Raritan, Matawan among top local baseball squads BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer While the firstweek of the high school baseball regular seasonwas slowed a bit by inclement weather, local teams are ready to fully get into the swing of things this week as they begin their divisional races. And with plenty of talent spread throughout all the local squads, this could be a fruitful spring for several teams that are expected to be contenders this season. The A North division has three local teams that will need to surprise a lot of people if they hope to capture the top spot. A loaded ColtsNeck teamis expected to be the class of the division (led by the best 1-2 pitching combination in the Shore inAnthonyDe- Sclafani and Ethan Jackson, who went a combined 14-3 last year as juniors), while Manalapan returns the majority of its starters from last year's team and is expected to be the Cougars' top competition. That puts the Christian Brothers Academy Colts in the unusual position of being an underdog in the divisional race. It is rare indeed for the Colts to be anything other than the favorite in the A North race, but after graduatingmost of their big guns from last year, theColtswill be awork in progress formuch of this season. CBA's pitchingmay be the biggest questionmark, since theColts suffered a rash of injuries prior to the season's start, which has changed head coach Marty Kenney's plans dramatically. Senior Mike Zuppe was expected to be the ace, but won't be pitching this spring after injuring both shoulders playing ice hockey this winter. Junior pitcher Nick Falconewas also expected to be aworkhorse but will miss the year after undergoing labrum surgery in his throwing shoulder. Senior lefty Remy Cohen is also on the shelf right now, with biceps tendonitis. Offensively, the Colts return senior outfielder SteveMcSherry, junior shortstopAnthony Cirillo and infielder Dan Avella, leaving Kenney to rely on a bevy of varsity newcomers to fill out the lineup. Middletown South is being called the sleeper pick inANorth, as head coach Steve Antonucci's Eagles return plenty of big bats and a potentially good pitching staff. With players like seniors Mike Farrell, Jack Provine,Miles Santo, JonAlfino, Jason Levy and Eric Dunn, junior Chris Bunge and sophomore Craig Sweeney back with varsity experience, South should score plenty of runs this season, winning their share of slugfests. However, Antonucci appears to have plenty of depth in his pitching staff, led by senior Nigel Combs and CBAtransfer Chris Waski, a junior. Seniors Chris Kamna, Ben Hammond,Art Barnek and Tyler Black and junior Tim Ens will also see time on the hill as the Eagles look to compete in what may be the Shore's toughest division. The Eagles' crosstown rivals from Middletown North are one of the division's younger teams, returning seniors Pat Hanson and Mike Carlino, two of the more accomplished hitters in the division. The Lions also return seniors Chris Bavaro and Steve Kaylor as well as junior pitcher Dan Wollman, who should be the team's ace. The rest of the Lions' lineup will consist of varsity newcomers, leaving head coach Jon Scala's team a bit of an unknown this spring. However, with North's freshman and JV teams enjoying success over the past couple of seasons, don't be surprised to see the Lions playing better as the season progresses. The Shore's A Central Division also contains three local teams that are hoping to contend for the top spot. The Raritan Rockets return eight starters from last year, so they expect to be among the division's teams to beat, along with Red Bank Catholic and Rumson-Fair Haven. Raritan is led by senior shortstop Charlie Rivera, a Seton Hall recruit, and senior left fielder Ed Martin and senior catcher Dave Shrum. Senior center fielder Joe Doerrer and senior first baseman Tom Evancho are also back, as are seniors Devin Noonan and Dan Benfer and sophomore Corey Chonko.While the Rockets should be among the Shore's top offensive teams, their pitching staff is also solid, led by Martin, Rivera, Chonko and sophomoreMatt Facendo. Under new head coach Bob Devlin, the Rockets will not be sneaking up on anyone, since Raritan has enjoyed tremendous success in recent years. St. John Vianney won the division's nonpublic title last year, but lost the vastmajority of that team to graduation. But the cupboard is not bare, since the Lancers return one of the Shore's top pitchers in junior righty Kevin MacLaughlin, who was the team's closer last season. Should head coach MikeMorgan useMacLaughlin as a starter this year, hewill headwhat should be a good pitching staff along with senior Chris Fox. Offensively, the Lancerswill be led by junior Marc Teel and seniors Chris Ruffler andAndrew Holler. AnotherACentral teamhit hard by graduation was the Holmdel Hornets. Head coach Ed Reckage's team does return junior ace IanWladika, as well as junior Jean-Luc Orlando, while offensively the Hornets will rely on seniorsBrianAmabile,MattDiMaso, Ryan Garber, Glenn Grainger, Chris Monfasani and Joe Solfaro, aswell as juniors Jay Hyland and Rob Palermo. TheHornets will need a host of newcomers to produce if they are to remain competitive in this tough division. TheMatawanHuskies are hoping to contend for the Shore'sBNorth title,where they expect to battle the usual suspects - Wall Township, Ocean Township,Monmouth Regional and Freehold Borough. This year, however, Matawan has a bit more than usual in both talent and depth, as the Huskies return 14 seniors. Senior J.D. Melendez is one of the best players in the Shore and should lead the team along with outfielders Dan Geran, Joe Kelly, Kevin Bucco, Fran Santimauro, Mike Petrillo and Bruce Monro, and infielders Matt Mizerek, Sean Thompson, Kevin Knox, Brian Quinn, Matt Selljes and TimWhitney. After taking their lumps in recent years, this year'sMatawan team is anxious to win and has the talent to do so.Most people didn't pick the Huskies to contend for the division title, but those people could verywell be in for a surprise this spring. Both Mater Dei and Keyport are good young teams that are expected to bemiddleof the-pack teams in the B Central race. The Seraphs return just a handful of players this spring, including seniors Justin Vega, Chris Ammerman, Chris Thompson and Connor Hughes. Beyond them, it's all newcomers as the majority of Mater Dei's starters are getting their first sniff of varsity play this year. While some growing pains seem to be inevitable for the Seraphs, the overall youth of the B Central division could ease the transition for this young group. Head coach Pat Ridell has plenty of talent this spring; it all depends on how fast they can adapt to the varsity game. As for Keyport, the Red Raiders of Rob Stetz were also hit hard by graduation, but do return some established varsity players, including seniors Eric Devlin, Mike Windeknecht, Brian Derechailo and Matt Farkas, as well as junior Tim Snyder.