Young Team Ready To Step Up

Wall High School baseball coach Todd Schmitt has certainly heard the question before.

Where will the pitching come from after the graduation of a group of hurlers who accounted for almost every win last season?

“It’s the same situation we were in before last season,’’ Schmitt said. “Those guys weren’t all big names, but they stepped up and helped us have a good season.’’

The Crimson Knights, who are a perennial top 10 team and title contender, finished 23-6 last season, winning a share of the Class B North championship and reaching the Monmouth County Tournament final.

Led by the now-graduated trio of Eric Dreibelbis, Eric Bomenblit and Kevin Fortunato on the mound, Wall was a team based around pitching, defense and clutch hitting, with those three figuring heavily in the outcomes of most big games.

While Fortunato was a known commodity, Bomenblit and Dreibelbis weren’t exactly household names before last season, but emerged as top players who performed under pressure.

“Those guys stepped up,’’ Schmitt said. “That is kind of the persona of our program -- now it's your turn, so step up and find a way to get the job done.’’

“That’s why we call it a program,’’ said senior third baseman Mike Meszaros. “Every year, we expect to win championships. We lost a lot of wins on the mound from last year, but we’ve got guys coming up in the junior and senior class who are ready to carry that load from all of last year’s guys.’’

Pitchers accounting for 21 of those 23 wins have graduated, so it will be up to returners like junior Harry Paytas, who was 1-1-1 with 25 strikeouts and a 3.21 earned run average last season, and senior Casey Mullooly, who had a 1.41 ERA in limited duty.

Also expected to contribute on the mound are junior newcomers Matt Osgoodby and Matt Medford.Meszaros looks to be the only senior starter in the everyday lineup, as Schmitt said that seven juniors will man the other positions.

However, two of them, catcher Connor White and shortstop Mitchell Preston return with experience, as White hit .341 with 10 RBI last season and Preston hit .317 with 11 RBI and seven  stolen bases. Those two also solidify Wall’s defense up the middle, and White gives the Crimson Knights an experienced catcher to handle the new pitching staff.

Junior Chaz Salvo steps in at second base to become Preston’s new double-play partner, while junior Luke Pasick steps into Fortunato’s shoes at first base and junior Adam Molinelli adds depth at the position.

“Mitch and Chaz work tremendously together,’’ Meszaros said. “They’ve been playing with each other for years, so up the middle, we will be solid.’’

Junior Ty Block, who saw time last season, anchors an outfield that also will include juniors Jim Guiliano, Alex Taylor and Connor Mulholland.

Schmitt also expects more lineup balance this season after the trio of Fortunato, Bomenblit and Dreibelbis were often the ones relied on heavily to come up with a clutch hit or an extra-base hit to jumpstart the scoring.

“We are a little better hitting team that will hit throughout the order,’’ Schmitt said. “We won't slam the ball out of park, but we’re going to put the ball in play consistently.’’

“We have a lineup that can just do everything,’’ Meszaros said. “We have great team speed this year, top to bottom, and we have guys that can handle the bat well in terms of bunting and moving guys over. We are really consistent one through nine.’’

After winning a share of the Class B North title last season, Wall is now competing in the newly created Class C Central division under the latest Shore Conference realignment. However, some of the foes are familiar, as Wall battled Jackson Liberty in a loss in last season’s Shore Conference Tournament, and Manasquan is an old rival.

“The division we were in last year, it was tough, and I think it’s no different this year,’’ Meszaros said. “Playing Manasquan twice is going to be awesome, and Jackson Liberty is a program that is on the rise, and they are going to be good. We’re still going to playing good teams.’’

Meszaros and Mullooly are the only experienced seniors penciled in to be regular contributors this season, so it will be on them to guide a junior-laden squad and keep the wins coming.

“I love the role of being the leader of the team with the other seniors as well, but the juniors are all self-motivated and they’ve competed at a high level in their career,’’ Meszaros said. “I’ll be there to help everyone out, but I think everyone does a great job of staying focused. My job isn’t too hard in that sense.’’