AHS baseball team places second in C.J. Group III

By: Kyle Moylan
   Everyone knew Josh Howell was heading for the plate. Unfortunately, that included an Ocean High second baseman that wasn’t even looking in that direction.
   With runners on second and third with one out and down 1-0 in the Central Jersey Group III baseball title game on Friday, Allentown’s Anthony Gambino hit a pop to short right. Second baseman Kyle Norman made an over-the-shoulder catch and then turned and fired the ball to catcher Dave Kaczka.
   "Someone told me I was just into foul territory, but I wasn’t looking at the foul line," Norman noted. "I just made the catch and threw home. I knew he was going to tag and I was going home either way."
   While not looking where he threw the ball, the throw was a great one. Kaczka grabbed the ball and got the tag down to end the game.
   "They beat us," Allentown coach Brian nice said. "They made every play defensively and played a heck of a game.
   "He (Norman) had his back to the infield. He had to make a great play to beat us and he made a great play."
   Actually, Ocean made several great defensive plays.
   With one out in the sixth, Tom Kuzma and Logan Gallagher both singled. However, one throw caught Kuzma rounding the bag at second and Gallagher was then thrown out trying to steal.
   Ethan Perro and Chris Kubik opened the seventh with singles and were then bunted over a base by Vince Pugliese.
   Allentown’s other threat came in the top of the first when Rob Guiliano walked and Kuzma beat out a bunt single. However, Eric Hinkle struck out the next three batters.
   Kubik matched Hinkle for most of the game. In fact, he had a no-hitter going into the bottom of the fifth. That’s when Sean Fox doubled and scored on a single by Neil Yaffe. Even that run almost didn’t happen as right fielder Jeremy Valesi made a strong throw to the plate that took a funny hop before Pugliese, the catcher, could grab it.
   Kubik gave up a single and two walks in the sixth, but was able to work out of that jam with a little relief help from Gambino, who popped up the lone batter he faced.
   "You have to give a lot of credit to Coach Nice," noted Kubik after the tough loss. "He changed everything here. He changed the attitude and got it to where we didn’t accept losing. In my freshman year, we were like 5-29. In my sophomore year, we were 4 and 20-something. Look where we are now. You have to give him the credit."
   Of course, the players deserve a lot of credit. Nice put them on the right path, but they had to do everything else.
   "I was telling the guys that they put Allentown baseball on the map," Nice said. "We had won 10 in a row and hadn’t lost in a month before today. We had a great year. If you had told me at the beginning of the year, we’d be 16-6, win the Patriot Division and was a bounce away from a Sectional title, I’ll take it every time."
   Even so, change the bounces coming home and, chances are, the 1-0 final and Sectional championship would have changed as well.
   "Jeremy made a perfect throw and it takes a bad hope," Nice noted. "Their throw doesn’t. That’s the difference in the game. That’s baseball."
   AHS 2, WALL 1
   Considering it was among the biggest wins in the history of the program, it’s only fitting Allentown did something very special in its Central Jersey Group III semifinal game against Wall on Tuesday, May 29.
   Ethan Perro and Anthony Gambino responded by combining on a no-hitter in a 2-1 win at Wall.
   "Ethan went the first six and then Anthony came on to finish it," noted Allentown Coach Brian Nice. "Ethan was just outstanding."
   And the Allentown offense backed him with just enough support.
   In the third, Gambino, Rob Guiliano and Jeremy Valesi all singled to load the bases. Tom Koontz then chased home a run with a groundout.
   In the fifth, Logan Gallagher singled home Loncosky with the second run.
   Perro went to his coach after six innings and told him he was feeling tired. Gambino walked the first man he faced and that run scored, but it wasn’t one that mattered that much.
   Gambino polished off the gem Perro built.