By Jimmy Allinder
While players’ statistics are important when crafting a starting lineup, Edison High School baseball coach Vinnie Abene doesn’t believe they should be the only criteria.
What is important, he said, is how much trust the coaching staff has in their ability to react to situations at the plate and in the field, as well as just plain old instinct the job will get done.
That formula worked in the season opener April 1 when the Eagles defeated Piscataway Township High School, 5-3. The second game the day after was rained out and will be rescheduled. Last year’s workhorse, senior right-hander Justin Hernandez, was impressive in his 2016 debut, yielding one run, striking out 10 and recording the victory. Senior left-hander Brandon Radd pitched two innings of relief to earn the save.
That combination will often be called on by Abene this spring, as Edison hopes to improve on last year’s 13-17 overall record, including 6-10 in the extremely competitive Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Red Division. The Eagles will also utilize four other seniors on the mound: Nick Peterson, Kyle Telesnick, Christian DeCastro and John Redman, who are all right-handers.
The starting nine is also stocked with seniors. John Zanfordino (third base) hit .250 a year ago but hopes to improve his average this spring. The top returning hitter, Lenin Gomez (.280, three home runs, 20 RBIs) is behind the plate and will be one of the team’s vocal leaders.
They are joined in the order by three outfielders: Peterson, Radd and Santos Cruz. Telesnick also sees outfield duty along with Brett Douches, who will play in the infield as well. Mike Fogarty and Hernandez will play in the infield and are joined by Redman at first base. Redman showed power in the season opener by launching a home run. Seniors Javier Urquia (first base) and Luca Ogletree (outfield) are the top reserves.
“Our No. 1 priority this season is to become a team,” Abene said. “We will try to keep the baseball part of it as simple as possible.”
Edison’s next back-to-back games are against Red Division opponent Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen April 6 and 7.
Metuchen
The Metuchen High School baseball team is hoping to top last year’s 11-13 overall record and 5-7 mark in the GMC Blue Division. The Bulldogs opened the season April 1 with a 5-1 loss to Carteret High School and looked to rebound against New Brunswick High School in another home-and-home series April 5 and 6.
The Bulldogs’ record a year ago is deceptive in that they often outhit opponents but couldn’t win close games. The lineup is young and inexperienced, and runs may be harder to come by this spring.
The top returning hitter is junior catcher Kyle Harry, who batted a hefty .500. The rest of the lineup includes senior outfielder Owen Krause (.361, 22 runs), junior outfielder Brandon Iskandar (.389), senior outfielder Andrew Brobowski, sophomore third baseman Michael Lapczynski, junior shortstop Alex Brooks, junior second baseman Sam Johnson and Matt Coscia.
Also expected to see action are sophomore first baseman Matt Volpe, junior first baseman John Szpara, junior designated hitter/first baseman Christian Dulin and sophomore catcher Evan Derecter.
Junior outfielder Michael Stoms and senior catcher Joseph Hronich are the top reserves.
Metuchen will also have to overcome a lack of pitching depth. Harry returns after posting a 3-3 record a year ago and is joined by Brooks, who was 2-1. The rest of the staff is relatively untested. It includes senior left-hander Thomas Annaruma, senior right-hander Sean Rivera, Johnson (right-hander), junior right-hander Brendan Smith, junior left-hander Mark Mastromonoca, Lapczynski (right-hander), sophomore Sean McCadden (right-hander) and Volpe (right-hander).
The Bulldogs are coached by Leo Danik, who enters his sixth season at the helm. Through the years, the veteran, in his second stint as head coach, believes it’s the responsibility of his staff to develop players as athletes and people.
“We take a hands-on approach in making corrections in a positive way and encouraging our players to strive to be the best they can be,” he said. “We try to be more than baseball coaches. We are educators and firmly believe that enabling our players to reach their full potential will ultimately help the team.”
