Behind aces Chris Murphy and Mario Ferraioli, Colts Neck High School dominated baseball’s regular season.
The Cougars (21-4) marched through the Shore Conference B North Division undefeated, giving them back-to-back division titles. It was a new division with the same result for Mike Yorke’s Cougars.
Murphy was named the division’s Pitcher of the Year and Yorke was the Coach of the Year.
When it came to the postseason, however, it was Jon Block’s Freehold High School (16- 13) team that did the heavy lifting. From the 14th seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tournament, the Colonials made it all the way to the semifinals.
In all, it was a great season on the diamond for the Freehold Regional High School District.
After a slow start, Manalapan High School caught fire in the second half of the season and won 18 games (18-9). Marlboro High School (12-10) rode a great start to the postseason.
Freehold Township High School (13- 14), with just one returning starter, surprised everyone by qualifying for the Shore Conference and state sectional tournaments.
Block’s Colonials were a surprise. With a relatively inexperienced team and moving up to A North, they were expected to struggle and the postseason was a longshot. But they more than held their own — they beat champion Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) twice — and qualified for both postseason tournaments, using their pitching to get to the semifinals.
Howell High School (10-12) also emerged from A North to make the postseason.
There was one theme for all the district teams: pitching. There were some great performances turned in over the year, led by Murphy and Ferraioli, who head up the News Transcript’s 2015 All-Freehold Regional High School District Baseball Team.
The All-District pitchers are Murphy, Ferraioli, Marlboro’s Jason Nardi, Freehold’s Steven Rullo and Manalapan’s Nick Serra.
The infielders are Colts Neck’s Tyler Kapuscinksi, Manalapan’s Jake Sadowitz and Chris Rodriguez and Howell’s Connor Fey.
The catcher is Freehold Township’s Joe Silvestrone.
Manning the outfield are Marlboro’s Mike Santaromita, Howell’s Connor Boyle and Colts Neck’s Tyler Kay and Mike Antico.
The utility players are Freehold’s Dante Cuzzolino and Freehold Township’s Kyle Fenton. Colts Neck’s Jordan Gonzalez is the designated hitter.
Murphy and Ferraioli, both left-handers, were a combined 13-1 with two saves as they carried the Cougars to the division title.
Ferraioli, a junior, was 7-1 with a 2.32 ERA. He struck out 63 in 48.1 innings of work.
Murphy, a senior, was 6-0 with two saves. His ERA was just 1.37, and he fanned 77 in 51 innings.
Marlboro head coach Jim Ferraro called Nardi the best pitcher he ever had. The Mustangs were a near lock when he was on the mound. The senior was 7-1 with one save. He worked 49.2 innings and had an ERA of 1.83.
Rullo not only beat CBA twice, but he shut out their high-powered offense both times. He was 5-2 for the Colonials and pitched to a 1.82 ERA.
Serra sparked Manalapan’s second-half comeback. The Braves needed someone to step up on the mound this year, and the senior did just that. He went 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA. He tossed the team’s lone complete game, and he also had one save.
Silvestrone, who recently committed to Wagner College, had a record-setting season. He set the school record for home runs in a season (nine) and slugged .808. He batted .385 with 30 hits. He had 27 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
Kapuscinski, last year’s A North Hitter of the Year, came up with another big season in the new division. He batted .458 to lead the Cougars’ offense. He scored 17 times and had 19 RBIs.
Infielders Sadowitz and Rodriguez gave the Braves a big one-two punch in the lineup. Both are juniors.
Sadowitz batted .430, which was tops on the team, with 34 hits. He had eight doubles, four home runs (team leader) and a teamhigh 25 RBIs. He also scored 16 runs.
Rodriguez hit .390 and led the Braves with 39 hits and 26 runs scored. He had eight doubles, three triples and 19 RBIs.
The Rebels’ Fey batted .380 with 18 RBIs and 12 runs scored. He had five doubles and three home runs.
Kay gave the Cougars’ lineup another potent bat. He led the team in hits (31) and doubles (13) while batting .378. He had 15 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
Outfielder Antico batted .333 but led the Cougars in RBIs with 29 while scoring 20 times. He had six doubles, five triples and one home run. The junior swiped 29 bases in 31 attempts as he helped the Cougars manufacture runs.
Santaromita batted .316 with 25 hits and 16 runs scored, but it was his play in center field that stood out. Potential extra base hits had a habit of finding their way into his glove. Mustangs coach Jim Ferraro praised his outfielder as the best in the Shore.
Boyle led the Rebels in hits (32) and was clearly the team’s catalyst with a team-high 17 runs scored. He batted .430.
Cuzzolino was the Colonials’ workhorse on the mound, pitching 65.1 innings and going 4-3. The senior was also among the Colonials’ offensive leaders with 15 runs scored, 14 RBIs and a team-high eight doubles while batting .290.
Fenton had a big year providing support for Silvestrone in the Patriots’ lineup. The junior batted .363 with 17 RBIs. Besides his offense, Fenton did a little bit of everything for the Patriots playing the infield, outfield and pitching.
The versatile Gonzalez played catcher, first base and third base for the Cougars. He batted .370 and led the Cougars with 25 RBIs.