By Jimmy Allinder
This could be the spring Spotswood High School fields its next exceptional baseball team.
The Chargers have a rich history of winning multiple Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Blue Division titles, but their best season was 2007, when they captured the division and GMC Tournament crowns and topped off the season with the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group II championship. Two years later, Spotswood won the Central Jersey, Group II sectional championship.
The Chargers’ performance, including last year’s 12-13 overall and 6-6 division record, has been uneven in recent seasons, with the exception being 2015’s 20-9 mark. However, this spring’s team is stocked with quality players, including seniors Matt Ciaccio and J.T. Vento, who both will play in college.
The Chargers also have depth on the mound (145 of the 153 innings were pitched by those who return), which is important because the NJSIAA has instituted a pitch-count rule that mandates throwers rest a specific period in between games.
As usual, head coach Glenn Fredricks (13th season with a 191-129 win-loss record) will field a lineup that is solid defensively and is aggressive running on the basepaths to take advantage of team speed. That is not to say the Chargers’ hitters lack power, which will be showcased this spring.
Ciaccio, a four-year starter, is unquestionably the No. 1 hurler. The 6-foot-7 lefty threw 53.2 innings last year with a 2.23 earned run average and will soon decide where to play college baseball. Joining him are seniors Andrew Fuzesi, Chris Auciello and Nick Mohr; juniors Fred Rago, Nathaniel Carone, Matt Amador and Dylan Seel; and sophomores Evan Scarduffa and Matt Vento.
The starting lineup includes seniors J.T. Vento (center field), who is committed to Coastal Carolina University, Ryan Szatkowski (second base), Mohr (utility), Sal Mistretta (catcher), Auciello (utility) and Ciaccio (first base); juniors Mike Izzo (catcher), Nick Vincelli (outfield), Seel (outfield), Derek Buhl (outfield) and Vin Guardiola (third base); and Matt Vento (shortstop).
The top reserves are senior Thomas Walker; juniors Chance Fee, Justin Fiorello, and D.J. Shaffer; sophomore Derek Petosa; and freshman Dom Vincelli.
“Last season, we stole 40 bases, well below our average, so that is something we want to change,” Fredricks said. “The lineup features speed from top to bottom, but we also have hitters who can reach the gaps.
“Our defense will be fluid because so many of our position players pitch (five of six starters).”
Spotswood opens the season April 1 at East Brunswick Vocational Technical High School and plays its home opener April 4 against New Brunswick High School.