As they say in the classic baseball movie, “Bull Durham,” baseball is a simple game, you throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. But getting inexperienced players to do those simple tasks is where the challenge lies.##M:[more]##
While both North and South varsity teams are in a rebuilding mode this season, with big question marks on the pitching mounds as well as in some other key positions, North coach Bob Boyce and South’s Don Hutchinson are taking a straight-forward approach to the new season.
By stressing the positive, both coaches are crossing their fingers and hoping for the best as they lead their teams into the new season.
North
Traditional rivalries are more subjective than many people think. “If you ask me what team I want to beat more than any other, I say, without equivocation, that it is Notre Dame,” says Knights’ coach Bob Boyce, now in his sixth season. “I would happily go 1-22 if that one game we win were against Notre Dame.”
While athletic showdowns between North and South in all sports are considered by many outside the school community to be the highlight of the season, in reality things are usually quite friendly between the two schools.
“Hutch (South coach Don Hutchinson) and I don’t really get a lot of thrills out of playing each other,” says Boyce. “We are pretty good friends. I coached with him as an assistant for a long time before coming to North. In the South game we always get a lot of people there and the fans like it. But, honestly, I think Hutch would tell you the same thing; other than my team, I’m always rooting like heck for South to win.”
The North and South teams will face one another on Saturday, May 20, at 6 p.m., at Community Park in West Windsor as the final game of what is being billed as a kind of homecoming day for baseball.
“We will have all the teams in the district play, starting out with the middle school teams in the morning, followed by the freshman teams, the JV teams, and then the varsity teams will play at night,” explains Boyce. The two teams also could potentially face one another in the Mercer County Tournament in May.
But when North takes the field against Notre Dame at home on Monday, April 24, at 4 p.m., it will be something of a grudge match against last year’s top-ranked team from the CVC’s Colonial Division. As to the nature of the grudge, Boyce remains evasive.
“We have a big rivalry that goes back to the first year I coached North,” says Boyce. “All I will say is that there was an incident between the two teams and it has been a big rivalry ever since. Much more so than with South.”
Notre Dame aside, Boyce is welcoming the chance for the Knights to compete in the talent-rich Valley Division (moving over this season from the Patriot Division), facing last year’s champs Nottingham and always-tough, Hamilton West.
“We have some guys back from last year, but we did lose some important players to graduation,” says Boyce. Of particular concern are the losses of standouts Mike Elanjian at centerfield and Matt Olson at third base, two team leaders, top hitters, and excellent fielders.
But Boyce says that he has talented juniors who are more than capable of filling the void, including shortstop Charlie Carluccio, catcher Zach Weale (a two-year starter), and Kevin Masselli (a three-year starter) in the outfield. Seniors Casey Warner (fourth year starting), and John Byrnes (third year at first base) are also being counted on to make major contributions.
Heading into the season, pitching is the biggest uncertainty. “Casey Warner has not thrown well up to this point,” says Boyce. “But I do have Dan Margiotti back. He is in his third year and he is a very good pitcher. I do have two very talented sophomores in Brian Sigle and Greyson Van Dyke.”
But if the Knights make it to the state tournament this season, it will be largely due to their ability to hit the ball. In the opening game victory against Hopewell on April 3, North had 17 hits. Three days later in a win over Hightstown, the Knights tallied 16 hits. Even in a losing cause against powerful Hunterdon Central on April 5, North still was able to garner 10 hits.
“It’s a fact that we hit very well,” says Boyce. “Weale, Maselli, and Warner all hit for power. That is our strength. We don’t have a lot of speed. We can bunt, but we don’t go big for the bunting game. We are more likely to hit and run. But fortunately, so far we haven’t had to play small ball because our hitting has been so good.” The Knights currently lead the CVC in extra base hits.
Unlike South, Boyce elected not to take his team down to Florida this season. “Basically there are two reasons we decided not to go down this year,” says Boyce. “One was the timing of the trip. Last year when we went down it was still March, so it was great. We finished off our scrimmages and then played a few games that counted. This year it falls when the season has already started and I didn’t like that as much.”
The second reason is financial. “Last year I was able to offset the cost to the kids significantly because we raised a lot of money in fundraising,” says Boyce. “This year I was told that we had to pay for the new dugouts (built last year). Originally it looked like we were only have to pay a minimal amount, but then last fall I was told that we were going to have to pay quite a bit of money. That meant any fundraising that we would do had to go toward the dugouts. So at that point I met with the parent club and we all decided that it probably wasn’t the best year to go.”
Boyce adds that the team will likely train down south next year. “It is a good trip,” he says. “If nothing else, the weather is nice, you get great practices down there, and you play some pretty good games.”
With a group of talented juniors on the team this year, it is tempting to write the Knights off as a “wait-till-next-year” bunch. After all, with another year of experience under their belt, a North championship looks entirely possible. But this season, with upcoming games against Princeton, (Monday, April 17, away, at 4 p.m.) Hamilton West (Thursday, April 20, away, at 4 p.m.), Notre Dame, and Nottingham, (Thursday, April 27, at 4 p.m.), the Knights will have their work cut out for them.
Still, Boyce remains cautiously optimistic. “It’s tough to win baseball games in Mercer County,” he says. “That’s just a fact. But I have a very capable team. On any given day we can beat anybody, but on the other hand, we can also be beaten by anybody.”
South
For Don Hutchinson and Pirates baseball, the annual trip to Florida is a time when players on his team really become teammates.
“It’s is a time for the team to get to know one another,” he says. “The seniors have all grown up together, but they probably are not so close or friendly with the younger kids. Sometimes people can over-do that team chemistry bonding thing, but there is no question that there is something to it.”
While the trip usually happens prior to the start of the season, spring break is late this year and the Pirates already played three games before catching the flight south. There they are practicing two hours each morning before playing games in the afternoon against such area powers as Brick Memorial, Toms River North, and Saint Joseph’s of New York.
“We get to play a lot of baseball and there is nice warm weather and a very well maintained facility,” says Hutchinson. “But how much does it result in playing better? I don’t know. But it certainly makes it more enjoyable to play when you know you have people behind you, rooting for you, pushing you hard.”
With 16 players on the team this season, Hutchinson is hoping to better last season’s 14-10 record. Victories over Ewing and Peddie have the season started on a promising note.
With the hitting game starting off the regular season in good form (after a rough preseason), Hutchinson says his pitching is still looking a bit shaky and may prove to be the Pirates Achilles’ Heel.
“We have three senior pitchers, a couple of sophomores, and one or two juniors,” says Hutchinson. “Any of them can pitch well on any given day, but we will just have to see what develops.”
Seniors Steven Odachowski, Eric Voitsberger, and Rich McGinnis are the likely starting pitchers, with Evan Carlstrom occasionally stepping out from his catcher’s position to take a turn on the mound. Junior J.R. Morris and Yoshio Maeta will also pitch.
Although the Pirates lost all their preseason scrimmages, Hutchinson says the team has been able to jell at the plate once the games started to count after April 1. “At first we didn’t hit at all, but then we had two nice wins where bunched all our hits together.”
Against Ewing on opening day, South scored 11 runs in one inning and belted all its total hits in the same inning. Against Peddie on April 4, the Pirates had another big inning, knocking out eight hits.
“I don’t know if this is going to be a trend for this year or not,” says Hutchinson. “It would be nice to think that it is. They seem to do things in bunches. They are not going to get a lot of hits because we’ve had guys who haven’t that much experience against top pitching, but if we can put things back-to-back like that then we have a chance to win some games.”
With Odachowski, McGinnis, and Voitsberger all playing outfield when not pitching, Hutchinson knows that he has experience at the plate when he needs it. As the season progressed last year — and then even into legion ball during the summer — Voitsberger displayed an almost uncanny knack for getting a key hit at a key time.
“Voitsberger had a great season at the plate last year,” says Hutchinson. “He’s a real clutch hitter. I think that certain kids have the ability to concentrate better in situations where others may succumb to the pressure. I think it’s the ability to concentrate or to block out that pressure and just focus on simply doing your job. Eric was able to that last season.”
This year the Pirates will feature Andrew Morgan at first base. Jeff Quinton will start at second base, with senior Tom McKeever also getting some playing time. His younger brother, Andy McKeever, is a sophomore and a backup shortstop and might play some second base as well. Chris Wesson, a senior, is the starting shortstop and senior Brian Morris is the starting third baseman, where he also played last year. Carlstrom is the starting catcher and Mitchell Leibowitz, a sophomore, is the starting centerfielder. In addition, Sol Hayon is a backup outfielder and his twin brother Ben Hayon, is the backup third baseman. The backup catcher is sophomore Mike Garzone.
Nestled in the challenging Colonial Division against such powerhouses as Steinert, Lawrence, Trenton, and Notre Dame, the Pirates face an uphill battle if they want to make it to the state tournament this season. After returning from Florida on April 15, the Pirates will face Hunterdon Central (away on Wednesday, April 19, at 4 p.m.), Hightstown (at home on Thursday, April 20, at 4 p.m.) and Steinert (at home on Monday, April 24, at 4 p.m.)
Hutchinson, now in his 11th season as South’s head coach, has elected not to coach the summer West Windsor-Plainsboro American Legion team this year. “I’ve been coaching year round for quite a few years and I need a little time away from it,” he says. He will be again serving as assistant coach for the Pirates’ football team in the fall. “We have the talent to make a lot of things that can go right for this team this year,” says Hutchinson. “But we will have to see how things shape up over the course of the season. Baseball is an unpredictable game.”
