VERONICA YANKOWSKI Allentown’s Dave Griffiths is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning of Friday’s game against Princeton in Allentown.
Allentown High School’s Rich Dawson has already seen two sides to his baseball team this season.
After dropping their first game of the season 15-7, in a game that featured several defensive miscues, some shoddy pitching and a lack of firepower early, the Redbirds bounced back with an impressive win over Princeton their next time out.
And now Dawson is left wondering which team will show up the rest of the way.
"It’s early yet, and we have a number of questions left to be answered, especially defensively," he said. "I think it’s a little premature to start talking about what to expect from this team."
In their season-opener against Trenton Central, the Redbirds fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, and saw that deficit balloon to 5-0 after two. And the game continued to snowball for Allentown, as Trenton took advantage of a number of Redbird errors.
"We came out flat against Trenton," Dawson said. "I think there were a lot of butterflies in the stomachs of some of our younger guys. As a result, we wound up playing catch-up baseball, and just couldn’t get going."
Their next time out, Allentown looked like a different team, playing errorless baseball, and responding to an early 3-0 deficit with an offensive outburst.
"I liked the way the kids came back in the Princeton game," Dawson said. "Defensively we played especially well."
With two contrasting efforts in the books, Dawson is left with the obvious request.
"Now I’m just looking for some consistency," he said. "We made four or five errors in the first game, and none in the second; pitched poorly in the first, and better in the second. We hit in both games, but had more timely hitting in the second."
The Redbirds have a good combination of youth and experience scattered throughout its lineup, starting with junior center fielder Gary Amatrudo, a first-year starter, in the leadoff spot.
"He’s a good leadoff guy," Dawson said. "He’s got a lot of speed and a knack for getting on base."
Behind him is senior left-fielder Lou Corta, a converted second baseman in his second year as a starter.
Senior Dave Griffiths, the team’s right fielder, is in the three hole, and makes up the heart of the batting order with cleanup hitter James Peterson, also a senior. Peterson is the team’s No. 1 pitcher but also plays first base.
Senior shortstop Mario Zapicchi returns and will bat fifth, followed by junior third baseman Matt Mordas, also a returning starter.
Senior Dave Peterson and junior Dave Koontz will sharing the catching duties, and will bat eighth, seeing equal amounts of playing time, according to Dawson.
Sophomore second baseman Evan Gallagher has also cracked the starting line-up and will look to make an immediate impression in the bottom of the order.
Junior Chris McCans is the designated hitter, and will also see some time in right field. Junior Ron Guidone will see time at first base when Peterson pitches.
Among the other players who will see significant playing time this year are senior Rob Crotchfelt and sophomore catcher Danny Ferraro.
Dawson’s pitching staff is headed by the southpaw Peterson, who got the win in the Princeton game after some early control problems.
"He was having some problems locating his release point in the first inning, but he settled down nicely," his coach said.
Peterson is followed by senior Steve Feasni, the only other member of the staff with varsity experience.
The rest of the pitching staff is made up of newcomers, including junior right-hander Craig Conk, sophomore righty Ryan Ripa, junior lefty Jon Scala, junior righty Bret Mallinson, and sophomore righty Craig Coti.
The Redbirds’ pitching has been shaky thus far, but Dawson expects improved showings from this point on as his pitchers become more comfortable.
Offensively, Dawson has seen some positive signs, especially from McCans, who went 3-4 in the Princeton game, Guidone, who had a key two-run double in that game, and Griffiths, who blasted a two-run home run in the second inning to spark the Allentown comeback.
Allentown returned to the diamond on Tuesday when they faced West Windsor South. They will take on Princeton Day School later today, before facing Ewing tomorrow.
Dawson has set some realistic goals for his team this year, and expects to see improvement as the year progresses.
"We’re trying to improve on last year’s 3-17 season, and would like to get over .500," he said. "It will be difficult because our pitching staff is young and unproven, so a lot depends on how fast they mature."