Like the weather outside, the Manalapan High School baseball team is warming up. The Braves have bounced back strongly from a three-game losing streak and are looking dangerous with postseason tournaments approaching.
Manalapan is 13-5 overall but has won six in a row and nine of its last 10.
“We’re playing better,” head coach Brian Boyce said. “Our approach at the plate is better. We’re more selective at the plate and we’re getting good swings.
“We’re getting a lot of hits in the lineup.”
Stephen Hansen (.319), Matt Klepper (.417), Jake Sadowitz (.417), Stephen Carbonara (.409), Ryan McGrane (.387) and Chris Rodriguez (.400) have been Manalapan’s top hitters. The Braves’ team batting average is .368.
There are no easy outs in the lineup. Manalapan is averaging just over nine runs a game in its last eight games.
The calling card for Manalapan’s hurlers is innings pitched. Manalapan starters are prepared to go deep into games.
Starters Nick Marotta, Nick Serra and Tyler Stafflinger have logged the most innings for the Braves.
Marotta is 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA, and Serra is 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA. Stafflinger is 3-1 with a 0.69 ERA.
The Braves recently came off a stretch where they played six games in six days. To get through that like they did requires pitching depth. Sadowitz (the team’s fourth starter), Ajay Kawa and John Pudder have all started. Kawa has the team’s lone save.
Manalapan pitchers are averaging fewer than a hit per inning and have a team earned run average of just over three runs a game.
While Manalapan may lack a true shutdown ace, they do the job asked of any pitcher. “Our guys keep us in games,” Boyce said. If there is one area the Braves have to work on, it’s defense. The team has showed potential to be very good, but there have been games where opponents have been allowed to get more than three outs in an inning. Boyce noted the team has overcome them because of their offense. But if they are to go deep in the postseason, they can’t afford to give teams extra outs.
“We have to get better,” Boyce said.
There’s been a noticeable change in the Braves’ attitude from early April. Boyce noted then that the team took the field hoping to win. Now, they expect to win. The Braves are playing their best ball at the right time of the year.
Manalapan has something else working for it: how close the players are to each other. Boyce praised the leadership provided by his seniors.
“They are a good group to coach,” he said.
The tournament season is actually underway. The Monmouth County Tournament (MCT) has begun, and the Braves won their first-round game against Howell High School, 10-4.
Rodriguez and Matt Rosenberg each had two RBI and Stafflinger pitched a complete game in the MCT victory.
The cutout date for the NJSIAA state sectional playoffs is May 8. To be guaranteed a spot in the 16-team field, teams must be .500 or above after play on that date.
In the most recent power rankings, the Braves are No. 4 in Central Jersey Group IV.
Colts Neck High School (11-2), which is in first place in the Shore Conference B North Division, is No. 3.
Marlboro High School (8-7), Freehold High School (9-9), Freehold Township High School (8-10) and Howell (7-7) rank 9th- 12th in the Central Jersey Group IV section.