Spring Preview: Patriots Baseball Keeps Them Close

The Freehold Township High School baseball team kept spectators on the edge of their seats last season, and the Patriots have the makings to do so again this spring.

Last year, the Patriots went 9-14 but almost half of those were one-run games. It made for quite an introduction for first-year head coach Todd Smith, who is back for a second season.

“Basically what I learned is anything can happen on any given day,” Smith said. “We lost six one-run games. But we won five.

“It means one play in any inning can mean the difference in a game. It can mean so much at any time.”

The 2011 Patriots are built around returning starters Matt Goldberg and Kevin Litus. Goldberg, the senior captain, plays shortstop. He is in his third year of varsity. Litus plays next to him at third base when he isn’t on the mound. He is also a third-year varsity player and is a standout hitter.

The two are charged with leading the Patriots this year after they graduated catcher Brandon Coluccio and right fielder Mark Sorbara.

“They were our best all-around,” Smith said. “Brandon and Mark were my leading hitters, leading RBI guys and leading run scorers. Brandon was our catcher and Mark was our best defensive outfielder. Both guys are playing in college.”

Sorbara is at the University of Hartford, and Colucci is at Brookdale Community College. Their losses mean some big changes in how the Patriots will look this season, as they have seen in early scrimmages with Brick Memorial on Monday and Wall on Tuesday.

“It’s early, but the strength of our team is definitely pitching and defense,” Smith said. “We’re going to do a lot of small ball and be aggressive on the bases.

“More than anything, we have a good group of kids. We’ll have good team chemistry and the kids will put the team first.”

Returning from varsity last year are: senior outfielder Connor Lewis, junior outfielder Nick Cardamone, junior infielder and pitcher Ryan MacFarlane, junior first baseman and pitcher Mike Patti, and senior first baseman and outfielder Andrew Glantz, who will also be a designated hitter for the Patriots.

Top newcomers are: senior outfielder and pitcher Mike Correa, senior outfielder and pitcher Chris O’Sullivan, senior second baseman Jon Ingargiola, senior pitcher Jake D’Amato, senior pitcher Zach Seres, and junior catchers Josh Lodi and Steve Schulman.

“We’re looking to be competitive in the division and to qualify for all tournaments,” Smith said, adding, “Our non-division schedule is extremely difficult with Jackson Memorial, Toms River South, Toms River North, St. Rose and Red Bank Regional.”

In the Shore Conference North A division, Manalapan and Christian Brothers Academy stand out as the top picks in the preseason.

“The division has a lot of pitching,” Smith said, “and looks to be strong as usual from top to bottom.”

The Patriots can throw together a pretty good rotation with a trio that got some experience last year. Litus was 1-1 with a 1.91 ERA in 22 innings. MacFarlane went 1-0 with a 3.42 ERA in 14 and 1/3 innings. Patti was 1-0 with a 2.80 ERA in 15 innings. If Freehold Township can get pitching like that, it won’t need many runs from its light-hitting lineup.

“They know what kind of style we have to play and what kind of schedule we play,” Smith said. “They know it’s a grind.”

If they can scratch out a few runs, it’s not out of the question that the Patriots will find themselves in familiar territory – in more than their share of tight one-run contests.

“The guys who have varsity experience definitely learned from last year what it takes to get there,” Smith said. “And they’ll be that much better for it after having that experience.”