June 6, 2011 Volume-III Issue-11 M on . C ou n ty Gridiron Classic R o s t er Pa g e 3 Midd. South Offense Comes Alive Pa g e 4 Midd. South Wins MCT Title Pa g e 6 RFH Wins Boys Lax SCT Title Pa g e 8 -9 Carpenter Cup Baseball Roster Pa g e 1 0 Manalapan Baseball Makes History Pa g e 1 1 Midd. South Wins CJ 3 Title Pa g e 1 3 Stumpy's Corner Pa g e 1 5
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June 6, 2011 I Volume-III I Issue-11
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Volume-III
Issue-11
6/6/11
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MONMOUTH COUNTY GRIDIRON CLASSIC ROSTER RELEASED By S co t t S t u m p – Man agin g Ed it o r Belo w is t h e Mon m o u t h C ou n t y ro s t er an d co a ch in g s t a f f f o r t h e u p com in g U .S . A rm y A ll- S h o re Grid iron C las s ic a t 7 p . m . o n J u ly 1 4 at To m s R iv er N o rt h . A ll o f t h e p la y ers w ere s elect ed b y t h e S h ore Fo ot b all C o ach es Fo u n d a t io n , w h ich ru n s t h e an n u a l a ll- s t ar gam e. Th e ro s t er w a s p ro vid ed b y N ep t u n e as s is t an t D o m Lep o re, w h o is s erv in g as Mon m ou t h C ou n t y 's g en era l m a n ag er f o r t h e ga m e. Mo n m ou t h C ou n t y R os t er 2011 Name Charlie Addessi Billy Baillie Keith Beaty Derrick Bender Jay'Von Britt Jahmer Bunch Michael Cantelli Connor Caponegro Stephen Carr Shane Carroll Sterry Codrington Matthew Conte Michael Clark James DeBlase Michael Dorsi Nicholas Dragonetti John Faccas Josh Firkser Kevin Furlong Matthew Gannon Andrew Giannotto Ryan Handy Connor Hayes Michael Huttner Kyle Janeczek Nicholas Jensen Michael Kasten Michael Konish Andrew Lazar Alex Lehr Michael Maguire Thomas Masi Shawn Miller Michael Mullen Matthew Paolillo
School Manalapan Long Branch Matawan Freehold Boro Asbury Park Red Bank Reg. Holmdel Wall Manalapan Shore Freehold Boro Shore Howell Manalapan RBC SJV Matawan Manalapan Raritan Neptune RFH Howell Ocean RFH Wall Marlboro Freehold Boro Keyport Matawan Middletown South Colts Neck Middletown South Manasquan Freehold Twp. RBC
Pos. Jersey# LB 44 DL 42 RB 3 DB 7 UT 23 UT 1 UT 12 LB 22 OL 76 DB 9 DB 2 OL 65 WR 22 DL 75 LB 31 OL 68 DL 51 RB 39 DB 19 LB 15 DB 20 DB 11 DL 54 LB 10 WR 14 UT 8 OL 74 RS 6 OL 59 OL 50 TE 43 DL 52 OL 56 LB 30 DL 55
Name Taylor Rogers Evan Ruane Michael Russell Scott Satcher Jake Smith Andrew Suarez Tariq Turner McArthur Underwood Greg Velasco Michael Villapiano Brandon Weiss Rameer Wright
School Middletown South Shore RBC Monmouth Reg. Middletown North Middletown South Manasquan Matawan Keyport RFH Freehold Boro Freehold Boro
Pos. Jersey# WR 27 DL 16 OL 53 TE 82 OL 77 RS 17 P/PK 18 RS 4 DL 93 UT 46 DL 57 DB 5
Coaching Staff Shane Fallon- Head Coach, RFH John Corneliusen- Off. Coordinator, RFH Jerry Schulte- Def. Coordinator, RFH Steve Antonucci- RB's, Middletown South Bryan Batchler- DB's, RFH Jerry Gagliano- DB's, RFH Don Klein- DE's, Ocean Brian Kmak- LB's, Keansburg Joe Murphy- OL, RFH Frank Papalia- DT's, Holmdel Joe Passo- QB's, RFH Rob Petitti- OL, RFH Dom Lepore- General Manager Stacy White- Athletic Trainer Amanda Stump- Athletic Trainer Danielle Mitterando -Athletic Trainer Look for the Ocean County Roster in our next upcoming issue.
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2011 Game Day Offical Program Be part of a Jersey Shore institution that reaches a large and enthusiastic audience from Monmouth and Ocean counties and is an annual rite of summer for all local football fans by having your business featured in this year's US Army All Shore Gridiron Classic official game program. The detailed game program put together by the All Shore Media staff not only recounts the rich history of New Jersey's oldest football all-star game as well as highlighting 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 football community.
Volume-III
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Issue-11
6/6/11
Baseball: Eagles’ Offense Wakes Up at the Perfect Time By Chris Johnson – All Shore Media Contributor While the performance of the pitching staff has been a constant during the season, Middletown South's offense has picked the right time to finally take off. For the first time since 1999, the Eagles' baseball team has won both the Monmouth County Tournament and the Central Jersey Group III championships in the same season, and it has scored a combined 15 runs in those two games to do it. Unlike earlier in the season and even in a 1-0, 11-inning win over Jackson Liberty in the sectional semifinals, these past two performances were impressive offensively. Against Red Bank Catholic in the MCT championship game, South was able to manufacture eight runs. The production continued a day later in its 7-1 rout over Brick in the sectional final. What’s changed? This is, of course, talking about a team that has spent the majority of its year edging out opponents in low-scoring nail biters.
This team is scoring runs, but not necessarily how one would expect. Home runs are a rarity. The 15 runs are a product of the even consistency throughout this lineup. Through base hits, sacrifices, and stolen bases, Spillane’s team is Junior Dan “small-balling” its way to victories. The Eagles had 10 hits on Friday, all of them singles, yet turned those into seven runs. Against RBC, they had 12 hits, 11 of which were singles, yet put continuous pressure on the Caseys, which paid off when a throwing error on a bunt attempt helped bring home the gamewinning run in the sixth inning. “We’ve started to focus more on hitting during our slump," said junior Stefan Poggioli. " We’ve been doing some new drills during practice – some hand-eye coordination drills, some pepper – and it’s been working out for us.”
“We’ve been more aggressive at the plate,'' said junior first baseman Howie Brey, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored on Friday. "I just felt that as a team, in the middle of the year, we didn’t really have an approach at the plate. Now we really know what to expect in terms of what the pitchers are going to be throwing.” Due to their struggles at the plate throughout the season, the Eagles have spent nearly all of their practice time working on hitting,
Albeit impressive, the Eagles didn’t need seven runs on Friday as ace Will Siegfried only gave up one unearned run in a complete-game three-hitter. Aided by powerful winds and good command of his fastball, the 6-foot-3 senior stifled the highpowered Brick offense.
according to head coach Ryan Spillane. Clearly, it’s paying off.
Junior Howie Brey
Batting eighth, Poggioli had two key RBI singles in the win over Brick. The left fielder’s performance is a testament to the strength of this lineup from one through nine, all of whom have shown in the postseason that they are capable of coming up with clutch hits.
“When you have your ace on the mound, you know that he’s not going to let up a lot of runs,” Brey said. “We feel like we only need to score three or four runs to win the game.”
Sweeney
Siegfried was the beneficiary of what Spillane called “our bats coming alive” the past two games. The ace had the rare luxury of pitching with a cushion after regularly pitching in close games. Throughout their successful postseason in which they’ve posted an 8-1 record, Middletown South has played with an underdog mentality. The oft-overlooked Eagles had been deemed offensively sub-par in comparison with other Shore Conference powers such as Manalapan, RBC, and Jackson Memorial, but are putting up runs in the biggest games of the season. “We’re still the underdog,” said Spillane. “We like that role. It’s nice to beat No. 1 RBC yesterday and No. 4 Brick today – two great teams – but we’re still the underdog the rest of the way.”
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S co t t S t um p
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Volume-III
6 / ASM
Issue-11
6/6/11
The South Rises Again: Midd. South Wins MCT Title By Scott Stump – Managing Editor On paper, it looked like the Monmouth County Tournament final might be the first of several coronations for the hottest team in the state. Fifth-seeded Red Bank Catholic entered on a 24game winning streak, while 10th-seeded Middletown South did not have either of its top two pitchers available to throw and had been up and down offensively compared to the Caseys' fierce lineup. RBC had just beaten one of the top teams in the state, Manalapan, twice in a week in tournament games and was undefeated in tournament play, while Middletown South had been pulling out one extra-inning win after another in heart-pounding fashion. Plus, RBC had already beaten the Eagles and starter Mike Bergin during the regular season. Somebody forgot to tell the Eagles they were the underdogs, as senior catcher Rob Marcickiewicz went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and Bergin and reliever Rob Barnek did their part to spearhead a stunning 8-5 win over RBC on June 2 for Middletown South's first MCT title since 1999 and its fifth overall. The Eagles won their fifth straight, including four games in their final at-bat, and they did it again on against the Caseys by pushing across three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 5-5 tie at FirstEnergy Park and deny RBC a shot at its first MCT championship. "It just says something about the character of this team,'' said Middletown South head coach Ryan Spillane. "We're down, but never out.'' "I thought we had this game the whole time,'' Marcickiewicz said. "We've played four or five extra-inning games recently, so we're used to pressure situations. It was actually nice to have more than a one-run lead at the end this time.'' Shortstop Mike Gannon added two hits and a run scored, first baseman Howie Brey was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, second baseman Sean Kennedy was 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored,
rightfielder Chris Mangarelli added a hit, two walks and a run scored, and centerfielder Dan Sweeney had an RBI single in the sixth and two runs scored in the game. The loss by RBC and a loss by Brick to Jackson Memorial in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals on the same day also ensured that no team this season will match the feat of the 2004 Wall squad that became the only Shore Conference team to win five titles (division, county, conference, sectional, Group) in one season. After an RBI single by RBC senior first baseman Dylan Chayes tied the game at five in the top of the sixth inning, the Eagles mounted the winning rally
"We just put the ball in play and let things happen,'' Marcickiewicz said. "They made a key error, and we took the momentum.'' That was plenty for Barnek, who became one of the more unlikely MCT Most Valuable Player selections in tournament history. He tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning to cap a 2 1/3-inning relief effort in which he allowed one unearned run on two hits to lock down the championship. The 6-foot-6 senior right-hander had only thrown 7 2/3 innings the entire season because of arm trouble before he entered the game on Thursday night in the biggest spot of his career. "Our back-up pitchers, Bergin and I, we had to step up today,'' Barnek said. "I was nervous, but after the first pitch it all went away and I just kept pounding.'' "His ERA is under 1.00, and we've been using him here and there since he battled back from arm trouble about midseason,'' Spillane said. "I'm confident in throwing him out there.''
in the bottom of the inning off Caseys reliever Sam McGovern, who entered the game with a 0.87 ERA. In all six innings, the Eagles' leadoff hitter reached base, with Kennedy starting the decisive push with a single off McGovern, who had struck out the first three hitters he faced in the fifth inning. Gannon followed with a single of his own, and then a wild throw to first by McGovern on a sacrifice bunt by Brey allowed Kennedy to score for a 6-5 lead and sent Gannon to third. Sweeney then bounced an RBI single through the hole at shortstop for a 7-5 advantage. Marcickiewicz followed by capping a brilliant night that earned him the "Highest Batting Average of the Tournament'' plaque when he laced an RBI single past diving RBC third baseman Mike Rescigno for a three-run lead.
The championship was the first tangible sign of how far the program has come in a short time under Spillane. The Eagles made it to the MCT semifinals last season only to be stunned by a dramatic, last-inning rally by Manalapan, but this time they saw the job through until the end. "We set out for this goal last year, and we came up short,'' Marcickiewicz said. "This year, we wanted to finish it and we did.''
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Volume-III
8 / ASM
Issue-11
J
ackson Memorial has been the feel-good story of the 2011 Shore Conference lacrosse season, rallying in the face of tragedy and becoming the first Ocean County team to ever reach the Shore Co n f er en ce To u r n a men t f in al.
The p er f ect end in g w o u ld h av e s een th e J agu ar s claim th eir f ir s t S CT title o n J u n e 1 , bu t top - s eed ed Ru ms o n- F air H aven h ad d es ig n s of its o w n in its f in al game o f th e s eas o n , an d the Bu lld o gs pen n ed the ty pe of co n clu s io n they ' v e been dr eamin g ab o ut f or th e p as t th r ee year s . J ack Cu r r an an d M ich ael Clar k e led a p o ten t off ens e w h ile mid f ield er M ike H uttner w as a gr o un d b all mach in e an d d ef en s eman M att G ilber ts on h elp ed s tif le the J ag u ar s ' s et o ff en s e en r ou te to a 1 2- 3 v ictor y in the S CT f inal at S t. J oh n Vian n ey H ig h S ch ool. G oalie A r tie Tildes ley added 1 2 cr ucial s av es as th e Bulld og s cap tu r ed th eir s econ d S CT title and f ir s t s in ce d ef eatin g Co lts N eck to claim th e 2 0 07 cr ow n. I t w as the thir d s tr aig ht champ io n s h ip g ame ap pear an ce f o r the Sophomore Bu lld o g s ( 1 6 - 4 ) , and af ter cr us h in g lo s s es to Chr is tian Br oth er s A cad emy and Red Ban k Catho lic in th e p as t tw o S CT f in als th e Bulldo g s f in ally go t to celeb r ate in th eir f in al game. " Th e las t tw o y ear s h av e been pr etty h ear tb r eak in g, " s aid bo th a r eliev ed an d ju bilan t G ilber ts o n . " We' v e made it to th e s tate qu ar ter f inals tw o year s in a r ow and tw ice in the S ho r e Conf er en ce f inals b ef ore th is y ear, an d it jus t hu r ts s o bad to los e th os e games and w alk o ff the field in tear s . Th is y ear w e k new w e had it. We h ad a s en io r-laden clas s an d a lo t o f h yp e, b u t w e did n' t w an t to b e b ro u gh t do w n b y th e h ype in th is g ame. We knew if w e p layed ou r g ame, s tayed calm an d w o rked th e b all th ere' s no o n e in th e S h o re th at can beat us ." G ilb er ts o n' s commen ts cer tainly ran g tru e o n Wed n es d ay. Th ere w as little th e Bu lld og s could d o w ron g . The tr en d th is year h as b een f or Ru ms o n to be a s eco n d half team, mak in g ad jus tmen ts du rin g th e br eak an d claimin g Senior Mike Huttner
6/6/11
By Bob Badders – S co n tr o l in th e th ir d qu ar ter. Th is time they didn ' t w ait un til the s econ d h alf , in s tead ju mpin g on J acks o n ( 1 5- 3 ) w ith thr ee g oals in th e f ir s t 5 :24 an d n ev er lo o king back .
"It feels fantastic," said Rumson head coach Jim Barbiere. "The past two years were tough, but one thing we focused on is that we have the
strength as a program to be here e v e r y y e a r. But that being said, it's a lot better when you win the big game." " I ' m n ot going to Michael Clarke s ay w e pu t a lo t o f pr es s ur e on ( w in nin g the S CT) bu t it' s b een in the player s ' min ds . Th ey ' v e been f antas tic in motivating thems elv es , and the s enio r s in par ticular h ave b een v er y f ocus ed an d mo tiv ated. That har d w o r k pays off . Th ey s tep ped on the f ield conf ident, an d they play ed w ith p ois e to day. Th ey r eally took o ver the game, and w e h ad g uy s making play s all o ver the f ield. " Ru ms on and J acks o n met d ur ing th e r egu lar s eas on on A pr il 30 w ith th e Bulldog s tak ing a 10- 5 v ictor y, and it w as that game that r eally help ed them pr ep ar e f o r J acks on ' s s w if t tr an s ition g ame and agg r es s ive def en s e in th e S CT f in al. A big emphas is w as placed o n w in nin g f aceoff s an d g ettin g ahead ear ly, w hich w as pr ecis ely w h at th e Bu lld ogs did . D ef ens iv ely, Rums o n made a f ew tw eaks that paid divid en d s agains t J ack s on' s qu ick- p as s in g, cuth eav y off ens ive s ets . " We gave them a little d iff er ent lo ok, and on e of the thin gs I ' ve lear n ed coach ing is that yo u have to s w itch it u p an d give th em s omething th ey' r e n ot r eady f o r," Bar b ier e s aid. " Whether it' s a little tw eak o n d ef ens e or a n ew s et on o ff ens e, a co up le o f w r inkles her e and th er e can mak e a big d iff er ence." " O ne adv antage w e h ad f r om playin g them the f ir s t time w as that w e s aw w h en they w ou ld is olate a s h or tie f r om the ' X , ' w e w ould g o in to a zon e f r o m the top s ide, "
s aid th e D ar tmo uth - b o un d G ilber ts on . " Bu t th ey ar e s o good at cuttin g b y th e time w e s aw the cutter it w as to o late. This time w e w en t manto - man. We let up o ne go al o ff it, bu t w e' ll tak e that as op pos ed to th em g o in g to it o v er an d o ver again s t our zo ne. A n d w h en w e go man , ther e ar e mor e o p po r tun ities to k no ck it d ow n and g et it up to th e off en s ive en d. " Rums on o pened th e s co r in g ju s t 3 5 s eco nd s in to th e game on an u n as s is ted g oal by s enio r mid f ielder I an M o o r e. A t the 8 :07 mar k , s en io r mid die M att D ou ty s co r ed h is f ir s t o f tw o g oals off a nice f eed f r om s o p ho mo r e M ik e Villan e. A n u n as s is ted tally b y Cur r an
pus hed th e lead to 3- 0 w ith 6:36 lef t to p lay in the f ir s t quar ter. " Coach alw ays s ays to tr y and punch th em in the nos e ear ly and g et th eir ey es tear y s o they can' t co me back, and that' s ex actly w hat w e did," H u ttner s aid. " We came ou t f ir ing and I f eel lik e they jus t couldn' t k eep up and f r om ther e it w as o ur game." H eavy r ain an d lig htnin g ar r ived in no r ther n M o nmo uth County at the 4:4 0 mar k of th e f ir s t q u ar ter and play did n ot r es u me u n til near ly an hou r later. Th e d ow npour d id little to co o l off the Bu lldo g s ' attack as Clar ke netted tw o g oals o ne o ff a tur no ver deep in J acks on' s end an d an o ther o ff a w or m- b ur n er f r om ab ou t 1 5 yar ds ou t - to s tr etch Ru ms on ' s lead to 5- 0 af ter th e f ir s t quar ter. " Th er e w as n' t a time in th e game w her e I th ou g h t w e w er e go ing to los e," H u ttn er s aid. " We came ou t o n f ir e. With th e r ain delay I th o ugh t it mig h t s et u s back a little b ut w e came b ack out an d kept pu mpin g th em in ."
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Senior Staff Writer "Artie Tildesley was lights out," Barbiere said. "Especially early as you're trying to establish dominance and dictate the flow of the game, a couple saves early on really go a long way to helping a team out."
The J aguar s f in ally g ot o n the b o ar d w h en s enio r mid f ielder Br y an S p ech t s tr u ck f o r a g o al w ith 9:38 to go in th e s eco nd qu ar ter, bu t Ru ms on mad e s u r e J acks o n too k zer o mo men tu m b y s co r in g s even s eco nd s later w hen Clar ke conv er ted o n a pas s f r o m s enior attackman Beau Benn ar d o to mak e it 6 - 1 . Cu r r an w ould s co r ed tw ice mor e in th e s econd s tan za to g iv e Ru ms on a comman din g 8 - 1 lead h eading in to h alf time. " They p layed ver y w ell an d they d id neutr alize s o me th in g s w e w anted to d o , " s aid J agu ar s h ead co ach N ick Car us o . " Th e k ey w as w e p ut th e b all on th e g r o u n d to d ay an d cou ld n ' t g et g o in g in tr an s itio n . We w er en ' t v er y g oo d o n g r o u nd balls tod ay an d that' s u s u ally o u r th in g . A t 3- 0 w e s till w er e in it becaus e w e k n o w w e can s co r e f as t, bu t th ey w er e s o go o d o n g r o u n d b alls th at any time a b all h it th e g r ou n d th er e w er e f ou r pu r p le jer s ey s ar o u n d it an d w e w er en ' t ab le to capitalize o n an y th in g . " A t on e p o in t in th e g ame J agu ar s s en io r lon g - s tick mid f ield er Ryan To tin came o ff th e f ield an d Car u s o r emin d ed h im to lo o k f o r th e eas y p as s o n clear s . H is r es p o n s e: " Th er e ar e n o eas y p as s es . ' '
Goals by Douty and Curran pushed the lead to 11-1 just 1:50 into the fourth quarter. Jackson scored its second goal when Connor Cunningham fed Nick Wolf at 5:29, but Rumson once again responded swiftly as P.J. Maher scored an unassisted goal 10 seconds later to make it 12-2. Specht's second goal with 1:18 left made it 12-3, but it was academic at that point as Rumson held on to complete its wire-towire run as the undisputed No. 1 team in the Shore.
Senior Beau Bennardo
coachin g s taff th at w as ex ecu ted almo s t f law les s ly b y th e p lay er s . When a team as talented as Rums o n can d o that, it' s g oin g to b e a lon g d ay f or its o pp o nent.
" We k n e w t h i s w a s a special game game, and we had a lot of time to prepare because of the tragedy that happened to the Jackson baseball p l a y e r, " G i l b e r t s o n s a i d . "The coaches did a great job game planning, and we were totally ready for this game."
Figuring out what makes Rumson so good isn't that hard when you listen to their players talk after a game. They get it, especially Gilbertson, who fully understood exactly what he was playing for on Wednesday night.
"It's hard to realize this is the last game with guys you've been playing with for seven, eight years, he said. "I wanted to always keep that in the back of my mind. I never wanted to be complacent just because I'm going to play at the college level. I didn't want to overlook this, because it's something special. No matter what you say about high school sports - you can say they're insignificant in the long run but this was so special to us because we've wanted it for so long. This was my last game with these guys and there was no way I was going to look past it."
Th at w as th e g ame in a
n u ts h ell. Th e areas J ack s o n w as s o s ucces s f u l in d u rin g th e s eas o n w ere s h u t d ow n b y Ru ms o n . It w as a p erf ectly implemen ted g ame p lan b y th e R u ms o n
Jackson started to get into a flow offensively in the third quarter and finally had some prolonged possessions. Unfortunately, Tildesley was there to shut the door on a few solid scoring chances. Rumson scored the only goal of the third quarter when Michael Rowland converted a feed from Ben Albainy and the score stood at 9-1 heading to the fourth.
Photos by
David Thorne
www .d a v et ho r ne .s mu gm ug .c o m
Cliff Lavelle
www.clearedge.zenfol io.c om
Volume-III
10 / ASM
Issue-11
6/6/11
Carpenter Cup Baseball Roster Announced By Scott Stump – Managing Editor The 2011 Carpenter Cup Roster has been announced by the Shore Baseball Coaches Association. Jersey Shore is the defending champion in the annual 16-team tournament in June in Philadelphia featuring all-star teams from New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The team was selected by a panel of 12 division representatives and officers of the SBCA. Repeat selections from last season include Manalapan's Kyle Rubbinaccio, Ocean's Nick Panduri, Toms River South's Kyle Perry, Manalapan's Rich Ricciardi, Brick's Nick Vitale, Manalapan's Alex DeCastro, Jackson Memorial's Joe Ogren, and Manchester's Jon Roszel.
2011 Carpenter Cup Roster Pitchers: Jake Winston, Sr., Manalapan Kyle Rubbinaccio, Sr., Manalapan Connor Kaden, Sr., TRS Matt Margaritonda, Sr., St. John Vianney Nick Panduri, Sr., Ocean Matt Lorenzetti, Sr., Marlboro Will Siegfried, Sr., Middletown South
Pat Sheldrick, Sr., Central Austin Thomas, Sr., Neptune
DH: Nick Kreiger, Sr., Manalapan Chris Baird, Sr., Manalapan
Utility: Chris Napolitano, Sr., St. Rose
Catchers:
Andrew LaMura, Jr., Red Bank Catholic
Kyle Perry, Sr., TRS Connor White, Jr., Wall
The coaches are the same as last year. Manchester's John Musolf is the head coach, with the following coaches serving as assistants: Art Gordon (St. John Vianney); Todd Schmitt (Wall); Buddy Hausmann (Red Bank Catholic); Cip Apicelli (Ocean); Rick Trimble. The single-elimination tournament begins on June 13 at Ashburn Field in Philadelphia, and the championship game is on June 21 at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Jersey Shore has won three titles (2010, 2002, 1994) since the tournament began in 1986.
First Base:
Pat Jensen, Sr., Lacey
Infielders:
Joe Kissinger, Sr., Red Bank Catholic
Nick Lustrino, Sr., Manasquan Andy Lopez, Sr., Jackson Mem. Rich Ricciardi, Sr., Manalapan Mitch Dressing, Sr., TRS Joe Ogren, Jr., Jackson Mem. Scott Donaghue, Sr., Marlboro
Outfielders: Alex DeCastro, Sr., Manalapan Chris McKenna, Sr., TRS Jon Roszel, Sr., Manchester Matt Meleo, Sr., Jackson Mem. Nick Vitale, Sr., Brick Zach Wilson, Sr., Ocean Jackson Memorial's Matt Meleo
RBC's Andrew LaMura
Photo by:
Bill Normile
www.billnormile.zenfolio.com
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A SM / 11
Manalapan Baseball Wins First Sectional Title In History By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer There are not many ways to quietly accumulate an 8-0 record as a pitcher, but that's exactly what senior Kyle Rubbinaccio has done for Manalapan, one of the topranked teams in the state and the No. 2 seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV bracket. On June 3 against Monroe in the Central Jersey IV championship, the University of Notre Dame-bound righthander had the spotlight all to himself and he made his ninth win of the season ring loud and clear. Rubbinaccio pitched a sixhit complete game and the Braves took advantage of five Monroe errors en route to a 52 win over the Falcons to capture their first NJSIAA sectional title in program history. The Braves moved on to play South Jersey Group IV champion Millville in the Group IV semifinals at The College of New Jersey. "The last three innings felt like forever," Rubbinaccio said. "We had the lead, we never gave it up and they had a couple of threats, but when you're trying to get outs to win a state championship, it can feel like a long way to go. I'm just so glad we were able to hang on and make history."
couple of hits on bad hops and we made a couple of errors for them, but I have confidence that my infield is going to make the plays when it counts and that's what we did. We turned two huge double plays and when they had to make a play, they made it." Of the six hits Rubbinaccio allowed, three were infield singles, two were slow groundballs that found holes, and one was a clean line-drive single to rightfield by No. 9 hitter Corey Liebross. He threw 43 pitches through the first two innings, but got his pitch count under control by throwing no more than 12 pitches over the next four innings before throwing 25 in the final frame.
Pitcher Kyle Rubbinaccio
Rubbinaccio struck out three and walked three while relying on his defense by rolling up a steady stream of groundballs over the course of his seven innings. Manalapan's defense had its own problems at times, committing three errors and handing the Falcons an unearned run in the third inning, but the Braves infield helped Rubbinaccio out by turning double plays in the fifth and sixth innings. "It was a tough infield, but that's why we loved playing at home for this game," Rubbinaccio said. "They got a
"Once he started spotting his fastball, he started to find his rhythm," catcher Chris Baird said. "We mostly wanted to pitch to contact and get some groundballs with his changeup and a little with his curveball. His change was pretty good throughout and once he found the zone with his fastball, we knew were were in good shape as long as he could keep it up."
Rubbinaccio is 9-0 for the second straight season after going 9-0 as a junior last year. While he has not taken any losses, he also has not pitched as much as he did last year. Most of the toughest games on the Braves' schedule have been pitched by senior lefthander Jake Winston and other members of the staff because of how the schedule played out. Friday, Rubbinaccio finally had his turn to take the ball to try to secure the team's first state sectional championship in program history. "This means a lot to me," said Rubbinaccio, who won his 20th career game earlier this season. "This is
definitely the most important win I've been a part of and pitching with everything on the line in front of a good crowd was something I always look forward to. I really wanted to deliver for our team, all of our seniors, our coaches and the whole program." Rubbinaccio watched last year as Jackson Memorial beat Manalapan 5-1 in the Central Jersey IV final, one year after Hunterdon Central eliminated the Braves in the sectional semifinal. This year, with 16 seniors on the roster and seven in the starting lineup to go with Rubbinaccio on the mound, Manalapan was finally ready to finish the job. "We talked before the game how there's been a progression over the last three years," Manalapan coach Brian Boyce said. "Two years ago when these guys were sophomores, we got beat pretty good by Hunterdon Central in the semis. Last year, we got out of the semis and lost to Jackson in the final. This year, it was our turn to win it and fortunately, it worked out that way." After Monroe struck for a run in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by designated hitter Mike Scarrone, Manalapan came right back with three in the bottom of the inning off starter Matt Lederman, who lasted only 1/3 of an inning. Nick Kreiger and Alex DeCastro hit consecutive one-out singles, with DeCastro going to second on a throw home from the outfield. Baird then followed with a sharp single through the left side on a 3-2 fastball to score both runners and give Manalapan a 2-0 lead. "He (Lederman) had thrown a few knuckleballs, so the key was just seeing the ball all the way and getting to it quickly," Baird said. "I was able to get deep in the count and, fortunately, I got a fastball that I hit hard and it got us on the board." Braves junior second baseman Brian Lamboy then reached on the first Monroe error of the game - a dropped throw at first base - and after Lederman threw a wild pitch on the ensuing offering, he was lifted in favor of reliever Dan Marsh. Manalapan got its third run of the inning when shortstop Tim Small threw home on a ground ball off the bat of Marco Ferrante and the throw hit Vito Gadaleta, who was Baird's courtesy runner, allowing him to score. Lamboy was the biggest beneficiary of Monroe's defensive struggles, reaching base twice on errors and once on a fielder's choice that could have been a double play. Manalapan later added unearned runs in the third and sixth innings. Baird picked up his second hit of the game to lead off the third and the Falcons committed two more errors in the inning to allow Lamboy to score after reaching on the fielder's choice. The Braves scored their run in the sixth without a hit in the inning. Manalapan had given Monroe a run in the top of the third when Baird threw the ball into centerfield trying to throw out Scarrone, allowing Alex Vizcaino to score from third. Rubbinaccio struck out Chris Viani as Scarrone was running on the pitch and induced an inning-ending flyout from Liebross.
Picture & Video Highlights by:
Matt Manley
www.allshoremedia.com
Volume-III
1 2 / AS M
Issue-11
6/6/11
Mater Dei Prep Holding Inaugural Summer Football Camp By Scott Stump – Managing Editor On the heels of a resurgent season in which Mater Dei Prep won its most football games since 2006, the school will be holding the inaugural Football Development Academy in July.
restricted to any specific positions. The Mater Dei coaching staff will be providing instruction along with some coaches from other Shore Conference programs.
Mater Dei has held summer camps in basketball and soccer for years, but this is the first football camp, which will be held from July 5-8 at the high school for the cost of $10 per registrant. The camp is free for any current Mater Dei Prep students.
“It will be all skills and drills and then some 7-on-7 later in the week,’’ Sciarappa said. “It’s not geared particularly toward offense or defense, it’s just nuts and bolts football. Fun is the major priority.’’
“The whole Middletown area has always been so rich in football history, but there has always been a void of football camps at Mater Dei even though we have hosted camps done by other organizations,’’ said Steve Sciarappa, who is the Seraphs’ head coach in addition to being the school’s principal. “We needed our own camp to let people experience our school for themselves.’’ The camp will run from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day and is open to players ages 11 and older. It also is not
Interested players can go to www.materdeiprep.org and click on “Summer Programs’’ or call 732-671-9100 ext. 44 to register. With 19 first-year football players on their team last season, Sciarappa and his staff spent much of July having to teach basic football, so he feels this camp will certainly help to introduce any new players to the basics of the game. The Seraphs went on to finish 3-7 in 2010 in Sciarappa’s first season as head coach for their best season since going 4-6 in 2006 after having finished a combined 1-29 from 2007-09. The Seraphs graduated a good portion of their lineup but are hoping to gain some stability in Sciarappa’s second year after he became their third head coach in three years heading into last season. Mater Dei competes in the small-school Shore Conference Class B Central and usually has just over 30 players in its program, so getting everyone up to speed, particularly the newcomers, is important because there is not much depth at most positions.
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A SM / 1 3
Party Like It’s 1999: Midd. South Wins Cj 3 Title By Scott Stump – Managing Editor For Middletown South's baseball team this season, whenever there has been Will, there has been a way. Senior ace Will Siegfried did his homework on Brick earlier in the week and then turned in an A-plus effort with the emotionless demeanor of a surgeon on June 3 against one of the top hitting teams in the Shore Conference to help the ninth-seeded Eagles capture their first NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III title since 1999. Siegfried (9-1) tossed a completegame three-hitter, striking out four, walking two and not allowing an earned run, and received some of the best run support of his brilliant season in a 7-1 win over the secondseeded Green Dragons. The victory came less than 24 hours after another celebratory pileon following the Eagles' 8-5 victory late Thursday night that snapped Red Bank Catholic's 24-game winning streak in the Monmouth County Tournament championship game.
each reached base once on errors, but never were able to do any major damage as Brick was denied its first sectional title since 1980 and second in school history. The Green Dragons (21-6) were knocked out of the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals and the state tournament on consecutive days but still are alive for a title as they will face Jackson Memorial in the Ocean County Tournament championship next week at a time, date and place to be determined. Three other factors made Siegfried even more formidable than normal, and also altered his gameplan midstream. First, he noticed that most of Brick's hitters were crowding the plate, so rather than just living on the outer half, he started busting them inside with two-seam fastballs. He even used that tactic on Carney, who leads the Shore with 10 home runs and rarely sees any pitchers challenging him on the inner half of the plate. "I started getting in on guys and that's when I started getting guys to roll their hands over and ground out to short and third or make soft outs into the outfield,'' said Siegfried, who induced 10 groundball outs. "I stayed soft away to them and kind of pounded Carney in a little bit. I don't think anyone in the Shore has really done that, because no one has the power numbers he has so no one really wants to go there. I had him second-guess himself at the plate.''
The second factor in Siegfried's favor was a ferocious wind blowing in from left field that neutralized Brick's power bats. Carney smashed a A team that endured a ball to left field in the first inning that would five-game losing streak Junior Stefan Poggioli have been a home during the regular season run on any other day but it and was only two games over .500 less than a month ago turned into a harmless advanced to play at Rutgers against South Jersey Group flyball out to left field. III champion Seneca in the Group IV semifinals. The Eagles’ win over Brick was their 12th in the last 14 games The wind also let Siegfried be more aggressive with and sixth in a row. his pitch selection. A clear reason the Eagles were one of only two Shore "I can throw 2-0 Conference teams left standing after the sectional finals is fastballs down the middle Siegfried, who went to Brick's Shore Conference and split the plate as Tournament game against Jackson Memorial two days opposed to nitpicking the earlier to get a look at the Green Dragons. The clear black because I know message from that outing pertained to standout leadoff unless it goes to right hitter Nick Vitale and slugging third baseman Tim (field), it's got to be a Carney. pretty good shot to get out of here,'' Siegfried said. "I took out of it that I didn't want to lose to Carney or The final factor was an offense that has come alive at Vitale because they are their two best players,'' Siegfried the perfect time. Rather than pitching with his usual onesaid while picking shaving cream out of his ear after a run lead or in a tie game with little margin for error, postgame attack by his teammates. "The rest of the guys Siegfried had a comfortable cushion. Middletown South can definitely swing it, but as long as I stayed away, I finished with 10 hits, all singles, as junior first baseman thought I had a pretty good shot.'' Howie Brey went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, designated hitter Nick Mariniello had two hits and two That duo finished a combined 1-for-7, although they
Senior Will Siegfried
runs scored, outfielder Stefan Poggioli added a pair of RBI singles and outfielders Chris Mangarelli and Dan Sweeney each chipped in with RBI singles. "Once we get to three runs, we know we have it wrapped up already because Will is going to throw an awesome game,'' Brey said. "Now that that part of the game is coming around, if we're putting up seven, eight runs a game and we have our 1-2 punch (of Siegfried and Brey), that's pretty tough to beat,'' Middletown South coach Ryan Spillane said. The scary part is that Siegfried did not even have full command of his arsenal on Friday, yet baffled a fierce hitting lineup in a 95-pitch effort. "I didn't think that he had his typical velocity, and he struggled during particular periods of the game throwing his slider for strikes,'' said Middletown South head coach Ryan Spillane. "He's good enough to figure it out out there and work through it. For a team like that, to only give up one unearned run when you don't have your best stuff, that says a ton about that kid.''
Video & Photos Highlights by:
Scott Stump
www.allshoremedia.com
1 4 / A SM
Volume-III
Issue-11
6/6/11
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A SM / 15 has only dropped 10 games all season. Almost every single one of his matches has been 6-0, 6-0. That’s like a baseball pitcher throwing multiple no-hitters in one season, but Lippens hasn’t gotten that same spotlight because high school tennis is often overlooked as one of the niche sports in the spring.
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h ile s p o r ts like ba s eb all, s o f tba ll, tr a ck a n d f a s t- g r o win g la cr o s s e always s eem to get th e mos t a tten tion th is time of yea r a s th eir s eas on s wr ap u p with th eir r es p ective s tate ch a mpion s h ip s , th er e h a s q u ietly b een a S h or e Con f er en ce ath lete in a n o th er s p or t wh os e d omin an ce h a s been br ea th ta kin g.
Shore Regional senior tennis star Michael Lippens enters the NJSIAA Singles Tournament having not lost a match since his sophomore year. In his entire career with the Blue Devils, he has only lost to one player. Former Ocean star Mike Lampa, a 2009 graduate, beat Lippens three times, including once in the NJSIAA Singles Tournament championship in Lampa’s senior year. As outstanding as Lampa was during his career, he still lost seven matches during his career, including two to Lippens before coming back to beat him in the state final as a senior. Since then, Lippens has completely dominated New Jersey tennis, going 48-0 heading into this spring’s NJSIAA individual tournament. Not only that, but he has won every single one of those matches in straight sets, an incredible achievement. As a junior, he finished 25-0 and breezed to the state title with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Lenape’s Nikola Kokovic. Those matches are usually two- or three-hour marathons, but Lippens wrapped it up quickly. This season, he is 23-0 entering the individual tournament and the most insane statistic of all is that he
While his physical skills have put the University of Louisville recruit ahead of most of his peers, his biggest asset might be his mental toughness. Certainly, there have been some top players in the past who can’t handle the No. 1 spot, but Lippens seems to relish it. Rather than feeling the pressure of having the target on his back as the defending champion, he sees being the one on top as an asset. “I think since I won it last year, I have the advantage of having the experience of already being in the finals twice in high school,’’ said Lippens. “I know that the other players haven’t been in that situation, so it’s going to be different for them. I think the experience will help a lot.’’ It also takes a certain mental toughness to remain focused enough to only drop 10 games in an entire regular season. Any player has an off day where an opponent might win a few games, but Lippens battles everyone even though he could coast past most opponents. “I treat every opponent that I play with the same intensity and focus,’’ he said. “Anything can happen in the game of tennis.’’ He also could easily have been satisfied with wiping out opponents at the high school level, but he has continued to challenge himself. Instead of playing USTA junior tournaments like last year, he has stepped up to play a higher level of competition at USTA Futures events. Lippens also spent time training with a professional player, 28-year-old Miami resident Alexander Bogomolov, who has been ranked as high as No. 92 in the world. Bogomolov was recently in the French Open and will play Wimbledon. After playing against someone like that, the best high school players in New Jersey must seem like a step down. “He has shown me that it definitely is a huge mental
game,’’ Lippens said. “The decision-making on the court, and the shot selections are definitely a huge part of winning.’’ Many young tennis stars choose to not even participate on their high school team to focus on junior tournaments, but I like that Lippens has decided to remain as normal of a high school kid as possible. You can’t get that time back, and there have certainly been plenty of professionals over the years who lamented being away from their friends and family while traveling all over for tournaments when they were teenagers. “I always considered playing high school tennis,’’ he said. “I wanted to be part of a team because I believed that would be a good thing for me.’’ He said Shore Regional has been lenient in occasionally letting him miss school to travel to non-high school tournaments, and in return he has helped the Blue Devils’ tennis team get some recognition state-wide. At 95-3 in his career with a chance at a second straight NJSIAA Singles Tournament title, Lippens can cement himself among the all-time greats in Shore Conference and state history with one more undefeated run. It might not enjoy the spotlight that the likes of the baseball squads at Manalapan and Middletown South have gotten during their deep state playoff runs in a team sport, but if he finishes the job, it will be one of those achievements that merits a double take when people look back on it in a few years. Lippens has taken it all in stride, knowing that the competition will pick up dramatically when he gets to Louisville. He knows that no matter what happens in his college career and beyond, being able to go undefeated and not drop a set for two straight seasons is something that could never be taken away from him as well as being hard to top for the next Shore Conference star. ““That would be a really cool thing to be able to say (I did),’’ he said. “For me that would be an incredible accomplishment.’’
Photos Courtesy of:
Luc Lippens
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www . a l ls hore m ed ia. c o m
Volume-III
Issue-11
6/6/11