Keyport Keyport High School with only two games and two victories a week into the season, is one victory away from matching last year’s total.
Credit the enthusiasm of new head coach Kyle Keelen that has caught on with his players.
“I’m very happy. Hey, I’m only 24 years old,” said Keelen, who spent only one season in high school baseball as a junior varsity coach at his Keansburg High School alma mater last season. But when Chris Reginio moved up to a school administrative position, Reginio had to relinquish his coaching duties. At a school that has had new baseball coaches the last three season, the players naturally were scrutinizing the decision at the start but wasted no time adapting to the change.
“It was kind of difficult having another new coach, but so far everything is going great,” said senior shortstop Corey Romanetz, who batted .400 last year but has moved from second base to shortstop. “It was a little different, but I got the hang of it. I had played shortstop before when I was on the jayvee.”
Keyport High School’s Johnny Olsen (l) high-fives his teammates Connor Thomson (25) after scoring a run during the Red Raiders April 5 game against Henry Hudson. With the 10-3 win in Keyport, the Red Raiders improved to 2-0. PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff “He’s showing tremendous improvement,” Keelen said of Romanetz. “I feel he’s one of the better shortstops in the conference.”
Romanetz batted in three runs with four hits in a 10-3 victory over Henry Hudson, which came after a 25-2 opening-game triumph over Asbury Park. “We’re all putting all the pieces together,” said Ryan Chandler, a senior right-handed pitcher who allowed only one run on two hits over four innings of work against Henry Hudson. “Now I feel I have the teambehindme, I can throw the ball down the middle and know they’ll make the plays.”
Keyport High School’s new head coach Kyle Keelen watches his team from the third-base coaches box during the April 5 game against Henry Hudson. Chandler says he has a different grip on the ball for his curveball and has a twoseamer and a four-seamer as well as a change-up.
Keelen is preaching success on and off the field. He wants his players to be good students and to be involved with the community, where they even helped the town’s Garden Club landscape around the post office . Keelen said that attitude came while playing football and baseball at Keansburg and at nose guard for Kean University’s football team, where doing well in school and in the community was stressed. Keelen credits much of his knowledge to Kean University coach Dan Garrett and Brian Kmek, who still coaches at Keansburg and wished him success at his new position — at least until they go head-to-head at Keansburg on April 13. Keelen was the catcher when Keansburg lost in the state sectional finals to South Amboy in 2006. “The coach wants us to work with the community. They’re the ones coming to our games,” said Romanetz. “Athletes are often seen as thinking ‘Me first,’ and he wants people to see that we’re involved in things outside of school, too.”
“Our mindset is that we’re students first,” said Chandler. “We have to get the work done in the classroom and then on the baseball field and in the community.”
On the field, this is a key week for Keyport, which plays powerful St. Rose onApril 10 and Mater Dei onApril 12 before its game against Keansburg that was rained out from its originally scheduled date last week. “That’s a big one for us,” Chandler said.
Chandler had two of the winning pitching decisions last season, the latter one a nohitter over Highland Park in the opening round of the state tournament when Keyport got in to fill out the bracket.
Along with Romanetz, senior third baseman Ken Kuchma and junior first baseman Connor Thomson started in the infield last season. Another returning starter, Nick Smutz, moves from left to right field.
The other spots have new players. Junior second baseman Nick Gunsaulan is up from the junior varsity. Junior Greg Armstrong and sophomore John Trigg are sharing innings at catcher. Trigg also can play at third base and shortstop. Juniors Joe Prebost and John Olsen play center and left field, respectively. Junior Ryan Burke is a utility outfielder.
Prebost is the No. 2 pitcher on the staff with a fastball, curveball and slider, and he’s working on his change-up.
The rest of the staff includes Thomsen, who can spot his fastball, change-up and curve for strikes, along with Smutz and lefthander Olsen, a late-inning reliever with a hard fastball who sat out the last two years.
Keelen said he likes the idea of going from one Group I school as a junior varsity coach to another. Both are in Shore Conference B Central Division.
“What I love about small towns like Keyport and Keansburg is that kids have that inner fire there and they will not to quit,” Keelen said.
Senior outfielders Josh Geraghty and Rich Hoagland round out the players counted on to contribute.
Keyport graduate Jim Maguire is the varsity assistant while Steve Dower, Scott Motlewzski and Christian Belemonte coach the junior varsity.