Post 339 baseball
By: Jim Green
Playing in the Mercer County American Legion League pretty much eliminates any hope of prolonged winning streaks. The best most teams can hope for is to have more good days than bad and to keep their heads above water in the race for the MCALL playoffs. So far, despite several defensive lapses, the Hopewell Post 339 baseball team has done just that, going 4-4 and standing just ½ game out of a playoff spot.
"Our guys are like fire and ice," Hopewell manager Doug Allen said. "They’re hitting the ball. We’re having trouble in the field. We’re not getting outs we should be getting. We’re not communicating out there. Any time you extend an inning, you’re a glutton for punishment."
On Sunday, Hopewell overcame its defensive struggles and had probably its most impressive win of the year, topping North Trenton Post 458 8-5 on the road. Left fielder Rob Salyga had three hits, including a double, three runs and an RBI to lead the attack, and Blair Miller and Randy Forrester combined for seven solid innings against the tough Post 458 lineup.
Center fielder Matt Lanouette was 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored, third baseman Chris Zsenak had two hits and a run scored, and right fielder R.J. Ofner had a double and two RBIs. Second baseman Christian Lauer, designated hitter Frank Lovero and catcher Angelo Pagano each knocked in a run. Hopewell broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the fifth and pulled away with three in the sixth.
"I’ve been with this team for nine years, and it’s the first time I remember winning a game down there," Allen said. "It’s a tough place for us to play. We were in control the whole way. Our kids were playing well."
Salyga continued to rip the cover off the ball, and his season average now sits at .500.
"He’s red hot," Allen said. "We’re hitting the ball well and scoring runs."
But momentum is difficult to build in the MCALL, and on Monday, Post 339 made four errors in the field and lost to Broad Street Park Post 313 13-3 at Hopewell Valley Central High School. Zsenak had two hits and a run scored, and first baseman Ralph Rich doubled and drove in two runs, but Hopewell dropped to 2-2 on the season. Righty Dan Hogan had a rough start and took the loss, but Brandon Rocktoff came out of the pen for three solid innings of relief, surrendering no earned runs.
On this day, Post 339 could not overcome its defensive deficiencies.
"We’ve got a lot of new guys in our lineup," Allen said. "Shortstop’s been a tough position for us. We have a real shortstop (A.J. Cassavell) playing there now. Hopefully, he’ll melt into the position. Communication is not there. They’re not clicking right now.
"The offense is there. It’s just a matter of keeping the other team down. Sometimes, you give a team an inch, and they’ll take a mile. Broad Street Park is a team that’ll do that."
At the beginning of last week, Hopewell had a solid two-game winning streak over Lawrence Post 414 and Trenton Schroths Post 93. On June 15, Hopewell beat Trenton 8-4 at CHS behind a complete game from Hogan.
Hogan picked up his first win of the season, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out two and walking two. The offense pounded out 11 hits as Hopewell recovered from an early 2-0 deficit to post the blowout win. Rich had two hits and three RBIs, Lauer had two hits, a triple and four runs scored, Zsenak had two hits, a triple, two runs and two RBIs, and Salyga had two hits and an RBI.
On Saturday, however, Post 339 had its mini streak snapped with a 13-2 home loss to Hightstown Post 148. Ofner had two hits, and Lovero knocked in a run, but three Hopewell pitchers combined to give up 11 earned runs on 15 hits and five walks.
"I’m very happy with the way the kids are playing," Allen said. "The Hightstown game, we just got beat."
Hopewell next will have two straight road games, against Princeton Post 218 at 5:45 p.m. today (Thursday) at Smoyer Park and Bordentown Post 26 at 5:45 p.m. Friday. The MCALL All Star game will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday at Moody Park. Hopewell then has four straight home games, against Mitchell Davis Post 182 at 5:45 p.m. Monday, Ewing Post 314 at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Lawrence at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday and Princeton Post 218 at 11 a.m. Saturday.
"We beat some good teams already," Allen said. "We’re getting into it now where we’re playing five games a week."