By: Ken Weingartner
Steve Rumolo says the fact the Monroe High baseball team has struggled out of the gate is not a surprise, but it’s still disappointing.
The Falcons, with just two regulars returning from a year ago, opened the year by going winless in their first seven outings 0-6-1 through Tuesday.
"My expectations were that things could go either way," Rumolo said. "I knew we were going to be very young and inexperienced. But we’re going to improve as we go on."
Monroe has shown flashes, but hasn’t been able to play a "complete game" yet. For example, the Falcons last week led 7-4 against Carteret before losing in extra innings. Carteret is ranked No. 10 in Middlesex County in one local poll. This week, MHS lost 6-2 to Metuchen and 13-0 to North Brunswick the team with which it played to an 8-8 tie earlier in the campaign.
"I think we can still turn it around," Rumolo said. "It’s like Mr. Beyer (coach Greg Beyer) says, it might just be a play, or getting our first win, and just improving from there."
Rumolo said it was up to the experienced players namely himself, Craig Mazor, and Andrew Hollander ‘ to provide leadership.
"People are getting frustrated and there’s a lack of confidence," he said. "That’s where we come in. We need to tell them to keep their heads up and to keep working. At times it’s difficult, and sometimes you’ve got to yell. But I knew coming into this year that I was going to have to be a leader. I knew what I had to do. We need to set an example, be in every play, be a role model a little bit."
Rumolo batted .365 last season with a team-high four homers and 18 RBI. Mazor, who had three hits including a double against North Brunswick, batted .368 with 16 RBI last year. Among returning players from last year’s 10-11 squad, the duo accounted for 73 percent of the team’s run production in 2002.
"I’m coming around on hitting," Rumolo said about this year. "I could always improve on defense. I’ve had some errors this year. But I’m working to improve, taking extra groundballs during practice. I could also improve hitting to all fields.
"Overall, though, I’ve been hitting the ball hard each time and making the routine plays in the field, which I had trouble with last year."
And even though times are tough right now, Rumolo is remaining positive. Monroe was scheduled to play a total of nine times this week and next week, so the Falcons still have plenty of games to get better. It will just require hard work and commitment.
"It would be easier for us to get worse, but if we start pulling together we could start to win some ball games," Rumolo said. "We just need to improve our defense and fundamentals. We’ve just got to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. Once we take that step, we’ll be more competitive. I think once we get that first win, we can start building some momentum."

