By: James McKeever
When South Brunswick High School baseball coach Leo Danik looks back on the 2003 season, he won’t dwell on his team’s late-season struggles. Instead, he will remember a special group of seniors with pride.
The Vikings were riding high in early May, sitting pretty with a 9-2-1 record as they battled for first place in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division and geared up for a run in the GMC and NJSIAA tournaments.
But the rest of the season didn’t go as planned, as South Brunswick lost six of its final eight games to finish at 11-8-1. Along the way the Vikings lost in the first round of both tournaments and finished third in the Red.
In 2002 they had a 16-7-1 record in Danik’s first season and won the school’s first GMC Tournament title.
"This year was a tough year in terms of the weather, guys were a little banged up with nagging injuries," said Danik. "We got rained out and postponed a lot.
"There was a lot of pressure on these guys all year, being ranked No. 1 in the preseason and coming in as the defending county champs. We lost a lot of tough games. A lot of games by one run where we had a ton of guys in scoring position but couldn’t get that one timely hit we needed. But I think our defense for the most part was good and our pitching outstanding. "But when you look back of this group of seniors you’ll see that they had much success. They won a county title and a division title (as sophomores) and they raised the bar around here as far as our expectations."
The nucleus of the senior group was formed by the Clemente triplets: Nick, Joe and Anthony.
Nick, who on Monday night was named the GMC’s Male Scholar-Athlete for the 2002-03 school year, played a steady second base for the Vikings and batted .348with four doubles and 11 walks. Joe caught everything hit near him in center field and led the squad in homeruns (four) and RBI (tied with 13). Anthony appeared in five games as a pitcher and played some third base. He compiled a 2-0 record with one save.
"The Clemente brothers raised the program to a whole new level," Danik said. "You could count on these kids every single day and that’s tough to find in 16, 17-year-old kids. There was a lot of pressure put on the Clementes and they took the lead."
According to Danik, Nick and Joe will be going to Lehigh to play soccer while Anthony will attend Rowan, also for soccer.
Another senior who was instrumental in the program’s success has been Bryan Sock, the ace of the pitching staff the past two seasons who was a varsity mainstay for all four years.
On the field, Sock compiled a 5-2 record with a 1.56 ERA. The Rutgers-bound Sock usually pitched all of the Vikings’ big games and rang up 53 strikeouts in 54 innings while allowing 38 hits and 19 walks. He also tied for the team lead in RBI with 13.
Off the field, he showed his teammates how to act like a seasoned varsity player.
"Bryan was a real role model," his coach said. "He constantly works at his game. He would pitch a complete game and then you would find him in the trainer’s room riding the bike for 30-to-45 minutes. No one told him to work like that. He did it on his own. He set a great example for the other kids."
First baseman Justin Makowski led the Vikings with a.362 average while belting four doubles and driving in nine runs. He also fielded his position like a pro. He will attend Rowan.
"Makowski is another role model a leader who doesn’t say much, but leads by example," Danik said. "Where am I going to find a 6-4 first baseman who doesn’t make mistakes?"
Three other players will graduate: Right fielder Corey Griffin, third baseman Mike Siecinski and leftfielder Kyle Cleffi (.310).
"Corey did a nice job in right field for us and Mike always came up big and Cleffi is going to catch anything hit in the air."
Replacing the seniors won’t be easy, but Danik has talent to work with next season.
Three juniors, shortstop Brandon Hair, outfielder-pitcher Dane Marini and pitcher-first baseman Patrick Keenan all gained tremendous experience the past two seasons. Keenan, a starter the last two years, could step into the role of ace.
Plus the sophomore class can play, Danik said, led by returning starting catcher Tim Barnshaw (team-high six doubles, 10 RBI).
Behind Keenan is a solid quartet of sophomore pitchers who should give Danik’s staff depth and flexibility: Travis Smart (three games, 11Ò innings),Sean Farrell (three games, six innings), Ryan Webb (three games,6Ò innings) and Tim Hester (one game, one inning).
According to Danik, this year’s junior varsity team went 8-8 while the freshman club finished 12-5-1.
"Since day one these kids have been under a lot of pressure,"’ Danik said of this season’s group. "People scrutinized them a lot. But I think they did a great job. These kids came out and played for Me every day. And they played hard. You can’t ask for anymore than that.
"And next year, as long as these guys continue to work, we’re going to be OK."

