Shore baseball has new look, same expectations
BY VIN RAPOLLA
Staff Writer

When the Shore Regional baseball team takes the field for its season opener next week, there will be a host of new faces scattered around the diamond.

However, despite some heavy losses to graduation, the Blue Devils still look to repeat their Class B Central dominance of a year ago, led by the return of six players, all of whom saw significant playing time last season.

Coming off a year which saw Shore post a 10-4 conference record, the team will likely be among the teams to beat in the division once again.

"We have a good outlook for the season," said head coach Jeff Karpell. "All of our returners saw significant time last season."

The team's depth in their pitching rotation should prove to be the its major asset, as three experienced hurlers lead a staff which also will include some promising newcomers.

Senior Bill Cerruti, junior Erik Swinton and junior Rob Somers will see the most time on the mound, and Karpell is looking to them to eat up a lot of innings while some of the younger arms make the adjustment to varsity baseball.

"These guys will be getting the bulk of the innings," said Karpell.

However, if Shore is able to get the contributions from some of its newcomers, as Karpell expects, the Blue Devil pitching staff should be the strength of the team, which is music to any coach's ears.

Defensively, Shore should be solid once again.

The infield is anchored by a trio of experienced players in senior second baseman Tom Juliano, sophomore utility player Todd Juliano and catcher Jeff Valsteli.

Karpell has also liked what he has seen from several newcomers to the team, including outfielder Dennis Galvin, third baseman John Kuhlthau and leftfielder Shawn Metz.

"The staple of this team is going to be our pitching and our defense," said Karpell. "This will allow us to compete with many teams and get some big wins."

Offensively, Shore will be a bit of a work in progress early on, as Karpell tries to find the right formula with his line-up.

Unfortunately, Shore will have to find its groove early on if it hopes to compete for another division title. The Blue Devils begin their season next Thursday against division rival Mater Dei. This will be the first in a series of pivotal hurdles for the team, as they then go on to play Keansburg and St. Rose.

With an early schedule littered with divisional opponents who were right in the thick of things for the division crown last year, the next few weeks will set the tone for a Blue Devils team with aspirations of another title run.

"We've got some tough match-ups early on in the season," said Karpell. "It will be a reassuring stretch if we can keep up with those teams."

As with any young team, early season success can be contagious, so Karpell and Co. will be looking to get out of the gates well. This is not the same Blue Devils team that found success a year ago, but with plenty of talented newcomers filling the gaps, Shore may just be ready to reaffirm their status as the team to beat in B Central.