players competing in wood bat summer league
Flurry of top local
players competing in wood bat summer league
By doug mckenzie
Staff Writer
LAKEWOOD — Many of the best college players in the country showcased their talents to numerous major league scouts and more than 450 fans on July 20 at FirstEnergy Park.
The Atlantic Baseball Confederation Collegiate League (ABCCL) All-Star Game, sponsored by Lakewood Prep, showcased 50 collegiate baseball stars from colleges and universities from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware, Massachusetts, Virginia, Connecticut, West Virginia, Texas and Washington.
The ABCCL’s Doby Division came from behind and rallied for six runs to overcome the Berra Division in a highly competitive contest that displayed outstanding defensive plays, dominating pitching, and timely offensive skills.
The game began as a pitching duel with the Berras’ Dane Mason (Gloucester County College) and Vincent Grande (Monmouth University) matching zeros through the first three innings against the Dobies’ Jake Pravkewitz (William Paterson), of Manalapan, Matt Cangiolosi (Drexel University), a CBA graduate also from Manalapan, and Robert Forbes (NJIT). The Dobies were limited to one single by Matt Folke (Delaware State) while the Berras wasted singles by Al Roach (Temple) and Chris Kapsales (FDU-Teaneck), a Holmdel High school graduate, who also stole a base.
The Berra Division broke open the scoring in the fourth when Roach started a threat with his second single of the day. Zach Franklin (Washington State University) forced Roach at second, but advanced to second when the next batter, Cole Cicatelli (SUNY — Stony Brook), was hit by a pitch. Zach Fazio (Wagner College) singled Franklin home, giving the Berras a 1-0 lead.
The Dobies rallied over the next several innings to break the game open and take a 6-1 lead with hits by Jake Serfass (West Virginia University), Chris Fulda (Seton Hall), Matt Folke and Dubin Word (both of Delaware State), and Aaron Richard (Rutgers University-New Brunswick).
The Berras threatened to come back and take the lead when they loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth against Mike Sales (Rutgers University-Newark), a Howell High School graduate, but Sales was tough in the clutch and retired the next three batters without allowing a run. Matt Loringer (Kings College) and Mike McTamney (Wagner College), a Toms River North grad, shut down the Berras the remainder of the game.
The Berras were unable to generate any further offense and take advantage of shutout innings provided by the strong pitching of Kyle Boturla (Brookdale Community College), Mike Wlodarczyk (Boston College), Dave Mischo (SUNY–Stony Brook), and Ryan Claypool (SUNY–Stony Brook), a Middletown South graduate.
The fans were treated to several excellent defensive plays. Chris Kapsales playing first base showed great range in the third inning when he made an over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory in right field on a ball hit by Cip Apicelli (Monmouth University), an Ocean Township High School grad.
In the fifth, catcher Eric Hildenbrand (Siena) blocked several potential wild pitches and made an acrobatic catch of another thrown over his head. An inning later, shortstop Chris Contrino (Brown University), a CBA grad from Marlboro, thrilled the fans with a diving stop of a ground ball which he was able to bounce up and throw out Jason Gumnitz (The College of New Jersey), a Manalapan High School grad, at first. Catcher Cole Cicatelli (SUNY–Stony Brook) threw out two base runners trying to steal — Nick Papa (Wagner), of Freehold Township fame, in the eighth, and Dubin Word in the ninth inning — to eliminate potential scoring threats. Pitcher Dave Mischo (SUNY–Stony Brook) made a great play on a ball hit back to the mound by Mike McTamney in the 10th inning.
Among the other players to make the all-star game were the Lakewood Prep Cougars’ Doug Mayer, a Jackson native who just graduated from Caldwell College; The Manchester Yankees’ Larry Samples, an Ocean Township grad entering his sophomore year at Rider University; the Jersey Shore Tides’ Mike Pahria, a Holmdel High School grad entering his sophomore year at Pace University; the Monmouth Monarch’s Eric D’Alessandro, a Middletown South grad entering his senior year at Rider University; and Pat Sullivan, a CBA grad from Long Branch who is entering his sophomore year at Seton Hall University.
Now in its third year of operation, the ABCCL is providing area residents with the opportunity to enjoy NCAA collegiate league wood bat baseball. The League expanded to eight teams this year, and plans to add two more next year since the demand for roster spots in the League has exceeded the capacity of its eight teams.
Top collegiate conferences such as the PAC-10, Big Ten, Big East, Atlantic 10, NEC, and many others continue to send their players to hone their skills in the ABCCL and enjoy the benefits of playing in New Jersey for the summer.
Among the other local players to compete in the ABCCL this year are the Jersey Shore Tides’ Brian Langan, a Keyport High School grad entering his sophomore year at Brookdale Community College; Brian Rabbit; a Brick Township grad also entering his sophomore year at Brookdale; Tom Rinaldi, a Holmdel High school grad entering his sophomore year at Villanova University; and Holmdel High School’s Charles Bernoski, who will be a sophomore at Georgetown University in the fall.
CBA grad Gene Crimoli, a Shrewsbury native and a sophomore at Rider University, is joined on the Central Jersey Clippers’ roster by Brick Township graduate Anthony Delgrosso, who is entering his senior year at Coker College, while the Toms River Black Sox roster includes Middletown North grad James Koehler, a junior at Rutgers University, and his Rutgers teammate Steve Healing, a sophomore out of Brick Township.
Shore Regional graduate Marc Hyndsman, who is entering his freshman year at Monmouth University, is joined on the Manchester Yankees’ roster by Matawan’s Mike Melissinos, a sophomore at Seton Hall; Shore Regional grad Michael Spahr, a junior at Quinnipiac; and Manalapan’s Justin Cocliff, a sophomore at Rider University.
The Lakewood Prep Cougars’ roster includes Brick grad Kevin Graham, entering his sophomore year at Felician; Long Branch’s Matt Dutch, a senior at Fordham University; Freehold’s Sean Rhodes, a freshman at Fayetteville Community College; and Howell’s Craig Tscherednikov, who will be a sophomore at Fordham in the fall.
The Ocean Giants includes a slew of local players, including Ocean Township’s Perry Schatzow, who will attend Kean University in the fall, and Howell’s Frank Mesimer, a junior at Ocean County College.
With the regular season wrapping up last night, the league’s playoffs are set to get under way, starting with tomorrow’s first-round games. They will be played at 6 p.m.
On Friday, the semifinals will be held, with the league championship game scheduled for 1 p.m. at Monmouth University in West Long Branch.
Fans wishing to watch an ABCCL game can visit the League’s Web site at www.abccl.com, which contains an updated schedule along with rosters and results for the league.