Caseys enjoyed spectacular season on baseball diamond

RBC had 24-game winning streak

BYWARREN RAPPLEYEA Correspondent

The Red Bank Catholic High School baseball team put together an amazing spring that saw the Caseys post a 25-3 record, including an amazing 24-game winning streak.

One way or another, the magical season was set to end Monday evening with the Shore Conference Tournament championship game against Jackson Memorial.

Along the way, the Caseys also made their way to the finals of the Monmouth County tourney and the semifinals of the NJSIAA Non-Public A South Tournament.

Coach Buddy Hausmann’s team got to the Shore finale with a marathon come-from-behind victory against Manalapan in the semifinals. The contest took nearly five hours to complete because of rain delays. In an interesting twist, the game began at Manalapan High School, and with darkness approaching, was moved to the lighted Manalapan Recreation Complex.

The Braves jumped ahead by a 3-0 count in the first inning, but an impressive power display brought the Caseys back. Junior outfielder Nick Liggett hit his fifth homer of the campaign for two runs, and Joe Kissinger had a solo shot. C.J. Lucia, the DH, blasted a three-run homer — his eighth-round tripper of the season — in the fifth inning to put RBC ahead to stay and send the Caseys to the championship game.

RBC is coming off a 14-4 loss on Saturday to St. Augustine in the semifinals of the Non-Public A South tourney. Hausmann’s team edged Notre Dame, 3- 2, and Sam McGovern went the distance on the hill for his sixth win.

Despite having four players with at least four homers, three players with 30 or more wins, and four pitchers with at least five wins, Hausmann said defense was the key to his team’s success.

“Defensively, this is the best team I’ve coached,” said Hausmann, whose team has allowed only 22 unearned runs. “In high school it’s really all about limiting mistakes, and that’s what we’ve done. Our guys have been consistent with their gloves all year. We don’t give teams extra outs. That helps prevent big innings, and that’s often the difference between winning and losing.” That being said, the RBC offense has been a thorn in the side of opposition pitchers. The Caseys have piled up 222 runs while allowing just 121 runs. Junior outfielder Andrew LaMura leads the team with a .415 average to go with a pair of home runs and 32 RBIs. Liggett is also above the .400 mark (.402) with 25 RBIs and five homers.

Lucia is hitting .367 and leads the team with eight home runs, and his 33 RBIs also top the Caseys. Shortstop Joe Kissinger is right behind at .367 and 22 RBIs, followed by first baseman Dylan Chayes, who has 30 RBIs and a .320 batting average. Vinny Tranchina, Trevor Brain, Joe Iacobellis andMike Recigno are also above the .300 mark.

On the mound, Brendan McGann has posted eight wins against a lone defeat to go with a 2.86 ERA. McGovern is 6- 1with 32 strikeouts in 34 innings and a 1.83 ERA. He also has three saves. Ryan Slate has six victories, and Ryan Spahr has won five games.

“I think people thought we’d have a good team because we had a lot of players coming back,” Hausmann said. “I don’t think they thought we’d be among the best teams in the state. Our guys really worked hard, and everyone has contributed.”