With the Wall High School baseball team off to one of its best starts in the 14-year tenure of head coach Todd Schmitt, he paid this group the ultimate compliment.
Schmitt compared his junior-laden team to the Class of 2005, which was a crucial part of a 2004 team that made Shore Conference history. The 2004 squad is the best team in school history and the only Shore team to win five championships in one season – division, Shore Conference Tournament, Monmouth County Tournament, NJSIAA sectional title and a Group title.
It remains to be seen if this year’s team, which is off to a 6-0 start after a 9-5 win over Ocean on Friday, can make a run at that historic feat. The good sign is that its relentless competitiveness hearkens back to a group that set the bar at one of the Shore’s perennially strong programs.
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On Thursday, Schmitt said that a simple drill between the outfielders that required them to throw out runners at home plate turned into a competition of one-upmanship, which has become a common sight this spring.
“They are competitive at everything in the batting cage, in the gym, and in practice, and that carries over to the baseball field,’’ Schmitt said. “That reminds me a lot of the 2005 class, where they could be playing badminton in gym class and they wanted to slash your throat to win. These kids have that same intensity.’’
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Coming into the season, the primary question mark was pitching, thanks to the graduation of three top starters – Eric Dreibelbis, Eric Bomenblit and Kevin Fortunato. That question has been answered in the form of new ace Harry Paytas, a junior who is tied for the Shore Conference lead with three wins, and the trio of senior Casey Mullooly and juniors Matt Osgoodby and Matt Medford.
“Basically, we have to step up,’’ Paytas said. “Those three guys were great all last year, and I expected to do more this season because I knew I would have to.’’
Paytas’ signature performance came when he shut down a solid Jackson Liberty offense in an 8-1 win over a team that is expected to battle the Crimson Knights for the Shoore Conference Class C Central title. In his first varsity start, Paytas allowed one run on six hits in five innings while striking out seven to pick up the first of his three wins this season.
During the offseason, Paytas added a split-fingered fastball to his arsenal of a curveball and two- and four-seam fastballs, and it has paid immediate dividends.
“It has really kept batters off balance and off of my fastball,’’ he said.
He also has improved his discipline and preparation.
“We saw signs of him going into games not prepared and not properly warmed up as a sophomore, so we impressed on him that he has got to take a different approach to the game,” Schmitt said. “He’s really taken that on, and he’s done a great job.’’
The other revelation has been Wall’s offense, which has averaged a robust 11.3 runs per game, winning three of its six games by the 10-run mercy rule. It hasn’t been just one player, either, although junior catcher Connor White came out fire, going 8-for-8 in Wall’s first two games before cooling off. From one through nine in the lineup, every player has had a hand in the strong start to the season.
“Our No. 9 hitter, (second baseman) Chaz Salvo, weighs about a buck-fifty soaking wet, but he’s come through with timely hitting, whether it’s bunting for a hit, moving runners over, or whatever we need at that time,’’ Schmitt said. “For his first varsity go-round, he's done a real good job for us.’’
The group of newcomers also has embraced Wall’s usual status as one of the top five teams in the Shore Conference, which means every opponent is out to make a headline with a victory. A 4-3 victory over Point Boro earlier this week that the Crimson Knights pulled out in the seventh inning showed that if they are not on their game, they can get picked off.
“Coach Schmitt reminds us of that before every game,’’ Paytas said. “We like the challenge. It motivates us every game, and we know we have to play our best to beat teams like Ocean and Jackson Liberty because we have that target on our back as a Top 10 team in the Shore.’’
While riding that motivation to win five titles in one season would be a Herculean task for any team, if this group is only half as successful as that Class of 2005 that shared its same intensity, the Crimson Knights’ trophy case will become a little more crowded at the end of this spring.
