JERRY WOLKOWITZ Worldnet Clippers second baseman Ty Ngyuen tries to complete a double play against the Manchester Hawks during a recent game.
Anthony Piccola and Trung Nguyen can turn the double play in their sleep. And if it seems like they’ve been doing it all their lives, it’s because that isn’t far off.
Since they played together at shortstop and second base on the Freehold Township Little League All-Star Team as 9-year-olds, they’ve been turning the doubleplay every summer since. They are now sophomores in college, Piccola at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., and Nguyen at St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY.
"It’s like second nature to us," said Piccola. "We know each other so well."
Piccola and Nguyen and teammates Anthony DeNicola, Jeff Dyer, Vinny Giacomo, Jon Gloth and Dan Evans are the new "Boys of Summer." They were all teammates on that all-star team that won the District 19 championship as 9-year-olds.
It was baseball that first brought them together and it is baseball that is keeping them together. They remained teammates every summer as all-stars for Freehold Township, and they played high school ball together at Freehold Township (Piccola went to Xaverian in New York City where his father Lou Piccola is the athletic director and former basketball and baseball coach). Although they are all now off to college, they are still teammates on the baseball diamond. They have reunited in the Jersey Shore Baseball League playing with the Worldnet Clippers where they are coached by Lou Piccola and Jeff Dyer, who have been with them since the start.
At every level, they’ve played winning baseball although the District 19 Little League title they won as 9-year-olds is the only district flag that they would win. They would be contenders at every district tournament thereafter, losing in the finals four times. They are still winning in the JSL, battling for the regular season title this summer with perennial power Point Pleasant Merchants. The Clippers are 16-4 at the start of this week’s action.
But there is much, much more to the team than the triumphs and heartbreaks they shared on the diamond.
"We became the best of friends through baseball," said DeNicola, who plays with Nguyen at St. Francis College. "We’re like a bunch of brothers.
"I can’t compare this team with any other I’ve been on," he added. "The whole atmosphere is special. We’re very family-oriented. Coach Piccola is like my second father."
Anthony Piccola talked about how close-knit the team is.
"Every single year it’s been the same, there’s such unity on the team," he pointed out. "We all love baseball and hang out together after every game.
"The Dyers’ live just around the corner from Liberty Oak Park," he added. "I think I’ve eaten more meals there than I have at my own home. We all go to Jeff’s house after the game and his mother (Susan) usually has a great Italian meal ready for us. My feelings can’t express the closeness I have for these guys."
Dyer, who goes to Lehigh University with Piccola, recalls when he and his teammates used to play home run derby in his back yard, hitting tennis balls.
"I’ll never forget these times; we’re Clippers forever," he said. "We’ve become such good friends. We all get along so well."
Dyer talked about the personalities of the team.
"Anthony Piccola works the hardest and Anthony DeNicola is a workhorse, you know he’s going to give it his all," he noted. "Trung is always there, and whenever the ball is hit to centerfield you know Vinny is going to catch it. I would say that I’m the jokester of the team."
The Clippers, in just their second year in the highly-competitive Jersey Shore League (one of the best summer leagues in the state for college players), are having an impact. They have risen to the top of the standings, challenging the league’s dominant team, the Point Pleasant Merchants.
"We have played together for so long, we know what each of us is going to do," said Piccola. "We find a way to win because we play as a team. That gives us an advantage over the other teams."
Dyer sees it the same way.
"We’ve played together for so long that everyone has confidence in each other," he explained. "No one person has to do it all. We all pick each other up."
Coach Lou Piccola looks to the fundamentals for the Clippers’ success.
"We’ve gotten great pitching, terrific defense and we utilize our speed," said Piccola. "Playing with wooden bats, it’s a different game than high school and college where they use aluminum. Hitters don’t have the same power. You have really manufactured runs and that’s where our speed comes in."
DeNicola, Andrew Palmieri (Seton Hall), Matt Bailey (Brookdale Community College), and Rob Denton (Brookdale Community College) have made up the starting rotation for the Clippers. Most teams would like the luxury of four quality starters and that has given the Clippers a big edge.
The team also has an edge defensively up the middle where Piccola has been penciling in the same names for 12 years. Evans (Washington College, Md.) behind the plate, Anthony Piccola at shortstop, Nguyen at second and Giacomo (St. Francis College, Brooklyn) in centerfield. They are a pitcher’s best friend.
Rounding out the talented Clipper roster are first baseman Joe McCloskey (BCC); second baseman Gloth (Rutgers University); pitcher Tim Mayer (BCC); pitcher Jon Scala (BCC); third baseman Sean Burgos (BCC); outfielder Ryan Dyer (Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck); second baseman Joe Agnello (BCC); pitcher Mike McDonough (BCC); outfielder Jesse Boles (BCC); third baseman Tim Petrin (Rutgers University); pitcher Kevin Kowalski (BCC); and the only high schooler, designated hitter Kyle McCarthy of Somerville.
Speaking of the seven Clippers who have been together the last 12 years, Piccola said they remain very serious about their baseball and very competitive.
"They’ve always been very coachable, they still listen," he pointed out. "It’s been very enjoyable for me. They’re like a part of my family. They’re such very good friends."
Joe McCloskey and Rod Giacomo are the other Clipper coaches.
The Clippers, sponsored by James F. King Jr. of Worldnet Financial, are at Liberty Oak Park tomorrow night against the Jersey Shore Hurricanes (7:30). On Sunday afternoon (3), they play a double dip against Colts Neck at the Laird Road fields. On Tuesday (7:30 p.m.), the Clippers are back home for Manchester.
The regular season ends with games against the Middletown A’s on July 27 (7:30 p.m.) and 30 (2:30 p.m.) at LOP.
The playoffs begin the first week of August.

