Baseball – 2023 Shore Sports Network All-Shore Second Team

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Shore Sports Network All-Shore teams are selected by Baseball Editor Matt Manley based on statistics, first-hand accounts, coaches input and team success. Check out the coaches' all-division selections here.

Read: All-Shore First Team

Shore Sports Network 2023 All-Shore Second Team

Catcher

E.J. Stefanelli, Jr., Shore

Over the past two seasons, Shore has progressed into a sectional championship contender in Central Jersey Group I and a tough opponent in the Class A Central division. Stefanelli has been as important as any figure in that effort, playing the catcher position and hitting in the middle of the order as the Blue Devils’ best run producer. The junior slugger tied for second among Shore backstops with five home runs, was sixth in batting average, fifth in RBI and fourth in slugging percentage.

First Base

Ty Kazanowsky, Sr., Toms River North

If not for an injury that cost him four games in the middle of the year, Kazanowsky likely would have crossed the 30-hit threshold and would have had a shot at leading the Shore Conference in doubles. Even under the circumstances, the Mariners senior finished two doubles away from the Shore Conference lead and he did so while hitting .475 – good for sixth in the conference. Kazanowsky also finished seventh at the Shore in slugging percentage and OPS and even tossed 10 2/3 innings for Toms River North.

Infield

Ryan Frontera, Sr., Shortstop, Middletown North

Despite graduating the only three pitchers who pitched during last year’s run to the Group III championship, Middletown North again won the Central Jersey Group III championship and was one run short of getting back to the Group III championship game. While the pitching staff looked much different, the offense remained dangerous and the defense solid with Frontera leading the way. During the NJSIAA Tournament, the Seton Hall signee went 7-for-16 (.437) with a home run, six runs and four RBI, including a nifty slide to score the winning run in a walk-off win over Allentown in the sectional quarterfinals.

Billy Tigar, Sr., Third Base, Raritan

Once Raritan found its groove, the Rockets boasted a big-time offense, led by Tigar. The Rockets third baseman put up a huge statistical season, finishing 13th in the conference in batting average and 12th in on-base percentage and tied for sixth in runs scored. Tigar’s two homers came off Rumson-Fair Haven right-hander and Rutgers commit John Goodes and Wall ace Zach Szatkowski and he also had a 5-for-5 game in a win over Union.

Sean Griggs, Sr., Third Base, Raritan

Griggs started his season with a bang by slamming an opening-day home run at Rumson in a game in which the Bulldogs rallied to win in the bottom of the seventh. From there, he had to overcome a foot injury that cost him a handful of games, but Griggs still managed to put up a standout season for the No. 1 team in the Shore Conference. The Alabama commit went 2-for-3 with a double off the wall in RBC’s 2-0 win over Ranney in the SCT championship game at ShoreTown Ballpark, helping the Caseys win their fourth straight conference championship.

Harrison Campi, Sr., Shortstop, Christian Brothers Academy

Campi joins Frontera as a Second-Team All-Shore selection in back-to-back seasons and he put up a season that was similarly productive. Campi hit 50 points lower by batting average, but improved his on-base percentage by 20 points, slugged better than .600 for a second straight season an increased his runs-scored and RBI totals hitting at the top of the CBA order. Among hitters in the hyper-competitive Class A North division, Campi led the way with 14 extra-base hits and his run-scored and triples totals each ranked in the Shore Conference top 10 during the 2023 season. He will continue his baseball career next season at Wofford College.

Outfield

Dylan Briggs, Jr., Centerfield, Middletown North

Although Middletown North had to replace all of its postseason innings from 2022, the Lions brought back an All-Shore shortstop in Frontera and a healthy list of players who were starters as underclassmen and primed to break out. No player on Middletown North, and maybe anywhere else, made a bigger improvement at the plate than Briggs, who finished in the top 10 at the Shore in batting average and played a quality centerfield. Briggs hit only one homer this season, but it was a no-doubter in his team’s 5-3 win over rival Middletown South in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III semifinals.

Dylan Passo, So., Corner Outfield, Red Bank Catholic

Passo has been delivering big hits for RBC since his freshman season in 2022 and after committing to Notre Dame leading into his sophomore campaign, he took his game to the next level in 2023 while remaining as clutch as ever. RBC made it to the final round of all three tournaments this season and in the one the Caseys won – the Shore Conference Tournament final – Passo had the big hit: an RBI double off Player of the Year A.J. Gracia to break a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth inning. In the Monmouth County Tournament and SCT combined, Passo hit a staggering .591 (13-for-22) in eight games with three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI.

Shane Garrett, Sr., Leftfield, Ocean

Video Credit: NFHS Network

Ocean racked up 19 wins this season while winning the Shore Conference Class B North public division title and reaching the semifinal round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II section as a No. 12 seed. The Spartans did it with a dependable trio of pitchers and some clutch hitting and Garrett was a key cog in both efforts. The senior two-way player and standout on the football field was Ocean’s best hitter overall, finishing tied for 12th at the Shore in RBI and going 5-for-10 with three RBI and four of his nine doubles on the season during Ocean’s three-game run in the state tournament.

Designated Hitter

Jack Tallent, Sr., Second Base, Ranney

Once its lineup was complete, Ranney opened up games with three left-handed hitters who put pressure on pitchers and set the table for Tallent – the first right-handed hitter pitchers saw step in the box when facing the Panthers. Tallent did not disappoint his team hitting out of the cleanup spot for most of the year, knocking in the fourth-highest RBI total in the conference while also scoring the fourth-most runs at the Shore. Tallent also finished tied for first in hits and tied for third in extra-base hits (17), hit two of hits homers in high-profile regular-season games vs. Bishop Eustace and Delbarton, and hit .375 (12-for-32) with six doubles in Ranney’s 11 tournament games.

Utility

Cullen Condon, Sr., Shortstop/RHP, Manasquan

Video Credit: NFHS Network

Manasquan eased Condon into the season on the mound, which led to a relatively light workload as one of Manasquan’s top pitchers and a returning All-Shore ace. Even with the modest innings count on the mound, Condon made a major impact, not only by dealing in the innings he did pitch but in every other facet of the game as well. Among pitchers who struck out at least 50 batters this season, Condon was one of only five to hit .380 better and his nine extra-base hits were the tied with Marlboro’s Alex D’Ambrosio for the most of any of those pitchers. Condon, who is committed to Wofford College, started all 24 of Manasquan’s games and started at either pitcher or shortstop in 23 of them.

Diego Tavarez, Sr., Third Base/RHP, Ranney

Video Credit: John Kroeger | Twitter: @jkroegerjt

While Ranney boasted a leadoff hitter in A.J. Gracia who hit like a prototypical No. 3 hitter, Tavarez was the actual regular in the No. 3 spot and he approached it more like a leadoff hitter. The Wagner signee was a high-contact, high-on-base-percentage hitter (ninth in the conference) for the Panthers, finishing second in the Shore Conference in runs scored and 15^th in RBI. Tavarez was an unpredictable hitter to defend because of his ability to bunt, spray the ball the opposite way and turn on a fastball with equal ease, but his best moment of the season was a big swing: a go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning of Ranney’s 4-3 win over Bishop Eustace in the South Jersey Non-Public B semifinals.

Pitchers

Brandon Falco, Jr., RHP, Matawan

Falco actually has a losing record as a pitcher over the past two seasons and big reason why is he doesn’t shy away from a challenge. The NJIT commit faced the likes of CBA, Ranney, Lawrence and Ocean – all of which won at least 19 games and beat the Huskies with Falco on the mound in the process. Even with that gauntlet in front of him this season, Falco pitched to a sparkling ERA, allowed barely over a base-runner per inning and also led the Shore Conference in innings pitched while finishing second in strikeouts.

Ethan Bloomfield, Sr., LHP, Jackson Liberty

Statistically speaking, Bloomfield had the best season of any pitcher in the Shore Conference: he led the conference in strikeouts and was the only pitcher at the Shore to pitch more than 40 innings with an ERA under 1.00. The only things keeping him off the First Team was a lesser schedule of opponents and lack of postseason pitching opportunities – a set of circumstances that were hardly within Bloomfield’s control. His one high-profile matchup came vs. Donovan Catholic and he was impressive in a 3-1 loss, taking a shutout into the sixth inning and striking out nine in a complete game. Bloomfield also pitched one of two seven-inning no-hitters at the Shore this season, striking out 14 and walking two while no-hitting Lacey.

Shaun O’Keefe, Fifth-Year Sr., LHP, Donovan Catholic

O’Keefe returned to Donovan Catholic in 2023 as a bridge-year player for the Griffins and slotted back into the top of one of the better pitching staffs in the state. Among Shore Conference pitchers with at least 30 innings, the future George Mason left-hander finished first in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.67), fifth in WHIP and racked up the seventh-highest strikeout total in the conference. O’Keefe’s lone loss came in a head-to-head showdown with CBA ace Chris Levonas in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Jake Marciano, Jr., LHP, Donovan Catholic

Marciano surrendered a surprisingly-high number of runs considering he posted a top 20 WHIP in the conference while boasting the 13th-most strikeouts. Simply put, Marciano found a way to be dominant while giving up the occasional run and no game exemplified that better than the Ocean County Tournament championship game. Marciano gave up four runs to Southern in the first three innings, then completely overmatched the Rams over the final four, finishing with a 16-strikeout four-hitter that gave the Griffins their first ever OCT championship. With a 90-plus-mile-per-hour fastball, sharp secondary pitches and a projectable frame, Marciano has a ceiling as high as any pitcher returning to the Shore Conference in 2024.

Matt King, Sr., RHP, Ocean

Video Credit: NFHS Network

Ocean’s success this past spring started with its workhorse on the mound, who also played second base and was a productive hitter when he wasn’t holding it down on the rubber. King – a Rutgers-Newark signee – was one of five pitchers in the Shore Conference to record seven wins, pitched the third-most innings in the conference and struck out the fourth-most batters at the Shore. His signature performances came both early and late, with King pitching a complete-game with nine strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Matawan in April and closing his season by allowing two runs – both in the first inning – in six frames in a 2-1 loss to Rumson-Fair Haven and ace Jackson Hinchcliffe.

Continue Reading: 2023 All-Shore Third Team