Hering gives MHS baseball a lift
By: Justin Feil
Dale Hering enjoyed a pretty good sophomore season for the Montgomery High baseball team, and he’s working on an even better junior year as he’s settled into a bigger role.
"Last year, being a sophomore, nerves were definitely a factor, as is with every young player," Hering said. "No one can be 100 percent confident as a freshman and sophomore. I used last year’s experiences to build on them. I had to make sure I knew what it was about and what I had to do to win games. It’s just building year to year, learning from mistakes the year before."
Mistakes have been few and far between for Hering and the Cougars. Hering drove in two runs early as MHS jumped out to a 3-0 lead early last Tuesday before Ridge rallied to tie it. MHS won it on James Boyer’s seventh-inning home run.
Thursday, Hering had his second start of the season on the mound, and held Warren Hills to one hit while striking out six. Hering doubled in the game which the Cougars won with two runs in the seventh inning.
Saturday, Hering continued his hot hitting with two runs batted in in a 9-1 win over Hopewell Valley to help the Cougars to a 4-0 start.
Dale Hering is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
"We tend to hit late," said MHS head coach Pete Mueller. "I’m not thrilled about that. Dale is hitting close to .500. He hits every ball hard. Sometimes it’s right at somebody, but he hits it hard. What I like is, he’s hit the ball the other way. He comes up with guys on base. He bats clean-up and he can produce.
"Last year, I had him deeper, seventh or eighth. I expected him to come out and compete well. I knew what his abilities were. He’s been playing the way he was expected to. He’s very confident. He seems very comfortable in his shoes."
Mueller had bigger concerns about Montgomery’s pitching, but Hering has been part of a pleasant surprise of pitching performances. He and Ryan Andrew, who was the winning pitcher while Hering hit a two-run home run in an 8-3 win over Franklin on Tuesday, have both started 2-0.
"What I’m most pleased with is our pitching," said Mueller, whose team improved to 5-0 with the win over Franklin. "We have question marks on the mound, not for lack of ability but for proven starters. Dale threw a nice game. Ryan Andrew threw a nice game. Guys who didn’t have a lot of experience have stepped up so far. That’s what we need.
"It has to be the major concern," he added of the pitching. "It’s not about ability. It’s that they haven’t had the varsity reps that you’d like. It’s been a pleasant surprise."
Hering pitched less than a full game’s worth of inning as a freshman. He was one of the pitchers who provided depth last season and now he’s in a primary starter role after earning the opening-day start.
"Everyone’s been pitching well," Hering said. "Personally, I’m just trying to make quality pitches, throw quality games, and limit the walks. I’m not trying to overpower anyone. I worked out at Baseball Warehouse in Highland Park. Those guys did good job of fixing my mechanics and getting me throwing well. Hopefully it keeps progressing.
"After last year, we lost Ryan King and Brian Cahill, and I knew I’d have to step up and play a big role on the mound this year. I worked hard to make sure I was ready this year. I wanted to be ready for the team and pitch as well as I could."
Hering has also moved at the plate and in the field. At bat, he’s gone from a support role to one that is counted on to deliver game-by-game for the Cougars. After batting in the No. 8 spot for most of last year, he’s moved to clean-up. In the field, he’s moved across the diamond from first base to third base.
"Going from eight to four is definitely a little change," Hering said. "Not a lot of pitchers had a lot of respect for me last year. It hasn’t been that big of a deal. In the past, I’ve usually been a three-four batter.
"The move from first to third was a little rough. Last summer, I played third in Legion and on an AAU team in South Amboy. I had my work in at third. But change comes over time. It still took me a while. I’m starting to get the hang of it."
It’s been quite a start to the season for the Cougars, and they expect to get even stronger as their hitting becomes more consistent. MHS has done well in late-game at bats.
"You can’t lose confidence ever," Hering said. "When you do, that’s when you fall apart. We know we can hit. It’s just a matter of time before you start picking up the bats and start hitting. We as a team need to start scoring some runs. We need to try to jump out earlier."
Jumping out to a 5-0 start to the season has helped the Cougars forget about some of their slow starts at the plate. They’ve found ways to win with another group determined to keep the program going strong.
"Two years ago, we won counties. Last year we had 20 wins," Hering said. "It’s always great to get out to a good start. You never want to get down early. This builds confidence. We’re 5-0 now, so we’re off to a good start. We know we can win now. We try to do what we did the day before, and make sure everything goes according to plan and take a win out of the day. A big start is important."
For the Montgomery baseball team and for Dale Hering in his bigger role this season.