Shore Sports Network High School Sports 5-14-14 Vol-VI Issue-9

May 14, 2014 Volume-VI Issue-9

2

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

The first thing fans, players, coaches & parents want to know after the big game is always,

�Is this going to be on

�

Shore Sports Network has established itself as a leader in scholastic sports coverage in Monmouth and Ocean counties, providing more video highlight clips, in-depth reporting, feature stories and regular updates than ANY OTHER OUTLET in the area.

Shore Sports Network Web Site Features

n Get Video Highlights of all the important games that Shore Conference fans will be talking about.

n Catch up on the action you might have missed

n Watch video clips of everything from the action early in the event to the big finish as well as video interviews with various athletes. n www.shoresportsnetwork.com is the most visited sports site in the Shore Conference during the scholastic year n Follow us on Twitter (over 16,000 followers) and Facebook, we keep fans posted on the latest scores and news n Established leading portal for local high school coverage.

Featured in This Issue

SteveMeyer

Director High School Division smeyer@allshoremedia.com 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0

ScottStump

Managing Editor

stump @a llshor emed ia.co m

Senior

Content

Providers

MattManley // Mmanley21@gmail.com B o b B a d d e r s / / badders@allshoremedia.com

Shore Sports Network is published by: T o w n s q u a r e M e d i a 8 Robbins Street Toms River, NJ 08753 Copyright 2014 Townsquare Media All rights reserved Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Shore Sports Network is prohibited

3

3 Shore Grads Get Shot at the NFL

4 6

Dalatri Remains Unbeatable for CBA Gonzalez Helps Colts Neck Win a Classic

12 14 15

4-PEAT 8-10 RUMSON SCT CHAMPIONS

DeSclafani Making MLB Debut with Marlins A Coaching Legend Retires at Keyport Arneth Pitches Central to First OCT Title Since 1986

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

3

3 Shore Grads Get a Shot at Their NFL Dream Raritan Grad Bennett Jackson Drafted by Giants

N otre Dame defensive back Bennett Jackson is coming home.

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

The Raritan graduate was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round of Saturday’s NFL Draft. The Hazlet native was taken with the 11th pick of the round and the 187th pick overall to become the only Shore Conference graduate drafted this year and the first since Brick Memorial graduate Garrett Graham, a tight end who played at Wisconsin, was taken in the fourth round by the Houston Texans in 2010.

Jackson was a captain for the Fighting Irish as a senior, starting all 13 games at cornerback and finishing fourth on the team with 64 tackles along with five tackles for a loss and a pair of interceptions. Jackson was a two-time, first-team All-Shore selection as a wide receiver at Raritan, where he also was a special teams standout as a returner and kicker. He was Notre Dame’s special teams player of the year as a true freshman and switched to defensive back during his career with the Irish, who played in the BCS Championship game against Alabama during his junior season.

Carson, Simonson Sign With NFL Teams as Undrafted Free Agents

A

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

pair of former Shore Conference standouts, Penn State linebacker Glenn Carson and Assumption College tight end Scott Simonson, will get a chance to pursue their NFL dream after signing as undrafted free agents following the conclusion of this weekend’s NFL Draft.

Carson, who starred at Southern, has signed with the Arizona Cardinals. As a senior for the Nittany Lions, Carson led the team in tackles with 90, including four tackles for a loss and a sack. Carson was a two-time, first-team All-Shore selection as a linebacker at Southern, where he led the Rams to their first NJSIAA sectional final and a school-record 10 wins as a senior.

ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE

2014 ALL-STAR GAME DAY PROGRAM Be part of a tradition at the Jersey Shore that reaches a large

and enthusiastic Lacrosse audience from Monmouth and Ocean counties by having your business featured in this year's 2014 Shore Lacrosse Coaches Senior & Youth All-Star Game official game day program. The detailed game program put together by the Shore Sports Network staff not only recounts the past season and highlights this year's group of All-Stars, it also serves as a keepsake for all the players, coaches and fans involved. Not only is the program a chance for your business to reach a wide and passionate audience, it is a chance to become a permanent part of a lasting memory for many members of the Shore Conference Lacrosse community.

CALL TODAY 732-233-4460

4

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

Colts Ride Dalatri Into the MCT Final Following the sixth complete-game effort of his

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

sophomore season Monday against Freehold Township in the Monmouth County Tournament semifinals at FirstEnergy Park, Christian Brothers Academy sophomore Luca Dalatri sang the praises of the Patriots lineup as though they figured out the secret to hitting him.

Whatever Freehold Township figured out hardly made a dent in Dalatri’s still spotless armor, as the sophomore improved to 7-0 and the Colts scored three runs over the first two innings to give their ace enough support in a 3-2 win over the Patriots.

Dalatri allowed one earned run on five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out nine in the victory, giving him 63 strikeouts against five walks on the season.

The earned run he allowed in the top of the sixth was just the fourth against Dalatri this year, two of which were scored by

Freehold Township.

“They made some really good adjustments and overall, they had the best approach I’ve seen from any team this year,” said Dalatri, whose second match-up of the season Monday was the first time a team has faced him twice this year. “There was no pitch they didn’t hit. At some point during the game, all of my pitches got hit pretty hard, which made me really focus on locating and mixing things up to keep them off balance.”

Although he allowed a ringing double to Patriots catcher Joe Silvestrone with two out in the first inning, Dalatri enjoyed his most dominant stretch of the game during the opening two frames, when he struck out five of the first seven men who came to the plate. Dalatri had not pitched since an 11-0 win over Wall on May 3, giving him eight days of rest between starts.

“I’ve pitched on some nice fields while playing travel ball, but nothing like this, obviously,” Dalatri said of pitching on the minor league diamond in Lakewood.

“Needless to say, I was pretty amped up, especially with the long break between starts. I felt really good getting warmed up, and I think I was just anxious to get back

CBA sophomore pitcher Luca Dalatri

VOLUME-VI on the mound.”

With Luca on the mound, though, we know if we can put up some early runs, he’s going to make them hold up.”

As its hitters did during the last time they faced Dalatri in a 4-1 CBA win on April 28, Freehold Township tried to attack him early in the count, which worked for Silvestrone in the first. The last four of the Patriots’ hits, however, came from behind in the count.

The Colts tacked on another run in the second when Griffin Arnott reached on an error, stole two bases and scored on another wild pitch by Talbott.

“We’ve been taking too many pitches at the plate and as a coaching staff, we’re trying to get guys to look for their pitch early in the at-bat and hit it when it comes,” said CBA coach Marty Kenney, who lent Dalatri his No. 7 jersey when Dalatri told Kenney he forgot his. “Maybe we’re overthinking things a bit too much up there, and I think that’s probably costing us in a few other areas as well.”

CBA scored two runs in the first, when Brandon Martorano and Pate Papcun both singled and first baseman John Moschella drove in Martorano with an RBI single to left that gave CBA a 1-0 lead. Papcun moved to third and scored on two wild pitches by Freehold Township starter Chris Talbott.

“We’ve talked a lot about our approach lately, and we want to come out aggressive early in the game to take advantage of early opportunities to score,” Moschella said. “We’ve had a lot of games where we score runs early and stop, which is kind of what happened today.

CBA sophomore pitcher Luca Dalatri

Talbott settled into the game after the first two innings and finished by allowing just one hit the rest of the way. In six innings, the senior righthander allowed two earned

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

5

runs on four hits and three walks – one intentional – while striking out four.

Nick Cardace drove in both Freehold Township runs on two RBI singles, the first in the fourth and the second in the sixth to cut the Patriots deficit to 3-2. Talbott also went 1-for-3 and scored both runs thanks to two stolen bases.

CBA will play in Wednesday night’s final at FirstEnergy Park against No. 3 Colts Neck, the second of at least three meetings between the Class A North teams. The Colts entered Monday with a three-game losing streak, all with pitchers other than Dalatri on the mound. With the sophomore ace starting, CBA is 7-0 this year and without him on the mound, the Colts are just 4-5. CBA will send Mike Garvey (2-1, 2.02 ERA) to the mound Wednesday night.

“Our other pitchers haven’t been that bad, it’s just we’ve made mistakes,” Kenney said. “It’s not even that we’ve made a lot of mistakes, we’ve just made costly ones at the wrong time. That hasn’t happened when Luca is on the mound, so hopefully we can carry some of the things we did today defensively and bring them in the championship game.”

by:

Matt Manley www.shoresportsnetwork.com

6

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

Cougars Walk Off in 11 vs. Eagles C

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

olts Neck junior catcher Jordan Gonzalez had four chances prior to his final at-bat of the game to end a Monmouth County Tournament semifinal marathon between his Cougars and Shore Conference Class A North rival Middletown South Monday night at FirstEnergy Park – twice on offense and twice on defense.

After helplessly watching two wild pitches go by him during a furious seventh-inning rally by Middletown South, then twice failing to drive in the winning run with two out, Gonzalez stopped worrying about coming up short and got back to doing what he and his teammates have done all year in close games.

Gonzalez delivered a two-out, game-winning single to the warning track in left field in the bottom of the 11th inning to score junior Tyler Kapuscinski from third, ending a three-hour-and-49-minute marathon that saw Colts Neck prevail, 6-5. Colts Neck is now 8-2 in one-run games this season with three of those wins coming at the expense of Middletown South.

“These are our kind of games,” Gonzalez said of the extrainning affair, which was also delayed one hour at the start due to rain. “We’ve been in these situations all season long, and we have learned to embrace it. Even when things aren’t going our way and it seems like we’re going to lose, we always believe

we’re going to find a way.”

Colts Neck will not only play No. 8 Christian Brothers Academy for the MCT championship Wednesday night at FirstEnergy Park, but will also play the Colts the following day at CBA with a chance to win the outright Class A North title.

Middletown South stormed back from a 5-0, seventh-inning deficit by scoring five runs on only one hit in the top of the seventh against Colts Neck’s bullpen, which has been among the most effective relief corps in the Shore Conference this season. The final two of those runs scored on wild pitches by submarine-throwing senior righthander Robbie Warendorf that Gonzalez could not stop.

“It takes a few pitches to get used to tracking the ball when it’s coming from down there, especially after catching an over-the-top righty and a three-quarter lefty,” Gonzalez said. “But I pride myself on playing good defense, and I was disappointed I couldn’t help (Warendorf) out.”

Gonzalez also struck out with a runner on second and two out in the bottom of the seventh inning and popped to second base with the bases loaded for the final out of the ninth before getting one more opportunity in the 11th inning. Kapuscinski smoked a two-out triple to the wall in right-center field and Gianni Magliaro and center fielder Mike Antico were intentionally walked in front of him to give him another shot to end it.

“The first two times I got up with a chance to win it, I was so consumed with making sure I didn’t mess up,” Gonzalez said. “That last at-bat, I went up looking to win the game. I wasn’t worried about failing. I just had it in my mind that I was going to come through.”

Colts Neck senior pitcher Gianni Magliaro

VOLUME-VI After working the count to 2-and-2 against Middletown South reliever and starting shortstop Kyle Brey, Gonzalez got what he was looking for.

“I was looking fastball all the way, and I was lucky he gave it to me,” Gonzalez said. “If he had thrown the curve, I probably would have looked pretty bad.”

Antico made a spectacular defensive play in center field in the top of the 11th to preserve the tie and allow for Gonzalez’s heroics. With Middletown South center fielder Nolan Pereless on second base and one out, Eagles left fielder Joe Timmins lofted a fly ball to deep leftcenter field. Antico, shaded toward the right-center gap at the beginning of the play, closed on the ball over his head and in the gap and caught it with a full-extension dive over his right shoulder.

Although he missed some earlier chances to end the game, Gonzalez also combined with Warendorf to extend the game with a hustle play in the top of the eighth inning. Warendorf again threw a pitch past Gonzalez with a runner on third base, but this time, Gonzalez blocked it enough to slow it down. The junior backstop ran the ball down and threw it to Warendorf, who tagged Zach deRocco on the left shoulder as he blocked the plate.

“I didn’t even see the tag,” Gonzalez said. “I just ran to the ball as quick as I could and just threw it toward the plate. I didn’t even see if (Robbie) was there.”

Middletown South coach Ryan Spillane argued the call with the home plate umpire and was eventually ejected.

“I saw from where I was standing (in the third-base coach’s box) that he (Warendorf) tagged him up around the head and he (deRocco) slid underneath it,” Spillane said. “I had some issues with the strike zone all game and there was some build-up there. I went and argued the call and as I was walking back to the dugout, he threw me out.”

Prior to Middletown South’s seventh-inning surge, the Eagles had no answer for Magliaro, Colts Neck’s starter on Monday. The senior

right-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and wound up allowing one earned run on one hit and four walks while striking out nine in six-plus innings. He walked Middletown South second baseman Johnny Zega to lead off the seventh and at 105 pitches, he gave way to left-handed closer Chris Murphy.

“I knew I pretty much had to get every batter out in the seventh to stay in the game,” Magliaro said. “Whatever the decision is, when I come out of the game with the lead, I always feel like we’ve got the win. The way our bullpen has been this year, it’s usually automatic, but give Middletown South credit for battling back.”

After blowing his first save of the season Monday against Freehold Township, Murphy pitched a perfect seventh with two strikeouts to save Tuesday’s win over Middletown South. Monday night, he walked two batters to load the bases and after a strikeout for the first out of the inning, he balked in the first run of the rally. Murphy settled down to strike out Pereless – the only time Pereless (1-for-2 with three walks and broke up Magliaro’s no-hit bid in the sixth) was retired all night – but walked Timmins to reload the bases and gave up an infield single to third baseman Tom Mariniello.

With Brey coming up as the third of three straight left-handed hitters, Murphy stayed in to face the Eagles shortstop and hit him on the helmet with a curveball on a 3-and-2 pitch to force home the third run of the inning.

Warendorf then came into the game and jumped ahead of Andrew Wisialko, 0-and-2, before uncorking the consecutive wild pitches, the second of which allowed pinch-runner Tom Gannon to race home with the tying run.

“I am really proud of the way our guys fought back,” Spillane said.

“We really couldn’t do much of anything against their first pitcher (Magliaro). He was outstanding, but we continued to battle, we got him out of the game and then we just kept fighting to keep the game going. Colts Neck’s a quality team, so to be able to come up with five runs in the seventh to keep the game going showed a lot of heart.”

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

7

Colts Neck took command of the game with five runs in the bottom of the second inning against Middletown South starter Austin Markmann, who entered the game having pitched 17 consecutive shutout innings, including two 1-0 shutouts in the MCT against St. John Vianney in the first round and Middletown North in the quarterfinals.

Colts Neck third baseman Kyle Murrin chased home the first run of the game with an RBI fielder’s choice ground out to second base.

Left fielder Guiseppe Varile and shortstop Paul Marinello followed with back-to-back RBI singles with the bases loaded to make it 3-0.

Second baseman Sam DeVitis then walked with the bases loaded to force in a run and Kapuscinski capped the scoring in the second with another RBI single.

Kapuscinski led the Colts Neck offense Monday by going 3-for-5 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI. Antico also went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored to go with his defensive play, while Sam DeVitis stole two bases in a 1-for-5 game with one RBI.

With CBA’s 3-2 win over Freehold Township on Monday behind sophomore Luca Dalatri, the Colts are now 7-0 with their ace on the mound and 4-5 in all of their other games. Dalatri will not be available in those games after throwing 96 pitches in seven innings on Monday.

“It’s going to be a fun couple days, but the first thing we have to worry about is Wednesday,” Magliaro said. “We’re not going to look ahead to Thursday because we have a championship right in front of us. Hopefully we can win that and then we can worry about winning A North.”

by:

Matt Manley www.shoresportsnetwork.com

8

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

own by two goals in the first five minutes of the most important game of their playing careers, plenty of thoughts were spinning through the minds of Rumson-Fair Haven’s players.

None of them involved panic.

A team doesn’t put itself in position to make history without ample amounts of guts and guile. With 18 seniors, this Rumson squad is heavy on leadership, not to mention skill and lacrosse IQ. With greatness waiting to be embraced, Rumson put on a championship effort worthy of a historic moment.

After falling behind by a pair of goals, Rumson responded by scoring six straight to close out the first quarter. The floodgates were open, and they didn’t shut until the final buzzer sounded on the Bulldogs’ emphatic 17-10 victory over Southern Regional in the championship game of the Shore Conference Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Monmouth University’s Kessler Field. Senior midfielder Chris Hubler led the offensive explosion with four goals and one assist, Chris Sutphen, Dominic Padula and Robbie Garavante each scored three times, and Colin Shea added two goals and two assists to help the Bulldogs become the first program to win four consecutive Shore Conference Tournament titles.

“They came out and scored two straight goals and you could feel the momentum beginning to swing,” said senior defenseman J.T. Jennings. “But we don’t quit. Our attack rallied back and scored six unanswered goals.

They had a couple of good runs and there were definitely some points of uncertainty, but we stuck it out and got the victory.”

Senior midfielder and Johns Hopkins University signee Chris Hubler

“We definitely knew they would come out strong, and after last year they had more experience,” Hubler said. “But all of us seniors, we’ve been here four years in a row. We don’t have the nerves they might have had. When they went on that run we were still confident and stayed calm.”

What Rumson accomplished Tuesday set a standard that may never again be reached in the Shore Conference. This was the Bulldogs’ sixth straight appearance in the SCT final, and in winning their record fourth title in a row they improved to 57-1 versus the Shore since the start of the 2011 season.

Last season Rumson won its third SCT title in a row and came within minutes of taking the program’s first NJSIAA Group I title. When the current group of seniors were in eighth grade, Rumson was already one of the Shore’s elite. Since then they’ve surpassed everyone and become the program the rest of the conference aspires to be. Regardless of what Rumson accomplishes in the state tournament, this group’s legacy is firmly intact.

“There’s no better feeling that winning as a senior,” Jennings said.

“You can win as a

VOLUME-VI

freshman, sophomore or junior, but when you know it’s your last one and you know you gave it all you had for four years, there’s no better way to go out.”

“It’s a great accomplishment,”

Hubler said. “It’s our last year, and we want to finish on top. We’ll remember this for the rest of our lives.”

Senior Dominic Padula

Andy Eastwood has been a part of Rumson’s lacrosse program since its inception. His children have played on both the men’s and women’s teams and he’s seen his current roster evolve from a mob chasing a ball as grade schoolers to a group of skilled leaders competing with the best high schools in New Jersey. When he took over as head coach this season, replacing New Jersey lacrosse legend Reid Jackson, he knew exactly what kind of team he was inheriting.

“They’re a special group,” Eastwood said. “They’ve been playing as a group since third or fourth grade, and they play as a team and they play for each other.

There’s a lot of leadership on this team and I don’t have to give them a lot. I try not to mess it up. I’m really proud and happy for them as a group.”

After reaching the SCT final for the first time in program history last season and subsequently falling to Rumson, 14-5, Southern had its eye on a rematch since the tournament began.

Head coach John

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

Pampalone spoke after the semifinals about his team’s goal of playing to its potential and putting forth its best effort, which he felt wasn’t the case last year. Through the game’s first five minutes everything was going according to plan for the Rams.

Junior attackman Dylan Jinks, the Shore Conference’s leading goal scorer and fourth in New Jersey with 73 entering Tuesday, put Southern up early when he found the top corner with a shot while on the run at 9:16. A little over a minute later, sophomore midfielder Shawn McManus drove to the net and bounced one past Bryce Metzger to give the Rams (15-2) an early two-goal advantage.

Southern had the momentum it desperately craved, and when the Rams get on a hot streak they tend to score in droves.

This is where Rumson’s poise took over, however, and ultimately secured victory.

Sutphen got the Bulldogs (14-3) on the board when he whistled a high shot past Brendan Lefanto, and Garavante netted the equalizer with another high shot shortly after. The run continued with Sutphen’s second of the game for a 3-2 lead. There was still over five minutes left in the opening quarter, but Rumson had taken the lead for good. Hubler raced in off the ensuing draw and scored for a 4-2 lead, then Shea spun with his back to the goal and scored to make it 5-2. Padula closed out the six-goal run by going high on Lefanto again. Rumson would score six goals on 10 shots in the first quarter to enjoy a four-goal lead after one. Southern had previously allowed six goals in a game just twice all season. knew they were a good team and were going to come out strong,” Hubler said. “Every team goes on runs and we knew we couldn’t get down on ourselves.

We responded and went on a run, too.”

“We

“Once you get the momentum going on this team things just take flight,” Jennings said.

Chris Smith broke Rumson’s scoring run when he picked up a ground ball at midfield and took it all the way to the net before finishing it off to cut his team’s deficit to 6-3 at 10:40 of the second quarter, but that was as close as Southern would get. Rumson continued to pull away, pushing the lead to 8-3 on goals by Garavante and Padula two and half minutes apart. Jinks scored with a big blast on an extra-man opportunity at 4:30, but Hubler tallied off a question mark move at 3:35 and Sutphen sank a goal with 7.8 seconds remaining in the first half for a 10-4 lead. The Bulldogs weren’t going to slow down, but with a six-goal lead they knew the game was as good as over.

Hubler poked in a loose ball just outside the crease 18 seconds into the second half, and Padula drove and tucked a shot inside the far post at 9:56 as the lead grew to 12-4. Jinks got one back at 9:29, but Shea set up Hubler and Lucas Seckler for goals to end the quarter for a 14-5 lead. Southern

4-Peat

Goalie Bryce Metzger

Continued on page 10

9

10

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

4-Peat

/

5/14/14

Continued from page 9 scored five goals in the fourth quarter, but those were mainly cosmetic.

Rumson’s dominance, it’s ability to rise to the occasion in the biggest and most pressure-packed moments, went beyond what the lights on the scoreboard read.

“This team understands what’s at stake,” Eastwood said. “They know what it is to compete, and this team never quits.”

Jennings recalled his time as a middle schooler and a round robin tournament with Mountain Lakes, Morristown and team comprised of South Jersey players.

A few of Southern’s current players were on that South Jersey team. Rumson battled Mountain Lakes in a classic Group I final last season and scrimmaged Morristown this year. It reminded him of a promise of sorts he and his teammates made to each other.

“We said to ourselves that we would see all of these kids in high school and we’re going to win,” Jennings said. “We’re going to leave a legacy at RFH that has never been seen before.”

Jennings was also quick to point out how many different people played a role in this historic four-peat. It goes beyond the current players and coaches. From the feeder program to the junior varsity and freshman players that lined the sideline, Tuesday’s victory was most certainly a program win.

Rumson’s group of seniors brought home the Shore Conference Tournament title for the fourth straight season and went 57-1 against the rest of the conference during their careers.

“This program has a great foundation,” Eastwood said.

“For a small town we have hundreds and hundreds of kids playing lacrosse. We’re here to stay.”

by:

Bob Badders www.shoresportsnetwork.com Photos by:

Doug Bostwick

www.sportshotswlb.com

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

11

12

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

DeSclafani Making MLB Debut with Marlins F

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

ormer Colts Neck star right-hander and current Miami Marlins prospect Anthony DeSclafani will make his Major League debut May 14th against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

The Marlins tabbed DeSclafani to start in place of 21-year-old phenom Jose Fernandez, who has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right pitching elbow that will likely require surgery, according to an announcement Tuesday by team president Michael Hill. DeSclafani will oppose Dodgers veteran left-hander Paul Maholm in his first major league start and his first appearance overall.

The 24-year old was ranked by Baseball America among the organization’s top 10 prospects heading into the 2014 season. In 2014, DeSclafani had pitched 43 innings for Double-A Jacksonville to date and posted a 4.19 ERA to go with 38 strikeouts and 10 walks.

DeSclafani graduated from Colts Neck in 2008 and attended the University of Florida, where he pitched three seasons for the Gators, mostly as a reliever. DeSclafani pitched out of the bullpen for the 2011 team that lost to South Carolina in the finals of the College World Series and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 6th round of the First-Year Player Draft in early June.

DeSclafani made his professional debut in 2012 for Class-A Lansing of the Midwest League and in 28 appearances – which included 21 starts – DeSclafani went 11-3 with a 3.37 ERA in 123 innings. He allowed 145 hits and 25 walks while striking out 92, which caught the eye of the Marlins during the ensuing offseason.

DeSclafani was traded by Toronto to Miami in a blockbuster deal that saw shortstop Jose Reyes, righthander Josh Johnson, left-hander Mark Buehrle, utility man Emilio Bonifacio and catcher John Buck sent to Toronto in exchange for DeSclafani, fellow right-handed pitching prospect Justin Nicolino, shortstops Adeiny Hechavarria and Yunel Escobar, outfielder Jake Marisnick, right-handed starter Henderson Alvarez and catcher Jeff

Mathis. Of the players acquired by the Marlins in that package, Hechavarria, Mathis and Alvarez are on the active major league roster, while Marisnick has reached the major leagues and is currently in Triple-A.

Since being traded to Miami, DeSclafani has made 33 starts over two seasons across two levels of the minor leagues. He posted a 1.67 ERA in eight starts with Jupiter of the Class-A Florida State League, striking out 53 and walking only nine in 54 innings during that stop. As a 23-year-old in Double-A last season, he struck out 62 while walking 14 in 75 innings with a 3.37 ERA in 13 starts.

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

13

14

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

Hall of Famer Mike Ciccotelli Retires at Keyport

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

O

ne of the great careers in Shore Conference football has come to an end, as Hall of Famer Mike Ciccotelli has retired at Keyport after 36 seasons.

“It’s time,” Ciccotelli said. “I spent 40 years of my life down there. It became my home. I had opportunities to leave but never left because of the kids, the students.

I always felt like they didn’t owe me, I owed them.

There’s just a lot of emotions right now.”

Ciccotelli, whose retirement was first reported by the Asbury Park Press, is one of only six coaches in Shore Conference history to register more than 200 victories.

He finished with a career record of 231-131-3, and his six NJSIAA sectional titles are tied for the second-most by any coach in Shore Conference history. He was the longest-tenured coach at one school in the Shore before stepping down on the heels of a 5-5 season in the fall.

In 2012, he was inducted into the Shore Football Coaches Foundation Hall of Fame. Since taking over at Keyport in 1978, Ciccotelli led Keyport to Central Jersey Group I championships in 1987, 1988, 1992, 1998, 1999, and 2002. He also led the Red Raiders to 12 Shore Conference division titles, including three straight from 1987-89. His teams made 16 state playoff

appearances and had a career playoff record of 21-11.

“You’ll always remember your first state championship, and there’s been great players who have gone through there,” Ciccotelli said. “The kids that played the game, no matter how good they were, they played hard and they sacrificed every day. There was never a quit in Keyport.”

In addition to the game and the camaraderie, Ciccotelli will also miss the little things.

“McDonald’s breakfast on Saturdays with the coaches and the kids is something I will miss,” he said. “We would all go together. It wasn’t the best pregame meal, but the purpose was to get together as a team.

With teams known for their punishing Delaware Wing-T running attack and physical defense, Ciccotelli led the Red Raiders to a single-season school record 11 wins in 1999, 2002 and 2003, including an 11-0 season in 2002 led by the Shore Conference’s all-time leading rusher, Ken Cattouse, and the late J.J. Bedle, a star wide receiver who played at Syracuse.

Ciccotelli also twice served as the Monmouth County head coach in the U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic, winning both times. One of his former players has become a coaching great in his own right,

Middletown South’s Steve Antonucci, whose teams have won five NJSIAA sectional titles and eight division titles. Also, Ciccotelli’s longtime assistant, Jay Graham, is now the new head coach at Holmdel.

Ciccotelli was an AllCounty running back/defensive back at A.L. Johnson High School, graduating in 1969 and moving on to be a four-year starter and earning allconference honors at defensive back at Trenton State College, which is now The College of New Jersey.

Keyport Hall of Famer Mike Ciccotelli He took a teaching job at Keyport right out of college and remained there ever since, retiring from teaching in 2011 but staying on as the head football coach through 2013.

Ciccotelli is also part of a successful family of high

school football coaches. His younger brother Mark is currently the head coach at St. John Vianney and has won three NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III titles in his career between two at Freehold and one in his first season at Neptune. His brother Steve was also the head coach at Scotch Plains-Fanwood in North Jersey for 20 seasons and led the Raiders to a state final in 2003.

He added that Mark has reached out to have him come help out at St. John Vianney, so that is a possibility he is considering.

File Photo by:

Bill Normile

www.billnormile.zenfolio.com

VOLUME-VI

/

ISSUE-9

/

5/14/14

15

Arneth Pitches Central to First OCT Title Since 1986

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

It’s not much of a surprise that the

Central Regional baseball team had the pitching to make a run through the Ocean County Tournament, and it’s certainly not a surprise that one of the Golden Eagles’ pitchers threw a complete-game shutout during the run.

The only surprise was that the pitcher who threw the shutout in the championship game was not senior right-hander and University Alabama recruit Andrew DiPiazza.

Junior right-hander Anthony Arneth pitched the best game of his varsity career, turning in a four-hit shutout Tuesday night at Toms River High School East to pace Central to a 6-0 win over Barnegat for its first Ocean County Tournament championship since 1986.

“I was honored to get the ball tonight,” Arneth said. “This tournament started at Central Regional with (former coach) Al Kunzman and when Scran told me I was getting the ball, I felt honored.”

Arneth struck out six and walked three while firing 97 pitches and doing his best impersonation of Central’s staff ace, who pitched the Golden Eagles to the championship game with complete-game victories against Toms River South and Toms River North in consecutive rounds.

“He was a strike-throwing machine tonight,” DiPiazza said. “He was getting the ball and firing it, and he found a really good rhythm out there.

He’s been huge for us lately and tonight he definitely had one of his better games.”

On a team that was looking for pitchers to step up and fill in the rotation behind DiPiazza at the beginning of the season, Arneth has become Central’s No. 2 option and an understudy of sorts.

“I talk to (DiPiazza) after almost every inning just to see what he thinks about what I’m doing,” Arneth said. “He’s been a big help to me and the other pitchers. From day one this year, he’s kind of taken me under his wing and helped me get better.”

“With Anthony, we definitely knew the potential was there,” Central coach John Scran said. “He got a few innings as a sophomore last year, but he wasn’t quite physically mature enough to handle the full-time varsity workload. Now it’s a year later, he’s bigger and stronger, he’s added velocity to his fastball, and he’s making the most out of his frame and his athleticism.

“I’m confident we’re just starting to see what he can do. He’s a threesport athlete who hasn’t really put a whole lot of time into baseball, and he’s a guy who could end up getting a chance to pitch somewhere in college and really take off once he’s putting his athletic focus into the game.”

DiPiazza won tournament Most Valuable Player honors for throwing two complete games – one in a quarterfinal win over Toms River South

and another in a semifinal win over Toms River North – while also going 5-for-10 at the plate with a home run and five RBI. DiPiazza served as the designated hitter on Tuesday and went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the top of the third inning to score the game’s first run.

“When I was a little kid, I always told people that I was going to be a Major League hitter,” said DiPiazza, who leads the Shore Conference with five home runs. “I used to take 500 swings every day trying to make myself a great hitter, and my first three years of high school, I was terrible. This last year, I knew this was a big offseason for me so I didn’t do any hitting and just focused on pitching. Sure enough, I’m having my best season at the plate.”

Although DiPiazza took home the individual award, he and Arneth were similarly effective on the mound in each of their two tournament starts. DiPiazza allowed three runs – two earned – on nine hits with three walks and 17 strikeouts over 14 innings during his two starts and also saved Central’s first-round win over Point Boro with a scoreless, one-hit inning with two strikeouts.

Arneth, meanwhile, also allowed three runs – two earned – on 10 hits with four walks and 13 strikeouts in 12 innings. He took a no-decision during a five-inning outing against Point Boro on May 3.

After DiPiazza gave Central a 1-0 lead with his RBI single, the Golden Eagles came back with three more runs in the fourth inning against Barnegat sophomore right-hander Jared Kacso, all of which were unearned. Junior second baseman Jake Dominguez made it 2-0 with a line-drive RBI single to left-center field and senior center fielder and leadoff hitter Rich Galati added two more to the lead with a two-run single on a ground ball to right field.

Central scored two more runs in the top of the fifth on an error on a ground ball by senior left fielder Javon Hardy that allowed both right fielder Christian Bearden and courtesy runner Matt Aires to score.

Arneth never allowed Barnegat to make things interesting, as the Bengals reached second base just once all game. Barnegat did manage to put a runner on base in six of seven innings against Arneth, but the Golden Eagles junior – along with senior catcher Kenny Beyrouty – was effective out of the stretch and in limiting Barnegat’s running game, which did not produce a stolen base nor advance on a wild pitch or passed ball.

Central has dominated Barnegat this season, beating the Bengals in all three meetings between the Class B South rivals. The Bengals were making their first ever OCT championship game appearance and did so with a 5-0 record in games outside of Class B South division play, including wins over Toms River North, Jackson Memorial and St. John Vianney.

“I don’t think we had an edge coming into today, in fact I thought the opposite,” Scran said. “It’s very hard to beat a team three times in a season, especially when you’re talking about a quality team like Barnegat.”

With Tuesday’s win, the Ocean County Tournament championship

returns to its place of origin after a long stay with the larger schools of Ocean County, namely the Toms River teams and, more recently, Jackson Memorial. Legendary Golden Eagles coach Al Kunzman, for whom Central’s home field is named, started the tournament in 1972 and led Central to a championship in the inaugural tournament while also dominating it during the 1970s and early 80s.

“This tournament means a lot to all of the teams in Ocean County, but it holds a special significance for our program,” Scran said. “Al Kunzman started this tournament, he won the first tournament and for a stretch of about a decade, his teams dominated this tournament. There is a great legacy of championships that goes back to that period and we wanted to experience that as well, not just for ourselves but to pay tribute coach Kunzman. I’d like to think he’s smiling down on his old team tonight.”

In the seven seasons since Scran took over the program, Central has been to the semifinals of at least one tournament – county, conference or NJSIAA sectional – in six of those seasons. Tuesday marks the first win during those seven years for Scran and with two pitchers on top of their respective games, the Golden Eagles are hoping this is only the beginning.

“It’s been our goal ever since I’ve been here and even when my older brother (James) was here to win a tournament championship,” DiPiazza said. “Our coaches have told us every year that it was a possibility, but I don’t think we ever really worked hard enough because we didn’t really understand how possible it was. Now that we’ve done it, it’s kind of scary because we actually understand what it takes to win this kind of tournament, and I think we’re going to be hungry to do it again.”

by:

Matt Manley www.shoresportsnetwork.com

16

VOLU M/E2- 1V/ I1 3/ 12

UL EU - 9M E / -V 5 / 1/ 4ISSUE-21 /14 /I SVSO

/ SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM