Spotswood One of the important elements of winning games that the Spotswood High School baseball team lacked in recent seasons was depth. That does not appear to be a problem this spring, as head coach Glenn Fredricks welcomes back a majority of last year’s starting lineup, backed by players ready to take their places if any should falter.
However, Fredricks is aware that his team can field the best hitting lineup in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC), but if his pitchers are not able to get the job done, his Chargers will never realize their full potential.
“Ultimately, the keys to success in 2013 will come down to our improvement on the mound and on defense,” said the veteran coach, who enters his ninth season at the helm. “The pitching staff will rely on command and defensive support — several issues that have plagued us the past few years.”
That staff will be composed of experienced starters, namely seniors Joe Adinolfi and Kevin Martin, as well as junior Matt Dwyer. Spotswood’s pitching coach, Mike Korneski, has been working hard to change the staff’s mental approach to the game, which was another problem in the past.
Juniors Tom Hagerty and C.J. O’Connor will team with sophomores Cooper Sisco, Nick Vizzi and Chris Marlow as options out of the bullpen. Senior Corey Brown will remain the closer. In addition to Korneski, former Sayreville standout Jeff Toth coaches the junior varsity team.
Undoubtedly, the strength of the team will be its depth. Joining Brown, a four-year starter, center fielder and co-captain, will be Jeremy Corrente in right field. In left field, sophomores Ryan Walker and Chase Fee will platoon with O’Connor, who can play both right field as well.
In the infield, versatile co-captain and three-year starter Alex Christian, will be the regular third baseman. His experience will be a key to replacing graduated four-year starter Dean Vitale at the hot corner, and his ability to play all positions in the infield will create flexibility for the Chargers’ defense. Junior Jeff Szatkowski returns to second base and is joined by junior Kevin Surace or sophomore Nick Logatto at shortstop. Three-year starter and co-captain Cory Weeks starts at first base. Like Christian, Weeks is a valuable glove man and can play all the outfield positions if needed. Junior James Collins will back up Christian at third and provide power.
The Chargers possess a strong trio that can catch — all of whom play excellent defense and bring power to the offense. Returning starter and junior Jack Dalrymple is back with a team-leading .375 average, along with three homers and 15 runs batted in. Mason White returns for his sophomore year and is joined by junior Will Johnson, who has shown power to all fields and has a strong arm behind the plate. Dalrymple and Johnson look to be a formidable duo in the middle of the lineup.
When asked about team goals,
Fredricks said they are the same as any other year.
“We feel as a club that we can play with anyone,” he said, “and that mentality is strengthened when you’re thought of by everyone as an underdog.
“Our first goal is always to win the Blue Division,” he said. “Contrary to what some of the bigger schools think of our baseball in the Blue, we have excellent teams and great coaches. Look no further than last year’s GMC championship game when Middlesex beat the Red Division champ convincingly. Middlesex will be heavy favorites once again, but you can’t get focused on one team because there’s a lot of depth in our division. The Blue title has escaped us since winning five straight from 2003 to 2007.”
While the GMC championship is a formidable challenge for Spotswood because of a number of powerful teams, the Chargers have a more realistic shot at winning the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II tournament.
“Our program has won sectional titles in 2007 and 2010,” Fredricks said, “and it is always a priority to gain momentum and be playing our best ball come tournament time. With archrival Governor Livingston High School moving up to Group III, this section appears to be wide open. It always produces good playoff baseball with the likes of Robbinsville, Rumson-Fair Haven and last year’s champion, Raritan High School, always in the mix.”
Spotswood opened with a 2-0 loss to Bishop George Ahr High School on April 1 and will return to action on April 4 when it visits Carteret High School.