Mustangs Legion team wins a county title

BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer

The frustration of a five-win varsity season has become a distant memory for the Brick Memorial American Legion players.

The team put it all together in the league playoffs, winning its first-ever Ocean County championship.

"There are 340 teams in the state and we're one of 32 still playing. That's a success story in itself," said coach Rich Bishop afterward.

And it's a success story that has surprised everyone, including Bishop, who had booked before the summer a vacation for this week in Sanibel Island, Fla.

"I thought we'd do well but I didn't think we'd be doing this well and still playing at this time," said Bishop, as he turned the reins over for the state tournament in Wildwood to assistants Carl Gordon, a former Triple-A level shortstop in the Chicago Cubs organization, whose sons, Justin and Jason, are on the American Legion team, and Mike Murray, whose son, Tom, is the catcher.

Tom Murray was sick with a fever and other symptoms that kept him out of the lineup on Saturday, when Brick Memorial lost its state tournament opener to Lower Cape May, 15-5. With no other catcher available, the coaches moved Brendan Melody to behind the plate for the first time in his career, which Bishop felt made things even more difficult in the loss. Murray's hitting had figured in the championship run and he was back in the line-up on Sunday when the team was eliminated by Haddon Heights, 23-4, in its second-round game of the double-elimination tournament to finish 11-9.

"We couldn't compete with these teams because we don't play (incoming) seniors and guys who graduated and these teams had graduating seniors and a few college guys mixed in, so they were like all-star teams," said Gordon. "We don't do that. We play (incoming) freshmen, sophomores and juniors so we can build our high school program for the future. All the teams in Ocean (County) do it that way. We were overmatched."

Tim Spaulding lined a run-scoring double against Haddon Heights and Brendan Melody and Jose Ramos lashed run-scoring hits. Mike Spinelli and Melody each drove in two runs in Saturday's opening game and Anthony Piezzo knocked in a run.

But the team still was savoring its hard-earned championship and a trophy placed in the school's showcase, capped by a 5-4 championship victory over Monsignor Donovan. To get there, the team pulled a stunning upset as, with an 10-7 record at the time, it upended powerhouse Toms River East, 8-5, in the semifinals.

"We got some sound pitching against Monsignor Donovan and would up with eight hits and only two errors," said Bishop. And mistakes afield were the downfall of the varsity team in the spring.

"We cut down on errors in the summer after we had a ton of them in the spring," said Bishop. "We didn't have anybody throwing 100 m.p.h. but they got the job done and we've had a lot of it (pitching), which you need on this level."

In fact, Brick Memorial used four different pitchers against Monsignor Donovan - Spaulding, Anthony Gearity, Justin Short and Evan Mancini - and Brian Staub collected three hits for three RBIs as Brick Memorial led all the way. Short was solid in his 2 2/3 innings of work to earn the victory. Andrew Nelson lined a run-scoring double and Mancini hit a sacrifice fly.

John Roca exemplified the quality pitching mentioned by Bishop as he actually had a 4-3 lead in the state tournament game against Lower Cape May before tiring in the fifth inning. Roca also pitched six solid innings against Toms River East, scattering eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks to raise his record to 5-2. Roca kept hitters off balance with his off-speed pitches and good control.

"He's learning how to pitch and coming along this season in time for his senior year in the high school," said Bishop.

Murray drove in five runs against Toms River East, including a bases-clearing triple in the fifth inning when Brick Memorial reversed a 3-2 deficit. It added three runs in the seventh inning, two coming off a single by Spaulding, who sealed the victory when he left runners at first and second in the seventh inning with a strikeout and a double play. Brad Puglesi slapped a run-scoring single in the sixth.

"This makes us right there," said Bishop of the county tournament, in which Brick Memorial outscored its opponents, 31-15, in four county tournament games. "The kids know they can win and are on the right track. And we have good people in right places. That's been very good."

Bishop was pleased that Gordon and Justin Short will be working with the Brick Memorial players during the fall ball segment of the off-season.