Baseball – 2023 All-Shore Final Vote Winners

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2023 All-Shore Final Vote Winners

Top five vote-getters listed at each position

Catcher

Nate Sofield, So., Pinelands

After starting as a freshman catcher on a Pinelands team that finished around .500 and won an Ocean County Tournament game, Sofield had to ascend to more of a leadership role even though he was still only a sophomore this season. There were a lot of growing pains for the Wildcats, but after a 0-12 start, they closed the season with a 5-2 finish that included wins over Southern and Toms River East. In those last seven games, Sofield went 10-for-21 at the plate (.476) with two doubles, seven runs and three RBI. His 14 stolen bases were also the most of any full-time catcher in the Shore Conference.

Voting Results

First Base

Braden Walsh, Jr., Howell

The 2023 season went off the rails for Howell, which started the season 4-1 and was 7-7 on May 5 before the Rebels lost their final eight games to finish 7-15. That was not on Walsh, however, who was one of the Class A North division’s top hitters and a valuable players for the Rebels because of his ability to move behind the plate to catch when Howell needed him. On top of that, he hit big home runs and only two of his four long balls came at Howell’s friendly hitter’s field. Three of Walsh’s four homers gave Howell the lead and they all came against accomplished programs: Middletown North, Middletown South, CBA and East Brunswick.

Voting Results

Infield

Evan Kwortnik, Sr., 3B, Toms River North

An all-division selection by the Class A South coaches, Kwortnik made an early statement during his senior year by belting his first and only homer of the year to give Toms River North a fifth-inning lead on Jackson Memorial on opening day – a game Jackson Memorial would rally to win. Jackson Memorial and the Toms River schools represent the legacy programs of the Class A South division and Kwortnik was particularly good at the plate against them, going 6-for-16 (.375) with two doubles, a triple, a home run and eight RBI in those six division matchups.

Voting Results

Outfield

Casey Gardiner, Jr., Colts Neck

A fast-starter and Colts Neck’s leader in RBI, Gardiner finished tied for fifth among Shore Conference outfielders with 12 extra-base hits. Three of those extra-base hits came in an 11-5 win over Marlboro in April, with Gardiner hammering two doubles and a homer in the win over a Mustangs team ranked in the Top 10 at the time.

Voting Results

Utility

Andrew Gendi, Jr., RHP/3B, Matawan

While Matawan classmate Brandon Falco led the Shore Conference with 58 2/3 innings, Gendi was 11th with 49 1/3, giving the Huskies two workhorses to lead their strong pitching staff. The junior right-hander notched two 10-strikeout games – one in a 2-1 loss to Ocean and another in a 3-1 win over Manasquan – and capped his season on the mound by holding top-seeded Steinert to two runs on four hits with six strikeouts in a complete-game win over the Spartans in the Central Jersey Group III quarterfinals. Gendi was also a key contributor on offense and among players to log at least 40 innings on the mound, only Long Branch’s Will Reyes (eight) had more doubles than Gendi had.

Voting Results

Pitcher

Roger Dreher, Jr., RHP, Southern

In his first season of high-school baseball, Dreher provided Southern with another power arm for the pitching staff and emerged as one of the Rams’ go-to pitchers. During a stretch of six consecutive appearances on the mound from May 8 through 25, Dreher went 2-0 with a save, a 1.83 ERA, 26 strikeouts and seven walks in 15 1/3 innings, which included five postseason appearances. His most memorable performance came in an eight-inning win vs. Jackson Memorial in which Dreher allowed one run and struck out four over the final three innings in earning the win and also delivered an insurance RBI single in the top of the eighth inning in the 6-3 Rams victory.

Voting Results