LINCROFT – Brookdale Community College baseball has been one of the top DIII junior college programs in the country since its inaugural season in 1971 under legendary Brookdale Hall of Fame coach Paul MacLaughlin.
MacLaughlin (1971-1998) took his teams to eight NJCAA world series, won 24 GSAC titles (13 straight) and won seven NJCAA Region XIX championships before retiring with a 877- 248-2 record.
Under his leadership, Brookdale became a launching pad for Jersey Shore athletes to continue their playing career at some of the top college programs in the country and for the best of the best, a chance to get drafted by a MLB team.
Former Brookdale ace John Montefusco (1971-72) is probably the most recognizable player drafted into professional baseball. His career spanned 13 seasons with stops in San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego and the Yankees – from 1983-1986. He was the named National League Rookie of the Year in 1975 with the San Francisco Giants and finished his major league career with a 90-83 record including a no-hitter in 1976 against the Atlanta Braves.
A Long Branch native, Montefusco still holds several school pitching records including lowest ERA for a single season at 0.65, most consecutive victories with 16, career strikeouts with 202 and 19 strikeouts in a single game. He finished with a 18-2 record in his two seasons at the Lincroft, New Jersey school.
Last year’s team produced two NJCAA second-team All-Americans with both players moving on to play at two of the nation’s elite DII baseball programs this season.
Jon Roszel (Manchester H.S.) is now at Flager College in St. Augustine, Florida, the No.7 ranked team in NCAA DII baseball. The Flager College baseball program has sent 34 players on to professional baseball including three players selected in the 2012 major league draft.
Nick Vitale (Brick Township H.S.) is batting .396 with two home runs and 11 RBI’s with a 1.065 OPS this season for the Stillman College Tigers in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Stillman has had 10 former players selected in the MLB draft, most recently in 2009. Also, 2014 second-team All-Region XIX third baseman Ryan Kirman (Red Bank Regional) is starting at Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, PA. batting .267 with two doubles and seven RBI’s in seven games this season.
Current head coach Johnny Johnson took over the reins from McLaughlin in 1998 and has carried on Brookdale’s commitment to winning without missing a beat. His record stands at 565-145 with his teams having won 10 GSAC titles, five NJCAA Region XIX championships and finishing third in the NJCAA College World Series in 2005 and 2006.
The Jersey Blues begin every season with a Florida road trip playing against some of the top DIII programs in the nation along with a number of elite DI and DII schools. This year’s trip featured games against the No.3 ranked team in DI baseball, Delgado Community College. Two cream of the crop DII programs; Community College of Rhode Island and Lincoln Land Community College and two top-ten DIII programs: St. Cloud State and Century College. The team returned from Florida with a 3-9 record but Johnson was excited by the way his team played.
“We’re a little inexperienced and this year’s schedule down there was the toughest we’ve ever had,” Johnson said. “I purposely did that to throw them into the fire and prepare them for the season. I was very pleased with what we got out of the trip and for the most part we were in every game. We have some young guys and some young pitchers who aren’t ready to compete at this level yet, but they will be by the end of the season.”
The Blues feature three returnees at the top of their lineup led by sophomore designated hitter/third baseman Tim Carney. Carney (Brick Township H.S.) was a first-team AllRegion and GSAC selection last season and has picked up right where he left off. He bats second and leads the team in just about every offensive category, batting .396 with one homer and 15 RBI’s, nine doubles and a triple with a whopping 1.118 OPS.
Sophomore third baseman Luis Hildago leads off for the Blues and is hitting .229 with four doubles and two triples after batting .314 last season in 24 games. Spencer Young is back at shortstop this season batting third. Young is hitting at a .314 clip with three doubles and four RBI’s. Young was a first-team AllShore pick from Jackson Memorial in 2013.
At first base and batting in the cleanup spot is touted freshman Joe Sadler who’s batting a solid .282 but has yet to find his much needed power. Sadler was a 2013 and 2014 first-team All-Shore pick while at Holmdel High School.
One of the pleasant surprises of the season so far has been the play of catcher Aaron Kane (Manchester H.S.) who was rushed into the starting role last season after injuries hit the position. Kane leads the team with a .417 average and an eye-popping 1.184 OPS, is third in RBI’s with 12, and has six doubles, a triple and one home run. Batting behind Kane in the No. 6 spot is Long Island University transfer Jon Baturgil (Colts Neck H.S.) at second base. Another bright spot, Baturgil is hitting .367, and is second on team with 13 RBI’s.
In left field and batting seventh is sophomore Ryan Ranieri (Manalapan H.S.). Batting in the eighth spot is sophomore centerfielder Harold Hester (Manchester H.S.) and in right is freshman Nico Giaimo (Rumson-Fair Haven H.S.).
Freshman Elvis Clime and Tyler Folger (Toms River South H.S.) will see time in the outfield as well. Freshmen Joel Rivera (Jackson Memorial H.S.) and Nick Blaney (St. John Vianney) will backup Kane and get some looks at DH.
The pitching staff has no clear-cut No.1 starter but appears to be a solid group capable eating up innings while keeping the Blues within striking distance. Sophomore Nick Panduri (Ocean Township H.S.) who was 3-2 with a 2.96 ERA last season is 1-1 with a stellar 2.25 ERA this season. Righty Justin Harnett (Matawan Regional H.S.) is back, and in three starts this season is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA. Sophomore lefty Mike Pepio (Colts Neck H.S.) has had a couple of rough outings but Johnson expects him to be a key contributor to the starting rotation after logging 19.2 innings in relief last season.
Johnson feels Dominican Republic transfer Chris Marte could develop into the staff ace once he settles down, but so far this season he’s 0-2 with a 4.09 ERA in two starts. Sophomore Joe DeCelie (Freehold Township) and freshman Frank Dente (Middletown North H.S.) are battling for spots in the rotation with DeCelie going 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA and Dente 1-0 with 4.50 ERA up this point.
Sophomore righty Andrew Schultz (St. John Vianney) has been solid out of the bullpen with a 4.50 ERA in eight innings pitched. Sophomores Aaron McCue (Long Branch H.S.) and Mike Imperato and freshmen John Monahan (Howell H.S.) and Jimmy Rodriguez will be used out of the pen.
“Talent-wise we’re right there with anyone in our region,” Johnson said. “They have the potential to be one of the best teams I’ve ever coached. When they play all together they can be really, really good. But we’re not good enough right now to overcome our mistakes; we have to play perfect ball. It’s a process. We have to play the games and keep getting better until tournament time. Right now we can beat anyone in the country, but we can lose to any one too,” he said.
— By Mike Ready
