Cards fall to Rams

Baseball

By: Jim Green
   One day after finally notching its first victory, the Lawrence High School baseball team reverted to the form it displayed throughout its 0-17 start.
   The Cardinals picked up only four hits and committed four fielding errors May 20, as they dropped to 1-18 with a 12-0 loss to Hightstown.
   "I was real surprised," Lawrence coach Brian Carter said of the loss. "I thought that win would have taken pressure off us. I would have thought we would have taken some confidence into that game (against Hightstown).
   "It was totally the opposite."
   The Cardinals, as usual, struggled mightily without ace right-hander Dave Waseleski on the mound. Junior right-hander Joe Ragazzo received the start and allowed seven earned runs on four hits and four walks over three innings.
   While the Cardinal hitters were struggling to get going, the Rams scored once in the first and twice in the third to open an early 3-0 lead.
   "We didn’t get them (the Rams) out in the first three innings," Carter said. "We made it easy for them to score. Psychologically, they (the Cardinals) started thinking, ‘We’re going to give up a lot of runs again today.’"
   Lawrence received only singles from senior catcher Charlie Park, junior first baseman Ian Black, senior right fielder Justin Ross and junior relief pitcher Kyle Gafgen. The Rams, meanwhile, forced the game to be called after five innings by scoring seven times in the fourth and twice in the fifth for a 12-run lead.
   "I hope they (the Cardinals) didn’t quit," Carter said. "The guy they (the Rams) had on the mound threw strikes, and we didn’t throw strikes."
   One encouraging point for the Cardinals, though, continued to be the play of freshman shortstop Billy Bruschini. Although Bruschini, playing in just his fourth varsity game, made two early errors, he bounced back with some solid defensive play in the later innings.
   "He (Bruschini) came back and made a couple of nice plays later in the game," Carter said. "It (the errors) was totally mental."
   Bruschini, the younger brother of former Cardinals standout Mike Bruschini, began the season on the Lawrence freshman team and worked his way up to become the varsity squad’s starting shortstop in the season’s final weeks.
   "He (Bruschini) had to prove himself on the freshman level, and he did that," Carter said. "Then he had to prove himself at the JV level, and he did that. It was a situation where we decided, why not bring him up to the varsity team."
   Bruschini was not going to have anything handed to him based on his older brother’s legacy. But Carter did expect Bruschini eventually would become a quality varsity player; he just didn’t expect it would happen so soon.
   "Knowing the type of player his (Bruschini’s) brother was, I knew he would definitely be an impact player," Carter said. "The way the season was going, we decided, why not let him take his knocks now? He’ll be five or six games better next year than he would have been with this experience at the varsity level."
   The addition of Bruschini to the everyday lineup finally gave Carter a reliable glove at shortstop — something the team had been lacking all season. And Bruschini played a major role in the Cardinals’ win over Notre Dame, handling four chances without making an error.
   "He (Bruschini) has kind of solidified the defense," Carter said. "When the pitcher does his job by getting a ground ball, it’s going to be an out."
   Bruschini’s bat has not had quite as big an impact, as he has gone 1-for-12 with an RBI in four games. Carter, though, believes he will develop into a quality offensive player.
   "He (Bruschini) swings a pretty good bat," Carter said. "If he would have faced this level of pitching all year, he’d be where everyone else is."
   Bruschini will take part in what likely will be the last game of his freshman season at 3:45 p.m. today, when Lawrence visits Princeton. The Cardinals will have a chance to finish strong against the 2-14 Little Tigers.
   But if Steinert finishes tied for first place in the Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division, Lawrence will have to make up a game against the Spartans that was rained out earlier in the season.
   Carter felt his team was preparing well for its potential season finale against Princeton.
   "We had a good practice last Thursday," he said. "We brought a couple of kids up from the freshmen team to JV, and I thought we had a good practice."