Colts Aiming At Second Straight Class A North Title
By Mike Ready
LINCROFT – CBA won the Class A North division title last year for the first time since 2009 with a 12-2 record and made it to the semifinals in both the Monmouth County Tournament and the Shore Conference Tournament.
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Despite these accomplishments and a being ranked No.6 in the final Shore Conference poll, many feel the season fell below expectations after losing in the first round of the NJSIAA Non-Public South A playoffs to No.11 seeded Camden Catholic, 3-0, as the No.6 seed.
Three of CBA’s top four pitchers have graduated from that team, including two whom are pitching in the Atlantic Coast Conference – second team All-Shore selection John McCarren at Wake Forest and third team All-Shore pick Matt Pidich at Pittsburg.
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One of the Colts first orders of business this season will be to build a pitching staff around returning sophomore right-hander Luca Dalatri, arguable the Colts best pitcher the latter part of last season. As a freshman last season, Dalatri went 5-2 with a 1.25 earned run average. He struck out 40 batters and allowed only 33 baserunners in 39 innings.
Senior Ryan Ramiz, a second team All-Shore outfielder last season and Seton Hall recruit, will double as a pitcher this year after seeing very limited action on the mound last year. In four innings of work, Ramiz struck out seven, surrendered four hits and ended up 1-0 with a 1.75 earned run average.
At the plate, Ramiz hit .483 with a 1.175 OPS while driving in 12 runs with five double, a triple and 26 runs scored.
The Colts will fill out the rest of their pitching staff from the junior varsity and feel they have some quality arms ready to step up. Seniors Tyler Montoya and Kyle Clark, along with juniors Andrew Buccellato, Shane Turk and Mike Garvey and sophomore Nick Zuppe will all get looks.
Another huge hole the Colts need to fill this year is at first base where third team All-State and first team All-Shore pick Joe Dudek is now playing at University of North Carolina.
Dalatri and junior John Moschella are candidates to replace Dudek at first with Dalatri holding the edge. Both players are expected to make big strides at the plate after hitting .206 and .120 respectively in limited playing time last season.
Junior Will Morgan, who is committed to Old Dominion, will join Ramiz in the outfield after starting last season and hitting .354 with a .952 OPS. He drove in 16 runs, belted three homers, drilled four doubles and scored 17 runs. Junior Griffin Amott will be giving the chance to win the third outfield spot after hitting .400 in limited duty last season.
Last season’s second baseman, first team All-Shore pick Mike Caputo is now at Seton Hall University. Caputo hit .402 with 17 RBI’s and was a major run producer for the Colts as well as being the first player in CBA history to go through an entire season without committing an error. He was flawless in 88 chances. Candidates to replace Caputo include Buccellato and junior James Miller among others.
Slick fielding Pete Papcun, a Monmouth University recruit, returns to third base and the Colts feel the senior will improve on last season’s numbers when he hit .263 with a .748 OPS and drove in 10 runs, hit a homer and a triple with three doubles. Papcun has power potential that the Colts can definitely use.
Sophomore Brandon Martorano, who played on the 15U U.S. National team this summer that won the COPABE Pan American Championships in Colombia and saw action as a freshman last season will be behind the plate for the Colts this season. Martorano has unlimited potential and has already committed to play for the University of North Carolina upon graduation in 2016.
Senior Mark Mancuso is penciled in at shortstop, however, the job will not just be handed to him and is open to competition.
The Colts have some first-class young talent to complement their returning starters and should be favored to win their second consecutive Class A North title and make a run in post-season tournaments.
