4A-12 Playoff Preview: Up For Grabs

4A-12

Host: Lincoln Park High School

Tuesday, April 23rd

7PM – Game 1 – (3) St. Andrew’s vs. (2) Cardinal Newman @ Cardinal Newman High School

Wednesday, April 24th

Rain Date

Thursday, April 25th

7PM – Championship – Game 1 winner vs. (1) Lincoln Park

Full stats for 4A-12 can be found on the 4A-12 Stats Page!

Overview – A much-improved Cardinal Newman team, a middle-of-the-road Lincoln Park team and a struggling but competitive St. Andrew’s team are going after one district title this week. Who will win? It’s anybody’s guess with this bunch.

1. Lincoln Park – The Greyhounds are the top seed in the district after winning all but one of their district games. They beat St. Andrew’s 5-4 and 9-5 and split with Cardinal Newman, defeating them 7-6 and losing 5-0.

The close games reveal good competition among the teams and no one is the clear favorite as a result.

The Greyhounds, who get a first-round bye as result of being the top seed, will be seeking their fourth regional appearance in as many years.

With a team batting average right around .240, the team still has work to do on offense, but Derek Schwimmer and Ross Neil have done their part, hitting around .360. Schwimmer has a team-leading 15 runs and 19 RBIs.

Dom Apugliese has been a force on the mound for the Greyhounds, throwing about 45 innings with nearly 40 strikeouts. Anthony DiTullio is the team’s number two with about 30 strikeouts in about 30 innings.

Bruce Steel of Cardinal Newman carries a big bat.

2. Cardinal Newman – The Crusaders have turned things around under new manager Sean Comfort, who has the team back to its true form again after a sub-.500 2012 season.

Newman finished the regular season 17-8, a dramatic turnaround from the 9-15 mark the team posted last year. The cherry on top this year was a 10-5 win over Jupiter on Wednesday. It was only the third loss for the Warriors. Wins like that at the right time of year can do wonders for a high school player’s mindset.

Comfort took over for legendary coach Jack Kokinda and has the Crusaders poised for great things. After missing the regionals last year, something which hasn’t happened since 2003, Newman has a good chance at getting back there. A win over St. Andrew’s on Tuesday will put them there. Newman beat them 5-4 and 5-1 during the regular season.

Offense is a team strength with a team average around .315. Anthony Zaleski leads the team with an average around .430 with 23 runs and 23 RBI. Bruce Steel is hitting .420 with 34 runs and 31 RBIs, leading the team in both categories. Kyle Cunningham is hitting around .380 with 27 runs and 16 RBIs.

Newman has spread its pitching evenly among four players, with Tyler Krull logging the most innings — around 43 — and nearly 30 strikeouts. The three other main pitchers — Dylan Gordon, Alec Duboy and Zaleski — all are around 36 innings. Duboy leads the team in strikeouts with around 35 to go with his 4-0 record. Gordon also is 4-0 and Zaleski 4-1.

Zach Moses is a top pitcher for St. Andrew’s.

3. St. Andrew’s – The Scots find themselves far behind their district opponents in terms of wins both within the district and outside of it.

Nevertheless, the Scots have been competitive and have a decent chance at doing what it takes to emerge as the district champion or at least make it to the title game.

Winning two in a row to close out the regular season — including a 14-0 win over a 13-8 Boca Raton Christian team — gives St. Andrew’s good momentum heading into Tuesday’s district semifinal against Cardinal Newman.

Ronnie Rocca and Richie Ricca have led the team offensively, batting around .450 and .340, respectively. Nick Chiapetta is hitting around .310 and Zach Moses around .300.

Anthony Cirillo, who’s hitting just below .300, leads in runs with 17, and Justin Valente, a .280 hitter, has drive in 22 runs this year.

Zach Moses and Rocca have split the pitching duties, with each around 40 innings. Moses has fanned nearly 50 and Rocca about 35.

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