The Monmouth Regional High School baseball team is spending its summer on the diamond as the young Falcons look for a leg up on the 2016 season.
Eleven seniors graduated in the spring, leaving Monmouth Regional with just a handful of returning starters. The Falcons will play without their top hitter from 2015, Stockton University-bound Matt Vincenti, who batted a team-high .461 with an onbase percentage of .573.
Monmouth Regional also lost pitchers Corey Shevlin, Christian DeFazio and Bill Herman, who each logged at least 25 innings on the mound.
This summer is a chance for the newcomers to get some seasoning. Monmouth Regional is back playing in the Greater Middlesex Coaches Summer Baseball League, which features high schools from Monmouth, Middlesex and Somerset counties.
Like last year, Monmouth Regional is fielding both senior and junior teams. The senior team was 4-0 through June 28, while the junior Falcons were 4-1.
Paul Crivello, head coach of the Falcons, said the summer league is a good opportunity for Monmouth Regional to get its younger players more experience on the field. After losing six one-run games in 2015, Monmouth Regional is stressing defense and situational hitting during the summer.
“For the younger guys, we want them to know that if we execute and make plays in the field, we can win those close games,” Crivello said, acknowledging that in-game awareness often comes with experience. “We want to instill that now so during the season, it comes naturally to them.”
Given the team’s influx of newcomers, Monmouth Regional will likely be considered an underdog to claim a postseason title next season. The Falcons, who concluded their 2015 campaign at 8-13, played their best postseason baseball in the Monmouth County Tournament, where they advanced as far as the quarterfinals.
But Crivello believes his group of upand comers will thrive under the radar next season. The Falcons also have a few veteran starters for 2016 in catcher Garrhet Reedy, outfielder Preston Mellaci and infielder Andrew Slinger. Reedy was fourth on the team in batting average and third in slugging percentage last season.
“We have a good young group. They just want to play baseball. They want to prove to other teams that we can contend,” Crivello said.
Monmouth Regional hopes to set the tone early with summer games scheduled three days a week. On Mondays and Thursdays, the Falcons face rival Monmouth County teams. Monmouth plays schools from Middlesex County on Tuesdays.
The Greater Middlesex Coaches Summer Baseball League was established in 2009. Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, Long Branch High School, Ocean Township High School, Red Bank Regional High School, Red Bank Catholic High School and Shore Regional High School play alongside Monmouth Regional in the Surf Division.
The Turf Division includes Middlesex and Somerset schools, including Old Bridge High School and Somerville High School.