Baseball – All-Shore Second and Third Teams

Shore Sports Network All-Shore Second Team

All-Shore teams are selected by Staff Writer Matt Manley based on statistics, input from various coaches and first-hand observation of the teams and players. Contact Matt via Twitter @Matt_Manley.

Catcher

Tyler Bradley, Sr., Manasquan

Although Bradley was Manasquan’s primary catcher last year, he was not in the Warriors’ NJSIAA Tournament batting order at the end of the year. He went from a bottom-of-the-order bat to a lineup anchor for the Warriors, more than doubling his batting average and slugging percentage while maintaining his performance behind the plate.

First Base

Jake Sadowitz, Jr., Manalapan

Although he hit pretty much everyone he faced, Sadowitz liked seeing CBA on the other side of the field. He had two-hits in all three meetings between the A North rivals and drove in a run each time he faced off against Luca Dalatri.

Infield

Carmen Sclafani, Sr., Brick

Sclafani is heading to Rutgers to play baseball next year and makes his first All-Shore baseball appearance after a standout football career as well. Before coming to Brick as a junior, he was the first of three straight sophomores to start at shortstop for Toms River North.

Joey Rose, Jr., Toms River North

Rose saw a dip in his batting average, but still increased both his on-base and slugging percentages, as well as his home run total, during a junior season in which opposing pitchers did not have much interest in challenging the Oklahoma State recruit.

Aaron Ahn, So., Red Bank Catholic

Ahn’s 27 runs scored and 27 RBI make him one of six players to eclipse 25 runs scored and 25 RBI this season. Four of them are first-team players (Kyle Johnson, Brandon Martorano, Brandon Janofsky and Joe Silvestrone) and the other two (Kyle Missry and Brendan Hueth) played on a St. Rose team that overwhelmed a pitching-thin Class B Central.

Max Goione, Sr., Rumson-Fair Haven

The Siena recruit led the entire Shore Conference in on-base percentage and led all regular shortstops with a .707 slugging percentage.

Outfield

Matt Vincenti, Sr., Monmouth

Vincenti accomplished a high school rarity when he hit for the cycle in a 12-11 loss to Raritan on April 25, a game in which he also went 6-for-6 at the plate. He finishes his high school career with a school-record 23 doubles.

Rich Rountree, Sr., Jackson Memorial

In a season filled with memorable late comebacks, Roundtree might have had the most memorable when he hit a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to cap a seven-run inning as Jackson Memorial beat Jackson Liberty 8-4.

Anthony Bartolomei, Sr., Ocean

Bartolomei hit his only two career home runs this season and both came in the same game. It just so happens that one was a walk-off homer in extra innings to beat No. 7 Freehold, which came after he pitched the first seven innings of the game.

Travis Cloney, Sr., St. Rose

His numbers get a boost by playing in B Central, but Cloney hits good pitching and does everything on the baseball diamond. The left-handed stick showed he can hit tough pitching by picking up a double and a single against a tough left-hander in Colts Neck’s Mario Ferraioli.

Designated Hitter

Chris Hawryluk, Jr., Jackson Memorial

The 40-40 club is revered in Major League Baseball, but a trio of Jackson Memorial hitters combined for a 40-40-40 season. Hawryluk, Brandon Janofsky and Kyle Johnson all finished with exactly 40 hits – the only trio of teammates to all reach 40 hits this year.

Utility

Ray Liguori, Sr., Toms River South

The ironman of the Shore Conference, Liguori pitched in 17 of Toms River South’s 28 games this year, including six starts on the mound. He belted a grand slam and closed out win over Triton in the South Jersey Group III quarterfinals with 2 2/3 innings.

Pitchers

Blake DeMeter, Sr., Ocean

DeMeter set a single-season school record with 97 strikeouts, eclipsing a mark of 95 set by George Sofield that stood for 30 years. He struck out a school-record 17 in a NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III opening-round win over Jackson Liberty.

Seamus Brazil, Sr., Barnegat

Brazil found himself at the top of the Bengals rotation this season with the departure of Jason Groome and delivered the performance of an ace. He finished sixth among Shore pitchers with at least 30 innings in ERA and seventh among all pitchers in strikeouts per seven innings.

Mario Ferraioli, Jr., Colts Neck

Prior to a rough outing against No. 2 Red Bank Catholic to end the year, Ferraioli won all seven of his starts and entered that game sporting a 1.58 ERA. He also earned a win earlier in the year against RBC, one of Colts Neck’s 14 division wins during a perfect season within the B North division.

Dan Schirmacher, Sr., St. John Vianney

Schimacher is one of only two Shore pitchers to pitch at least 30 innings and walk fewer than two batters per seven innings while also striking out more than one batter per inning. The other is Luca Dalatri.

John Poccia, Jr., Red Bank Catholic

Pocchia won three Shore Conference Tournament games to pitch Red Bank Catholic into the SCT finals and even though CBA beat him in the championship game, he managed to hold Brandon Martorano hitless while striking him out twice.

Third Team

Catcher

Ryan Shiffer, Sr., Toms River South

A three-year starter behind the plate, Shiffer actually began the season in left field to help his team account for an injury to outfielder Trevor Wagner. Whether out in the field or behind the plate, Shiffer did plenty of hitting, which he did throughout his standout varsity career for the Indians.

First Base

Kyle Missry, Sr., St. Rose

While Missry plays in a hitter-friendly division, his numbers are too huge to dismiss. He also did plenty of damage against the likes of Manasquan and Toms River South, so numbers like the Shore-Conference-best 15 doubles and second-leading .869 slugging percentage hold up when put to the test.

Infield

Chris Rodriguez, Jr., Manalapan

Rodriguez came into his own this season at the top of Manalapan’s order and he did so while solely playing shortstop, giving up the super-utility role he played last year.

Mitch Merrill, Sr., Pinelands

The Class B South player of the year as voted by the coaches, Merrill finished second in the Shore in doubles and was once again the heart of an improved Pinelands team.

 Matt Cuppari, Jr., Brick Memorial

During his breakout junior season, Cuppari posted a 1.070 OPS, which ranked second behind Janofsky of Jackson Memorial among Class A South shortstops. His two homers each came against top 10 teams – No. 3 Jackson Memorial and No. 6 Colts Neck.

Matt Drake, Sr., Donovan Catholic

Drake posted the third-best on-base percentage in the Shore Conference among shortstops and had an OPS above 1.200.

Outfield

Cid Porter, Jr., CBA

There are some outfielders with numbers comparable to or slightly better who won’t make the list, but Porter was the center fielder and leadoff hitter on the best team in the state. Beyond that, the numbers are still there – 10 doubles, a triple in the state final, on-base ability and plus defense in center, all while playing in huge games down the stretch.

Tanner Cowley, Sr., Manasquan

After a slow start, the Warriors took off when the 6-foot-5 Virginia football recruit started mashing and it carried Manasquan all the way to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals.

Nolan Pereless, Sr., Middletown South

In addition to the production in the middle of the order, the Eagles got a lot from the top with Pereless both setting the table and knocking in 29 runs, which led the team.

Matt Pinto, Sr., Jackson Liberty

In his first season as a full-time starter, Pint delivered an average over .400 and showed some pop with two homers, one of which came against rival Jackson Memorial.

Designated Hitter

Anthony DeRosa, So., Red Bank Catholic

The future is bright at RBC: There are two sophomores between the three All-Shore teams and both are Caseys. DeRosa might play first base, but he knows how to get himself in gear on the basepaths, evidenced by his four triples.

Utility

Ryan Orender, Sr., Wall

Orender was once again a go-to pitcher for the Crimson Knights and he made his mark this year by pitching Wall to the Monmouth County Tournament final with gems against Freehold Township and Middletown South. It took a walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh for CBA and Luca Dalatri to beat Orender in the MCT final.

Adam Elliott, Jr., Matawan

Elliott ignited Matawan’s run to the Central Jersey Group II semifinals by pitching the Huskies past No. 3 seed A.L. Johnson in the opening round, a performance that included the third of his three home runs on the season. Elliot also beat Ocean during the season and pitched seven strong innings in an extra-inning loss to Red Bank Catholic.

Pitchers

James Kelly, Sr., Shore

Although he battled through some hard luck with respect to wins and losses, Kelly remained a dual threat and showed an improved ability as a pure pitcher thanks to a wicked curveball. His 71 strikeouts ranked fifth in the Shore and his lone home run came from the left side against a tough left-hander – Manasquan sophomore Tom Sheehan.

Ryan Larsen, Sr., Toms River North

A common theme in the third team pitching staff is the ability to swing the bat, which was not supposed to be in Larsen’s repertoire heading into the season. As a pitcher, Larsen posted the second-best strikeouts-per-seven innings rate in the Shore, trailing only Luca Dalatri.

Dante Cuzzolino, Sr., Freehold Boro

The best all-around player on a surprise Freehold team, Cuzzolino outdueled Monroe ace and North Carolina recruit Robbie Peto in the Colonials’ first-round win in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV Tournament.

Steve Rullo, Jr., Freehold Boro

If anybody is on the All-Shore team based on two games, it is Rullo, who pitched two shutouts against No. 1 CBA during the regular season. Altogether, a 1.82 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 50 innings both fit the mold as well.

Kyle Fenton, Sr., Freehold Township

Although he did not jump into the rotation right away, Fenton got his chance and did not disappoint, pitching 25 straight shutout innings at one point. In his lone loss, he fell victim to a two errors during a three-run inning vs. Brick in a 3-0 Shore Conference Tournament loss by the Patriots.

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