BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer
Brick Memorial’s Mustangs began their summer American Legion baseball season at home Monday night against Seaside out of Toms River East with a little extra bounce after a winning season that included NJSIAA and Shore Conference Tournament berths.
“Our goal was to make a winning attitude and to get into the position of pressure games,” said coach Jeff Pierce, who coaches the Legion team that carries many of the younger players who will return to the program next spring.
“We believe that very good teams play at the end of May, but the elite teams go beyond that into June. We got to the end of May, but when we played Hillsborough [in the state tournament], we played a very elite team that wound up winning the whole thing. We want to strive to be an elite team.”
Certainly, the Mustangs got a taste of high-caliber baseball in a rare lopsided 13-3 loss in their 13-10 season. But it was strides from an 8-11 record a year earlier.
“We got a lot of good hitting and three to four very good pitchers,” said Pierce in his first year as head coach after two years as an assistant.
“Brian Streilein got two very big victories and we beat Toms River South twice, which is the first time that’s happened in a long time. Mark Cerrachio also won two big games for us.”
But one remnant of the past hung on the necks of the Mustangs — defenses lapses in big game losses.
Pierce praised the efforts of his staff, including Evan Rizzitello, Rich Bishop and Chris Hughes.
“I got nervous every game being in charge, but they made it easy on me. They’ve played the game and know it,” said Pierce.
There was plenty of balanced hitting led by Ron Gonzales’ .452 average, spiked by a 12-for-19 hitting tear at the end of the season, and Rob Russo’s sizzling .447 average. Jay Frank followed with a .372 batting average and a team-leading five home runs and 27 RBIs.
What also helped the team’s run to the postseason was catcher Andy Case picking up his hitting to become one of the top-three RBI men on the team. And Chris James also was discovered at mid-season as an everyday hitter after he hammered a home run in his first at-bat. James also got his turn to pitch in some of the biggest games of the season. Both are juniors.
“Andy just lowered his hands and got them out on the zone. He just saw the ball better,” said Pierce of Case, who also was regarded as one of the better catchers in the Shore.
Russo also showed great speed in center field, while Rob Clark in left field and Kyle Strang in right also made some nice catches. Strang is headed to St. Peter’s College on a baseball/academic financial package.
Eight seniors graduate, including Strang, Russo, Gonzalez and infielders Joe Baldasare and Tom Pfeiffer but many other return or have some limited experience for what makes for a solid nucleus and deep pitching that includes Cerrachio, Mike Douglas, Mike Berardinelli and Joe Piezzo, all of whom will play for the Legion team. Chris James and Jay Frank will not play Legion ball this summer to concentrate on off-season work in baseball and basketball, respectively. But many others will and will continue in the limited workouts of fall ball.
Streilein, when not pitching, can play at first base where Piezzo and Lou Reggezino also are prospects. John Rutowski will push hard for a start in the infield, probably at shortstop. Kyle Heilbraun is looking for a start in the outfield alongside Clark.