The High School South boys’ baseball squad opened the season with a win over High School North, and the Pirates have been rolling ever since. At 4-2, the Pirates have churned out several key victories, including two in one day in a double header against Lawrenceville on April 6.
“We’re off to a pretty good start,” said head coach Don Hutchinson. “The pitching is definitely our best aspect. We had a five-game opening week, so we got to test out the whole staff. There’s a lot of depth.”
Paul Balestrieri and Sunny Singh are two of South’s top pitchers. Balestrieri netted 11 strikeouts in his first start against North, while Singh has been key as a starter and as a reliever.
Balestrieri and Singh are also two of the squad’s several seniors. Along with classmates like Matt McCann and Pat Boyle, Hutchinson said the seniors “lead the way for everybody else. There is no substitute for the experience they bring. It breeds confidence. It makes a big difference, especially in the younger players. They see what that experience does.”
There are several underclassmen in the lineup, but sophomore Danny Borup is the youngest player on the starting roster. “I always saw something in him,” Hutchinson said. “It’s not really a surprise that he’s doing well.”
Still, Hutchinson said there is a little bit of fine-tuning to be done as the season heats up. While the team has a “great attitude,” he said the Pirates’ hitting as a whole could use some improvement. As they play more games and face more live pitching, though, that is something that can be fixed.
“That’s something you can’t simulate,” Hutchinson said. “Batting practice is not the same. Once they can identify pitchers, they build confidence. It’s contagious.”
Hutchinson said the team has taken a more laid-back, one-game-at-a-time attitude this year. “We learned our lesson last year,” he said. “We were a little cocky. We’re just going to let the chips fall where they may.”
The Knights have a 1-3 record following a tough opening week schedule that included games against South, Notre Dame, and Hopewell. Head coach Michael Santoro said the squad’s defense hasn’t been as tight as he expected.
“We’re sloppy in the field, unfocused at times,” he said. “That was unexpected based on how much work we do in practice. That needs to change for us to be consistently successful.”
Regardless of their record, there have been some positives on the field for the Knights. Pitcher Christian Waters has been a top contributor, both on the mound and at the plate.
“We knew Christian was an exceptional pitcher and would be one of the best in the county,” Santoro said. “However, it is his hitting ability that has surprised us so far this year. He has started off hot at the plate, and we just hope he continues that way.”
The intangibles are positive, too. “There’s a good chemistry throughout the team,” Santoro said. “They pick each other up when needed.”
With solid contributions from Scott Feryus, Kyle LaForge, Mike Mazzeo, and other players, the youthful squad hopes to overcome the .500 mark early in the season. Santoro said they would like to go deep into the state tournament, a realistic goal is they can get a few more wins under their belt.
“No doubt it’s a young team, but they’re hungry to succeed,” he said.”
