Hehner, Kelly, Gumnitz lead All-District Baseball

The 2000 baseball season had a little of everything. There were numerous outstanding, record-breaking performances turned in by the likes of Howell’s Doug Hehner, Freehold Borough’s Mike Kelly and Manalapan’s Jason Gum-nitz.

Then there was the run of Jon Block’s Colonials in the post-season, where they reached the semifinals of both the Central Jersey Group II and Monmouth County tournaments.

Manalapan, behind its hitting, made the state playoffs, the Shore Conference and Monmouth County tournaments.

The season saw the debut of Colts Neck.

Hehner, Kelly and Gumnitz head the News Transcript’s 2000 All-Freehold District Baseball Team. Hehner and Kelly are joined on the infield by Manalapan’s Mike DeJesus and Andre Langlais and Freehold Township’s Jake Walling. The outfield has Gumnitz, Freehold Borough’s Brian Fanelli and Marlboro’s Chris Holmes. Howell’s Cliff Santiago is the catcher, and pitchers are Freehold Borough’s Dave Steeneck and Manalapan’s Chris Legiadre. The designated hitter is Colts Neck’s Mike Sarapochillo.

Hehner had a record-breaking season for the Rebels. His 10 home runs were a single-season record, and the 22 he hit for his career is 10 better than the old mark set by Greg Bayly. Despite a 0-15 slump early in the season, Hehner batted .410. He led the Rebels with 18 RBI, and had three doubles and a triple to go with his 10 round-trippers. The Pace University-bound Hehner was his usual steady self in the field and even went 4-1 as a pitcher.

Kelly set school records everywhere. His .500 batting average is the Colonials’ all-time single-season best, and so were his 38 hits. He led the team in home runs (four), doubles (eight), runs (28) and RBI (25). In 76 at bats, he struck out only four times. The four-year starter had a .409 career batting average.

He also brought speed to the middle of the lineup, stealing 10 bases. Kelly was just as valuable in the field as he was with his bat.

The smooth-fielding shortstop anchored the infield with his range and strong arm. He also used his strong right arm to set pitching records. Kelly was 5-6 with a 2.06 earned run average. He struck out a school-record 91 batters in just 74 innings of work. Kelly will be playing for Monmouth University next year.

DeJesus is delivering on the promise he demonstrated as a freshman last year. This spring he did it all for the Braves, batting .522 while getting 36 hits. He was the catalyst of the offense getting on base. He scored 26 runs and stole 17 bases. A very bright future is ahead of him.

Walling had an outstanding offensive season for the Pats, blossoming into a big-time hitter. The lefty batted .423, and of his 33 hits, seven were doubles, three triples and one a home run. He topped the Pats with 20 RBI and runs scored with 17. The first baseman finished the season on a 13-game hitting streak.

Langlais provided the pop in the Manalapan lineup. The senior had another strong season for the Braves. Langlais batted .319 and had a team-high six home runs and 20 RBI.

Santiago did it all for the Rebels. The senior was an excellent fielding catcher with a strong arm. He batted .348 with eight doubles, one triple and two home runs. He had 15 RBI and the propensity to come up with the clutch hit for the Rebels.

Gumnitz, who is off to Division I Hofstra University, concluded one of the finest baseball careers in Manalapan history.

He banged out 28 hits this year to lift his career total to 103, a school all-time best. His career batting average is a hefty .445. He batted .419 this year and led the team with 24 RBI. Besides hitting for power (seven doubles, two triples) and average, Gumnitz is a threat anytime he’s on base because of his speed. He stole 21 bases and ran down many would-be extra-base hits.

Marlboro senior Holmes also was a two-way standout. He batted .333 while tying for the team lead in hits with 21. He had five doubles, one triple and one home run while driving in nine runs and scoring 12 runs (both team highs). He made no errors in the outfield. He is off to the University of Delaware, where he’ll try and make the Blue Hen squad as a walk-on.

Fanelli delivered a number of big hits for the Colonials, making teams pay for pitching around Kelly and Steeneck. The senior batted .378, but more importantly had 16 RBI despite batting behind Kelly and Steeneck, who combined for 50. He had four doubles, a triple and two home runs and scored 10 times.

Sarapochillo, a sophomore, made a big-time debut with the Cougars. He batted .456 and led the Cougars with 31 hits. He had seven doubles and two triples, drove in 17 runs and scored 17 times. He had an on-base percentage of .554.

Steeneck got his season off to a fast start, and he never looked back. The righty was one of the winningest pitchers in the Shore, going 7-2 with a fine 1.98 earned run average. He had 58 strikeouts in 53 innings of work.

A four-year starter like Kelly, he also starred with the bat as the Colonials’ clean-up hitter. He batted .434 with 33 hits, and of those, five were doubles, one a triple and three home runs. He tied Kelly for the RBI lead with 25 and scored 20 times.

Manalapan’s future rests with its legion of arms that will be back next year, led by junior Legiadre. He was the Braves’ top starter and came through with several strong outings, which proved he can be a bona fide ace. He was 5-4 with a 2.89 earned run average, and he had 45 strikeouts in 53.1 innings.

Those earning honorable mention for the 2000 season were: Dave Przbylko, Mike Delucia and Matt Webber, Colts Neck; Matt Coulson, Larry Hendrickson and Anthony Hubbert, Freehold Borough; Eric Gerstein, Ryan Dyer and Nick Papa, Freehold Township; Phil Gentile and Joe Gaj, Howell; John Orlando, Jack Phillip and Greg Andricsak, Manalapan; and Matt Borowski, Mike Reilly and John Tarantino, Marlboro.