Old Bridge baseball narrowly loses to Stevens
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer
With two wins in its first three divisional games, the Old Bridge High School baseball teamis off to a good start as it looks to contend in the Greater MiddlesexConference's (GMC)RedDivision.

Coach Ken Fischer's team is coming off a disappointing, eight-inning 3-2 loss to J.P. Stevens on Monday. Ace pitcher Mike Augliera was solid on the hill, striking out five along the way. He gave up seven hits but battled his way out of several jams until Stevens loaded the bases in the eighth en route to scoring the game-winner. Catcher Dan Cwiek paced the Old Bridge offense with four hits.

The Knights opened the campaign with a 12-2 success against East Brunswick behind Augliera, who went 5 1/3 innings and struck out six to earn the victory. Tyler Brown drove home three runs for the winners, and Cwiek belted a homer.

Old Bridge followed up with a 1-0 triumph against Edison as Nick Ballinger tossed a one-hitter in going the distance. The senior hurler hung tough despite walking five to get the job done. The game's only run was scored on a wild pitch by Vinny Galya, who had walked. Galya moved to second thanks to another base on balls and then stole third. Old Bridge was also held to one hit- Jeff Haberman's infield single.

"We wanted to get off to a quick start in the division and we've done that," Old Bridge coach Ken Fischer said. "Still, we've got a lot of work to do."

The Knights are 2-1 overall, after dropping a nonconference game on Friday to Hamilton West, 6-5. Old Bridge fell behind 6-0, but fought its way back to make things rather interesting at the end by scoring twice in the seventh and loading the bases. Brown went 3-4 with a RBI to lead the offense.

The game highlighted the fact that Old Bridge's pitching, while very good, is not that deep. Augliera, who went 5-3 a year ago, and Ballinger, 4-3 last spring, give Fischer a solid one-two punch. But the coach is looking for a third starter.

Kyle Donahue and Jeff Pancetti are two potential candidates. However, Pancetti transferred from Mater Dei and is not eligible to play until May. Both are juniors. In the meantime, third baseman Rob Vafiadau has emerged as a solid reliever. Fischer intends to use the junior when possible to help Augliera and Ballinger cut down their innings. Vafiadau, who closed out the East Brunswick win, may see a few starts as well.

"Clearly it's important thatAugliera and Ballinger stay healthy- andwe have to find somemore pitching," Fischer said. "We have a good defense and that helps as well."

Offensively, the Knights will be looking to shortstop Dan Walsh as a key. Walsh hit .357, second on the teama year ago, with 11 RBIs. Vafiadau is solid at the plate, where he hit .300 last spring with 13 RBIs.

Though he hit just .221 a year ago, Galya is a catalyst. The centerfielder walked 18 times and stole 12 bases.

Fischer is also expecting more from Cwiek and Brown, who have been pounding the ball in the early going. Junior outfielder Tyler Zangoglia, who moves up from the junior varsity, brings added speed to the lineup.

Other key players include Joey Dunn, who can flash the leather at second base; as well as outfielders Frank Baldini, Ian McIntyre and Haberman. Baldini made a pair of outstanding catches in right field in the win over Edison. DH Eric Diaz should add some more pop at the plate.

"This is a great group of kids and most of them have been here for four years," Fischer said. "This is their year and our goals are lofty, but attainable. We want to win the Red Division and the GMC tourney. We also want to qualify for the state tournament. I think we have a lot of talent here. This can be a really good team."