The Jersey Shore entry looking to win the Carpenter Cup Classic Baseball Tournament for the second successive year came up just short, reaching the finals before falling to S.O.L. Bicentennial, 12-6, June 23 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Led by Ocean Township High School baseball coach Cip Apicelli, the Jersey Shore contingent is essentially an all-star team comprised of Shore-area players who are selected in a poll of Shore Conference coaches. Typically teams replace all of their position players after five innings to ensure that everyone plays.
The Carpenter Cup Classic Tournament, now in its 30th year, was started in 1986 to promote high school players from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. It is named for former Phillies owners Bob and Ruly Carpenter.
Aided by a few seeing-eye singles, S.O.L. jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. By the bottom of the fifth, Jersey Shore had made it 8-5 thanks in part to a two-run single off the bat of Ocean Township’s Anthony Bartolomei. Joe Silvestrone of Freehold Township High School doubled in another run, and Wall High School’s Ryan Orender contributed an RBI single.
Apicelli’s team cut the deficit to two in the bottom of the eighth as Middletown High School South catcher Zach Schild’s infield hit brought home another run, but the Jersey boys left the bases loaded. S.O.L. put up four runs in the top of the ninth to dash Jersey Shore’s comeback hopes.
“We were down early, but you have to give our guys credit for battling back,” said Apicelli, whose team left 15 runners on base. “That one bad inning really hurt us. Still, we had the opportunities to come back.”
Perhaps the most exciting game of the tournament for Jersey Shore was its 6-5 win in the semifinals over Delaware County June 19 at Citizens Bank Park. Apicelli’s team was down, 2-0, after one inning, but Bartolomei and Manalapan High School’s Jake Sadowtiz doubled in the second to cut the lead in half. Jersey Shore went ahead in the third when Silvestrone drew a bases loaded walk and Bartolomei drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Later, Wall’s Dan Wondrack added a sacrifice fly to increase the lead.
Delaware Valley tied things up in the bottom of the ninth as Colts Neck High School pitcher Chris Murphy struggled with his control. In the top of the 10th, Kyle Missry of St. Rose High School of Belmar whacked a leadoff homer to put Jersey Shore up, and Murphy retired Delaware Valley in order to seal the win.
Jersey Shore advanced to the semifinals as a result of its 13-5 win in the quarterfinals June 17 over Tri-Cape. Wondrack contributed a two-run homer and an RBI double. Ocean Township’s Brian Kochenash, Red Bank Catholic (RBC) High School’s Anthony DeRosa and Toms River High School South’s Jake Ryan drove in two runs apiece. Middletown South’s Austin Markmann and Missry also delivered runscoring hits. Manasquan High School lefty Tom Sheehan and Shore Regional High School’s James Kelly split the first six innings on the mound.
In its opening game June 15, Jersey Shore pounded out 23 hits and used nine different pitchers in an 18-0 triumph against Burlington County.
“This is the third year I’ve coached this team, and it’s always interesting to see how it develops,” Apicelli said. “At the first few practices, the guys don’t really know each other. They’re thinking ‘This guy got a hit off of me,’ or ‘This guy got me out.’ From there, they slowly develop into a team, and that’s always fun to watch.”
Other members of the team included Aaron Ahn (RBC), Mike Antico (Colts Neck), Connor Boyle (Howell), Matt Cuppari (Brick Memorial), Ciaran Devenney (St. John Vianney), Blake Demeter (Ocean Township), Max Goione (Rumson-Fair Haven), Chris Hawryluk and Kyle Johnson (Jackson Memorial), Ryan Larsen (Toms River North), Chad Leonard (Toms River East), Andrew Nardi (Marlboro) and Carmen Sclafani (Brick Township).