Middletown South Middletown High School South’s baseball team might have a misleading 3-3 record, but a deep and talented staff of college-bound pitchers has established it as one of the top teams in the Shore, with a nameplate 5-2 victory over highpowered Christian Brothers Academy (CBA).
“We can absolutely compete,” coach Ryan Spillane said. “I know we have a ton of talent. Our pitching is deep. We have a lot of resilience [and] a never-quit attitude. They’ve been able to overcome adversity. It’s just a matter of executing fundamentals, of thinking the game and playing some defense. Any [quality] team is built around pitching and defense, and we can’t make mental mistakes, which has been a problem.”
That resilience was evident in a 4-1 eight-inning victory over Middletown High School North, which the Eagles play again on Friday. In that first meeting, the Eagles tied the game in the seventh. It also showed against CBA, when the Eagles trailed, 2-0, but rallied for five runs in the sixth inning.
Middletown South’s other victory came over a 4-1 Marlboro High School team, 3-1, on April 11, which helped the team stake its bid for a repeat Shore Conference A North Division title, which it won last season for the first time since 1999, when the Eagles finished 21-6.
Mental errors, on the other hand, led to the Eagles squandering a 3-0 lead in a 4-3 loss to Manalapan High School, as well as in a 6-3 loss to Colts Neck High School.
The team hopes to get those errors ironed out this week for a big stretch of baseball in a well-balanced A North. It started out with a 4-3 loss to Freehold Township High School on April 15 in a game that went to the eighth, but the Eagles will look to rebound on April 17 against Howell High School and on April 19 against Middletown High School North.
The Eagles hope to have back third-year starting catcher Nick McGann, a senior and leader of the team who badly injured his hand while making a headfirst slide into home plate against Manalapan. Junior Christian Penk is filling in there in the meantime, along with senior Ryan Patterson.
Credit much success thus far to the senior pitching staff of 6-foot-4 left-hander Mike Diorio, who is going to Rider University; Rob Grilli, who is headed to Rowan University; Perry Kulaga, who is set for Merrimack College; and Mike Grossi.
They’ve been sharp and have kept down their pitch counts, allowing them to go deep into games. Grilli held Marlboro to two hits, including a solo homer, but threw only 78 pitches while striking out 12 and not allowing a walk. He threw first-pitch strikes to 19 batters. Grilli also helped his victory by grounding in a run, while junior center fielder Andrew Wisialko drove in two more against Marlboro with a single.
Kulaga threw only 83 pitches over the distance against Middletown North and was able to close out Grossi’s effort against CBA, helped by double plays that ended the last two innings.
“That’s been helpful,” McGann said of low pitch counts. “We have a lot of good guys with good arms who can go deep into innings because of that.”
Senior Piero Vescio has emerged as a late-inning reliever. Another pitching prospect, junior Matt Platenyk, broke his leg before the start of the season.
That gritty pitching has eased the loss of some big names that left last year’s team, which won 13 straight games and 16 of 17 after a 2-2 start before a state tournament loss to eventual champion Manalapan in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV finals that toppled the Eagles from their No. 3 state ranking.
Five contributors to last season’s glory graduated last spring, and four are playing in college — outfielders Dan Sweeney at Richard Stockton College, Stefan Poggioli at the Catholic University of America and Brian Healy at the University Scranton, as well as pitcher Howie Brey, who is coming on strongly as a relief pitcher at Rutgers University. Designated hitter Erik Obstein also graduated.
These players also helped Middletown South reach the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals, where the Eagles lost to Jackson Memorial High School.
“I think we can do good things this year,” McGann said. “Hitting has come a long way from the beginning of the season, and we’ve gotten more confidence. We expect to go deep in every tournament we play.”
Spillane has done a masterful job playing a shell game of sorts with his lineup in the infield. Grilli plays first base and Kulaga plays at second. When Grilli pitches, Kulaga goes to first and senior third baseman Frank Servidio moves to second. When that happens, Grossi takes over at third.
Junior Kyle Brey, Howie’s brother, has been hitting the ball hard, but right at fielders for tough-luck outs. All have ample playing experience from last year. Junior Tom Mariniello can fill in at third base.
All hit in the top of the lineup, with Servidio leading off and Brey hitting second, followed by McGann, Grossi, Wisialko and Grilli.
The outfield lineup is new, however, with seniors Hunter Dreuer in left field and Eric Maynes in right flanking Wisialko, the center fielder. Junior Paul Ciemelewski can also play in the outfield and pitch.
Juniors Matt Barsalona and senior John O’Donnell also are expected to contribute throughout the season with their hitting.