The primary thing that’s been on manager Dave Senatore’s mind these days is that he has a pretty good baseball team, perhaps one which could even take home a District 12 title with a little luck
By:Sean Moylan
The thing one likes most about Dave Senatore, the manager of the East Windsor 11 and 12-year-old Little League All-Star baseball team, is he seems to be a genuinely honest person, who says what’s on his mind.
And the primary thing that’s been on Senatore’s mind these days is that he has a pretty good baseball team, perhaps one which could even take home a District 12 title with a little luck. But right now Senatore is just concentrating on getting his kids ready for their first game versus Sunnybrae at East Windsor on June 28 at 8:00 p.m.
"We’re friendly enemies," said Senatore, whose team has had some great battles with Sunnybrae over the years. "I’d like to take it one game at a time and get into the next round. The key thing is to have organized, structured practices and then the actual game is just reflex play."
Of course, pitching should be front and center in the District 12 Tournament just as it always is. And East Windsor has a pair of terrific hurlers at the top of its rotation in Nick Senatore and Dylan Borden.
"Nick has excellent control and his fastball moves better than anyone I’ve seen (at this level)," said Senatore of his son, who also boasts a nasty change up and a curve in his pitching arsenal. "Dylan Borden . . . he’s our other number one starter. He intimidates with his size (5 feet 10 inches, 180 pounds) and his unorthodox approach on the mound."
According to Senatore, Borden can strike sheer terror in opposing batters because his heater travels at over 60 miles an hour. However, Senatore’s son also can "bring it." But those guys are just the start of what should be a deep, and perhaps, dominating pitching staff. Senatore loves Nick Sudnick as a starting pitcher, but Sudnick’s bat may end up being just as important because he led off last year’s All-Star tourney with a home run.
Senatore believes that if Sudnick can lay off the high pitches, he can be one of the club’s best hitters in the tournament. Moreover, he’s a great outfielder and shortstop. Borden, who played for the 12’s last year, is a first baseman and outfielder while Senatore plays short when he’s not pitching. Dylan Scott, who plays both first base and the outfield, may also see some time on the mound.
"Dylan Scott is a good solid pitcher. He pitched one of the best overall games for us last year versus West End in house ball," said Senatore, who coaches the East Windsor Red Sox’ house team.
Pat Daly, who also played for the 12’s last season, can pitch, play second base and the outfield. Senatore is looking for him to be the spark plug of the team.
"Pat Daly is the quintessential lead-off guy. He can bunt and he can steal."
Senatore also has a tremendous amount of confidence in John Feldhaus (pitcher-shortstop-third base) as a baseball player.
"John Feldhaus loves the sport of baseball more than any kid I’ve ever seen. And he loves to hit," said Senatore. Jonathan Santos is a good outfielder and pitcher.
Sam Badillo (first base-outfield), Borden and Senatore are all good contact hitters with power. Meanwhile East Windsor has a pair of excellent catchers in Ryan Dmuchowski and Chris Boyle (outfield-second base) and Andrew Stefanowicz, who can play either third base or in the outfield, is also a very good all-around player. Senatore’s coaches, John Dmuchowski and Kevin Daly, are two of District 12’s best.
‘My coaching staff is knowledgeable and they’re good with the kids. I’m an aggressive Type A personality but the kids and parents know that," said Senatore, who has coached many of these same kids since they were 5 or 6 years old. "Once they come to practice, they know it’s my way or no way."
Yet Senatore’s hard practices don’t mean that he and the kids don’t have a good time together, because they do. "They know how I am. I want to have team unity. That’s why we all go to the movies together and we have team parties," said Senatore.
In the past it has not been uncommon for District 12 kids to get a bit nervous playing as 12’s because of the bigger crowds and the extra media attention. However, Senatore hardly envisions that being a problem for this year’s experienced group and he commented, "Each year they’ve been the ‘selected’ kids. They’re used to it (the extra attention)."
To cut down on injuries this year, East Windsor hired a trainer, Darren Winston, who worked with the Phillies and at Rutgers (where he’s the all-time wins leader), for a couple of weeks to work with the hitters and pitchers. Senatore, for one, felt he helped the team out tremendously.
East Windsor is starting to build an excellent reputation. The East Windsor 11/12’s did well as a team last year and they even had the best player in all of District 12 in James Chiorello. And not long ago two kids from East Windsor placed first in their age group at a Regional Pitch, Hit and Run competition while Senatore took home a second place prize at the same competition.
"The program is coming around well," said Senatore. "I think we’re solid over all and we have two pitchers who can give us great games (nearly every time out)."
After Sunnybrae, East Windsor is scheduled to play Chambersburg at Florence on June 29th at 6 p.m. On July 1st, at 5 p.m., East Windsor is scheduled to play Millstone-Roosevelt at Millstone-Roosevelt. Then on July 2, East Windsor is scheduled to play Lawrence at Allentown at 3 p.m.