Golden Eagles Boys Baseball Team Blessed with Plenty of Pitchers

Two players who never pitched before and a catcher who can throw a biting fastball are unlikely prominent pitchers on a five-man staff that will carry the fortunes of Central Regional's baseball team.

Hitting is not a concern as the team staggers into a season plagued by rainouts and unplayable field conditions for practices for most of the preseason. Despite the departure of school record-setting hitter Peter Imperiale, five returnees hit in the .300s last season. Neither is defense a big concern with all of the experience in the field

But Imperiale also pitched for last year's 14-10 team. Also gone is James DiPiazza, who earned 14 winning decisions over the last two season. Pitching coach Dennis Kopin will complement the work of head coach John Scran. Both are in their fourth season together at Central Regional.

Four pitchers also start in the infield, including second baseman Mickey Donnelly. He pitched 3 2/3 innings of solid relief when Central Regional finally got its season going on April 5 in a 9-1 Shore Conference B South loss to Brick Township. Donnelly, who never pitched before this season, allowed the final run.

Also on the pitching staff are reliable fielding senior shortstop Marc Calleo, who actually is the most experienced pitcher back from last year's team; third baseman James Canning, a junior who got roughed up in the opener although Kopin says he's capable of better things; and catcher Steve Uhlak, a three-sport athlete.

Uhlak in the fall made 60 tackles at linebacker and was a crisp blocking tight end for the 1-9 football team and was a starting center for half the season for the 11-10 basketball team.

It isn't often in high school baseball when a catcher goes to the mound. But Uhlak pitched for the Berkeley Bandits of the USABL last summer,  for the freshmen and junior varsity teams at Central Regional and when he was in Little League.

"In the past, I pitched all the time," said Uhlak, who mixes his fiery fastball with a dipping curveball and a changeup that he says "drops off the table."

"I've been working hard trying to get my footwork better," he said. "I have strength on the mound and I'm trying to find which secondary pitch it will be."

Senior David Diehl is the catcher when Uhlak pitches, although he admits he is "a two-way player but I'm more comfortable at catching."

Uhlak says he is taking a wait-and-see approach as to how much he will be pitching and will do whatever it takes to help the Golden Eagles win.

Uhlak "is in a tough spot," Kopin said.

"We do not want to wear him out," he said.  "He threw very little last year, but was throwing well in our scrimmages. I think he will throw well for us."

And there is the flip side of Uhlak.

"As a catcher, he knows how to pitch," Kopin said.  "He knows how to call a game and what pitch should be thrown and that helps him out big time (for pitching). He understands it."

The disadvantage is that if he pitches in one game, it will be tough for him to catch for the next.

"He needs a day's rest," said Kopin.

And the coaches want to keep his bat in the lineup, after he cranked out a school record .638 slugging percentage.

Kopin said his approach to pitching in the early season will not put too much pressure on the pitchers for when they go back to their positions in the field. They're concentrating on throwing the fastball and some change-up pitches in the early going. As their arms loosen up, they get even stronger and the weather gets warmer, they'll add a curveball and then a slider, he said.

Donnelly has a good pop on his fastball and also uses a change-up and curveball. Canning throws the same three pitches, as does Calleo, who also can go to a slider and occasional knuckleball.

"He'll pitch a lot of big games for us," said Kopin of Calleo.

Another player in the field, senior right fielder Pat Solomon, also is pitching for the first time. Solomon doesn't  have a lot of torque, but has some sneaky offspeed pitches. Although Kopin said Solomon continues to refine his fundamentals and is trying to develop a solid curveball, he pitched two scoreless innings of relief against Brick.

"I have confidence with everybody out there," Kopin said."They can throw strikes and if the other team puts the ball in play, we can make the play."

Andrew DiPiazza, a freshman, has potential but a lot to learn about pitching, say his coaches. He'll probably see ample action on the underclass teams.

Avoiding walks and throwing strikes to keep the pitch count down is important. Central Regional will use a lot of pitchers early in the season, since the team is backed up with rain postponements.