BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer
Rob Hine
Rob Hine hoped to get some playing opportunities for Brookdale Community College’s young, nationally ranked baseball team.
The freshman shortstop, who played last spring for Brick Township, did not think he would be an everyday player.
"I played every inning during the season," said Hine. "I never got moved from when we started with seven shortstops, with some of the others moving to different positions."
In fact, Hine made second team for the Garden State Athletic Conference and second team for Region XIX.
Batting sixth in the order, Hine admitted he "hit better than I thought. I expected to go down (in batting average) a little from high school."
But Hine says he felt he adapted quickly, which he credits in part to playing last summer in a college league in Brooklyn.
"That helped me a lot," said Hine.
And playing on a high school team that qualified last season for all three tournaments — Ocean County, Shore Conference and NJSIAA — gave him a taste of the pressure he would experience at Brookdale.
The team finished 28-8 after winning its first 15 games and then faded a little despite the strong pitching. Ranked No. 6 in the nation, Brookdale won the GSAC, but then lost its opening Region XIX series at Mercer County College in a stunning upset to Lackawanna of Scranton, Pa. Lackawanna scored two runs in the ninth inning to pull out the final game of the best-of-three series, 6-4. Lackawanna (19-17) opened the series with a 6-3 victory before the Jersey Blues knotted it, 10-2. Hine sounded frustrated recalling that early exit from the postseason.
Hine batted .365 with four doubles, three triples and 25 RBIs. He struck out nine times and walked seven times. Defensively, he had a .909 fielding percentage with 25 put outs, 32 assists and five errors.
If hitting is contagious, Hine was happy to be playing on what he considers "a pretty good hitting team. The difference from high school is the pitchers hit more spots, going inside and then trying to throw strikes on the outside, which is not what I want to hit. I never saw a hard slider until I came to Brookdale and you’d usually see a mid-80s (80 mph) fastball in high school, but pitchers here can get it in the 90s. I knew there was a big difference in speed because I had talked to guys who have played at Brookdale about it."
And it’s not only at the plate where the players develop quick reactions, but on the bases and also in the field. Quickness on defense is essential; because players are more dedicated to weight training in college and their strength, and the zip of the aluminum alloy bat makes the ball take off sharply. Hine did a great job of keeping the ball in front of him to make the tough plays.
Hine, whose brother Chris also plays shortstop as a sophomore on the Brick Township team, started off at second base before being moved in his junior year with the Green Dragons.
"He has a solid glove and excellent size for a shortstop at 6 feet 1 inch," said Brick Township coach Tom Webber of the move. "And he has excellent range and a great cannon for an arm to really fire that ball over."