By Rich Chrampanis
LAKEWOOD – To be happy on the last day of the baseball season, you usually have to be a state champion. Red Bank Catholic was afforded the rare luxury of finishing their year with a significant victory despite being eliminated in the state playoffs by Notre Dame.
The Caseys won their second Shore Conference Tournament in program history thanks to a 5-0 win over Manalapan at the home of the Lakewood BlueClaws June 5. The SCT is the lone tournament in New Jersey that bleeds deep into the state playoffs.
There were hugs and pictures all around at FirstEnergy Park following the victory. No one was in a rush to leave the pro ballpark. For the seniors, it was the last time they would be together on the diamond. What they didn’t know was that there was about to be a second celebration that will be forever intertwined with the Caseys Shore Conference crown.
Senior Vin Bianchi grabbed his phone in front of the first base dugout. A close friend called to offer congratulations, but it wasn’t for Red Bank Catholic’s win. Moments later another call came through and it had a Los Angeles area code. The Angels were on the phone informing the shortstop and pitcher that he was just selected in the 35th round of the MLB Amateur Draft. Bianchi paced along the first base line and his teammates sensed that this wasn’t a normal phone call. By the time he got off the phone, Bianchi was surrounded and when he broke the news, there was an eruption in the near empty stadium and the kind of celebration that is usually reserved for a walk-off game-winning hit.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” Bianchi said. “Winning the Shore Conference championship and ending my high school career on that and hearing about getting drafted, that’s the cherry on top. It’s something I’ve dreamed about my whole life, a dream come true.”
Bianchi is signed to play college baseball at St. John’s University and is leaning toward going the college route instead of going straight to the pros. He will mull the decision over with his family and would not be able to enter the MLB Draft until 2022, but the gesture of getting selected is something truly special for any high school baseball player.
Sophomore pitcher Shane Panzini has got two years to go, but no one would be surprised to see his name called in the 2021 MLB Amateur Draft.
Panzini was on the mound in Lakewood for a complete game one-hit masterpiece against Manalapan. On Sunday night, the right-hander committed to play Division I baseball in the ACC for the Virginia Cavaliers. Panzini was 7-2 with a 0.66 ERA, striking out 73 batters in 59 innings. With a fastball already clocked in the low 90s, the Caseys will have one of New Jersey’s most electric arms leading their rotation over the next two years.
Coach Buddy Hausman has built a program that consistently turns out future college talent and the list of MLB draftees continues to grow. More importantly, the Caseys have fun and the positive vibes of a 23-6 season should carry over to 2020 and beyond.
