By: James McKeever
This season, the South Brunswick High School baseball team won’t sneak up on anybody.
"When you’re the county champs everybody is going to come after you," said Vikings coach Leo Danik, whose team opens today (Thursday) by hosting East Brunswick after Tuesday’s opener with Spotswood was rained out. "We’re expecting a challenge from everybody."
Three weeks into the 2002 season South Brunswick had a 4-5-1 mark. Then, great pitching, timely hitting and superb defense all came together to fuel an 11-game winning streak. The Vikings got hot at the right time and captured their first Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship, beating Piscataway 4-2 in nine innings in the tournament final.
Their season ended with a 16-7-1 record. Now Danik knows his players will wear a bull’s-eye every time they play in the county.
"They should be up for it," said Danik, who starts his second season today. "These kids are hard-nosed. I think we’ll be in good shape."
The shape of South Brunswick’s pitching should determine the club’s fate this spring. Danik likes what he sees.
A deep staff with experience at the stop starts with Bryan Sock. A four-year varsity letterman, the senior turned in a 7-2 record with 1.27ERA as a junior. He went the distance in the GMCT final for the victory. Sock struck out 74 in 66 innings, walking 32 while allowing 40 hits.
"Sock looks stronger this year," Danik said. "He’s throwing his fastball, curveball and changeup for strikes. He just knows how to pitch."
After Sock comes junior left-hander Patrick Keenan, who went 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 23 innings (three starts last year). Keenan gained valuable experience pitching a solid game against South Plainfield in the GMCT semifinals as a sophomore.
Seniors Anthony Clemente (RH), Justin Makowski (RH)and Corey Griffin (LH) all saw mound duty a year ago and will fill prominent roles on this year’s staff.
After that, Danik said junior Dane Marini (LH) and sophomores Ryan Webb (RH), Sean Farrell (LH) and Travis Smart (RH) will all get a chance to pitch.
"These guys are all ready and I don’t have a problem throwing any of them in any game," Danik said. "We’ve had good pitching in all of our scrimmages. They young guys have stepped up and shown us they can pitch. They’re not nervous out there.
"I have confidence in our pitching. That’s what’s going to carry us: pitching, defense and hitting, in that order."
If scrimmages are any indication of the season to come, South Brunswick’s defense looks solid once again, especially in the outfield. Senior Joe Clemente (.361 last year) can run down fly balls with the best of them in center field. Like Clemente, left fielder Kyle Cleffi (.376, 18 RBI) is talented and experienced. In right field Griffin will see time with Marini.
In the infield, first baseman Makowski (.329, 13RBI) and senior second baseman Nick Clemente (team-high .418, 15 RBI) handle the right side. Brandon Hair, a junior, moves up to take over for the graduated Dan Rodriguez at shortstop. At third base, senior Mike Siecinski will see action with Anthony Clemente and sophomore Webb.
The catching will be handled by junior Evan Mahoney and sophomore Tim Barnshaw. Mahoney’s bat will be in the lineup at catcher or DH. He led the Vikings with 23 RBI a year ago while batting .288.
"Whoever steps up behind the plate will play there," said Danik. "Both look good. Evan is the older guy with more experience so he’s going to get the first shot. Either one could play for a lot of other schools."
Offensively the Vikings are not a team that sits back and waits for home runs. They only hit three all of last season. Instead, they rely on making contact, moving along runners and utilizing their team speed. Fundamental baseball carried the 2002 Vikings. Danik is preaching the same things again.
"One through six in the lineup we’re pretty solid," the coach said. "After that we’ll see if we can get some production from the bottom of the lineup."
Nick Clemente will probably lead off with his brother Joe hitting second. Mahoney is slated to bat third, followed by Cleffi, Makowski and Sock. All six are returning starters.
"We don’t have guys who jack the ball out of the park," Danik said. "But they have some power. We have guys who hit line drives and we have good speed right through the lineup. We’ll try to take advantage of that. We’re going to do what we need to win."
With solid pitching and defense and a balanced lineup of pesky hitters, South Brunswick should earn its share of wins this season and be a team to deal with in the GMC Red Division.
Who knows, the Vikings may even repeat as county champs. They just won’t be able to do it quietly.
