Baseball
By: Mike Molaro
It wasn’t the kind of season Brian Carter was hoping for when he took over as head coach of the Lawrence High School baseball squad.
The Cardinals (9-15 overall, 7-9 in the Colonial Valley Conference) didn’t hit the .500 mark and just missed qualifying for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament.
Although the victories didn’t come as often as he would’ve liked, Carter kept his team playing spirited baseball the entire season.
“Personally, I think we had a successful season,” said Carter after completing his first year on the Cardinal bench. “The team thought we should’ve made states and they know that we could’ve done something there with our starting pitching.
“It took us a week or two into the season to get in stride. It was a new coach and a new philosophy for everyone to get used to. We lost a couple of games early that if we played those games again we’d win easily. Then it got down to crunch time when we needed to win two of three games to get into the state tournament and we couldn’t get it done.”
The Cardinals were eliminated from CJ III consideration with a 6-4 loss to Delaware Valley on May 10 that was stopped after six innings due to lightning.
Lawrence had rallied from a 6-1 deficit and Carter still believes his guys would’ve won that game had it gone the regulation seven innings.
“The game that killed us was the loss to McCorristin on May 8,” added Carter. “We were winning 5-4 going into the seventh inning and lost 8-5. The DelVal loss was a huge disappointment. It wasn’t that we lost but that we lost on a judgment call by the umpires.
“We waited until the end to play good ball. We didn’t make our own breaks. We never really put teams away early. We always let them hang around. When you do that, breaks can go against you and cost you a game.”
But the season was not without its bright spots for the Cardinals.
“Our two biggest wins of the year were a 6-2 win over Lawrenceville Prep (April 29) and 11-9 over Notre Dame (May 5),” Carter said. “We also played very well in a 3-2 loss to Steinert (May 23). We were a couple of plays away in that game from coming away with a win.
“The 9-2 win over Hun (April 19) sticks out because we did put away a team early that we should have. We came out early, took control, and put the game away like we were supposed to. The one things that we did consistently all year is that we played to the level of our opponents. We played the good teams tough but we didn’t put away the weaker teams. If we played all year like we did against Hun, it would’ve been an entirely different season.”
The Cardinals lose 10 seniors to graduation but Carter feels he has a solid returning nucleus around which to build next year.
“Bob Brundage (senior shortstop) was exceptional,” he said. “I didn’t see a better shortstop defensively all year. I saw that early in practice. Day in and day out we always made the play. He made every routine play and just about every tough play. Any ball hit to him was an automatic out. It’s going to be tough to replace that.
“Our young guys gained valuable experience and seem to be ready to step into leadership roles. Kyle Anderson (junior outfielder) was among the league’s top hitters all year but made adjustments to make himself a better hitter. It’s rare to see that in a young hitter. Guys like (sophomores) Mike Bruschini (second baseman) and Kevin Schneider (pitcher) came into their own this year. (Junior) C.J. Hendricks started out in the outfield and gave us solid play there and also did a good job behind the plate. It’s good to have a dependable catcher coming back.”
The numbers definitely don’t tell the entire story as far as the Cardinals are concerned. Rarely were they out-worked between the white lines. They could’ve packed it in after the heartbreaking setback to DelVal that killed their shot at the state tournament, but they dug deep and refused to quit.
It’s that determination coupled with a talented returning cast that has Carter and his staff looking forward to a positive future.
“There were a lot of ‘what ifs’ this year,” Carter added. “Things didn’t always go our way and I guess this is a season of ‘what could’ve been.’ For my first year coaching, I’m satisfied with how things went. I’m eager to get things going for next year.”