Jul 06, 2022
Red Bank Catholic Baseball Team Claims Fourth Shore Conference Tournament
By Tim Morris
Buddy Hausmann said he couldn’t put his finger on the reason, but his Red Bank Catholic baseball team continues to win the Shore Conference Tournament.
The Caseys defeated Jackson Memorial, 5-2, to win their third straight championship at ShoreTown Ballpark in Lakewood. Matt Scrivanic’s two-point outburst late in the fifth broke a 2-2 tie, paving the way for the Caseys’ hat trick. Alex Stanyek, pitching five innings in relief, was the winning pitcher, pitching nine and allowing just four hits.
RBC became the third team to win three consecutive tournament championships, joining Toms River South and Christian Brothers Academy. The title was fourth overall in the program.
“Because of the way our season has gone, I didn’t think it would happen this year,” Hausmann said. “They were very proud to be the defending champions and wanted to do it again.”
Although the season had a series of ups and downs due to the overall youthfulness of the Caseys, they set it up for TBS.
Among RBC’s casualties was top seed Rumson-Fair Haven in the semi-finals. Declan Leary threw a four-hit gem for the Caseys in the 10-0 shutout. Dylan Passo, Andrew Gonzalez, Stanyek each had two RBIs in the semifinal victory and Frank Scrivanic scored three times.
What makes the accomplishment more remarkable is that the coaches will say it’s harder to win the TBS than a state section because the 48 teams are a tournament; they are not grouped together as in the sectional.
One of Hausmann’s concerns entering the TBS was the lack of experience in his pitching rotation.
“I didn’t expect much,” Hausmann said of his expectations for the season. “Our pitcher was young.”
The Caseys’ pitching core consisted of two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and only one senior, Ashton Mejias. Sophomore Steve Svenson, junior Stanyek and sophomore Leary have worked the most innings this season as starters. Junior Dominic Malllamachi, freshman Passo, freshman Ryan Prior and Mejias provided valuable depth. Hausmann’s fears were not realized as pitchers proved they could throw effectively at the college level.
“Our pitchers have done very well,” he said, adding that six of the seven will be back next spring.
The batting roster was also young with only three seniors.
Stanyek, second Sean Griggs, junior Shane Andrus, Passo, second Matt Brunner and junior Frank Scrivanic have all helped power the offense and will return in 2023. Jack Meyers, Matt Scrivanic and Nico Gonzalez were the senior trio of Training.
Things are also promising on the attacking side. Playing in big games was important, Hausmann noted, giving the returners valuable experience.
“They learned a lot about pressing, making contact and putting the ball in play,” he said.
RBC ended 2022 with a 20-9 record. RBC has won at least 20 games every season since 2013.
“It was important that we continued this streak,” he said. “It’s not easy to win 20 games.”
In 2023, veteran Caseys will look to add to both streaks and possibly start more.
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