St. Joseph High School’s Karl Towns powers his way to the basket past Roselle Catholic High School’s Matt Bullock during the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions finals, played on March 19 at the Sun National Bank Arena in Trenton. Towns, a sophomore, netted his 1,000th career point in the game that was won by Roselle Catholic, 65-49. JEFF GRANIT staff Following an 8-16 record, including a 5-7 mark in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division, head coach Chris Kenney is hoping this year’s East Brunswick High School baseball team will be much improved.
The reasons he cites are solid pitching and defense — the two elements that can make or break a team’s success. While East Brunswick faces a formidable schedule as a member of the competitive Red Division, Kenney believes his team is better equipped for the challenge ahead.
The optimism begins with a pitching staff that features at least two top starters and is 10 players deep. While Kenney isn’t sure who his No. 1 and No. 2 are, the top hurlers are senior Anthony Quaglino and junior Cody Burnham. Quaglino returns to the rotation and has a good breaking ball with excellent control. Burnham’s assets are good velocity and a reliable breaking ball. Kenney says the key to Burnham emerging as a dominant pitcher lies in his control. It’s been proven that issuing free passes via walks is a bona fide ticket to disaster in the run-rich Red Division.
East Brunswick The other members of the pitching staff include seniors Connor McCarthy, Steven Perez and Chris Goggin, juniors Gregory Sampson, Brandon Craig and Matt Steinfeld, and sophomore Kevin Donovan. The expectation is one or more players from that group will become a reliable starter. “We have a lot of depth on the mound,” said Kenney, who enters his second season at the helm. “Where everybody winds up still has to be determined. But I’m confident our top two pitchers will get the job done, and Burnham has the potential to be really good.”
Kenney has not designated any particular order to his hitting lineup, but count on senior catcher Tom Krapf to be a force. The center fielder is considered the best hitter on the team, and he can run well. He may also play some second base, as Kenney likes to move around his fielders depending on who is on the mound.
Burnham is the second most accomplished hitter and will play first base when he’s not on the mound. Quaglino will also see action at second when not pitching. Senior Tyler Catarino is also slated for action at second base. James Choy, a junior, is scheduled to start at shortstop, and either McCarthy or Sampson will play third base. Tyler McNamara is just a sophomore, but he is scheduled to be the starter behind the plate.
In addition to Krapf being an anchor in the outfield, the Bears will go with seniors Max O’Connor in left field and Tom Post in right field.
Other members of the roster include senior Aaron Auerback (catcher), and juniors Yoji Fujimoto (shortstop) and Patrick Awosogba (outfield).
Tom Boehm will assist Kenney as the pitching coach and is in charge of workouts and practices. Anthony Novod is working with the catchers.