By Wayne Witkowski
The Carroll family name is back on the lineup card for New Egypt High School’s baseball team.
Matt Carroll, son of longtime former New Egypt coach and athletic director Rich Carroll, takes over the Warriors program that is looking to bounce back from an eight-win season under Owen Stewart, who left to take a position at Carteret High School.
“I played for the team for four years,” said Matt Carroll, who was a catcher for the team when his dad coached there. “There’s a lot of history — people involved with the program who went on to administrative positions at the school.”
It helped establish the younger Carroll, who also had his first season as boys soccer coach at New Egypt last fall, as a good fit for a program and with players that he already knows so well.
After a slow start last fall, New Egypt’s boys soccer team finished strongly, going 5-1-1 in seven games before losing in the second round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group I tournament to Metuchen High School, 1-0, to finish 8-10-1.
Eight players return to the baseball team and four were graduated off last year’s team.
Longtime assistant coach Mike Kibildis is back, and Dan O’Reilly is new to the staff as junior varsity coach.
Jim Deanni is pitching coach, and he has four good arms to work with: seniors Tim Morero and Chris Tereszyczyn and junior Nate Peacock pitched last year and sophomore Kyle Frimel is new to the staff. Peacock, who also is back as starting center fielder, is the only left-hander on the pitching staff.
All throw the standard fastball-curve combination and some have a third pitch, but Carroll said their order in the rotation will be better determined after the team scrimmaged Henry Hudson Regional High School and Delsea Regional High School March 21 and 22, respectively. They’ve had two scrimmages already, having the better of play against Pemberton Township High School and losing closely to Donovan Catholic High School March 19.
There’s an experienced catcher for the pitching staff in three-sport standout Gino Tortoriello, a senior.
The Warriors open their season at home April 1 against the Academy of Urban Leadership Charter High School in Perth Amboy before embarking on their Burlington County Scholastic League Freedom Division schedule. New Egypt plays Willingboro High School in its next game April 5.
“They’re a pretty dedicated bunch of guys who like each other and hang around a lot together, even after practices, so I often have to tell them to go home,” Carroll said with a laugh. “The key is to bring the team together and for them to play together. They’ve progressed pretty well. We just have to get them on the same page.”
Carroll said it’s early to critique the defense because the tricky late-winter weather limited the team’s outdoor workouts. Although he said he’s still shuffling around some players at different positions, Carroll at this point likes the infield of junior Mickey Horner at first base, sophomore Neal Flogel at second base, Tereszyczyn and sophomore Anthony Burr sharing time at shortstop (depending on whether Tereszyczyn is pitching) and senior Liam Snell at third base.
Junior Jordan Bendick is playing in left field, while senior Carmen Miraglia and Frimel are sharing innings in right field.
