Shore Sports Network All-Shore Baseball 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.

 

First Team

Catchers

Brandon Martorano, Jr., Christian Brothers Academy

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

SB

108

48

8

9

2

11

29

31

.444

.496

.870

4

 

On May 7, Martorano was having a solid follow-up to a second-team All-Shore season as a sophomore, but what he did from that day forward stamped him as one of the state’s best players and was the driving factor in CBA’s sprint toward Shore Conference and N.J. baseball history. On that day, CBA beat Manalapan, 5-1, for the first of its 14 straight wins to end the season en route to becoming just the second Shore team ever to win all five possible championships as well as the No. 1 team in the state. During those 14 games, Martorano increased his batting average by 89 points, hit eight of his Shore-Conference-leading 11 home runs and drove in 19 of his 31 RBI. He also had three walk-off hits during that stretch, which included a game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh to beat Manalapan in the Monmouth County Tournament, a walk-off double in the MCT final against Wall at FirstEnergy Park and a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth to cap a come-from-behind win over Middletown South in the Shore Conference Tournament.

Martorano hit two home runs and drove in four in that 6-5 win over Middletown South, the closest any team came to beating CBA during the 14-game run. The Eagles led the Colts 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh, but a two-run blast by Martorano helped key the comeback. The junior catcher also belted a homer each in SCT wins over Brick and Manasquan and NJSIAA Tournament wins over St. Augustine, Bishop Eustace and in the Non-Public A final against Don Bosco. In addition to home runs, Martorano led the Shore Conference in hits and slugging percentage and is committed to the University of North Carolina.

 

Dan Wondrack, Sr., Wall

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

SB

95

41

13

8

1

9

23

33

.432

.513

.821

1

 

Wall got off to a 3-4 start to begin the year and the slow start might have had something to do with a slow start by its slugging catcher. After beginning the season 5-for-23 with one home run in a 17-0 rout of Long Branch, Wondrack’s bat came to life and helped Wall surge back into the Class B North race and make a run to the Monmouth County Tournament final. He cracked two home runs in a win over Neptune on April 21 and followed that up with another homer in a win over Rumson-Fair Haven in the MCT opening round two days later. He also homered in each of Wall’s two wins over Ocean, belted a long ball in an 8-5 win over No. 2 Red Bank Catholic, and homered and drove in four in Wall’s NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III opening-round loss to Allentown. In Wall’s biggest win of the a year – an 11-1 win over Middletown South to snap the Eagles’ 14-game winning streak and advance to the MCT final, Wondrack went 2-for-2 with an RBI double.

Wondrack finishes his stellar three-year career with 103 hits, 23 doubles, 13 home runs (all in the last two years), 62 RBI and a triple-slash line of .397/.489/.648, god for All-Shore selections in each of the past two seasons. He will continue his playing career at the College of Charleston.

 

Infield

Brandon Janofsky, Sr., Jackson Memorial

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

SB

94

40

14

7

2

6

27

29

.426

.491

.734

8

 

IP

W

L

H

ER

BB

SO

ERA

WHIP

20

3

0

8

0

3

29

0.00

0.55

 

While this might be remembered as a season of “what could have been” for Janofsky and the Jaguars, the season that was lived up to the standard the Stony Brook recruit set as a junior last year. Although a right elbow ailment delayed his availability as a pitcher and ultimately shut him down on the mound and at shortstop late in the year, Janofsky still produced like one of the Shore’s best hitters and was brilliant when he did take the mound. Like Wondrack and Wall, Janofsky’s slows start at the plate coincided with a 1-4 start for the Jaguars, but he hit safely in 17 of Jackson Memorial’s next 18 games to help the Jaguars go 17-1 over that span. Jackson Memorial upped the run to 20-1 and after the first five games of the year, Janofsky hit .480 with 28 RBI and a .805 slugging percentage. He had his first career two-homer game in a 15-0 win over Lacey on April 29 and despite playing with a sore elbow, Janofsky went 7-for-13 in Jackson’s three NJSIAA Tournament games.

Although he made only four appearances on the mound as a senior, Janofsky turned in as dominant of a 20-inning stretch as there was in the Shore Conference this season. He did not allow a run in those 20 innings, allowed only eight hits, walked only three and struck out 29. He threw a two-hitter in his first start of the season against Toms River North, threw shutouts against Brick and Toms River South in the Ocean County Tournament and pitched a scoreless seventh inning in the OCT final to close out the tournament championships for the Jaguars, which turned out to be his last pitching appearance of the season. Janofsky heads off to Stony Brook next year after leading Jackson Memorial to its first NJSIAA Group title since 1972 as a junior and its second Ocean County Tournament title in four years this past year.

 

Evan Madigan, Jr., Red Bank Catholic

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

SB

102

46

6

8

3

1

31

21

.451

.504

.618

17

 

Red Bank Catholic shortstop Evan Madigan. (Photo by Mark Brown, B51 Photography)
Red Bank Catholic shortstop Evan Madigan. (Photo by Mark Brown, B51 Photography)
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If not for Brandon Martorano’s tear through the state over CBA’s last 14 games, this season would have marked the second in a row that a member of the Madigan family led the Shore Conference in hits. After older brother Brendan racked up a Shore-Conference-leading 47 knocks a year ago, younger brother Evan moved into his brothers spot at the top of the order and all but matched him with 46 hits. In addition to filling his brother’s shoes by moving from No. 2 in the order to leadoff, Madigan also took over at shortstop fulltime after RBC graduated Coastal Carolina freshman and Phillies draft pick Al Molina. Madigan played shortstop when Molina pitched last year, so the transition was not too much of a leap, particularly considering Madigan’s standout glove.

With RBC looking to replace a lot of offense from a year ago, Madigan gave them a boost by hitting .451 and adding some extra-base pop to his game. He stroked eight doubles, legged out three triples and belted his first career home run in a loss to Wall late in the regular season. Madigan leads a strong crop of returning seniors in 2016 that should keep RBC in the Shore Conference hunt after the Caseys came up one win shy of a Shore Conference Tournament title in 2015.

 

Kyle Johnson, Jr., Jackson Memorial

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

SB

94

40

25

11

3

3

41

25

.426

.545

.702

25

 

From the very start of the season, Johnson made it apparent that he was about to unleash a breakout season at the plate as a junior, which included a Shore-Conference-best 41 runs scored. A starter since his freshman year, Johnson increased his batting average from .278 to .426, his on-base percentage from .365 to .545 and his slugging percentage from .430 to .702 over the past year and has gone from two extra-base hits as a freshman to nine as a sophomore and up to 17 this past season. Although Johnson did not suffer the same slow start that his teammate Janofsky did, he still torched opposing pitchers during Jackson’s 20-1 stretch during the middle of the season.

In the first two rounds of the OCT on consecutive days, Johnson went a combined 5-for-8 with two doubles, a home run and seven RBI as the Jaguars outscored Manchester and Brick by a combined score of 24-0 in the two five-inning wins. Johnson’s biggest day at the plate came in a Shore Conference Tournament win over Wall to push the Jaguars into the semifinals. After falling behind 5-0 in the first inning, the Jaguars rallied to win, 7-5, with Johnson going 3-for-4 with a double, home run and three RBI to lead the charge. Johnson will return as one of the top offensive players in the Shore Conference next year and could see a move from third base to shortstop after playing in the middle of the diamond to spell Janofsky at the end of the year.

 

Outfield

Will Morgan, Sr., Christian Brothers Academy

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

SB

93

34

22

10

2

4

33

22

.366

.487

.645

5

 

Although CBA battery-mates and North Carolina commits Luca Dalatri and Brandon Martorano swallowed up most of the headlines during CBA’s run to five championships, Morgan quietly had another huge season hitting in the middle of the vaunted Colts order. He matched last year’s total with 16 extra-base hits, but doubled his home run total by launching four this season. Although he followed up a .360 season at the plate with a nearly-identical .366 mark this year, Morgan nearly doubled his walks from 12 to 22 and saw his on-base percentage increase by 50 points from .437 to .487. On base in nearly half of his plate appearance and with Martorano and Dalatri behind him, Morgan crossed home plate 33 times this season, tied for second in the Shore Conference with Wall’s Brendan Barcas and behind only Johnson of Jackson Memorial (41).

Morgan came up big for CBA two key spots during the championship run, first in the 5-4, walk-off win over Wall in the MCT final, in which Morgan went 2-for-3 with a double and also scored the winning run from first base on Martorano’s double in the bottom of the seventh. CBA’s closest call in the NJSIAA Non-Public A Tournament was in the sectional quarterfinals against St. Augustine, which erased a 3-0 CBA lead with Dalatri on the mound. The game pushed into the seventh inning tied and Morgan made sure there would not be extra innings by delivering game-winning single to center to give CBA the 4-3 win. He also had a walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth to give CBA a 1-0 win over Marlboro in April and fell a single shy of the cycle in a win over Middletown North. Morgan was a model of consistency during his three-year varsity career, hitting between .354 and .366 in each year. He finishes his career with 95 hits, 26 doubles, nine home runs and a .360/.449/.598 line. He will continue his playing career at Old Dominion University, along with Rumson-Fair Haven right-hander and fellow All-Shore first-teamer Morgan Maguire.

 

Jake Ryan, Sr., Toms River South

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

SB

80

34

16

3

2

4

20

24

.425

.515

.662

7

 

The Indians challenged for the division title once again this season behind an ensemble pitching staff and a couple of power bats in the middle of the lineup to go with some adept table-setters. Ryan was one of those power bats, at least for stretches during a senior season in which he posted an average above .400, and on-base percentage above .500 and a slugging percentage well over .600. While there were a number of Shore Conference sluggers to approach and, in some cases, eclipse those marks, Ryan separated himself by continuing to play standout defense in right field, which includes a strong arm that opponents paid mind after he threw out 11 runners from the outfield as a junior.

Ryan began his senior season on a tear, homering in three straight games in early April against Toms River East, Toms River North and Southern. He would not homer again for another month, but his fourth homer of the season came in a 6-1 win over Raritan in the Shore Conference Tournament opening round. Ryan also went a combined 5-for-5 in Toms River South’s two NJSIAA South Jersey Group III Tournament wins and had one of the four hits against Mainland ace Kyle Gerace in the Indians’ 1-0, sectional semifinal loss to the 2014 Group III champs.

 

Mike Antico, Jr., Colts Neck

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

SB

81

27

14

6

5

1

29

15

.333

.444

.568

29

 

With his first-class speed and contact-oriented approach, Antico was made to hit at the top of the order and his .444 on-base percentage, 29 stolen bases and 29 runs scored fit the mold of the classic leadoff hitter on any level. Combine that with outstanding defense in center field and Antico gave Colts Neck exactly what the Cougars expected from the junior St. John’s recruit – a burner at the top of the order to score runs and run down balls in center field.

Antico did not stop there and that’s why this season was a true breakout and a first-team caliber one at that. After slugging under .300 with just two doubles and a triple to account for his three extra-base hits as a sophomore, Antico found his power stroke this year, with 12 of his 27 hits going for extra bases. His five triples led the Shore Conference and his .568 slugging percentage was nearly .300 points better than his mark from a year ago. He also drove in runs in bunches, tallying three separate three-RBI games during a 15-RBI campaign and all three of those games came against teams that finished in the Shore Sports Network Top 10 (No. 5 Middletown South, No. 8 Manasquan and No. 2 Red Bank Catholic).

 

Designated Hitter

Joe Silvestrone, Sr., Freehold Township

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

SB

78

30

18

2

2

9

27

27

.385

.495

.808

4

 

Non-pitchers who play on teams with losing records often go overlooked come time for postseason accolades, but it was impossible to miss what Silvestrone did for a Patriots team that had its moments this season despite the middling record. Silvestrone was the only returning starter from last year’s Patriots squad and he helped carry the team through the early part of the season while also helping along a young Patriots pitching staff that turned in a strong overall season. His strides at the plate were matched by his improvement behind it, where he helped anchor the pitching staff and the defense for Freehold Township.

Of course, he’s not on this team for his glove. Silvestrone was one of four Shore Conference players to hit nine or more home runs and one of five to slug .800 or better. During a two game stretch for Freehold Township that included a loss to Manalapan and a win over Jackson Memorial – both teams that finished in the Shore Sports Network Top 10 – Silvestrone blasted five home runs, including three in the loss to Manalapan. His home run barrage and improvement behind the plate were enough to convince Wagner College to scoop him up in May.

 

Utility

Johnny Zega, Jr., Middletown South

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

89

29

14

7

2

3

26

19

.326

.459

.551

 

IP

W

L

H

ER

BB

SO

ERA

WHIP

29

4

1

12

4

13

17

0.97

0.86

 

Following an up-and-down season with a young roster in 2014, Middletown South looked headed for nothing but down with a team light on seniors in 2015. The Eagles, however, shook off a 2-5 start to rattle off 14 straight wins en route to a Class A North co-title that they shared with CBA. The turnaround over the last year can be traced back to a physical and mental maturation of its core of juniors, led by Zega – who was one of a slew of Middletown South players who came back stronger and better able to drive the ball.

After hitting just .210 with a slugging percentage below .300 as a sophomore, Zega became a bona fide extra-base threat this year. Among everyday shortstops, only Brandon Janofsky and Manasquan’s Matt Edwards had more extra-base hits than Zega’s 12 and among that same shortstop group, only Janofsky had a higher isolated slugging percentage (slugging percentage minus batting average) than Zega’s .225. On top of his offensive breakout in the middle of the Eagles’ order, Zega was also arguably the team’s best pitcher on a per-inning basis. He posted a team-best 0.97 ERA to go with a 0.86 WHIP and also earned the win in Middletown South’s regular-season win over CBA. Zega is drawing plenty of Division I interest, according to coach Ryan Spillane.

 

Pitchers

Luca Dalatri, Jr., Christian Brothers Academy

IP

W

L

H

ER

BB

SO

ERA

WHIP

71

9

0

50

9

7

122

0.89

0.80

 

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

87

35

10

11

0

9

16

44

.402

.480

.839

 

On an individual level, everything you could say about Luca Dalatri’s most recent season was already said last year because he went out and had an almost identical year to the masterful 11-0 season he authored as a sophomore. There are, however, a few bullet points that make this season an even better one, despite the fact that Dalatri’s ERA increased by half a run and he gave up 13 more hits in what amounts to, essentially, the same work load. First, there is the obvious: that last game. Dalatri once again ended the season by pitching CBA to a championship with a shutout performance, only this time, instead of beating Barnegat in the Shore Conference Tournament final, he blanked previously undefeated Don Bosco Prep. In addition to throwing a four-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts and one walk against a team ranked No. 9 in the nation by MaxPreps at the time, he also blasted a solo homer and drove in two runs in the win.

Even at the statistical level, Dalatri showed improvement upon a season that seemed perfect a year ago. While he did not earn a win in every game in which he appeared, he reduced his walk rate from 1.16 per seven innings to 0.69 and increased his strikeout rate from 8.71 per seven to 12.03. Those subtle improvements, coupled with a notable improvement at the plate made Dalatri the perfect high school baseball machine this season. His 44 RBI led the Shore Conference and he finished third in slugging percentage (.839), tied for second in home runs (nine) and tied for fifth in doubles (11). There is only so much left for Dalatri to do after leading his team to all five championships this season, but then again, he found a way to top his 11-0 sophomore season. One target that is within reach for Dalatri is the Shore Conference record for career wins, which is currently held by former Toms River East right-hander and current Rutgers pitching coach Casey Gaynor, who had 34.

 

Morgan Maguire, Sr., Rumson-Fair Haven

IP

W

L

H

ER

BB

SO

ERA

WHIP

56

5

1

41

 5

17

77

0.62

1.04

 

AB

H

BB

2B

3B

HR

R

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLUG

57

21

15

6

0

0

9

11

.368

.486

.474

 

Rumson-Fair Haven right-hander Morgan Maguire (Photo by Matt Manley)
Rumson-Fair Haven right-hander Morgan Maguire (Photo by Matt Manley)
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Maguire joins Dalatri and Janofsky as the only three players to earn first-team honors in back-to-back years and like those other two, Maguire was once again a two-way threat this season. With a young team surrounding him, Maguire had to do it all for Rumson Fair Haven and that’s after he posted an OPS greater a shade under 1.600 while posting a 1.45 ERA in 53 innings last year. Maguire did not have anywhere near the offensive season he had last year, when he hit .600, but he did have his best pitching season to date while pulling the Bulldogs back into the division race after a poor start. He walked six fewer batters in three more innings while also markedly increasing his strikeout total. Maguire will head to Old Dominion University on the heels of his best high school season as a pitcher and as a two-time All-Shore first-team member.

 

Chris Murphy, Sr., Colts Neck

IP

W

L

H

ER

BB

SO

ERA

WHIP

51

6

0

36

10

30

77

1.37

1.29

 

After answering his coach’s call and pitching exclusively in relief last year, Murphy got his much-awaited chance to start this year, but not without making the occasional appearance as a shutdown closer. As a starter, Murphy was his usual dominant self and was actually even better as a starter than he was as a reliever. In his seven starts, Murphy was 6-0 with a 0.82 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 23 walks in 42 2/3 innings, including four complete games. Two of those complete games were seven-inning complete games and one was an eight-inning effort in a 2-1 win over Red Bank Catholic to clinch an unbeaten season within the Class B North division. In each of the complete games of seven innings or more, Murphy struck out at least 10 batters, including back-to-back complete game victories against Ocean in which he struck out 12 Spartans before coming back a week later and striking out 13. He struck out 10 in a six-hitter against the Caseys in extra innings. Murphy and teammates Tyler Kay and Jordan Gonzalez will play together again next year for Mercer County College.

 

Mike Garvey, Sr., Christian Brothers Academy

IP

W

L

H

ER

BB

SO

ERA

WHIP

42.1

7

1

27

5

8

29

0.83

0.83

 

During the middle of April, Garvey was dealing with discomfort in his elbow and it appeared that injury would derail another promising season after losing time to an elbow issue as a junior as well. Garvey, however, sat out for a two-week stretch and returned to pitch better than he ever had before. The lone senior on the CBA pitching staff, Garvey gave the Colts a reliable No. 2 starter behind Dalatri and then some. In fact, Garvey’s final ERA was a shade lower than that of Dalatri. Although Dalatri’s state tournament finish will be the lasting image of CBA’s drive for five championships, Garvey’s five shutout innings against Bishop Eustace – the No. 2 team in the state at the time – served as arguably the most important performance of the season by any CBA player. Garvey shut out one of the top offenses of the state for five innings, handed the ball off to Dalatri and the rest is history. Garvey also pitched a five-hit shutout against Camden Catholic in the first round of the tournament and earned the win over Immaculata in the sectional semifinals. He also allowed one unearned run over five innings in a Shore Conference Tournament win over Brick.

 

Andrew Nardi, Sr., Marlboro

IP

W

L

H

ER

BB

SO

ERA

WHIP

49.2

7

1

45

13

20

54

1.83

1.31

 

After roaring out to a 4-0 start to the season over his first four appearances, Nardi fought through some midseason struggles to round back into top form for the stretch run – which can be said for Marlboro as a whole. Nardi picked up wins over St. Rose, No. 7 Freehold and No. 8 Manalapan to start the season and snagged a win in relief against Freehold Township in extra innings. In those first three starts, Nardi allowed a run in each and went the distance in wins over division foes Freehold and Manalapan. He later closed the season by beating Middletown North to snap his team’s four-game losing streak, throwing a near-no-hitter with 15 strikeouts against Pinelands in the Shore Conference Tournament, and pitching his team past East Brunswick in the opening round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV Tournament. The lone hit he surrendered in the Pinelands game was an infield single and he walked two in the game while facing the minimum 21 batters.

Nardi also allowed two runs over 4 2/3 innings in a 15-2 loss to CBA before the floodgates opened the inning after his departure. His lone blowup came against Middletown South during the Eagles’ 14-game winning streak, when Middletown South tagged him for eight runs in a 9-5 Marlboro loss. Nardi was pitching on three days rest following the CBA game and did not pitch again for 10 days, at which point he allowed three runs in a win over Middletown North. Once back on regular rest, Nardi got back to dealing, highlighted by his 15-strikeout, near-no-hitter. The left-hander will continue his career at Radford University next season.

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