Snyder remains optimistic
By: Rudy Brandl
More horrible weather in the late spring has created serious problems in the early stages of the Manville-Somerville American Legion baseball season.
Third-year manager Gregg Snyder entered the campaign with optimism, but several rainouts and a few tough losses have put the locals back on their heels. Post 12 dropped its season opener to Montgomery on June 10, then didn’t play until losing both ends of a June 16 doubleheader at Immaculata. Then came a few more postponements that might force the league to revamp its entire schedule.
"It’s a nightmare," Snyder said. "I’ve spent more time on the phone rescheduling games and finding umpires. We’re so backed up already, I don’t know what they’re going to do about the season."
The 11-team league voted to reduce its schedule from 27 to 20 games. Even with fewer games, Snyder still figures his team will be in action almost every day for the next few weeks, weather permitting. Last year, there were 10 teams and everyone played the other nine clubs three times. This season, that’s been reduced to a home-and-home series against each team.
"We have to make up five games already," Snyder said prior to Thursday’s scheduled home game vs. Warren Hills. "I’d have to play every day for 2½ weeks to get back on schedule. You can’t do that, no matter how much pitching you have. They may have to shorten the season."
Post 12 will sport a 16-man roster this season, featuring the usual mix of Manville and Somerville players with a few extras. Manville High 2002 graduate John Anderson (P/1B/3B) and recent grads Robert Snyder (3B/P) and Jon Gangwer (OF) are back on the team, along with current high school players Eddie Gryzeski (P/OF/SS), Sean McCarthy (P/OF/DH), Steve Anderson (P/2B) and Glen Liszczak (1B).
Somerville’s Kyle Gardner (CF), Matt Magliaro (LF), John Pernini (C), Rob Porcaro (SS), Ryan Carrigan (1B/P) and Adam Bray (C/1B), now a college player at Lehigh, have also returned. Snyder has added a quality presence in Hillsborough High 2002 grad Andrew Wayne (2B), now a player at Moravian, along with Brian Scanlon (C) and Fred Goepel (OF/P) from Rutgers Prep.
"We’ve got some good players," Snyder said. "I came into this feeling really good about the team, but we started with three tough losses."
Lack of clutch hitting has doomed the team in the early going. The team didn’t hit at all in a 6-1 opening loss to Montgomery. After suffering a 9-3 loss in the first game to Immaculata, Snyder’s team played a close one in the nightcap before falling apart in the seventh inning.
Manville and Immaculata were locked in a 4-4 tie after five innings but the Spartans blew the game open late. Post 12 committed four errors in the seventh inning and Immaculata took advantage scoring eight runs to make the difference in a 14-6 victory.
Despite the 0-3 start, the team has given Snyder some reasons to remain optimistic. Post 12 has faced two of the league’s better teams right off the bat, so the coach hopes his team’s fortunes will change against some of the lower-echelon teams.
There are other positives. Playing together for the first time, the club turned four double plays against Montgomery. Newcomer Wayne has brought a productive bat to the lineup. The team’s attendance so far has been good and the skipper hasn’t needed to scramble for players. Snyder has enough healthy arms to get through the busy weeks of play. Now the team just needs to start hitting.
"We’re just not getting the timely hitting," Snyder said. "I really think we can have a .500 record. We’re lost three tough games but we can beat a lot of these teams. We need to get our hitting going. I’ve got a good bunch of kids."