BY MIKE McDONALD
Staff Writer
After opening the season with a hard-fought 12-11 win over North Brunswick, the Woodbridge High School baseball team went on to lose its next two games.
But before it could turn into a losing streak, the Barrons picked up their second win of the season to get to 2-2.
And after last year’s team finished 6-14, this is just about the kind of start head coach Jim Lammers was hoping for.
“The goal for this year’s team is to be competitive and qualify for the state tournament, which requires a .500 or better record,” he said. “I believe we can do it.”
And Lammers, now coaching his 22nd season, has plenty of reason to be optimistic.
“Our pitching staff should be pretty successful this year,” he said. “Art Beyer is returning to our team and he is a great pitcher.”
Rounding out the pitching staff will be juniors Jeff Jordan and Matt Snyder.
The team did lose some key players who put up big numbers offensively. Brian Casey and Keith Zalasar have graduated, after being a major part of last season’s offensive success.
“Offensively, I believe we will be successful, not because of who we lost, but rather who we still have — Art Beyer, Bob Gilbert, Jeff Jordan, Matt Snyder, Brian Kaelber, Matt Show and Matt Ibanez,” Lammers said.
Beyer, now a senior, pitches and plays first base extremely well, while he is a also very talented hitter. Gilbert is also a senior who plays second base when he is not on the mound. Jordan is a junior and will split time between first base and pitcher. Snyder also will pitch, while playing the infield on days he is not on the mound.
“We also have some new kids that I can see having a great impact on this team. Brian Kaelber, Matt Shaw and Matt Ibanez I feel can provide the spark that this team needs,” Lammers said. “I just hope the kids try to do the best they can. This team needs to play hard every game and not make mental mistakes. Physical mistakes happen, mental mistakes should not.”
The Barrons made some mistakes in their first regular season game, but still were able to get the victory against North Brunswick. Woodbridge led 8-1 in the third inning but saw the lead slip to 9-8 in the fifth. Beyer homered and Brian Kaelber drove in five runs, helping Woodbridge win. Ibanez drove in the eventual game-winning run in the seventh inning, while Jordan earned the win.
“We definitely did what we had to do offensively,” Lammers said. “I think the poor weather, which resulted in less scrimmage time than usual, hurt our pitching staff. Our pitching wasn’t sharp. We will work with our pitchers. However, I am happy we were able to get a win early against a division rival.”
The team’s performance was not as good in the its second and third games, as Woodbridge lost to Monroe High School and South Plainfield High School by a combined score of 14-1. Woodbridge was able to rebound and win its next game against Spotswood, as Bob Prachar delivered the two-out blow that knocked home Matt Ibanez and gave Woodbridge the 8-7 win.