By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
The Hillsborough Junior American Legion baseball team figured it would be pretty competitive this summer, but their perfect start is still a bit of a surprise.
The team, comprised of players that just finished their ninth grade year at Hillsborough High School, has opened Pyramid Baseball League play 8-0 after a 3-1 win over Warren Hills on June 22.
”It is a pretty talented group,” said Hillsborough manager Jim Maggio. “We played in a tournament down in Hamilton Memorial Day weekend and won that tournament. It’s a really talented group of kids.”
This Hillsborough crew is highlighted by its pitching, defense and base running. In eight games, only two opponents have managed more than a single run off them.
”We have five games in six days, so we have a tough stretch,” Maggio said as Hillsborough prepared to open a week that included games with North Warren, Somerville, Delaware Valley, Belvidere and the Delaware Valley Outlaws. “We’ll get some more guys out on the mound pitching, so we’ll see how we end up.”
Maggio has a large roster, so he has rotated the players that he has brought to games. On the roster are: Mike Englehardt, Andrew Fox, Max Guidice, Ryan Iarkowski, Kyle Jeney, Elias Ku, Zach Maggio, Asher Matsen, Cole Norfleet, Alec Romanowski, Phil Sabatino, Jeff Serin, Dan Stoddard, Jimmy Suseck, Zach Tackach, Mike Ur, Chris Vadinsky and Eric Zickert.
”Most of them all played last summer together,” said the elder Maggio. “A couple of them played JV exclusively. A couple went back and forth between freshman and JV. The bulk of them were on our freshman team (at HHS).”
The Hillsborough High School junior varsity had a 16-3 season while the freshmen were four games over .500. From those teams, the Junior Legion team has come together quickly.
”I expected us to be good,” Maggio said. “I didn’t expect us to be 8-0. We went into this tournament we played in against a lot of travel type, AAU type teams, and we won that tournament. I knew we could do some good things.”
The fast start has only solidified the goals for the summer.
”I expect us to win the league,” Maggio said. “We haven’t played everybody yet. We’re all freshmen, and a lot of the teams we play are sophomores. Hackettstown, I’ve heard, has a lot of juniors. I’m looking forward to playing some of these teams and challenging ourselves. There are two or three other good teams, so we’ll see what happens.”
If Hillsborough keeps holding teams to one run, there will be plenty of wins ahead. As some of their younger players adjust to the more experienced pitchers of some of the Hillsborough opponents, their offense could become just as good as their defense. With their pitching, though, Hillsborough hasn’t needed a lot of offense.
”We have a kid on the team, our best pitcher, Jeff Serin, I think in the last six games he’s pitched, he’s probably given up three or four runs,” Maggio said.Even when opponents do get on base, they aren’t making it far. The Hillsborough pitching and defense make sure of it.
”There’s a core group of 11-12 guys that do the bulk of playing,” Maggio said. “My son (Zach) is doing the bulk of the catching. Our other catcher is hurt, so my son has caught every game and I give him some credit for calling the games too.
”We’ve given up two or three stolen bases at most. He’s thrown kids out. Teams don’t really run on us. Our pitchers have picked off a bunch of guys between first and second. That’s something they really work on with the school team. They’ve worked on it a lot.”
Hillsborough’s best hitter is Suseck, a powerful player who recently belted a home run in a win over North Hunterdon.
”He hit a shot about 350 (feet),” Maggio said. “He’s a big kid. He’s 6-3 and he’s a 3-sport athlete. He’s our best hitter.”
Most of the lineup uses its speed to generate offense. Being aggressive is a trademark of the team.
”We’ve probably stolen well over 20 bases in eight games,” Maggio said. “Eric Zickert, our leadoff hitter, is batting .400 and probably has 10 of those stolen bases.
”We really push it. We do a lot of hit-and-run, bunting and stealing. We’re not a monster hitting team. We generate a lot of runs with our base running.”
The combination has made Hillsborough impossible to stop through the first eight games of the season. Maggio is happy to see how quickly the team has come together. It’s a team that shows plenty of promise.
”When they were younger, there were multiple travel teams in town,” Maggio said. “They didn’t play together really until last summer.
”A lot of them play other sports together. They’re friends. They all — with the exception of one kid — have grown up in the same school.”
They have grown together through the early part of the year, and their fast start gives them confidence as they head into the remainder of the summer.
”Last summer, we had a pretty good summer,” Maggio said. “We maybe won one tournament. Two or three of the kids were split up then, and the freshmen team, because there was a lot back and forth, I don’t think they expected us to be this good.
”I think they have an opportunity to do something special. They come out ready to play. They’ve very coachable. We try to learn from situations every game. They know the better they play and the more they hustle, the more playing time they get. Because of the big roster, they’re pushing each other because they want to play more.”
And they want to win more after winning plenty in the first weeks of the season.
