By Tim Morris
Tom Holdorf was supposed to pitch four or five innings in his varsity debut for the Freehold High School baseball team.
Instead, the 6-foot-2 left-hander went the distance against Keyport High School in the first round of the Monmouth County Tournament April 16 in Freehold Borough. The junior did more than go the distance, however, in the Colonials’ 7-0 win. He tossed a no-hitter in the first start of his career.
And to make the effort even more impressive, he faced the minimum number of batters — 21 — and fanned 10. The Red Raiders had won batter reach first base on an error.
“Two days before my start, coach [Jon] Block told me he didn’t expect me to go seven innings,” Holdorf said. “I had never been in that situation [going seven innings] before, but coach Block let me stay in the game.”
It was for good reason, as Holdorf was nearing the no-hitter.
“By the fourth or fifth inning, I was aware of [the no-hitter],” Holdorf said. “You try not to think about it, but you always think about it.
“The last inning was when I was worried the most. My first two pitches were out of the strike zone. I was overthrowing. I had to calm myself down.”
He did so quickly, inducing a groundout to shortstop for the first out and striking out the final batters — the second on a called third strike to complete the no-hitter.
It was one of those days for the Colonials’ hurler when everything was working.
“My curveball was breaking better than normal,” he said. “I mixed it up with my changeup and fastball.”
That — and sticking to the mantra “Always stay ahead [in the count]” — had the Red Raiders’ hitters off-balance all game long.
The Colonials’ pitcher was quick to credit his catcher, Nick Lamorte, with playing an important role in the no-hitter.
“We were always on the same page. I never shook him off once,” Holdorf said.
Block said Holdorf had made the case to be a starter by the way he pitched during the preseason. That, along with five innings of fine relief pitching against Christian Brothers Academy and Middletown High School South, proved to both the coach and Holdorf that he was ready to pitch on the varsity level.
“He had developed more than we anticipated,” Block said.
In describing his lefty, Block reported that he has a better-than-average fastball, good curve and off-speed pitches, and he doesn’t walk batters.
The reason for Holdorf’s quick development was a decision he made after last season to focus on his pitching. While he was one of the Colonials’ leading hitters and plays first base when he’s not starting, he wanted to find out if he could be the pitcher.
“In the summer, I decided I really wanted to buckle down and mostly pitch,” he said. “Before, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pitch.”
Holdorf noted the reason he had pitched in the first place was because he always had a good arm. But he had never been dedicated to pitching until he went for it last summer, pitching for the Baseball Parks of America travel team. He went up against the best talent in the country at showcase tournaments. One of the Baseball Parks of American alumni is Brad Brach, who currently pitches for the Baltimore Orioles.
Holdorf’s no-hitter capped what was a great week of pitching by Colonials starters.
It began April 11, when Dan Chiusano took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Colts Neck High School. He surrender an infield hit in the seventh settling for a complete game, one-hit shutout, 4-0.
Two days later, starter Nick Zuppe went five scoreless innings, and the Colonials beat Manalapan High School, 5-0.
Despite their 4-5 overall record, the Colonials reminded everyone last week why they will be a dangerous tournament team. They can throw a quality pitcher every time out with Chiusano, Zuppe, Holdorf and Steve Rullo.
The only thing holding the Colonials back has been their offense.
“We’re tinkering with the offense,” Block said. “We’re not doing as well as we’d like. We’re not getting that hit when we need it.”
With a 3-2 record in the Shore Conference A North Division, Freehold is very much in the race for first place. The Colonials have to keep winning games, with Howell High School (5-1) and Marlboro High School (4-1) ahead of them.
The Colonials played Freehold Township High School April 18, are at Middletown High School North April 20 and play Marlboro (6-1 overall) in Freehold April 21.