Legion team finished last in tough summer

Post 12 dropped many close ones

By: Rudy Brandl
   The Somerville-Manville American Legion baseball team entered the summer with high hopes and lofty expectations for good reason.
   Post 12 was carrying a roster filled with players from a Somerville High team that went 21-6 and advanced all the way to the Central Jersey Group 2 final. The club added four top players from Manville High, giving head coach Gregg Snyder and assistant Robert Snyder plenty of confidence that it would make the playoffs and possibly win the South Division.
   Things certainly didn’t turn out that way. Somerville got off to a bad start and never recovered, finishing 5-12-1 and in last place. The season ended on a sour note when a shortage of players forced the Snyders to forfeit the finale at Alpha. This also led the management to the decision to not participate in the league’s season ending tournament for squads that didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
   "The kids know our record should have been a lot better," Robert Snyder said. "This is one of the best Legion teams I’ve ever coached or played on talent-wise. It’s just very frustrating."
   Somerville opened with four straight losses and never recovered. The team won two straight games only once all summer, scoring double digits in consecutive victories over Skillman (11-5) and Bernards (11-9) in a three-day span. Post 12 also defeated Ridge (11-2), Skillman (2-0) and Hillsborough (8-4) but suffered five losses in games decided by two runs or less.
   "We lost a lot of close games," Gregg Snyder said. "We had our ups and downs with our pitching, but we just couldn’t get the key hits. That’s what really hurt us."
   Post 12 dropped two one-run games to Immaculata and lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to South Division champ Flemington late in the season. That game showed what kind of team Somerville could be.
   "We had them beat twice," said Robert Snyder, also referring to the first meeting between the teams early in the season when Post 12 grabbed an early lead. "It shows anything can happen in high school baseball. It also proves how we could play with anybody."
   The season served as another learning experience for Robert Snyder, who took on most of the responsibilities running the team. The 22-year-old Snyder took some of the blame for the team’s disappointing finish.
   "Maybe I have to run a tighter ship," he said. "I’m only three years older than some of these guys, so it’s a tough position for me. Maybe I need to put my foot down a little more sometimes. My dad gave me more responsibility and it’s good for me to learn that."
   It wasn’t easy to keep the team focused for a variety of reasons. The Somerville players were coming off a high-tension season packed with pressure games, so they needed a mental break. The four MHS players who joined the mix added baseball ability but also contributed to the loose atmosphere in the dugout. The Manville and Somerville guys got along just fine.
   "The guys gelled but they gelled more socially than they did athletically," Robert Snyder said. "It was a very loose dugout. At times, I think that hurt. It’s summer time and you like to have fun, but I don’t think they took it seriously enough."
   Manville’s four players made significant contributions to the squad. Joe Burnett, who will be a junior at MHS, led the team in batting with a .458 average. Burnett started eight games and went 11-for-24 with a double, triple and six RBI. He also pitched in three games, one as a starter, with a 4.50 ERA.
   "He started hitting right out of the box," Robert Snyder said. "He hit the ball real well. He’s a young kid with a good future."
   Tommy Rock batted .250 with four runs and four RBI but led the club with 23Ð innings pitched. Rock posted a 1-3 record with a 9.00 ERA and was third on the staff with 19 strikeouts. Fellow 2007 MHS grads Kyle Sopko (.143) and Robert Wood (.211) also contributed. Sopko often caught the Manville pitchers and also played second base, while Wood pitched and played middle infield. He also slugged a home run in the 11-9 victory over Bernards.
   "Tommy was a victim of bad innings on the mound," Snyder said. "He got himself into trouble with too many walks, and at times he lost focus. But he pitched beautifully against Ridge (11-2 win)."
   Post 12 provided flashes of brilliance but didn’t perform on a consistent basis. Kyle Lefkus hurled a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts vs. Skillman on June 30. Ryan Zamorsky, who led the pitching staff with 30 strikeouts, was the hard-luck loser in two one-run games. The team pitched to a 5.11 ERA with 81 walks, an average of more than four per game.
   The offensive numbers weren’t terrible, but only four players competed in 12 or more games. Irregular attendance affected the defense, which often made crucial errors.
   Burnett led the team in batting, with a host of Somerville High veterans following closely behind. Lenny Rutledge had the most productive offensive summer, batting .450 in a team-high 14 games with 12 runs, 18 hits and 12 RBI. Rutledge hit the team’s only other home run of the season. Rutledge also led the club with 10 walks and a .725 slugging percentage.
   Others providing offense included Nick McNamara (.412), Lefkus (.357), Mike Kaminski (.345), Anthony Acosta (.333), Danny Reynolds (.306) and Eric Fowler (.297). Will Haduch contributed a 1-1 pitching mark with a 3.29 ERA in 17 innings.