one of NEC
Pitching, defense are keys
for Hawks baseball team
Closer Kelly
one of NEC’s best
By tim morris
Staff Writer
CHRIS KELLY Monmouth University’s Mike Kelly, of Freehold, takes a cut during the Hawks’ game against Central Connecticut on Saturday in West Long Branch.
As Monmouth University, West Long Branch, heads into the heart of the Northeast Conference baseball schedule, head coach Dean Ehehalt is pleased with where his Hawks are at.
Monmouth’s 4-11 overall record (2-1 in the NEC) is deceptive. The Hawks began the season with their annual southern excursion in early March, facing the likes of the universities of North Carolina and Central Florida and the Air Force. The Hawks faced their daunting trip with a handicap. The severe winter kept them inside and off the field for most of the winter.
Last year the Hawks had similar results in Florida, starting the season well below .500, only to wind up winning the NEC regular season title with a 23-4 record, establishing a new single-season record in the conference for wins. They were 30-21 overall.
Many of last year’s stars, shortstop/closer Mike Kelly, catcher Mike St. Martine and second baseman Lance Koenig are back.
"We’re a somewhat experienced team," said Ehehalt. "We have a significant number of returners and some pretty talented newcomers.
"I think we’re playing pretty well right now," he added. "We’re right where we’d like to be at this time of the season."
Pitching and defense, Ehehalt pointed out, will be the cornerstones of this Hawk squad.
Andrew Palmieri, the junior left-hander from St. John Vianney, Holmdel, and senior righty Jim Carone, from Point Pleasant Beach, are the club’s top two in the rotation. Carone was the NEC Pitcher of the Year last spring when he won a conference-leading and school-record 10 games and posted a 2.21 earned run average.
Palmieri, a spot starter last year, is a more comfortable and confident pitcher this year because he knows when he’s going to be starting.
Carone and Palmieri will make the majority of their starts on the weekends when NEC games are played. Both have similar styles.
"They are pretty comparable," said Ehehalt. "College pitching is the art of getting people out, and both are doing that."
Palmieri and Carone are both control pitchers. They are three-pitch hurlers who rely on a fastball, curve and change-up. They throw strikes and let their fielders make plays behind them.
That’s where defense takes over and the Hawks are as good as anyone in the NEC. Kelly, a junior from Freehold Borough, and Koenig, a senior from Manasquan, are back up the middle, as is St. Martine, a junior from Truman behind the plate, and sophomore Frank Pilitowski from Delsea in center field. Evan Clancy, a senior from Manasquan, is back at first.
All are great with the glove and have range. St. Martin is a strong-armed catcher who limits a team’s running game.
Freshman third baseman Marc Weres, an all-stater at Union High School last year, is the only newcomer.
"Our infield defense is as good as it gets," said Ehehalt.
Senior righty Scott Zandino, from Mainland Regional; junior Chuck Garrison, a right-hander from Toms River North; and Pilitowski round out the starters.
Once again Kelly is the closer. He was tabbed as a preseason all-American by NCBWA, and the preseason NEC Player of the Year. Along with being an outstanding shortstop and a productive hitter, Kelly is the league’s top closer. He led the NEC in saves last year (nine) while going 2-1 with an earned run average of 0.53. The hard-throwing right-hander fanned 15 batters in 17 innings of work.
Kelly has appeared in five games this year with one save, a 0-2 record and a 2.57 ERA. He has six strikeouts in seven innings of work.
Palmieri has started four games and has a 2-1 record with a 4.50 ERA.
Koenig and St. Martin, who were all-NEC in 2002 with Kelly, are both off to good starts in 2003. Koenig is batting .339 and leads the team with 15 runs scored and total bases (28). He has three doubles, a triple and a home run among his 20 hits.
St. Martine is batting .274 but leads the team in home runs (three) and has 11 RBI. He has scored 12 runs and has 27 total bases, second to Koenig.
Clancy has been the team’s top RBI man with 14.
Cipriano Apicelli from Ocean Township, a newcomer who transferred from New Haven, leads the team in hits with 22 and has scored eight times. He’s batting .333.
Fran Rotella, a sophomore from St. Peter’s Prep, is one of the role players from 2002 who has stepped up his play this year. He’s leading the team with a .353 batting average.
"We have a different offense this year," said Ehehalt. "We have more speed and less power than in the past. We’re not going to out-slug teams. We won’t be a big inning team.
"We’re having a lot of success stealing bases," he added. "We have some guys with speed and when they’re on base, we give them the green light. They can steal."
Koenig, Jon Lewis (sophomore from Central Regional) and Apicelli are the speed burners who can shake things up with their base-running. Koenig has six stolen bases to lead the team.
The Hawks aren’t worried about finishing first in the conference. Although it’s always nice to finish on top, last year’s 23-win season didn’t matter in the postseason where Central Connecticut State won the NEC tournament and the bid to the NCAA tournament. "It’s anybody’s game," said Ehehalt. "Our goal each year is to be the best team in the tournament."