Losing the heart of your baseball team is one thing. Losing seven of nine starters in the field and three pitchers who combined for 24 wins in the previous season is quite another.
For most baseball teams, losses like that would require a complete rebuilding effort, but in winning the Group IV state title last spring and the Shore Conference A North Division crown for the last three seasons, Manalapan High School has not been most teams.
In what many people thought would be a rebuilding year, the Braves (6-3) find themselves in first place in A North with a 4-1 division record. It’s still early in the league race, but the Braves have already shown they are a serious contender for the crown.
“It’s a good start,” coach Brian Boyce said. “I knew there was talent (in the current senior class). The seniors are taking advantage of their opportunity. They sat behind a talented group” in 2011.
Boyce acknowledges that despite the team’s winning record, he is “still trying to figure things out,” especially on the pitcher’s mound, where the rotation has been by committee and where only Joe Serrapica is looked to for a complete game.
Serrapica and shortstop Brian Lamboy are the only returning starters back from last year’s state championship team.
The righthanded Serrapica showed enough in 30 innings of work in 2011 to earn the spot at the top of the rotation this season and he has been every bit the ace the team thought he could be. Serrapica is 3-1 with 1.84 ERA and three complete games.
After Serrapica, the Braves’ pitching staff includes Dennis Girolamo (1-0), Patrick Monahan, Matt Simonetti (1-1), Billy Moed (1-0), Chris Tipaldo, Louis Marotta and Alex Wolf.
That depth on the staff allows Boyce to go to the bullpen frequently and to call on a reliever to face a specific batter, or for short or long relief.
As a group, the Manlapan pitchers have a very respectable 3.15 ERA.
Manalapan’s 2012 lineup may not be as power laden as the team that scored 29 runs in the 2011 state final, but it has been productive.
Senior Ryan Ranieri has been a catalyst for the offense with his .516 batting average, seven runs scored and 11 RBI (all team highs).
Lamboy is batting .462 after hitting .389 in 2011. Serrapica (who plays third base when not pitching) is hitting .409, and outfielder Vito Gadaleta, who saw some time last season, has stepped into a full-time starting role by providing the team’s power. Gadaleta has smacked two home runs and is batting .391.
Anew type of bat which deadens the velocity of the ball as it leaves the bat is playing more like a wooden bat and has Boyce emphasizing small ball.
“You are not seeing the extra-base hits,” Boyce said. “We focus on bunting, base running and situational hitting. You have to be patient and take advantage of your opportunities by getting the big hit.”
Despite the team’s 4-1 division record through five A North games, Boyce is not ready to start thinking about another league championship banner.
“We are taking it one inning and one game at a time,” the coach said. “There is a lot of parity in A North.”
Boyce said he believes the gap between the top and bottom teams in the division is very small and he said the difference between winning and losing is very slim. That is why he is pleased Manalapan has pulled out two one-run wins (6-5 over Howell and 4-3 over Freehold Township) by coming up with a big play.
Against Howell, the Braves lost the lead in the top of the seventh inning and came back with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win.
The Braves will begin the heart of the A North schedule this week with road games on April 25 at Middletown North and April 27 at Christian Brothers Academy. The road schedule continues with games at Freehold Township (April 30) and Middletown South (May 2).
Manalapan will not play at home again until May 4, when the Braves will host Marlboro at 3:45 p.m. The Mustangs are the onlyANorth team to beat the Braves so far in 2012.
Marlboro lost its share of talent from a 2011 team that won 15 games, including a state tournament game. Coach James Ferraro has his team in the thick of theANorth race. The Mustangs ripped off six straight wins to begin the season, but have dropped their last four games to fall to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the division.
Freehold Township is 4-5 overall, but the Patriots are 4-3 in the division and still in the race.
Middletown South, which was the Central Jersey Group III state sectional champion in 2011, is in second place with a 5-2 A North record (5-3 overall). Manalapan defeated Middletown South, 11-0, in the teams’ first meeting.
The Monmouth County Baseball Tournament will start onApril 28. The seeds are to be announced.