Season in Review: West Essex Baseball

Pitchers P.J. Lawless and Dan Gautieri were recently standing in the dugout of an all-star baseball game at Kean University, thinking back to the memorable season they had with the West Essex baseball team.

It was starting to slowly sink in that the Knights actually finished 28-3 and captured the Greater Newark Tournament title, Super Essex Conference Liberty Division crown and the Group 2 championship.

"A couple of nights ago when I was in bed, I was thinking that 'Did we really win three championships this year?'" Lawless said a week after West Essex ended its season on June 5 with its 13th straight win—a 2-1 victory over Audubon for the program's first Group 2 championship.

But after the end-of-season baseball dinner was held the following night, the Knights began to miss the camaraderie they felt throughout the spring.

"After a few days, I got a little depressed," said Gautieri, who threw a complete-game in the Group 2 championship. "[It was] happiness. I love my team and it was such a great year."

But it didn't come without some trepidation. The Knights overcame some close calls against Caldwell, Ramsey and Audubon en route to the championship.

"We had several tense moments that put our dream in doubt," West Essex coach Scott Illiano said. "We faced elimination, tied in the seventh against Caldwell, and I honestly didn't know until the final out was recorded against Ramsey with the tying run on second and winning run on first, and also when the final out was recorded with the tying run on first and the go-ahead run at the plate in the seventh against Audubon."

It had been a dizzying championship run that began with senior catcher Lee Holtzman's game-winning hit in the Knights' 5-4 victory over Columbia to capture the GNT title back on May 15.

After securing the SEC Liberty Division title, West Essex began its state championship march, first by repeating as North Jersey Section 2, Group 2 champs with a 5-0 win over top-seeded Hackettstown and its previously unbeaten pitcher, Matt Reynolds.

From there, a gutsy performance from Lawless and senior center fielder Andy Santomauro's two-run homer catapulted West Essex past Ramsey, 7-6, and into the Group 2 championship game against Audubon. 

"It seemed as if something wasn't sitting right with our players until we won the Group 2 title," Illiano said. "Perhaps that had to do with having our hearts broken in such a gut-wrenching way in the semifinals last year [to Pequannock], but it just seemed this year that we weren't going to stop until that happened.

"I think with any team, you ask yourself have we gone as far as we can go? I felt that this team truly believed that we were good enough to win it and that inspired us to practice and play as hard as we did."

The Knights look to a pair of losses—a 7-6 setback to Delbarton back on April 24 and an 11-0 defeat to Seton Hall Prep on May 5—as potential turning points to the season.

After losing two out of three games to Seton Hall Prep and Belleville in early May, West Essex reeled off 13 straight victories to end the season.

Gautieri and Lawless were each named to the first team All-Super Essex Conference team along with fellow pitcher Dave Jesch. Santomauro and senior classmate and shortstop Mike Rafanello were also named to the All-SEC first team.

Holtzman and sophomore right fielder Jimmy Kenny were each named to the all-conference's second team, while senior outfielder Jimmy Philips was selected as an honorable mention.

The Knights were led offensively by Santomauro and Rafanello. Santomauro fell just one hit shy of setting a school record with 46 in a season, while setting a new standard with 42 runs scored this spring.

In addition, Santomauro, who collected 28 RBIs as the team's leadoff hitter, set a school single-game record with seven RBIs in the GNT semifinals against Livingston.

The center fielder, who's headed for Lafayette, batted .469 with four home runs, seven doubles and six triples while stealing 17 bases in as many attempts.

"I think he is an all-state player," Illiano said. "He is gap-to-gap defensively, went over the wall at Toms River to preserve the state championship."

Rafanello batted behind Santomauro and collected 43 hits—including five doubles, a triple and two home runs—with a .402 average, 33 RBIs, 31 runs scored, 13 stolen bases and a .432 on-base percentage.

"One of the best players and defensive shortstops in Essex County as evidenced by his pirouette spin-like move against Livingston and Hackettstown," Illiano said of his shortstop who had 68 assists, 21 putouts and only six errors.

Rafanello's defense was appreciated by his pitching staff, which was led by Lawless and Gautieri, who each recorded 7-0 records this spring.

Gautieri had a 1.36 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 13 walks in 46 1/3 innings pitched. The junior right-hander twice beat Caldwell, defeated Livingston in the GNT semifinals, Hackettstown in the sectional final and Audubon in the Group championship.

Lawless had a 2.14 ERA with 58 strikeouts and 25 walks in 52 1/3 innings and was one out away from a no-hitter against Mountain Lakes in the sectional semifinals and beat Ramsey in the Group semifinals.

Jesch finished 8-0 with a 0.89 ERA and 48 strikeouts and 12 walks over 39 1/3 innings pitched.

But as good as the pitchers were, so was Holtzman—their sturdy battery mate.

"One of the better receivers around," said Illiano, who lauded Holtzman's ability to call a game as one of his primary defensive attributes. 

"He blocks balls exceptionally well, which gives our pitchers the confidence to throw breaking balls in the dirt even with men on third base. He also has a knack for establishing a good rapport with umpires. Most people never tried to run on him after noticing his strong arm."

Holtzman had a strong season at the plate as well with a .311 average, five home runs, five doubles, 24 RBIs, 24 runs scored and a .442 on-base percentage. Holtzman backstopped the Knights to 64 wins over the last three years.

As the team's cleanup hitter, Kenny had a .315 batting average with two home runs and 32 RBIs. Second baseman Ralph Velardi hit .397 with two home runs and 20 RBIs. Tim Perrotta was solid at third base, hit .306 with 20 RBIs, including the go-ahead hit in the Group 2 championship.

Other contributors were first baseman Vin Cosenzo (.314, one home run, 13 RBIs and 15 stolen bases) along with seniors Greg O'Neill, who caught several games, and Derek Talish, who stole eight bases and scored nine runs. 

West Essex's pitching staff was rounded out by Steve Walter, who went 3-1 with a 3.36 ERA, and Chris Carragher, who was 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA.

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