Offense still looking to break out
By: Rudy Brandl
The Manville High baseball team needed to play a solid all-around game to defeat Valley Division rival Jonathan Dayton in Springfield last Thursday.
Manville simply doesn’t have enough offensive firepower to offset the damages done by four errors in the first three innings of a ball game against the defending division champs. The 10-3 final score in Dayton’s favor didn’t come as a great surprise.
"They’re the champs and they’ve got everybody back," MHS head coach Steve Venuto said afterward. "We didn’t give Ernie (Lukacs) any defensive support and they’re a very good team."
Two errors led to an unearned run in the bottom of the first. Dayton (4-0) made it 4-0 with three more unearned runs in the third inning. Lukacs had retired the first two hitters but an error allowed the Bulldogs to keep the inning alive.
"We gave them too many outs today," Venuto said. "We won the first two games with good pitching and good defense. We didn’t play good defense today and we didn’t win the first inning. We have to rally and get better."
The Mustangs (2-1) haven’t torn the cover off the ball in any of their first three games. After opening the season with a tough 3-1 win at Oratory Prep, Manville came from behind to post a 4-2 victory over St. Mary’s in the home opener. Back on the road in Springfield, the Mustangs were held to three runs on six hits, which is about the team’s per-game average offensive output.
Dayton senior Raul Funaguera beat the Mustangs with his arm and his bat. He struck out six and walked two to pick up the victory and supported himself by going 3-for-4 with two runs at the plate. Funaguera is one of many veterans on the Dayton squad.
"They’re the team everyone in this conference is chasing," Venuto said. "They have depth and they have a lot of seniors. They’re tough."
Manville cut the early 4-0 deficit in half with two runs in the top of the fourth. Jeff Opachinski led off with a single. Tommy Rock, who went 2-for-4, ripped an RBI double to put the Mustangs on the board. Rock scored when Andrew Schaefer singled.
Dayton stormed right back with a big four-run inning to make it 8-2. Those were the first earned runs all day against Lukacs, who didn’t have his best stuff but still struck out four without walking a batter.
Manville’s final run came in the top of the fifth. Lukacs, who also went 2-for-4, walked but Steve Anderson erased him on a fielder’s choice. Opachinski walked and Shawn Lessing hit an RBI single.
"We haven’t had a breakout inning yet," Venuto said. "It might take a while."
The Mustangs needed a clutch inning to pull out their home opener vs. St. Mary’s earlier in the week. Anderson, who was sailing along on the mound, delivered a big hit in the bottom of the fifth when MHS scored three times to erase a 2-1 deficit.
Pat Horner walked, stole second and scored on Robert Wood’s RBI single to tie the game at 2-2. Mike Chabra singled and Greg Fabiyan entered the game as a pinch runner. Fabiyan scored on Scott Petzinger’s single and Kyle Sopko followed with a walk. Anderson drilled a two-out RBI double to left-center field to give himself a little insurance.
Anderson (1-0) allowed only four hits and two walks while striking out 11 batters in his first start of the 2005 season. The right-hander gave up two runs in the top of the fourth but retired 11 straight men after that.
Manville’s other run came in the first inning when Opachinski singled home Lukacs, who had reached base on a one-out walk.
St. Mary’s threatened to score in the top of the second, putting runners on first and second with no outs. The Mustangs turned an amazing triple play to stop that threat. First baseman Lessing caught a line drive, stepped on first for the second out and fired to Wood, who tagged the runner who had strayed too far from the bag.
That type of defensive execution wasn’t in Manville’s repertoire at Dayton, and that inevitably led to the team’s first loss of the season. The Mustangs will get another shot at Dayton on their home field in May.
Manville was scheduled to continue its early season road trip with games at South Hunterdon and Hillside this week.

