By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
The Allentown High baseball team knows that to be successful, it is going to take a combined effort from all of its parts.
Through the early part of the season that effort has been quite successful. No one player has carried the Redbirds during a 9-2 start that included a 10-6 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro High North on Tuesday.
”When we play as a family we do really well,” said Brett Sandford, who was the winning pitcher in a 9-0 win over Trenton on Monday. “What I love about our team is when someone makes a mistake everyone just picks him up and we move on to the next play.
”It all comes back to the team picking you up. We have a bunch of good pieces and when you put it all together it all comes together nicely.”
In the win over Trenton on Monday, Sandford and Thomas Malik combined on a three-hitter. Sandford pitched well into the fifth inning before leaving when he reached his pitch count limit. It was the first start of the year on the mound for the team’s regular shortstop.
”I have been happy for the most part,” Sandford said. “This was my first start. I was a little nervous in the first inning and then settled down after that. Our three starting pitchers are really good. When we have a four game week like this the rest of our starting pitchers will come in and pick them up.
”It all comes down to we can all trust each other on this team and that is what I love about it.”
Against Trenton, Dan Demonte and Brian Tobie had two hits apiece as the Redbirds finished with 13 hits combined. Tobie drove in three runs and Bob Gramer drove in a pair.
The Redbirds followed up the win over Trenton with a nice win over North, which was their fourth straight and continued a sold start for the team.
”We have played some good baseball,” Allentown head coach Brian Nice said. “We still have some things to clean up. We have to work on getting better. But if you tell me 10 games into the season we’d be 8-2, I am pretty happy about that.”
Sandford did his part filling in on the mound to start a busy week.
”He has had an inning here and there but nothing substantial,” Nice said. “I think nerves got the better part of him in the first inning but then he got out of the inning with no damage and settled down after that. The idea for him is to be a short guy and to come in at the end of games. But we have a four game week so we needed somebody to step up and get us some outs and he did a really nice job.”
The lineup has been solid throughout, with Gramer, Jake Alessi and Tommy McCarthy providing pop in the middle of the order.
”We’re not counting on one or two guys, especially offensively,” Nice said. “We’re getting contributions out of everybody, which is huge. Someone different is stepping up every day and that makes winning a lot easier. We have a lot of guys capable of getting that big hit. We have a nice lineup one through nine. For the most part pitching and defense have been out mainstay and we’re coming around with the bats. If we can keep that doing we can do some nice things out there.”

