Post 414 baseball
By: Jim Green
It is said that offense is fun to watch, but pitching wins baseball games. If that’s the case, the Lawrence American Legion Post 414 baseball team should win more than its share this season.
Post 414, which went 7-15 last season, has an impressive array of arms for second-year manager Joe Eldridge Sr. to choose from, including Notre Dame High School right-handers Eric Reilly, who was 7-2 this spring, and Andrew Riexinger, Lawrence High righty Taylor Smith (5-0) and Pennington School righty Brandon Smith each of whom can start effectively. Out of the pen, Post 414 features several quality arms, including Dan Ciccone and Geoffrey Kimmel from LHS and Andrew Cooke and Dan Zuccari from Notre Dame.
"Last year, I had to stretch out some kids more than I would want to," Eldridge Sr. said. "It’s nice to have more pitching. It gives you more chances to do things."
Lawrence also will feature an experienced lineup, including Taylor Smith, center fielder Christian Cox, catcher Nick Scozzari and infielders Jason Zegarski, Matt Russo and Joe Eldridge Jr. from the LHS squad. Other key contributors will be Riexinger, who plays first base when he’s not pitching, Zuccari, who normally plays outfield, and former Cardinal Charles Commini.
The rest of the roster is comprised of Sean Gafgen (OF), Robert Hallowell (C), Kevin Raymond (OF) and Patrick Whitty (INF).
"This year, there’s a lot of pitching, and we should be a good defensive team," Eldridge Sr. said. "That’s two of the big three there."
With Cox leading off, the Post 414 offense should have plenty of big days. Cox hit .391 with 24 runs and 16 RBIs for the Cardinals in the spring.
"He’s done a nice job," Eldridge Sr. said. "He’s a great defensive center fielder, and he gets on base quite a bit."
And with Eldridge Jr at second, Zegarski at short and Scozzari behind the plate, in addition to Cox in center, Lawrence should be very strong defensively up the middle.
"Zegarski and my son are starting to get a feel for one another," Eldridge Sr. said. "They’ve done a nice job. And Scozzari’s improved as a catcher."
Eldridge Jr., Scozzari, Cooke, Riexinger and Reilly are the only players back from last year’s squad. They have been joined by a host of enthusiastic younger players many of whom helped return the Lawrence High team to a competitive level this season.
"Some of the kids, there were various reasons why they didn’t come back," Eldridge Sr. said. "Other kids are out, and they want to play, and that’s half the battle."
Lawrence picked up its first win of the season Tuesday, traveling to Trenton High and beating Mitchell Davis Post 182 8-3. Riexinger hurled 5 1/3 innings, surrendering one earned run on five hits for the win, and Cooke and Brandon Smith finished up the game. Cox and Taylor Smith each had two hits, and Cooke blew the game open with a three-run double in the seventh that expanded the Post 414 lead to 7-1.
"Tonight’s game kind of scared us, because Mitchell Davis has a lot of athletes, and the longer they stay in the game, the better they get," Eldridge Sr. said. "We hit some balls hard early and had a chance to open up the game, but they were caught. We hung in there."
Cooke’s hit was key, as it prevented any late Mitchell Davis comeback.
"He’s always telling me he can hit," Eldridge Sr. said. "That was a big hit and kind of got us some breathing room."
And it helped Post 414 get in the win column in its second game of the year.
"The first ones (wins) kill you," Eldridge said. "It was a good game. Overall, I was pleased with the way we played. We got real good pitching from Eric Reilly. He really threw well.
"We tightened up the defense today and got good pitching. We should be pretty good."
Eldridge Sr. was glad to get a look at Brandon Smith, as the young righty finished off the game with a strikeout.
"He throws really hard," Eldridge Sr. said. "He’s got good stuff."
Lawrence opened the year Sunday with a 3-2 loss to a solid Ewing Post 314 squad. Cox went 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Riexinger had a single and two RBIs, and Zegarski doubled and scored a run for Post 414, which tied the game at 2-2 with a run in the top of the seventh. Ewing, however, came back to win it on an Adam Ziegler single in the bottom of the frame.
Reilly was the tough-luck loser for Lawrence, surrendering two earned runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out six and walking one.
"There’s a lot of experience on the mound, and Eric Reilly’s just a bulldog," Eldridge Sr. said. "He didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled. Hopefully, these other kids will learn from watching him."