Prep schools eager to be back in action
While New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association high school baseball teams are just getting started with full practices and won’t officially begin playing games until Monday, April 19, Mercer County’s prep school squads, who belong to the New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association, are just about ready to go.
In fact, one school, Hun, has already begun playing games, and another, Pennington, plans to open this weekend. The other three preps will get going by Saturday, April 10.
“It’s exciting,” Peddie’s 19th-year head coach Erik Treese said, summing up the feelings of just about every high school coach whose team had to miss out on a season over the last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. “The fact that we’re all out there practicing is one thing. Just being able to play some games, that’s a win right there!”
The Falcons will pick up right where they left off when they host Hun at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 6 to kick off the 2021 campaign.
Two years ago, Treese’s troops fell to head coach Tom Monfiletto’s Raiders at William Thompson Field in the championship round of the NJISAA Prep A State Tournament.
Yet while only two of Peddie’s current senior class were on that team, Hun is in a similar position with only three of its seniors having been in that 2019 mix.
It is a predicament with which every spring squad will be dealing in 2021. That opens the door for a lot of young talent to make an impact.
In the case of the Raiders, however, they have a seven-member junior class of which at least half had already made inroads on the varsity level as freshmen.
While that may give them a bit of an edge on many clubs, it will still be up to seniors like Ben Petrone (middle infielder), Ricky Erbeck (righthanded pitcher/first baseman), Greg Riley (left-handed pitcher/ outfielder), Dylan Ridall (third baseman/right-handed pitcher) and Delbarton High postgraduate Trevor Kobryn (right-handed pitcher/first
baseman) to provide the kind of leadership Hun had in 2019 when it went 22-2.
“I think they’re ready,” said Monfiletto, who is entering his fifth season at the helm. “We’ve had a fantastic month of practice. The players’ arms are in shape. Their bats are good. We’re excited, especially since we’ve put together probably the most difficult schedule we’ve ever had.”
With usual Mid-Atlantic Prep League opponent Mercersburg Academy skipping league play this spring, the Raiders filled the rest of their schedule with teams like La Salle, Holy Ghost Prep, the Perkiomen School, Trenton Catholic Academy, St. Joseph’s-Metuchen, Conwell-Egan Catholic, St. Augustine’s Prep, Poly Prep, Holy Spirit, Seton Hall Prep, Pope John XXIII and Bergen Catholic.
Meanwhile, the Falcons will rely on leadership from seniors Jimmy Famularo (outfielder/right-handed pitcher), Nick Shah (third baseman/ first baseman/right-handed pitcher), Killian Shelly (infielder), Aidan McHugh (right-handed pitcher) and New York postgrad Marlon Wise (left-handed pitcher) to set the ex- ample for an up-and-coming group of juniors and sophomores.
“In essence, this is an entirely new team from two years ago,” Treese said. “Pitching is the biggest unknown right now. We have a lot of guys who haven’t logged a lot of innings at the varsity level.”
Over at the Lawrenceville School, where no official games against outside teams in any sport have been played since February 2020, the Big Red will have a similarly small senior class, but a number of younger players who are already accustomed to varsity. Seniors Lucas Simms (first baseman/catcher/ right-handed pitcher), John Weaver (outfielder), Remington Hill (righthanded pitcher/designated hitter), plus Connecticut postgrad Jack Jordan (right-handed pitcher) will guide the troops.
“We ended up playing four games last year in the Last Dance Tournament and had a good showing. Our younger players got a lot of confidence from it,” said fourth-year head coach Steve LaRochelle, who has 13 players returning. “I feel really good about our depth on the mound with eight pitchers, and our offensive attack is much improved.”
The Pennington School will have nine players back, yet only two of them — left-handed pitcher/outfielder Will Thompson and catcher Matt Lepre — are seniors. So fifthyear head coach Steve Kowalski will depend on each age group to aid in the Red Raiders’ growth.
“We have a lot of young talent,” Kowalski said. “We really don’t lose much from this year’s team, so we’re excited to see how these players do.”
Princeton Day School will only have one senior in right-handed pitcher/outfielder Shivam Singh to lead a very young squad, which will be in its first season under the direction of head coach Jeff Young.
“This is a fabulous opportunity. My approach to coaching is forming relationships, and I feel I’m going to get to know these players well,” said Young, who will count on seven juniors to help steer the Panthers. “I think our upperclassmen will be a really good influence on our younger players.”
HUN SCHOOL
Head Coach — Tom Monfiletto (fifth season). Assistant Coaches — Pat Jones, Steve Garrison, Rich Volz, Bob Sacco, Ian McNally, Nick Savino.
2019 Season — 22-2 overall, 10-0 MAPL, 9-0 vs. Prep A opponents, Mercer County Tournament semifinalist, NJISAA Prep A state champion, No. 2 in Trentonian Top 15.
Roster — Trevor Kobryn (PG, RHP/1B), Ben Petrone (Sr., SS/2B), Ricky Erbeck (Sr., RHP/1B), Greg Riley (Sr., LHP/OF), Dylan Ridall (Sr., 3B/RHP), Carson Applegate (Jr., SS/RHP), Ryan DiMaggio (Jr., LHP/ IF/OF), Carson Wehner (Jr., IF/RHP), Jackson Kraemer (Jr., OF/RHP), Brody Pasieka (Jr., RHP/IF), Ben Romano (Jr., OF), Sam Segal (Jr., OF), Michael Chiaravallo (So., OF), Michael Jolly (So., C/OF), Michael Smith (So., C/IF), Tyler Tucker (Fr., IF), Mike Olender (Fr., OF).
Outlook — The Raiders graduated nine players from a team which won its fourth consecutive Prep A state title in 2019. With 11 players back, led by a strong junior class, Hun will play the toughest schedule around.
LAWRENCEVILLE SCHOOL
Head Coach — Steve LaRochelle (fourth season). Assistant Coaches — Mike Hickey, Rick Holifield, Sam Tola.
2019 Season — 4-19 overall, 1-9 MAPL, 1-8 vs. Prep A opponents.
Roster — Jack Jordan (PG, RHP), Lucas Simms (Sr., 1B/C/RHP), John Weaver (Sr., OF), Remington Hill (Sr., RHP/DH), Hawkins Sutter (Jr., IF/RHP), Ryan Visich (Jr., RHP/3B), Dhillon Choudhri (Jr., RHP/IF), Connor Kilgallon (Jr., RHP/OF), Sam Koenig (Jr., C), Miles Brodey (Jr., OF), Jeff Hughes (Jr., OF/2B), Jack Moses (So., C), Jackson Sgro (So., IF), Charlie Rossman (So., OF), Shaun McMillan (So., RHP/1B), Hugh Devine (So., LHP), Tim Griegel (Fr., 2B).
Outlook — The Big Red graduated seven players and have 13 returning. That experience, highlighted by a deep pitching staff, figures to help L”ville keep improving and growing, so it can pull out more close games.
PEDDIE SCHOOL
Head Coach — Erik Treese (19th season). Assistant Coaches — Taylor White, Pete McClellan. 2019 Season — 10-12 overall, 5-5 MAPL, 5-5 vs. Prep A opponents, NJISAA Prep A state runner-up. Roster — Marlon Wise (PG, LHP), Jimmy Famularo (Sr., OF/RHP), Nick Shah (Sr., 3B/1B/RHP), Killian Shelly (Sr., IF), Aidan McHugh (Sr., RHP), Alex Stillwell (Jr., C), Matt Schwartz (Jr., SS/2B/RHP), Ryan Kats (Jr., OF), Zach Naddelman (Jr., 3B/1B), Andrew Stizza (Jr., OF), Jack Hughes (Jr., RHP/1B), Jake Rothbard (Jr., RHP/3B), Luke Treese (So., SS/2B/ RHP), Chase Vitulli (So., OF).
Outlook — The Falcons graduated seven players, leaving only two seniors who last took the field for that 2019 team, which reached the Prep A final. Peddie has young talent that is eager to show what it can do.
PENNINGTON SCHOOL
Head Coach — Steve Kowalski (fifth season). Assistant Coaches — Byron Kou, Jeff Sumners, Chris Wirth-Kenyon.
2019 Season — 7-8 overall, 3-1 vs. Prep B opponents. Roster — Will Thompson (Sr., LHP/OF), Matt Lepre (Sr., C), Luke Kavulich (Jr., OF/RHP), Lorenzo Amico (Jr., IF), Max Gibbard (Jr., IF/RHP), Zach Merritt (Jr., OF), Will Bercaw (So., IF), Caleb Hibbert (So., RHP/ IF/OF), Gordon Grandbouche (So., OF/RHP), Aidan Petolillo (So., RHP/OF), Harris Roberts (So., OF), Gavin Leeds (Fr., C), Bryce Meccage (Fr., RHP/OF/1B), Tommy Craig (Fr., C/OF), Ray Heaton (Fr., RHP/OF). Outlook — The Red Raiders graduated six from a team which lost five games by two runs or less in 2019. The nine players Kowalski has back are solid, but young, so they’ll shoot to get better from start to finish.
PRINCETON DAY SCHOOL
Head Coach — Jeff Young (first season).
Assistant Coaches — Chris Devlin, Rob Borota.
2019 Season — 8-10 overall, 3-3 vs. Prep B opponents, NJISAA Prep B state runner-up.
Roster — Shivam Singh (Sr., RHP/OF), Jackson Bailey (Jr., RHP/IF), Hunter von Zelowitz (Jr., IF), Mike Carroll (Jr., IF/RHP), Jonah Soos (Jr., C/IF/RHP), Harrison Fehn (Jr., RHP/OF), Jacob Roitburg (Jr., OF/UTL), Connor Topping (Jr., RHP/UTL), Ryan Vandal (So., RHP/UTL), Ryan Babecki (Fr., C), Judson Henderson (Fr., IF/OF), Simon Saldana (Fr., UTL), Sam Cohen (Fr., UTL), William Maschler (Fr., UTL), Samuel Salguero (Fr., UTL), Christian Escobar (Fr., UTL).
Outlook — Young replaces Patrick George, who took over for Brian Dudeck in 2020 after the Panthers reached the 2019 Prep B state final. PDS graduated five players, yet has seven back to lead the squad.