By Tim Morris
With the memory of last year’s early exit from the playoffs still lingering, the Freehold Clippers head into the postseason a team on a mission.
“The way last year ended is in the back of our minds,” the Clippers’ standout center fielder, Jason Lundy, said. “We can win it all.”
As the No. 2 seed in the American Baseball Confederation Collegiate League (ABCCL) last year, the Clippers — who play their home games at Michael Tighe Park in Freehold Township — went out in the first round after falling to No. 7-seed NJ Nationals. It did not sit well with the Clippers’ players, most of whom returned for the 2016 season.
Lundy and his teammates are determined to avoid the same fate this summer as they begin the playoffs as the regular-season champion and No. 1 overall seed in the 10-team college league.
The Clippers edged out last year’s ABCCL champion Monmouth Monarchs for the regular-season championship. The Clippers were 23-6-1, while the Monarchs went 23-9-1. The regular season ended July 28.
The ABCCL playoffs are best-of-three series and began this week with the Jerry Lillis Cup Championship Round scheduled for Aug. 6 (doubleheader) and Aug. 7 (if necessary).
Since taking over the Clippers five years ago, general manager/manager Rich Gawlak has had the team trending upward, going from a sub-.500 club to one that could win the league championship this year.
Under Gawlak, the Clippers play an aggressive offensive game using team speed to steal bases (they’ve regularly led the league in that category), take the extra base and hit-and-run. Even though the Clippers don’t have the base-stealing threats that they’ve had before, they still put pressure on the defense with aggressive play. They are averaging six runs a game despite hitting just six home runs and five triples all season.
Catcher Harrison Preschel (Long Island University-Brooklyn) leads the Clippers with a .384 batting average. Infielder Steve Edelstein (Stockton University) is hitting .354; last year’s league Most Valuable Player, Lundy (Freehold/Fordham University), is at .344; infielder Tom McCarthy (Allentown/College of New Jersey) is hitting .333; and infielder Austin Lindsay (Allentown/Mercer County College) has a .310 average.
Lindsay leads the club in RBIs (22) and home runs (three). Outfielder Nick Ruscingno (New Jersey City University) has scored a team-high 23 runs and 13 stolen bases and is batting .300. Lundy has the most base hits (32), and Preschel leads in doubles (11).
Infielder Jon Baturgil (Colts Neck/Chestnut College) has 20 runs scored and 16 RBIs.
The Clippers have a .304 team batting average.
In addition to having the designated hitter, the ABCCL has an extra hitter for a 10-man lineup. That makes the pitcher’s job that much more difficult.
“It does get tough [for the pitcher],” Gawlak said. “The lineup gets deeper. That’s why I try and stack up on arms. I have 13 pitchers.”
The manager uses them all, and each has figured in a decision.
Freehold has a pair of pitchers with a 4-0 record: Dan Maguire (Ocean Township/Keystone College) and P.J. Strahm (Milltown/Bucknell University).
Overall, the deep Clippers pitching staff has a superb 2.65 ERA.
The defending champion Monarchs, who call St. John Vianney High School their home field in Holmdel, also have several players from the area.
Brookdale Community College’s Joe Rotelli (Morganville/Red Bank Catholic) is batting .349 and leads the Monarchs ins RBI (28) and total bases (56). He’s an infielder and catcher.
Marlboro High School graduate Joe Iacobellis (Alvernia University), an outfielder, is batting .330 with 20 runs scored. Catcher Anthony Santoro (Manalapan/Rutgers University-New Brunswick) is hitting .314 with a team-high 10 doubles.
Left-handed hurler Adam Ashenfarb (Marlboro/Union College) is 1-0 and has two saves. St. Rose High School graduate Jim Gowen, a left-hander, has been Monmouth’s ace with a 5-0 record and one save. His ERA is 2.70.
The Monarchs have a team ERA of 4.24 and a team batting average of .299.