Jackson Memorial High School graduate Ryan Guarino is hitting .301 for the East Stroudsburg University baseball team as he tries to lead the Warriors back to the NCAA Tournament. PHIL BOMZER/ESU ATHLETICS Ryan Guarino has been a slow starter through most of his baseball career at Jackson Memorial High School and East Stroudsburg University.
But Guarino, ESU’s senior second baseman who is at his best when the season is at its warmest, has heated up his batting average earlier than usual. He was batting .301 coming into the week, having started 32 games for the Warriors (19-14), who lost the last three games of a four-game weekend set with Bloomsburg.
Guarino added 20 points to his batting average during a four-game series in late March against West Chester. He went 4-9 in the three games he played in that series to raise his average above .300.
It was an impressive outing against West Chester, ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II, in a battle for first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division.
West Chester, coming off that series, improved to 22-1 with a conference record 17 straight victories.
ESU slipped from No. 5 to No. 7 in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II Atlantic Region baseball poll following that series.
“I start slow every year, but even my .280 batting average is a lot higher than when I started last year,” Guarino said of where his batting average stood entering the West Chester series. “Maybe it’s just the number of at-bats and seeing more pitching and then finally clicking.”
This spring, Guarino is one of East Stroudsburg’s tri-captains.
“Ryan plays as hard as anybody and finds a way to help win games,” ESU coach John Kochmansky said. “He has had a great career. When he graduates, we’ll miss him.”
It is Guarino’s leadership that will be missed as much, if not more, than any numbers he puts up for the squad.
“This season he has been our leader,” Kochmansky said. “You do not live and die by the stats. He makes the play, picks us up with [taking] an extra base. He does some things that may not show up in the box score to put us in a position to win games. He manufactures things when he’s on base.”
While Guarino hits at the bottom of the lineup, he has the speed of a leadoff hitter. Entering this week’s action he had nine stolen bases in 11 attempts.
Guarino said he wants to improve his fielding behind a deep, experienced pitching staff that is regarded as the team’s greatest strength this season.
“I have more errors now than the four I had all last season,” said Guarino, who had committed 10 errors through 33 games
He said he was reliable on defense last season despite a stretch of rainy weather that cancelled a lot of games and bunched the conference schedule with make-up games late in the season. That would make it a challenge to get into a consistent groove.
“This year I’m just focusing on defense and hitting for average, which I know is coming, and getting on base,” Guarino said. “Getting on base is my most important stat because I’m not a power guy. If I get on base, then I’m helping the team as much as I can.”
Guarino wants to return to the NCAA Tournament after his team received an atlarge bid in 2011.
East Stroudsburg split four NCAA games, beating Seton Hill and then losing to Mercyhurst.
The Warriors came back to beat Seton Hill to earn a rematch with Mercyhurst, which eliminated East Stroudsburg from the double-elimination tournament and went on to win the regional bracket.
“We want to establish our presence a bit, to get more credibility,” Guarino said. “Not just here, but even when I was at Jackson, we never won anything. I want to win something before I’m finished.”