BASEBALL - THE STUMPY AWARDS

By Scott Stump - Senior Editor

     After rolling out the Stumpy Awards for football and basketball, I couldn't neglect the national pastime. There are categories galore, some quick-hitting tidbits and others more in depth.
     I didn't do a lot of "best of'' for certain positions, because the DigitalSports All-Shore Conference teams pretty much addresses that. For all the recipients, I'm sure it will change their lives for a good 15 minutes or possibly even 20. So make your boss or teacher think you're doing work on the computer as you dig in to all this season had to offer. Thanks again to everyone for reading and watching all season, and we'll come back and do it better next year.

Best offense - Rumson-Fair Haven: The Bulldogs led the Shore in runs scored and averaged nearly 10 runs per game with a lineup that was relentless from top to bottom. Their No. 5 and No. 6 hitters, John Lembeck and Matt Wassel, each batted over .500 along with No. 3 hitter Gary Costello and the lineup was tough all the way to the No. 9 hitter, sophomore second baseman Dave Robbins, who had numerous clutch hits this season.

BEST HITTER

Best pitching staff - Toms River South. When your team ERA is under 1.30 for the season and you pitch 13 shutouts, that's not a memorable season. That's an immortal one. If the Indians want to do me a favor, they could ship their staff to the Mets' bullpen immediately.

BEST FASTBALL

Best slider - 1) Anthony DeSclafani, Colts Neck - Could spot it anywhere and send it in above 80 mph, while also varying it depending on whether a lefty or righty was batting; 2) Pat Light, CBA - It was a nasty out pitch for the DigitalSports Pitcher of the Year; 3) Connor Smith, St. Rose - Its improvement made him a high-volume strikeout pitcher.

BEST CURVEBALL

Best command - 1) Anthony DeSclafani, Colts Neck - Absolutely nothing rattles him. A pitching cyborg; 1a) Pat Light, CBA - Despite some heavy work in the postseason, he never let up and never stopped fighting and throwing strikes; 2) Vinny Vivona, Toms River South - Just pounds the strike zone and never gets too high or too low; 3) Connor Smith, St. Rose - You couldn't tell if he just threw a no-hitter or got rocked. 4) Drew Holt, Toms River South - Not even a line drive to the chest could slow him down for long.

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Best defensive catcher - 1) Edgar Jennings, Jackson - Threw out 14 of 20 runners with an absolute cannon of an arm; 1a) Gary Costello, Rumson - Excellent at blocking balls and also has a strong throwing arm. Coaches will argue on and on about whether Costello or Jennings is better defensively; 3) C.J. Alonso, Toms River North - Could kill a rally with his throwing arm and did a good job of blocking the ball; 4) Chris Wedding, Toms River East - Would pick runners off at second if they weren't careful and guided a strong pitching staff. 5) Blake Young-Park, Neptune - Quietly threw out 11 of 17 runners trying to steal against him.

BEST COACHING PERFORMANCES

All-injured team
P: Mike Zuppe, Sr., Christian Brothers Academy - Also an all-state hockey player, he missed the season with shoulder surgery, but is still headed to the University of Pennsylvania to play baseball.
P: Nick Falcone, Jr., Christian Brothers Academy - Another member of the Colts' staff who missed the season with labrum surgery.
1B: Bill Hoermann, Jr., Toms River North - If he didn't miss a month of the season with a back injury, he would have challenged for first-team honors. He could be an all-state player next year.
1B: Rocco Buglione, Sr., Central: A car accident, knee surgery and a post-game collision that ruptured his spleen all but erased his senior year.
DH: Kevin Gilmore, So., Toms River South: He was one of Toms River South's top hitters before a late-season injury.
P/INF: Rob Somers, Sr., Shore: A broken forearm caused him to miss a chunk of his final season.
P/INF: Steve Kircher, Sr., Manasquan: A shoulder injury from football limited his senior baseball season.
Seemingly all of Freehold Township: This team was like a black cat walking under a ladder while shattering a mirror with one paw and holding an umbrella on a sunny day with the other this year.

Top trends - 1) A strong junior pitching class - CBA's Pat Light, St. John Vianney's Kevin MacLachlan, Monmouth's Brian Schopka, Shore's Rob Corsi, Manalapan's Ryan Harvey, Toms River South's Tyler Gebler, and Toms River North's Mark Leiter all return next season. 2) Putting your best hitter in the leadoff spot - St. Rose's Chris Bresnahan, Shore's Todd Juliano, and Red Bank Catholic's Tom Higgins are just a few examples. 3) Command over stuff - There weren't too many pitchers that just blew people away this year. It was more setting up hitters and hitting spots.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Best assistant coaching performance - Mitch Powitz, pitching coach, Toms River South: It may have looked easy to just roll out any of Toms River South's stud pitchers on any given day, but a lot of teams have talent and don't get results. Powitz did a great job of knowing when to put guys in and pull them out during games and who to start in big tournament games, and it resulted in an all-time season that featured 13 shutouts and two tournament titles.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Best single-game performance - Hitting: Nick Nigro's four home runs for Monsignor Donovan in five innings against Mater Dei. (Click here for an interview with Nigro by student correspondent Dylan Hornblum).

 Pitching: St. Rose's Connor Smith going 10 innings, striking out 11, walking two and only allowing five hits and one run in a 2-1 win over Shore.

ALL-SOPHOMORE TEAM

Best comeback (tie) - Barnegat's 13-12 win over Monsignor Donovan in Class B South after being down 12-6 in the bottom of the seventh. Brian Calabria hit a three-run, game-winning home run to end it. Also, Middletown South's comeback from an 8-0 deficit for a 10-9 win over Middletown North in the bottom of the ninth on a bases-loaded walk by Jack Provine.

ALL-STUMPY TEAM

Most potential - Pitcher: Kevin MacLachlan, Jr., St. John Vianney: If he continues to add size and refine his secondary stuff, the sky is the limit. Hitter: Bryan Soloman, So., 3B, Jackson: When opposing Carpenter Cup coaches are coming up and asking who that big third baseman is, that's always a good sign. He just needs to keep working hard to improve and not rest on a strong sophomore year.

Potential surprise teams of next year - 1) Middletown North - First baseman Connor Delepine and a host of young talent return for the Lions next year; 2) Brick Memorial - The Mustangs made a run to the Ocean County Tournament final this year, but with players like outfielder Mike Spinelli and first baseman Jose Ramos returning, they can make noise in Class A South if the pitching is there. 3) St. John Vianney - Mike Morgan's crew had a lot of young players gaining experience this year and could be a factor in Class A Central next year. 4) Freehold Township - The outfield of Dan Klinsky, Mark Sorbara, and Stephen Talbott, and ace Matt Cadigan could help the Patriots erase the memory of a tough season. 5) Red Bank - A young team that has been learning on the fly for two years could finally bust out behind the tandem of Jake Kalish and Casey Young. 6) Manchester - With numerous young players seeing action this year, the Hawks should be a factor in Class B South next season. 7) Mater Dei - With a ton of young players who saw action this season, the Seraphs could be in the mix in Class B Central behind usual powers St. Rose and Shore.

E-mail: stump@digitalsports.com