Township baseball already looking forward to next season

Asking first baseman Ray Johnson about the baseball season at Brick Township is like asking about root canal. It's a painful question.

"We had a lot of close games where we were on the wrong side," said Johnson, referring to how the Green Dragons were a hit away in many losses. "It comes down to rising to the situation. We wanted to win but we just didn't get the big hit."

Johnson is one of 10 graduating seniors. Although he leaves with a frustrating feeling after playing on a 6-18 baseball team that ended its season Saturday with a 3-0 victory over Mater Dei after dropping an 8-7 11-inning loss to Middletown North earlier last week, he can look ahead with anticipation. Johnson heads this fall to Carnegie Mellon where he will study economics in the Tepper School of Business. He said he also was recruited to play on the football team as a strong safety.

"They haven't had a losing season in 35 years," said Johnson of the football team. He played on Green Dragons teams that were barely denied winning seasons for the last three years.

There's no baseball team at Carnegie Mellon on a college varsity level but there is a club team that he will look up.

But it's not just about sports. You need the grades to get in. "Yeah,my grades are all right," said Johnson with a modest laugh.

He gave a similar answer when asked about his baseball season. "I did all right," said Johnson. "We had higher expectations."

Instead, coach Jason Groschel and his staff head back to the drawing board as they rebuild their team around a nucleus led by tall sophomore right-handed pitcher Matt Coughlin,who unexpectedly shared the bulk of the starting assignmentswith a 3-2 record with senior Pedro Serrano (3-4). There's also junior Jordan Roschala, who was expected to return at shortstop, but an anterior cruciate ligament surgery at the end of basketball season sidelined him all spring. He's working his way back in time for the start of football practices in August as the starting quarterback.

The returnees are back on the diamond starting June 11 for a 16-game Ocean County American Legion schedule that Groschel said will be for instruction and evaluation, and teaching the finer points of the game that this year's veteran-laden squad did not have to worry about.

Groschel will have young prospects from his junior varsity team that reached the second round of the county jayvee tournament and his freshman team that beat Brick Memorial, 13-1, in its county tournament opener before losing to No.1 seed Toms River South, 3-2.

Along with Legion ball, there also will be summer camps, although Groschel has not decided which ones. And he'll run his fifth annual Brick Dragons Baseball Camp 9 a.m.-1 p.m. July 7-11 for youngsters ages 6 to 14. There's a $135 registration fee, and Groschel can be reached to register or for other questions on the camp at (732) 814-0510.

He'll have to virtually rewrite his starting lineup that includes infielders Johnson; second baseman Travis Escalante; shortstop Jared Page, who is likely heading to NAIA Bloomfield College; catcher Kurt Loftus, who will attend Valley Forge Prep School; and third baseman Chris Sorice, the team's top hitter with a .415 average and 17 RBIs who is pondering enrolling at Brookdale Community College, as is Serrano, who also is an outfielder.

"We weren't hitting with men in scoring position," said Groschel. "Once we fell behind by multiple runs, we lacked the confidence to come back."

Starting outfielder Ryan Ross may try to walk on to Seton Hall University's team and John LaGrace is going to the University of Tampa but will not play there. Tim Reddan, who was unable to pitch because of a shoulder injury, picked up his hitting late in the season as a designated hitter. He is leaning to Wisconsin-La Crosse. Mike Winters, an outfielder and pitcher, plans to play football and baseball at Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham like his brother, Bill, who started at quarterback there.

As for returnees, pitchers Karl Rex, Dan Boyle and Sean Salsano join Coughlin, "which gives us close to 100 innings pitched of experience from this season," said Groschel. Rex also plays first base. Sophomores Matt Donacker, who started in left field, and John Applegate, who started at a few infield positions from midseason, are back. Junior Mike DeAngelo, who suffered a broken hand early in the season when he was hit by a pitch, also is back, along with catcher Dan Wrobleski, who started early in the season.

"Wrobleski is very good defensively and was platooned until midseason, but offensively Loftus was bringingmore to the table and wound up being our regular starter, althoughwe think ofDan as a key contributor and a returning starter," said Groschel.

Other juniors returning to the varsity include outfielders Brandon Cruz and Joe Gogle and first baseman Rob Harris. Sophomore Scott Gordy, a lefty, was the ace of the junior varsity that likewise suffered many close losses, and Mike Nigel excelled defensively playing different positions around the infield.