr., 2B), Matt Recchia (Sr., OF),Dhillon Barbetti (Sr., C/P), Chas Breithoff (Jr., INF/P), DevinMcLaughlin (Jr., INF/P), Michael Mendillo (Jr., OF), MichaelO’Halloran (Jr., SS), Marco Parrino (Jr., OF), Alex Patton (Jr., OF),Matt Pennell (So., INF/P)

HOLMDEL

HEAD COACH: Gene Crimoli, 2nd season

2014 RECORD: 6-15 (3-11, seventh in A Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Tyler Fischer (Jr., SS/P), D.J. Goins (Sr., DH),Tyler Kiss (Sr., 2B/P), Ashwin Jain (Sr., P/OF), Will Van Name (Jr.,C/INF), Erik Alvino (Sr., INF/P), Corey Nuzzi (Sr., P)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Chris Ammirati (So., OF), Jordyn Brosemer(Jr., P), Mike Carranante (Jr., UTIL), Andrew DePinho (Jr., 1B), MattFanelli (So., 3B), Lukas Gudelis (Jr., OF), Sal Monticiollo (Fr., 1B),David Valentino (Sr., 2B)

RARITAN

HEAD COACH: Jeff Struble, 3rd season

2014 RECORD: 5-13 (2-12, eighth in A Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Tom Pulcine (Sr., C), Jon Rodriguez(Jr., OF), Bo Bentley (Jr., 1B), Johnny Guccione (Jr., 3B),Mike Kelleher (Sr., P), Ryan Ruziecki (So., SS), MasonSheehan (Jr., OF), Trevor Zelienski (Sr., C), Mike Lind (Jr.,C)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Joe Cavaluzzi (So., 2B), MattBirdsall (So., OF/P), Nick Principe (Jr., OF), FrankieDeVirgilio (Sr., 1B/DH), Bill Hutchins (Jr., DH), MattWotojwicz (So., INF), Ken Friend (So., OF), ZacJohnston (Fr., INF/P)

Division LineupTYLER BRADLEY, CATCHER, MANASQUAN – Division Icatching prospect (Furman) with standout defensive tools and achance to have a career year with the bat as the Warriors leadoffhitter.

BO BENTLEY, FIRST BASE, RARITAN – Slugged .480 as asophomore and part-time starter for a young Raritan team.

TYLER FISCHER, SHORTSTOP, HOLMDEL – After puttingup one of the better offensive seasons by a sophomore, Fischercould also be an impact pitcher for the Hornets.

MAX GOIONE, SHORTSTOP, RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN –Siena College recruit is one of the Shore’s better returningshortstops after posting a .972 OPS as a junior.

JACK SHEEHAN, THIRD BASE, MANASQUAN – LikeFischer, Sheehan was a top offensive player in the conferencewho has blossomed on the mound over the offseason.

MATT VINCENTI, OUTFIELD, MONMOUTH – One of thebest returning outfielders in the Shore Conference, Vincenti


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Manasquan sophomore Tommy Sheehan

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enters the season eight doubles shy of Monmouth’s all-time career record.

MAX HAWKINS, CENTER FIELD, MANASQUAN – Monmouth Universityrecruit offers speed, contact and defense and will likely tap into some morepower during his senior season.

CHRISTIAN HOPLOCK, OUTFIELD, MONMOUTH – One of the breakoutsophomores in the Shore Conference last year, Hoplock returns to anchor thelineup while looking to step up as a pitcher for the Falcons.

TY HAWKINS, DESIGNATED HITTER, MANASQUAN – Smooth-swinging left-hander hit .356 last year and will clean up for a deep Manasquanoffense this season.

Division RotationMORGAN MAGUIRE, RHP, RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN – An Old Dominionrecruit on the mound, Maguire’s offense actually overshadowed his pitching lastyear when he posted a Shore Conference-best 1.585 OPS.

DAN SCHIRMACHER, RHP, ST. JOHN VIANNEY – While Justin Chinearned the headlines for his postseason pitching, Schirmacher was steady allyear (2.51 ERA) and effective in postseason relief.

TOMMY SHEEHAN, LHP, MANASQUAN – Sheehan (Notre Dame) was thefirst major Shore Conference recruit from the Class of 2017 to commit and it’seasy to see why: He struck out 45 in 30 innings with a high-80’s fastball fromthe left side.

JAMES KELLY, RHP, SHORE – Another Monmouth University recruit,Kelly pitched much better in 2014 than his 2-4 record would indicate, and hedelivered a winning performance in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I finalagainst New Egypt.

MARC GALVAN, RHP, MANASQUAN – Signed to pitch at ManhattanCollege, Galvan gives the Warriors one of the better No. 2 pitchers in theconference and could even end up the No. 1 after striking out 29 in 26 2/3innings as a junior.

Breakout Players to WatchRYAN CAMPI, OUTFIELD, SHORE – Two of his three hits last year wentfor extra bases, so expect some power numbers now that Campi is in a full-timerole.

RYAN RUZIECKI, SHORTSTOP, RARITAN – Offered a glimpse at hispotential with a home run as a freshman last year and now has a full-time job atshortstop as a sophomore.

JACKSON RISSUCCI, 3B/P, RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN – One of a number ofjuniors who Rumson will look to for production to go with Morgan Maguire andMax Goione.

JOHN MICHAEL BRODERICK, RHP, ST. JOHN VIANNEY – Struck out12 and walked four in 14 innings last year and picked up three wins in theprocess. There are plenty of open innings to be had for Vianney and Broderickshould pick up a lot of them if he performs like he did last year.

MATT EDWARDS, SHORTSTOP, MANASQUAN – Led Manasquan withtwo home runs last year and a little more contact would make Edwards one ofthe Shore’s better offensive shortstops.

Jo in TheShore Sports Network Team Today!

Interested in joining our team and thinkyou have what it takes to be coveringsports in the Shore Conference for ShoreSports Network? We are looking for localwriters interested in covering sports likeLacrosse, Baseball, Football, Basketball,Soccer, Swimming, Track, Ice Hockeyand more as part of our newspaper and

our website (www.shoresportsnetwork.com).Grab your chance to appear regularly inThe Shore Sports Network by-weeklypublication and posted onwww.shoresportsnetwork.com whilehelping us recognize more athletes andbring more stories to Shore Conferencesports fans. This is your chance to

become a regular contributor to agrowing business on the cutting edge ofcovering sports in Monmouth and OceanCounty.Just contact Managing EditorScott Stump @[email protected]

/ /26

The 2014 season was another year of the Roses in theShore Conference Class B Central as St. Rose

dominated to the tune of a 14-0 division record. St. Rose didnot do as well outside the division, but the Roses did representthe division well in an extra-inning loss to Christian BrothersAcademy in the Monmouth County Tournament and aregular-season win over St. John Vianney.Winning B Central is an expectation for St. Rose and this

year is going to be no different, with the Purple Rosesreturning as much or talent than any other contender.

ST. ROSEHEAD COACH: Chris LeMore, 1st season2014 RECORD: 17-7 (14-0, first in B Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Travis Cloney (Sr., OF/P), Johnny Kussmaul(Sr., OF/P), Kyle Missry (Sr., C/1B), J.P. Traynor (So., SS), MikeGowen (Jr., OF/P), Jason Criscuolo (Sr., P), Patric Fullman S r . ,P/UTIL), Brendan Hueth (So., OF/P), Brandon Mology (So., P/2B)KEY NEWCOMERS: Tim Pannuzzo (Sr., P), Ryan Sharfenberg (Sr.,P), Tanner Long (Jr., 1B), Austin Dave (So., 1B), Nick DelRusso (So.,C/2B), Joe Volpe (So., 3B/2B), John Crowley (Fr., P/OF), RileyMaypother (Fr., P/INF)

MATER DEI PREPHEAD COACH: Pat Riddell, 11th season2014 RECORD: 13-9 (12-2, second in B Central)TOP RETURNERS: Vincenzo Mezzacappa (Sr., OF/C), PatricDonohue (Sr., 2B/OF), Joe Ruth (Jr., C/P), Liam Olausen (Sr., P/1B),Cole Hardy (Jr., 2B/OF), Ruben Rodriguez (Sr., SS), Vinny Stanziale(So., P/3B)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Ryan Fanner (Sr., OF), Matt Bender (Sr., 1B),Nick Roditis (Jr., P/OF), Kyle Dowlen (So., 3B/P), Nick Massaro (Jr.,C/1B)

POINT PLEASANT BEACHHEAD COACH: Angelo Fiore, 2nd season2014 RECORD: 9-13 (7-7, fourth in B Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Antonio Garcia (Sr., OF), Mike Frauenheim(Sr., OF), Geno Antognoli (Sr., OF/P), John VanSchoick (Jr., 3B/P),John Daly (Sr., OF/P), Kevin Donnelly (So., 1B/P), Tanner Smith (Jr.,OF), Ryan Franzoni (Jr., C), Trevor Thomas (Sr., INF), Joe Delgrippo(Jr., INF), Ian Gaynor (Jr., OF), Ryan Craig (So., OF), Roddy Rupp(So., OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Connor Prima (So., OF/P), John Nista (Fr.,INF/P), Jason Bowers (So., INF/P), Zach Schaller (Sr., OF), BlakeTaylor (Sr., 1B), Scott Smith (Sr., OF)

KEANSBURGHEAD COACH: Brian Kmak, 17th season2014 RECORD: 11-10 (10-4, third in B Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Jim McAteer (Sr., OF/P), Ian Terry (Jr. SS/P), Austin Blum (Jr., 1B/P), Gannon Meyer (Jr., CF/P) MattGibney (So., INF/P)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Joe Osterbye (Fr., C/P), Justin Alessi (Fr., 2B),Tyrell Wilson (Sr., OF/P)

KEYPORTHEAD COACH: Kyle Keelen, 4th season2014 RECORD: 6-12 (6-8, fifth in B Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Jake Caverly (Sr., OF), Kyle Mitchell (Jr., 3B),Christian Smith (So., SS), Steven Chandler (Jr., UTIL), Kyle Johnson(So., 1B), Shane Chandler (So., OF/P)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Rob Hila (Sr., C/P), Ken Harrigan (Jr., OF/P),Jackson Aumack (So., 2B)

RANNEYHEAD COACH: Glenn Slocum, 1st season2014 RECORD: 2-13 (1-13, eighth in B Central)

TOP RETURNERS: John Mejia (Sr., P/1B), James Geraghty (Jr.,SS/P), Max Godek (Jr., 3B/OF), Chris Weiland (Jr., 3B/P), CoreyNatofsky (Jr., 3B/OF/P), Prakhar Nair (Sr., LF), Suraj Chaudhary(Sr., OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Luke Price (Fr., C), Alex Godek (Fr., 2B),Kiran Shah (Fr., CF), Jerome Cohan (Jr., RF)

HENRY HUDSONHEAD COACH: Vinnie Whitehead, 3rd season2014 RECORD: 5-12 (4-10, sixth in B Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Kyle Rauen (Sr., INF/P), Alonso Olson (Sr., C), Brendan Carlstrom (So., P/INF/OF), Ryan Doelger (So., INF/P/OF), SteveStockton (Jr., INF), Tom Colantino (So., OF/P), Tim Belicose (Sr., INF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Jack Slocum (So., OF), Joe Vamvakidis (Sr.,INF/OF)

ASBURY PARKHEAD COACH: Johnny Grasso, 9th season2014 RECORD: 3-13 (2-12, seventh in B Central)

TOP RETURNERS: Jahmel Dixon (Jr., 1B/C). Jarrod Fletcher (Sr.,OF), Keshaun Samuels (Sr., SS/3B), Calvin Simmons-Carter (So., OF/1B),Sal Swain (Sr., UTIL), Matt Hallman (Jr., P), Keith White (Jr., OF),

Vujzuan Medler (So., OF)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Anthony Fraser (Fr., OF), Henry McGee (So.,2B/P), Casey McGinnis (Jr., P/2B), Quaimere Mohammed (Fr.,SS/3B), Kyrie Moore (Fr., OF/1B), Devin Nash-McGee (Fr., CF), LuisRodriguez (Fr., C), Milton Simmons (Fr., OF), Tylil Tully (Fr., 2B),Kevin Reeves (Fr., UTIL)

Division LineupJOE RUTH, CATCHER, MATER DEI PREP – Slugging catcher who went6-for-18 with three doubles and pitched against Ocean, St. John Vianney andMonmouth after sitting 30 days following a transfer from Keyport.

KYLE MISSRY, FIRST BASE/CATCHER, ST. ROSE – Finished third in theShore Conference in slugging percentage (.796) and returns as part of a provencollection of hitters for the Purple Roses.

IAN TERRY, SHORTSTOP, KEANSBURG – A good athlete at shortstop,Terry showed some power last year and could be in line to take a step forwardoffensively this season.

J.P. TRAYNOR, SHORTSTOP, ST. ROSE – Hit better than .400 as afreshman while playing a quality shortstop for the division’s top team.

KYLE MITCHELL, THIRD BASE, KEYPORT – Emerged as one of the RedRaiders’ most reliable hitters by the end of the season and will anchor the lineupthis year.

TRAVIS CLONEY, OUTFIELD, ST. ROSE – A versatile player who alsoplayed some shortstop, Cloney led St. Rose with 10 doubles and 26 runs scored.

ANTONIO GARCIA, OUTFIELD, POINT BEACH – Set the table for theGarnet Gulls all season long and blasted a home run and four doubles as well.

JOHNNY KUSSMAUL, OUTFIELD, ST. ROSE – Named an All-Shoreoutfielder by the coaches and Shore Sports Network thanks to gaudy overallnumbers and standout performances against St. Rose’s toughest opponents.

VINCENZO MEZZACAPPA, OUTFIELD/CATCHER, MATER DEI PREPVersatile athlete and sparkplug for the Seraphs hit .359 with two home runslast year.

Division RotationJASON CRISCUOLO, RHP, ST. ROSE – Went 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA as ajunior and will get the ball in big games for the Purple Roses.

PATRIC FULLMAN, RHP, ST. ROSE – Threw a five-inning no-hitter lastseason and finished with a 2.91 ERA last season.

JOHN MEJIA, LHP, RANNEY – Although he gave up some runs (3.95 ERA),Mejia kept his walks down (nine) and struck out 27 in 28 1/3 innings.

JOHN VANSCHOICK, RHP, POINT BEACH – The Garnet Gulls haveleaned on VanSchoick for important innings since he was a freshman, and hehas been through plenty of big games already.

BRENDAN CARLSTROM, RHP, HENRY HUDSON – Carlstrom took hislumps as a freshman, but he was a reliable source of innings and should onlyget better from here.

Breakout Players to WatchVINNY STANZIALE, RHP, MATER DEI PREP – Tossed 10 impressiveinnings in which he posted an ERA and WHIP under 1.00 and struck out sixbatters while walking only one.

KEVIN DONNELLY, LHP/1B, POINT BEACH – Another sophomore arm,Donnelly was also solid in a small sample: 1.71 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 17 1/3innings.

STEVEN CHANDLER, UTIL, KEYPORT – A source of speed last season,Chandler will get a chance to add more offense to his game this year while alsobuilding on a solid showing on the mound.

BRENDAN HUETH, OUTFIELD, MATER DEI – The younger brother offormer All-Shore outfielder Chris Hueth, Brendan is a good athlete who, alongwith Traynor, is part of a solid sophomore group for the Roses.

JAHMEL DIXON, OUTFIELD, ASBURY PARK – Played well last season asa sophomore, and now Dixon will be the Blue Bishops player other teams haveto worry about.


St. Rose's Travis Cloney

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t was another great send-off for the seniors to cap theShore Conference basketball season at this year’s ShoreBasketball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Games onMarch 25th at Wall High School.II

A Memorab le Dayo f B a s k e t b a l lBy S c o t t S t ump – Manag i n g Ed i t o r

Photos by:


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Documents

Shore Sports Network Journal 2015 Spring Preview