Twp. baseball looks for big results on the diamond

Greg Page's versatility has been a welcome asset for Brick Township's baseball team.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Above: Brick Township first baseman Ray Johnson is in the right spot to record the out at first base as Middletown North's Mike Carlino comes down the basepath during a March 28 scrimmage. Below: Brick Township pitcher Sean Salzano looks for the signs as he works on the mound during the scrimmage. A year ago, Page filled a need behind the plate last season when the catcher was injured, It's a position he played at times in youth baseball. But this season, with Jordan Roshala suffering a seasonending injury late in the basketball season, Page has moved back to his more familiar position of shortstop where he played for most of his career.

"It's real good this season. I'mmore comfortable there," said Page as he and his teammates prepared for their opening game on Wednesday next week at home against Southern. And he said moving from one position to another "is not hard at all."

Page, a junior, is part of an experienced infield and a deep pitching staff that could make the senior-laden Green Dragons a serious contender in Shore Conference A South.

"Page is a leader," said coach Jason Groschel. "He puts himself in good position (defensively). He's got a strong arm. He has good footwork. He's getting better every day and he's really come along the last couple of weeks."

Page said having an experienced and talented second baseman like TravisEscalante, one of a dozen seniors on the roster, has enhanced his own play defensively.

"Mainly it's helped a lot on double play balls," said Page. "We have good communication on things.We're looking good as a team and should be a contender but we probably have to do a lot more hitting (than last season). We didn't score as many runs as we should have last season. But we look pretty good in the field again."

Groschel said Escalante is "very good defensively. He has range and a very good arm. He's a fast base runner and he's been working on his hitting."

There's experience in the corners with senior lefthander Ray Johnson back for a third season starting at first base and Chris Sorice, also a senior, manning the hot corner when he's not smoking fastballs that led to his 3-0 record last season.

"Ray Johnson is very fundamentally sound and he has a calm demeanor but he's a fierce competitor when he gets onto the field," said Groschel, who also said that Sorice "has room for improvement" but no one can complain about the pitching he brings. And there's depth at that spot with senior Mike Winters, junior Matt Dornacker and sophomore Eric Matiss, who "is a surprise. He wasn't on the radar screen. He is now," said Groschel.

Dan Wrobleski, a junior, shows heart and hustle for anything that may lack behind the plate. He's a gifted athlete whose play in goalie keynoted the soccer team's drive last fall to its first NJSIAA and Shore Conference Tournaments appearances in a dozen years. Kurt Loftus, a senior and another catcher, has been working his way back from a shoulder injury and another senior - Matt McCullough - is out for the first time since his freshman year and looked sharp in practices.

Ryan Ross, a senior who played in left and right field last season, anchors center field and has been hitting cleanup in the batting order in preseason scrimmages behind Johnson and Sorice. Pedro Serrano, a senior who sat out last season to work on his academics, has a good arm in right field and has batted fifth. Serrano bats lefty and throws righty. Left field is wide open with Winters and senior Tim Reddan, who is pushing for a spot in the pitching rotation, among the candidates.

Dornacker, who had a solid season for the hockey team that made the NJSIAA Tournament for the first time in three years and made the Shore Conference A South Tournament championship game, has the speed to hit leadoff but was slowed early in pre-season with a nagging hamstring injury.

"We have a number of guys who play different sports and when you have varsity athletes, they have the tenacity to get things done," said Groschel. "Last year we lost some games against tough pitching and didn't hit in clutch situations. We want to capitalize on those opportunities. Obviously pitching and defense on the high school level are so important and you need to make pitches and play solid defense by limiting mistakes. We hope to scratch out some runs with good team speed. We have guys who can run the bases.We're working on base running and bunting every day."

Serrano also is part of a deep pitching staff rebuilding from the loss of graduated F.J. Lucchetti, now atWagner, and throws a fastball, curve and changeup, like Sorice does. Reddan throws a hard fastball and a slow curve and Winters has a hard slider. Seniors John LeGrace, a lefty, and Rob Parliament and juniors Sean Salsano, a lefty with a good changeup, Dan Boyle and Karl Rex could see significant innings along with sophomore Matt Coughlin.

"They know how to pitch, which makes them effective," said Groschel. "We have some depth and will be pitching by committee."

Two juniors who also could help are outfielders Joe Goble, who played third base last season, and Brandon Cruz.