Twp. baseball trying to find its way in the early season

Brick Memorial baseball coach Rich Bishop is concerned about his team's spotty hitting, the missing link to the fine pitching and improved defense in the team's 6-3 start, one win more than all of last season.

PHOTOS BY MATT DENTON Above: Brick Township's Tim Reddan slides back to first safely before Philip Diaz of Jackson Liberty can apply the tag during a game on April 18 which Brick won by a score of 11-1. Below: Brick Township's Karl Rex gets ready to deliver a pitch during the game. "We're not hitting great and we don't have a good batting percentage and we're not scoring a lot of runs but we're scrappy in scratching across runs and that's good," said Bishop as theMustangs scored eight runs in three games but won two of themlast week. Andwith a Shore ConferenceASouth showdown on Friday morning at home against Toms River North, which pulled out a close victory the first time these two teams played, and a Shore Challenge game on Saturday against St. Joseph's Metuchen at the Shore Christian Center in Howell, every hit becomes important.

But catcher Tom Murray is not concerned about the hitting.

"That will come," said Murray, who was moved to the No. 6 spot in the batting order so he can see more fastballs, explained Bishop. "BrendanMelody is the only one hitting consistently butwe're still scoringwhen we need to and the pitching's been there. It's mostly our pitching. Therewas just one time when our starter did not go deep (in innings pitched) into a game."

Even Murray feels his hitting "is coming

along after I started off slow." That was obvious last week when he drilled two doubles and knocked in the only run in a 3-1 loss to Toms River South, ranked No. 7 in the state. Justin Short pitched well for five innings before encountering arm problems and Sean Breeden finished up strongly, allowing one run.

Murray also connected for a two-run home run and Brian Staub lined a runscoring double in the early innings when Brick Memorial knocked off previously unbeaten Central Regional, 3-2, on Friday. Ryan Patrick, whose 0.55 ERA rates near the top the Shore, went the distance with a five-hitter, striking out five.

Early last week, Evan Mancini scattered seven hits and helped his own cause with two hits and an RBI in a 3-2 victory over Toms River East. Cleanup hitter Staub smacked a two-run single.

Certainly, it brings Brick Memorial closer to the NJSIAA and Shore Conference tournament qualifications.

"Our goal is to get into those tournaments and we have the pitching to get deep into the tournaments," said Murray, referring to the deep staff.

Brick Township, however, finds its uphill climb to qualifying for the tournaments a little steeper in a 2-7 start, although it snapped a four-game losing streak in an 11-1 triumph over Jackson Liberty on Friday as Chris Sorice drove in four runs with two hits, both with the bases loaded, while Jared Page, Ray Johnson, Pedro Serrano and Travis Escalante each drove in a run, the latter player with two hits. Sophomore Matt Coughlin allowed three hits over four innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Karl Rex closed out and had three strikeouts.

"It was nice to hit the ball," said coach Jason Groschel as the Green Dragons came off three straight games with only one run scored in each. "We've been struggling offensively. Hitting and scoring runs is when you get energized. We're giving our pitchers no support since the Jackson game."

In that 9-8 loss two Fridays ago, Brick Township cracked three home runs.

The frustrating week began with an 11-1 5-inning loss to state power Toms River North, which broke open a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning with six runs. Sorice doubled in the run and Serrano on the mound was victim of numerous errors.

Then came a 4-1 loss to Lacey in which Brick Township was held to three hits, two byMatt Dornacker who led off the fifth inning with a home run. Lacey scored all of its runs in the third inning, three of them unearned off two errors.

Brick Township had a rematch on Monday this week with Lacey, its first game at home after five consecutive road games. It also had home games on Tuesday against Point Pleasant Beach and on Thursday against Jackson Liberty before it takes on St. Joseph's of Montvale in a