BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer
The Sayreville American Legion junior team is off to a 5-2 start in its summer campaign.
Comprised primarily of players from Sayreville War Memorial High School, the team won its first five games before dropping its last two contests and is now 5-2. Former Bombers player Kris Brus is managing the team. Brus, a sophomore catcher for St. Peter’s College, is rehabbing a torn shoulder muscle and is using some of the time to help out his old team.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for me, and I’m honored to have been asked to do it,” Brus said.
“These players are all going to be playing for the high school, and I enjoy helping them out.”
Brus has an outstanding pitching staff led by a pair of hard-throwers, Tom Berardi and Victor Alzelaez. Rick Osolinksi, Michael McCafferty and Jim Foley, a knuckle ball pitcher, round out the mound corps.
Second baseman Jake Campbell, a freshman, is the junior Legion entry’s top hitter with a .450 averaged.
Speedy center fielder Bobby Rinaldi, who bats lead-off, is not far behind at an even .300. A good bunter and top-notch base runner, Rinaldi already has 10 stolen bases. Both players are strong defensively.
Shortstop Derek Winter, another good glove man, is hitting .333, and left fielder Nick Ruszala is hovering around the .300 mark. Ruszala’s strong arm discourages opposing players from taking liberties on the base paths. Catcher Rhett Fischer has also been throwing out would-be base stealers, Brus noted.
“We like to play a very aggressive game, bunting, taking the extra base and things like that,” Brus said. “Our guys steal whenever they have the opportunity, and I like to use the hit and run a lot. When you do things like that, it all comes down to execution – getting the job done. And our guys are so fundamentally strong they get it done more than most teams.”
Other members of the Sayreville contingent include infielders Alex Vuono and Carlos Vargas, who also catches, and outfielders Matt Bentley, James DeMild and Kevin O’Connor The latter two are freshmen.
Another frosh, promising third baseman Jeff Martinez, is garnering time at the hot corner.
“We’ve been able to use our top two pitchers for a few innings in almost every game, and we had four shutouts in the first four games, but now that the schedule is getting busier, our other pitchers will have to pick up more of the slack,” Brus said. “Fortunately, we have some good arms to work with.”
The team is playing a 20-game schedule, and he said that participating in Legion ball gives the players a chance to improve their skills.
“Of course you want to win, but this is an opportunity for the guys to work on things and to get in top shape,” Brus said. “They’re getting more at-bats and extra game experience. These things will help them when the high school season starts.”