Colts looking to bounce back as postseason hits BY GEORGE ALBANO Staff Writer The Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) baseball team is looking to regain its winning edge. And soon too. The Colts rocketed out of the 2005 starting gate, setting a new school record by winning their first 17 games. They were even ranked No. 1 in the state before an 8-6 loss to Hillsborough spoiled their perfect season. CBA did manage to regroup after that initial loss and win its next three games, defeating Red Bank Catholic 8-2, Toms River East 2-1, and Paul the VI, 4-1, to up its record to 20-1. But on Sunday, the Colts lost for the second time in their last five games when Old Bridge beat CBA, 4-2, in the Shore Challenge at the Wall Complex. And with the Shore Conference Tournament beginning on Friday and the state tournament the following week, CBA is looking to get back to its old ways. “We went 18-5 last year, so we were expecting to have a pretty good year, and hopefully a great year,” head coach Marty Kenney said after Sunday’s loss. “We got off to a great start, but we’ve struggled a little lately. Hopefully, this could be like the second half of our season and we can put together another string of wins at a time when it’s important going into the tournament.” Kenney certainly knows a thing or two about winning tournaments. Now in his 30th season, Kenney has led CBA to four Shore Conference championships, five state sectional titles and a state championship in 1977. And this season he picked up his 10th division crown, guiding the Colts to a 14-0 record in the Shore A North Division. For a while, it looked as if CBA might even go undefeated in the regular season, too. But while some would argue there’s no such thing as a good loss, the Colts’ first setback to Hillsborough may have come at a good time. “I guess you hope it takes a little pressure off everyone, although I didn’t think it bothered the kids,” Kenney said. “I guess if you have to lose, you always want to look for a good place to lose a game, and during the regular season is better than in the tournaments. Obviously, you can recover from a loss in the regular season, but you can’t recover after a loss in the tournament. “You don’t expect to go through the season undefeated,” he added. “It was a nice start and we did break the record for consecutive wins at the start of a season.” The Colts set the new mark when they won their 14th game in a row. They won three more after that, but after 17 straight wins, CBA came up short against Hillsborough. “I thought we played pretty well in that game versus Hillsborough,” Kenney said. “We committed three errors and they all involved runs. That was a game we cost ourselves.” But Sunday’s loss to Old Bridge was due to an entirely different reason, according to Kenney. “We just didn’t hit,” the CBA coach said. “We had opportunities throughout the game, but we had a lot of pop-ups and a lot of fly balls. I thought it was really the fault of our offense. Our pitching was OK. “Normally, we hit the ball pretty good, but we’ve been a little inconsistent as of late. In the month of April, we were scoring eight or nine runs a game, but now we’re only scoring four or five runs. Our hitting of recent has not been as productive as earlier in the season. When you do that, you put a little more pressure on your pitcher and defense.” The Colts’ pitching has been nothing less than fantastic most of the season, led by seniors Kevin Lillis and Sean Driscoll. Coming into this week, Lillis, who’s committed to Rutgers, was 7-0 with a 1.21 earned run average (ERA), while Driscoll, who’s headed for Bucknell, was 7-1 with a 0.65 ERA. His only loss came in relief to Hillsborough. “Those two have had the kind of year we expected,” Kenney said. “They both started last year and pitched very well.” Meanwhile, the Colts’ offense, the last few games notwithstanding, has come from several different sources. Senior shortstop Pete Delleani, a three-year starter, leads the team with a .428 average to go with 24 RBIs. “He bats right in the middle of our lineup,” Kenney said of his No. 3 hitter, who will play at Wagner next season. “He’s had a pretty solid year.” Senior Joe Durso, who has been primarily a designated hitter, is hitting .393 and leads the team in hits. Vin Avella, a junior right fielder and the Colts’ cleanup hitter, is batting .387, and he and Durso are tied for the team lead in RBIs with 28. Then there’s Matt Bock, a senior second baseman batting .368 with 21 RBIs. “Even though he hits at the end of the order, he’s still pretty productive,” Kenney said. Senior third baseman Mike Luciano, hitting .348 with a dozen RBIs, has also shined at the plate for the Colts. Kenney has also been delighted with the play of sophomore twins Jim and Dave Laufer, who bat fifth and sixth, respectively, in the CBA lineup. Jim Laufer, a first baseman, is batting .368 with 20 RBIs, while Dave Laufer, a center fielder, is hitting .358. “We also use him as a closer in games,” Kenney said. “He has a very strong arm.” The Colts close the regular season this week with two nonconference games on the road, playing at Henry Hudson on Wednesday and at Wall High School on Thursday night. Then it’s on to the Shore Conference Tournament Friday night, where they hope to make a run at another championship. “I think we have a chance to win it,” Kenney said, “but there are a lot of good teams in the Shore and we have to play a little better than we have recently. They understand that.” In other words, the Colts have to regain their winning edge. Pretty soon too.