Young players primed for HHS play
By: Rudy Brandl
If this summer’s American Legion baseball season is any indication, Hillsborough High baseball fans have plenty of reasons to feel good about the future.
Hillsborough fielded a young team with very little varsity experience and posted an 11-10 record against quality competition. The Raiders went 10-8 in the regular season to finish fourth in the South Division, missing the state playoffs by one game. They came up just short of the finals in the league tournament for teams not qualifying for the states.
"It was a very successful season," Hillsborough manager Jim Schwalje said. "These guys are very talented. Many of the younger guys played well. That was one of the keys to our success. The newcomers were very impressive. It bodes well for next year."
Three HHS varsity starters and two others with limited experience at that level comprised a small part of the team’s 17-man roster. Middle infielder Ricky Schwalje, third baseman Sean MacDonald and outfielder/pitcher Mike Hansford started for the Raiders last spring, while outfielder John Fessak and catcher/pitcher Matt Mosko also saw varsity action. While all these players contributed, some of the younger guys also opened eyes.
Leadoff-hitting center fielder Bob Peck was very impressive as one of the club’s leading hitters. Ryan Lukach, another incoming sophomore, showed good stuff on the mound and at the plate. Lukach was one of many young left-handers to perform well on the mound.
Hansford, another lefty, logged varsity innings last spring and will be a major part of the HHS staff in 2008. Justin Kessler and Ron Guido are the other young southpaws in the program.
"We’ve got lefties coming up," Schwalje said. "The pitching was pretty good this summer. A lot of the young guys stepped up and did a good job."
Schwalje was happy with the team’s pitching and hitting. The defense was spotty, but that’s not unusual in summer ball. Irregular attendance forced some lineup juggling and there wasn’t as much defensive continuity as there will be during a high school campaign.
"We played a lot of guys all over," Schwalje said. "We moved guys around a lot. People have commitments in the summer."
Hillsborough opened the season red-hot, winning its first six games. A cold streak in the middle of the season pushed the team back to the middle of the pack in the division. Hillsborough wound up finishing one game behind Franklin for the third and final state playoff spot in the division.
"We played much better early on," Schwalje said. "We had a spell where we didn’t play very well. At the end, we picked it up again."
Hillsborough entered the league’s double-elimination tournament as the top seed but suffered a sloppy loss to Ridge. Facing a stretch of elimination games, the Raiders enjoyed the satisfaction of knocking out Immaculata on a walk-off base hit by Lukach in the bottom of the seventh.
Then came the marathon game vs. Skillman that took three nights in a five-day span to complete. The teams played to a 4-4 tie over eight innings before action was suspended due to darkness. Play resumed during a rainstorm and Skillman scored two runs to take the lead before the umpires stopped the action. The teams took the field for a third time and Hillsborough fell short by a 6-4 score to end the summer season.
Hansford, MacDonald and Peck led the offense batting in the top of the lineup. Schwalje batted second and played shortstop and second base. Peck was very impressive playing with the older guys in the program.
Mosko, Fessak and Lukach also made their mark with solid summer campaigns. Other young players who contributed to the Legion squad included second basemen Chris DelMaestro and Peter Smilowitz, pitcher/outfielder Ron Guido, catcher John Marcsisin, pitcher/third baseman Corey Katzelnick, catcher/infielder John Worden, outfielder/first baseman Kevin Curren, outfielder/infielder Joe DeLeo and middle infielder Ricky Devlin.
HHS veteran coach Norm Hewitt lost several key seniors and starters to graduation from his 2007 team that won 20 ball games, so there will be many holes to fill next season. Schwalje and assistant coach Mike Hansford Sr. gave many young players the opportunity to play different positions to show what they could do. The Legion coaches weren’t trying to fill out any varsity lineup cards. The goal was to give the future high school players a chance to play.
"The summer is a time to try to work on weaknesses," Schwalje said. "It’s not to determine who plays where in the high school season. Norm will take care of that in the spring. He’ll do whatever it takes to make the team better."
It looks like Hewitt will have some quality players to put on the diamond.

