LINCROFT – Although Christian Brothers Academy’s baseball team has one of the state’s top pitchers in Wake Forest-bound Luca Dalatri, it is the hitting that has been a big factor in the Colts (12-1) success this year.
This was on display Saturday when CBA unloaded an 11-hit attack in outlasting Mater Dei Prep, 11-5, in a first round Monmouth County Tournament game.
The second-seeded and defending Monmouth County champion Colts will play host to Monmouth Regional in the next round this Saturday.
“Although we got a little bit sloppy, we had a couple of good innings,” said CBA coach Marty Kenney, now in his 42nd year as head coach of the Colts. “We hit the ball well and, in general, we played okay.”
Mater Dei Prep had defeated Shore Regional, 5-2, in a preliminary round game Saturday morning and then made the short trip over to CBA.
The big inning for the Colts was the third when they broke a 2-2 tie with six runs. Shane Turk had the key hit, a two-run single, but Brendan Galvin and James Miller also had RBI hits in the inning.
Mater Dei Prep rallied in the fifth with three runs to get back in contention as RBI hits by Ryan Fanner and Nick Fassaro coupled with a CBA throwing error, closed the gap to 8-5.
Two walks loaded the bases, but reliever Ken Campbell then retired Cole Hardy on a force at the plate and got Nick Roditis on an inning-ending grounder to second.
“We hung right in there with CBA,” said Mater Dei Prep coach Pat Riddell. “We had a couple of calls against us early in the game. If we got them, the score might have been closer.”
CBA, whose only loss was a stunning 10-0 upset to Freehold, finally put the game away with three runs in the sixth on Dalatri’s pinch-hit, bases-loaded double down the left field line.
Dalatri’s hit wasn’t a surprise to Kenney, who has an 841-314 record in his long tenure as CBA coach.
“We use him as a designated hitter when he isn’t pitching,” Kenney explained. “He’s a good pitcher, but he is also a force at the plate and one of our better hitters. He had a doctor’s appointment this morning, so I didn’t play him at the start.”
Despite losing, Riddell was still pleased with the effort.
“We still had a good day,” said Riddell. “We beat Shore, and their best pitcher, James Kelly. I was proud of the way we competed today.”
Winning pitcher Vincent Stanziale allowed eight hits for the Seraphs against Shore, but pitched out of trouble successfully.
“He pitched very well,” said Riddell. “He kept the ball down and kept Shore off-balance.”
Mater Dei is tied for second place with St. Rose in the B Central race with both teams having 7-1 division records in games played through Sunday. Point Pleasant Beach is first at 8-1.
“We still have games coming up at our place with Point Beach and St. Rose,” said Riddell. “Those games will probably decide the race.”
– By Jim Hintelmann. Photos by Gwen Campbell
