Sayreville baseball ready for state tourney play next week
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer
The hard-hitting SayrevilleHigh School baseball team heads into the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tournament with a 10-8 mark, and coach Mike Novak said his team is ready to make a run.

Laden with juniors, the Bombers have had a solid season. Big wins over Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Red Division leader Colonia and a pair of wins against North Brunswick, one of which was a 12-inning affair, propelled Sayreville into the state tourney.

Novak's team is coming off a tough 4-3 loss to Old Bridge in the GMC Tournament. After downing South River, the Bombers moved on to meet the Knights and ace pitcher Mike Augliera. The Old Bridge hurler has permitted just seven earned runs on the year, but Sayreville managed to get three of them.

Sayreville is likely to open the state tournament onMonday, but the seedingswill not be announced until later in the week. In the meantime, the Bomberswere slated tomeet Cardinal McCarrick on Tuesday and Metuchen yesterday, both on the road, before hosting Piscataway this afternoon. Edison, South Brunswick and Middlesex are on the schedule for next week.

"I think we're in a good position because our team has really been swinging the bat well lately," Novak said. "We've also improved our defense. It's much better this season."

Six Bombers regulars are batting over the .300mark, led by Joe Bongiorno at .390. The versatile junior has shortstop, third and second base,while batting out of the lead-off spot. Bongiorno tops the squad with a .532 on-base percentage and 18 walks. He's also driven home 13 runs and has six doubles.

OutfielderMikeMcLafferty is not far behind at .362 and he leads the team with three home runs and 18 RBIs. First baseman Glenn Cannon is hitting .360 with a pair of round-trippers and 13 RBIs. Both are juniors.

Two other juniors, Mike Greco and Jake Campbell, have also hit well. Greco, an outfielder, is at .349 with a home run and eight RBIs, while Campbell, who plays second base, is batting .339 with seven doubles and 11 RBIs.

In addition, center fielder Nick Ruszala is hitting .241 but has managed to drive home 14 runs and draw 15 bases on balls. Novak noted that the three-year starter,who hit over .300 as a sophomore and junior, is not seeing a lot of good pitches to hit. CatcherKevinO'Connor has playedwell defensively while hitting .250.

In addition, freshman shortstop Blake Cuomo has made an impact since joining the lineup midway through the campaign. Cuomo has 10 hits in 32 trips to the plate and has sparkled in the field.

The arrival of Cuomo helped mitigate the loss of DH/pitcher Tom Berardi. Berardi, expected to be Sayreville's top pitcher, hurt his arm in the preseason and was limited to DH duties. The senior, who is expecting to play at Kean University next spring, played about half the schedule before having surgery. In his final atbat, Berardi blasted a homer to help his team defeat Colonia.

Despite the loss of Berardi, the Bombers have been solid on the mound. Campbell has emerged as the ace with a 4-3 record to go with a 3.14 ERA and 43 strikeouts. He was the tough-luck loser in Augliera in the Old Bridge game.

Bongiorno has also done well, posting a 3-2 mark with a 3.69 ERA. Junior Robert Stewart is 1-0.

"Pitching will be so important in the state tournament," Novak said. "CJ Group IV is a very strong bracket, so we'll need our guys to continue pitching well. They've really done a good job for us."