By: James McKeever
Hey, South Brunswick baseball team: You’ve just started the season with a 2-0 record, winning both games by big scores, so what are you going to do now?
"We’re going to Disney World!"
After opening the season with a 10-3 victory over Edison and a 14-0 rout over Perth Amboy, the Vikings are indeed headed to Mickey Mouse’s empire. But this trip is not about riding Space Mountain all day and watching fireworks at Epcot at night.
The Vikings players and coaches will see the sights and have some fun during their six-day trip, but they’re also headed to Florida to play baseball. Serious baseball. They’ll face some top-notch competition and play at state-of-the-art facilities.
"We’re going down there to get some recognition for our program," said head coach Leo Danik. "We think we’ve earned the respect of Middlesex County. Now it’s time to take another step and showcase our team a little bit. We want to have fun, but we also have to focus on our play."
The Vikings who raised $22,000 for the trip in the last year leave for Orlando today (Thursday) and will play three games at the Wide World of Sports complex, the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves.
On Friday night South Brunswick takes on Alexander of Georgia. On Saturday night the Vikings play Lithia Springs, also from Georgia. Their final game of the trip is Monday against Byron Bergen from New York.
"We’re going to have our hands full with Alexander," Danik said. "They have three kids who signed Division 1 letters of intent, two with Georgia Tech and one with Georgia. It will be a great test for us."
South Brunswick has been testing opposing pitchers so far this season. In last Saturday’s opener the Vikings produced 13 hits to beat Edison, six for extra bases. They had eight more extra-base hits in Tuesday’s victory over Perth Amboy.
While Russ Grimes clubbed a two-run home run against Edison, Mike Mariano and John Haas (two triples) collected three hits each and Matt Forthun and Jake Jaskowski each slugged two.
Senior pitcher Kyle Breese was under the weather and not at full strength but toughed it out to earn the win. The lefty gave up three earned runs in seven innings.
On Monday Danik was worried that his team may be flat, since the game was sandwiched between the opening-day win against a rival and the Florida trip. His worries quickly faded once he saw the way senior right-hander Tyler Chromey was pitching.
In five innings of work (a 10-run mercy rule ended the game early) Chromey fired a one-hitter. He retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced, 11 with strikeouts. He also got plenty of run support.
"Tyler had a terrific location," Danik said. "His curve was down, his changeup was down and in and he was putting his fastball where he wanted it."
Haas was one of the offensive stars again, going 3-for-4 with two doubles. Bobby Flesta went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI and Brandon Martin knocked in four runs.
Danik hopes the Vikings’ bats stay hot, just like the weather in central Florida.
"The kids are all pumped up for the trip," said Danik, whose team traveled to Maryland last month to play two scrimmages. "It’s going to be a great experience. We have three games, plus they’ve allotted us practice time, batting cage time and weight room sessions. And the kids will have time to visit the theme parks. We all have three-day park hoppers."
South Brunswick’s first game back in New Jersey is scheduled for Thursday, April 13, at Old Bridge at 10:30 a.m.

