New Egypt High School and Allentown High School players have meshed again on a solid Allentown American Legion baseball team that is off to a 7-1 start coming into this week.
“We have a lot of pitching depth and a good group of seniors, and every time we play, we send out a pitcher who can win. Not all teams can do that,” said manager Matt Zangari.
Last year’s team had one of the best records in the Mercer Division at 15-7 and got to the district finals, where its 17-9 season ended.
“We’re trying to get a step further this year,” said Zangari, as left-handers Steve Adams and Zack Rosenthal of Allentown and Kevin Smith of New Egypt have pitched, as have brothers Connor and Austin Lindsay of New Egypt and reliever Pat McCarthy of Allentown. Connor Lindsay is headed to Montclair State University in the fall.
They’ve made up for the loss of Allentown’s Frank O’Brien, the Mercer area Legion Pitcher of the Year last summer who has had arm problems after returning from a freshman season at Le Moyne College.
“This [7-1 start] is not really a surprise,” said New Egypt head varsity coach Jeff Pierro, who is a coach on the Allentown Legion team. “We had expectations to be good. We’ve been trying to get the best talent from both high schools for a competitive team. Everybody has been instrumental at different times.”
New Egypt went 19-7, which tied the school record for victories, and won the Burlington County Scholastic League Freedom Division.
Pierro said Austin Lindsay “will be the ace next year” after Connor led last spring’s staff. He also praised second baseman Quentin Hall, who went from the bench at the start of the season to a starter and the leadoff hitter for Allentown Legion. Both will be seniors this fall. Allentown suffered its first loss to Bordentown, 5-0, on June 16 before reeling off four victories last week, the latest a 9-0 victory over Lawrence on June 22, as shortstop Brandon Reutsch of Allentown and right fielder Reed Anderson of New Egypt each batted in two runs. Kyle Gola, a center fielder from Allentown, also drove in a run.
A day earlier, Joe O’Brien of Allentown hit a walk-off sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and no outs as Allentown beat Hopewell, 7-6.
Earlier last week, Allentown got a big 6-2 victory over Broad Street Park of Hamilton, which came in with a 7-0 record, as third baseman Mark Duffy of Allentown lined a key two-run double. Duffy is headed to the Catholic University of America in the fall.
Zangari said Adams (2-0) is a “big reason” behind the team’s success, as he pitched the victory over Broad Street Park.
Allentown has three games scheduled this week, including against Ewing on June 24, against Princeton the following day and against Hamilton Post 31 on June 27 at New Egypt, one of three games scheduled at New Egypt this summer.
Most players on the team have shown up reliably for games.
Two young Allentown prospects to watch for on their varsity teams in the spring that are contributing to the Legion team are utility player Brian Tobie, who will be a senior this fall, and third baseman/pitcher Tom McCarthy, who will be a junior.
Pierro mentioned three other players who will be seniors this fall, and they will play a big part in New Egypt’s success, including catcher Steve Gallant, who has been busy in preseason football as the leading candidate at quarterback, outfielder Brian Ashley and second baseman/third baseman Justin Smith.