Baseball – VOTE: Adrenaline Week 3 Player and Pitcher of the Week
Each week during the 2021, Shore Sports Network will recognize eight players and eight pitchers who stood out during the past week from Monday to Sunday - a division player and pitcher of the week from each of the six Shore Conference divisions and two wild cards in each category.
Vote in the two polls at the bottom of the post once per hour until they close on Thursday at 10 p.m. The single player with the most votes between the two polls will receive a $25 gift card to Burger 25 in Toms River.
Adrenaline Week 3 Player of the Week
Class A North Player of the Week
Joe Marini, CBA
CBA momentarily kept its Shore Conference Tournament hopes alive with its play last week and there was no player who did more to help that cause than Marini, who went 7-for-15 with a double, triple, home run and six RBI at the plate. He was the standout in CBA’s 3-2, 14-inning win over Freehold Township on Thursday, when he went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and also pitched five innings, allowing one unearned run, two hits and four walks while striking out four.
Class A North Honorable Mention: Anthony Matrone, Manalapan; Danny Frontera, Middletown North; Matt Villapiano, Freehold Twp.; Ryan Keegan, Freehold Twp.; Joe Bartos, Middletown South; Evan Wood, Middletown South; Anthony Matteis, Manalapan; Alex Jankowski, Marlboro; Mark Capell, Marlboro
Class A Central Player of the Week
Dillon Downs, Ocean
After starting the season 1-3, Ocean has since rattled off seven straight wins and Downs was the Spartans’ breakout star of last week. The senior made his first career varsity start last Thursday against Shore Regional and 2-for-3 with a double and a solo home run. It would have been uplifting enough had Downs’s story ended there, but that was just the beginning. He went on to homer twice and drive in four the next day against Red Bank, then went 2-for-3 with another solo bomb Saturday at Ken Frank Stadium in a 10-8 win over Toms River South, giving him four home runs in his first three varsity starts. After another 2-for-2 day Monday, Downs is 8-for-12 (.667) with double, four home runs and eight RBI in four games as a starter.
Class A Central Honorable Mention: Nick Callano, Ocean; Shane Panzini, Red Bank Catholic; Ben Hutchins, Raritan; Chris Gonzalez, Raritan; Charlie Tallman, Rumson-Fair Haven; Tom Turnbach, St. Rose; Shane Garrett, Ocean; Owen Kenney, Rumson-Fair Haven; Brian Doherty, Rumson-Fair Haven; Matt Scrivanic, Red Bank Catholic
Class A South Player of the Week
Charlie Meglio, Jackson Memorial
Meglio has been locked in at the plate from the jump this season and last week, the sophomore continued his hit start. He 4-for-8 with three walks, two homers and eight RBI in three Jaguars wins, including a two-homer game with five RBI against Toms River East on Wednesday – marking Meglio’s second five-RBI game of the season. He also closed out his week by tossing four scoreless innings with one hit allowed and six strikeouts in a 2-0 win at Toms River North on Friday.
Class A South Honorable Mention: Anthony Musso, Central; Evan Agrapides, Central; Cole Manfro, Brick Memorial; Shane Sajewicz, Central; Cam Leiter, Central; Joe Schifilitti, Toms River South; Eli McEwan, Toms River South; Stephen Stafford, Southern; Xavier Hendricks, Southern; Nick Desiderio, Southern
Class B North Player of the Week
Nick Lovarco, Wall
Once again, Wall played a week’s worth of games in which any number of its hitters could have been tabbed the best player in Class B North over the course of the week. Catcher Max Harrell went 7-for-11 (.636), sophomore shortstop Gabe Cavazzoni was 6-for-11 with two doubles, a homer and five RBI and first baseman Ryan Legere belted two homers and drove in four in three games. Lovarco, however, gets the nod after going 3-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, four walks and five RBI. The separator for the junior centerfielder was the impact of his hits: he hit a tie-breaking RBI double in the top of the fourth inning at Jackson Liberty on Saturday, which came after he opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first of a hard-fought, 7-3 win over the Lions.
Class B North Honorable Mention: Collin Kratzer, Colts Neck; Brian Young, Neptune; Ryan Sekman, St. John Vianney; Gabe Cavazzoni, Wall; Dom Salot, Matawan, Jake Brigandi, Matawan; David Frost, Manasquan; Dan Afflito, St. John Vianney; Ryan Legere, Wall; Andrew Glauber, Red Bank; Gus Dal Pra, Red Bank; Kyle Pollack, St. John Vianney; Max Harrell, Wall
Class B Central Player of the Week
Charlie Chropuvka, Ranney
Ranney rolled on in its quest to win its first Class B Central division championship last week and Chropuvka was an offensive catalyst in each of the Panthers’ three wins – which included two over likely second-place Point Beach. The junior outfielder went 6-for-11 with five doubles and his second home run of the year, which jumpstarted a 10-0 win over Point Beach on May 3.
Class B Central Honorable Mention: Brett Wehringer, Ranney; Anthony Longo, Keyport; Jack DiPaolo Keyport; Glenn Cantalupo, Ranney; Sean Hanna, Mater Dei Prep; Hunter Alia, Point Beach
Class B South Player of the Week
Dan Keenan, Jackson Liberty
The Lions got back to .500 during an important week for their Shore Conference Tournament and Class B South division race hopes, with Keenan doing everything he could to help his team along. The senior went 5-for-7 at the plate during Jackson Liberty’s 2-1 week and mixed in another gem on the mound. Last Wednesday, Keenan pitched a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts and one walk in a 2-1 win over Donovan Catholic, which was just the second loss of the season suffered by the Griffins at that point.
Class B South Honorable Mention: Matt Kaliske, Lacey; Jacob Bowles, Lacey; Brett Benecke, Jackson Liberty; Sam Gates, Donovan Catholic; Stephen DeMilio, Pinelands; Mike Damato, Manchester
Wild Cards
Charlie Tallman, Rumson-Fair Haven
Hitting in the bottom of the order, Tallman turned out to be Rumson’s secret weapon last week and now the secret is out. The junior second baseman went 5-for-12 at the plate last week with three doubles, a home run, five runs scored nine RBI during Rumson’s 4-0 week. He belted a homer and drove in five in an 8-2 win over then-No. 7 Howell, then hit a double off the fence to ignite a 10th-inning rally at Count Basie Field that proved to be the difference in a 3-1 win over Red Bank Catholic.
Evan Agrapides, Central
Like Wall, Central had a lot of candidates to potentially nominate for this wild card spot. Sophomore Anthony Musso had a breakout week that included a four-hit game and his first home run and Cristian Soto, Billy Sottilaire and Cam Leiter all had big hits. Agrapides gets the nod and the x-factor for the senior centerfielder is his consistency. He went 11-for-19 (.579) in Central’s five games last week with five doubles, a triple, seven runs and six RBI and in the process, collected at least two hits in all five games.
Adrenaline Week 3 Pitcher of the Week
Class A North Pitcher of the Week
Mark Capell, Marlboro
Capell has been a revelation on the mound for Marlboro, which has run off four straight wins to qualify for the Shore Conference Tournament. The senior and Yale University commit carried Marlboro to a 4-0 win over Middletown South that started the winning streak on May 4, pitching 6 2/3 scoreless innings with just three hits allowed, nine strikeouts and no walks. Capell is also a middle-of-the-order hitter for Marlboro and went 4-for-7 with three walks, a triple, four runs scored and two RBI during the week.
Class A North Honorable Mention: Joe Mazza, Manalapan; Colin Dowlen, Middletown North; Zach Gorman, Freehold Twp.; Mike Kelly, CBA
Class A Central Pitcher of the Week
Charlie Jones, Rumson-Fair Haven
Jones knew he faced a tall order when he took the ball Saturday against Red Bank Catholic and ace Shane Panzini, but at 6-foot-6 with a sharp hook, he is a tall order himself. It did not start as planned, with Red Bank Catholic scoring a run on three hits in the bottom of the first, but Jones did not allow a hit the rest of the way as he pitched Panzini to a 1-1 stalemate through seven innings. The Bulldogs rallied for the winning runs in the top of the 10th to score the upset and Jones’s seven innings of one-hit ball with four walks and seven strikeouts were a big reason it came to be.
Class A Central Honorable Mention: Lucky Perrotto, Ocean; Jake Umans, Holmdel; Dylan Wanagiel, Red Bank Catholic
Class A South Pitcher of the Week
Ethan Gonzales, Brick
Last week, Gonzales showed how much he likes the bright lights when he took the mound at Ken Frank Stadium against Toms River South and pitched as well as he ever has in his four-year varsity career. The Green Dragons left-hander fired a two-hit shutout on 79 pitches with one walk and eight strikeouts to pitch Brick to a 2-0 win over the Indians.
Class A South Honorable Mention: Matt Potok, Jackson Memorial; Jeremy Bruner, Central; Taylor Munt, Southern
Class B North Pitcher of the Week
Aiden Cody, St. John Vianney
Cody pulled off the rare two-win week for a pitcher and it could not have come at a better time for St. John Vianney. The Lancers had lost three straight to drop to 1-3 and were locked in a tight game with Matawan on Thursday. Cody came in to record the final out of the top of the seventh after senior Thomas Wright had reached his pitch limit with two out in the inning. In the bottom of the seventh, junior Matteo Pasculli delivered the game-winning RBI single and Cody had his first career win. The next day, the sophomore right-hander started the Lancers’ game against No. 6 Freehold Township and pitched a four-hit complete game with two unearned runs allowed, two walks and five strikeouts for his second win in as many days.
Class B North Honorable Mention: Tyler Spencer, Colts Neck; Ryan Sekman, St. John Vianney; Tim Egan, Matawan; Nate Ruth, Red Bank
Class B Central Pitcher of the Week
Jack DiPaolo, Keyport
DiPaolo is making his second appearance as the Class B Central Pitcher of the Week after pitching one of the best games any Shore Conference player has thrown in 2021 last week. Against rival Keansburg, DiPaolo pitched a two-hit shutout with a career-high 16 strikeouts and no walks. At one point in the game, DiPaolo retired 17 Titans in a row, including 14 via strikeout.
Class B Central Honorable Mention: Waylon Manoes, Keansburg; Diego Tavarez, Ranney; Jackson Killian, Point Beach
Class B South Pitcher of the Week
Ethan Bloomfield, Jackson Liberty
Jackson Liberty’s pitching was on-point last week, with Bloomfield following up Keenan’s gem with one of his own. The sophomore left-hander turned in the best start of his young career on Thursday, when he threw a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and two walks to beat Pinelands, 8-0. Bloomfield has yet to allow an earned run (four unearned) in 18 innings to start his varsity career.
Class B South Honorable Mention: Nick Danbrowney, Barnegat; Eric Anilonis, Point Boro; Dan Keenan, Jackson Liberty; Bob Nosti, Donovan Catholic
Wild Cards
Taylor Munt, Southern
The Rams got on track last week with a pair of wins over Brick Memorial and Toms River East and Munt helped his team get both. The right-hander pitched a perfect seventh inning on 13 pitches Thursday to lock up a 3-2 win over Brick Memorial with a save, allowing him to come back the next day as Southern’s starter against the Raiders. On Friday, Munt pitched six innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out 10 to pick up the win.
Dylan Wanagiel, Red Bank Catholic
Red Bank Catholic has already had one Pitcher of the Week winner after Shane Panzini turned in a big first week to 2021 and now the Caseys could have a second. Wanagiel was on top of his game on May 4 against Monmouth Regional at Count Basie Park, where the senior pitched a four-hit shutout with five strikeouts and two walks to shut down the Falcons in a 7-0 Caseys win.
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