Baseball – 2021 Shore Conference Preview: Class A North

Get our free mobile app

2021 Shore Sports Network Baseball Preview - Class A North

Welcome to Class A North: where one of the 15 best teams in the Shore Conference can finish in seventh place out of eight teams.

Class A North is always a gauntlet and there have been some all-time great Shore Conference teams to lead the pack in the division over the years. You would be hard-pressed, however, to find a season in which the division was as solid from No. 1 to No. 8 as it is this year. Seven of the teams are legitimate candidates for the Shore Sports Network Preseason Top 10 and the eighth would likely be a middle-of-the-pack team in most other divisions.

The battle for the top spot appears to have two leading candidates, but the next few teams in the pecking order have the pitching to stay in the hunt and make it a wild race to the postseason.

Class A North Projected Standings (Click on Team for Individual Preview)

1. Manalapan

2. Middletown North

3. Freehold Township

4. Howell

5. Christian Brothers Academy

6. Marlboro

7. Middletown South

8. Long Branch

Class A North Lineup (with 2019 stats)

Andrew Lombardi, Jr., C, Middletown North (3 HR)

Chris Corchado, Sr., 1B, Freehold Twp. (.290/.372/.348, 4 2B, 13 R, 15 RBI, 6 SB)

Mark Capell, Sr., 1B, Marlboro (.281/.453/.404, 7 2B, 8 R, 8 RBI)

Tom Guidice, Sr., 3B, Manalapan (.337/.413/.484, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 14 R, 12 RBI)

Colin Dowlen, Sr., 1B/3B, Middletown North

Julian Buchman, Jr., CF, Marlboro (.297/.381/.568, 4 2B, 2 HR, 9 R, 10 RBI)

Antonio Gatti, Sr., CF, Howell (.357/.446/.393, 2 2B, 10 R, 3 RBI)

Jack Frankovic, Jr., CF, CBA

Joe Stanzione, Sr., 1B, Middletown South (.333/.395/.431, 7 2B, 17 R, 14 RBI)

Class A North Rotation (with 2019 stats)

Danny Frontera, Sr., RHP, Middletown North

Zach Gorman, Sr., RHP, Freehold Twp. (5-0, 2.47 ERA, 39.2 IP, 28 H, 13 BB, 39 K)

Joe Mazza, Sr., LHP, Manalapan (4-2, 2.26 ERA, 34 IP, 28 H, 16 BB, 19 K)

Vin Impresa, Sr., RHP, Howell (1-0, 7.00 ERA, 8 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 8 K)

Chris Ellison, Sr., RHP, Howell (0-5, 2.96 ERA, 28.1 IP, 28 H, 10 BB, 27 K)

Class A North Breakouts to Watch

Colin Reilly, Jr., RHP/1B, CBA

Nick Kolozsvary, Sr., CF, Freehold Twp.

Daniel Furlong, Jr., RHP, Howell

Thomas Brewer, Jr., 3B, Long Branch

Tyler Kane, Jr., RHP, Manalapan

Anthony Matrone, Sr., CF, Manalapan

Joe Lomangino, Sr., SS, Marlboro

Mike Cowell, Sr., 3B, Middletown South

Ben Schild, So., RHP, Middletown South

Ryan Frontera, So., 2B/3B, Middletown North