Post 339 baseball
By: Jim Green
If there’s one thing the Hopewell American Legion Post 339 baseball team definitely can do, it’s hit.
With the bulk of it’s lineup coming from this spring’s high-scoring Hopewell Valley Central High School squad and some nice additions coming in the form of HoVal grad Rob Salyga and Pennington’s Christian Lauer, Post 339 should be one of the more productive offensive teams in the Mercer County American Legion League this season.
That offensive might was on full display Monday, as Salyga went 3-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and two RBIs to power Hopewell past Lawrence Post 414 11-9.
"We’ve been swinging the bats real good this year," Salyga said. "They swung the bats well during the high school season, and it transferred over. That’s good."
Hopewell received big production from up and down its lineup, allowing it to overcome six errors, which led to four unearned runs. First baseman Ralph Rich was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs, shortstop Matt Lanouette was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and Lauer went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Brandon Rocktoff started and gave up four earned runs in four innings, and Randy Forrester picked up the win with three solid innings of relief.
"It’s one of the best teams I’ve been on in a long time," Salyga said. "We have a chance to do well. If we hit like we’ve been doing and get good pitching performances and our defense steps up, we have a chance."
Salyga knows what he’s talking about. This spring the former Bulldog star batted .273 in part-time duty for Division I St. Peter’s College of New Jersey. But after struggling through a 5-45 season at St. Peter’s, Salyga is transferring to Methodist College of North Carolina, a Division III school for "lots of reasons." He hasn’t decided if he will play for Methodist yet, but his performance for St. Peter’s assures that he would have a place on the team if he wants it.
"When they gave me a chance, I did pretty good," he said.
Right now, his focus is on having fun playing baseball again with his old buddies from high school. So far, so good, as Hopewell has gone 2-2 and scored 31 runs in four games with Salyga primarily playing left field and batting cleanup.
"I’m having a great time," he said. "I wanted to do it to get back with the guys and have fun. We’re having a lot of fun."
On Friday, third baseman Chris Zsenak was 2-for-3 with a homer, three RBIs and a run scored, and designated hitter Christian Lauer was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, but Hopewell lost to a solid Ewing squad 8-6 despite holding a 9-6 advantage in hits. Blair Miller started and took the loss, and Forrester was outstanding in relief, striking out six in 2 2/3 hitless innings.
Hopewell next will play host to Hightstown Post 148 at 11 a.m. Saturday before visiting North Trenton Post 458 at 1 p.m. Sunday. Post 339 then has two straight home games, against Broad Street Park Post 313 at 5:45 p.m. Monday and West Windsor-Plainsboro at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday.
"I think we have a chance to be one of the top teams in the league," Salyga said. "It all depends on our defense, because we can hit, and we definitely can pitch.
"I think we have a good shot to be well over .500. We definitely have a chance to be real good this year."