Dalatri And Martorano Are The Centerpieces Of Young But Strong Colts

Photo above taken at the Jersey Sporting News photo shoot: (L to R) GianaLuca Dalatri, Cid Porter, Brendan Galvin, Kenny Campbell and Brandon Martorano

LINCROFT – Last season Christian Brothers Academy became only the second team in Shor e Conference history to win all five possible championships availed to them. The Colts won the Class A North championship, the Monmouth and Shore Conference Tournament titles and the South Jersey, Non-Public A title.

They then wrapped up a 27-5 campaign with a 7-0 shutout of No.1 Don Bosco for the Non-Public A championship and supplanted the Ironmen as the No.1 team in New Jersey in the NJ.com final top 20.

The Colts won their final 14 games of the season after an inconsistent start left them with five losses halfway through the season, including being shutout twice by Freehold’s Steve Rullo.

Following a 9-5 loss to Middletown South on May 4 when starting pitcher Kenny Campbell was chased in the fifth inning, the Colts suddenly became unbeatable. Led by first team All-State selections and University of North Carolina comitts Luca Dalarti and Brandon Martorano - both returning seniors - CBA embarked on magical run to the state title.

Martorano raised his batting average by 89 points to .444 during those final 14 games, hit eight of his Shore-Conference-leading 11 home runs and drove in 19 of his 31 RBI’s. He also had three walk-off hits during that stretch and led the Shore Conference in hits (48) and slugging percentage (.870) with an eye-popping 1.366 OPS. The power-hitting catcher’s two-run, two-out home run in the top of the first inning in the state final gave the Colts an early 2-0 lead and they never looked back as Dalatri hurled a four-hit shutout, struck out 12 and walked only one batter.

Dalatri – the 2015 NJ Gatorade Player of the Year - went 9-0 last season with 0.89 ERA and 0.80 WHIP with 122 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched. At the plate, he hit .402 with nine home runs and 44 RBI’s with a .839 slugging percentage and .480 OBP for a sizzling 1.319 OPS. In the state final he added a solo shot in top of the fifth that pushed the score to 5-0.

Dalatri and Martorano were both named to the Louisville Slugger preseason All-American first team.

Campbell won his last three starts a year ago, including five innings of two-hit shutout work to earn the decision in a 4-0 win over Red Bank Catholic in the Shore Conference Tournament final. He went 5-2 as a junior with a 2.03 ERA and looks to be penciled in as the No.2 starter behind Dalatri this season as well as playing in the infield when he’s not on the mound.

Graduation did hit the Colts hard as they lost six players who started in the state final and their No.2 pitcher, Mike Garvey. But with the return of Dalatri, Martorano, and starting centerfielder Cid Porter along with the influx of some very talented underclassmen, another run a state title is not our of the question. CBA enters the season ranked No.1 in the NJ.com preseason top 20.

“It’s definitely going to be tough to top last year,” Dalatri said. “We have a good group of young kids and us seniors are going to lead the way. We’re counting on a lot of young guys this year to fill some spots that we lost last year but we’re really looking forward to it. All of us have put last season behind us and it’s not a focal point for us anymore; we’re getting better and better each day.”

Porter was a big reason why CBA was able to score 214 runs in 2015. The Catholic University commit had a .422 OBP, scored 29 times, hit .333 and drove in 21 runs.

The pitching staff is undoubtedly the strength of the team. It’s deep and talented with a number of arms behind Dalatri and Campbell that contributed significant innings down the stretch as juniors.

Juniors Mason O’Mara, Joe Gargana, Sal Morreale and Ronnie Meehan, as well as, sophomore Nick Hohenstein give long-time CBA head coach Marty Kenney plenty of options both starting and out of the pen.

O’Mara has starting experience going 2-1 in with a 0.00 ERA, striking out 11 batters in 17 innings pitched while Gargana recorded a 2.69 ERA in 11 IP out of the pen. Gargana closed out the Shore Conference Tournament semifinal coming in in relief of Campbell tossing two innings of shutout ball allowing one hit and one walk then in the sectional semifinal he entered the game in the sixth with one out before getting out of inning on two pitches with the help of an inning ending double play ball.

Senior Luke Chece returns to the pitching mix after an injury-shortened junior year and he and Hohenstein will be battling for infield spots as well. Sophomore shortstop Jake Harnish, sophomore third baseman Andrea Dalarti, and juniors Brian Golden and Sal Rinaldi are all vying for playing time in the infield.

Senior Anthony Falconite and switch hitting junior Evan Menendez look to have the inside track in the outfield alongside Porter while senior Brenden Galvin returns as DH/C after hitting .276 a year ago with double and four RBI’s.

Although CBA lost some starting talent, the Colts pitching depth and the return of two first team preseason All-Americans makes them the preseason favorites as the No.1 team in the Shore Conference. Playing in the Class A North – which looks like the toughest division in the Shore Conference this season – will be a good barometer of just how good this team is come tournament time.

“Losing those seniors is going to be tough for us, it’s never easy to lose six guys out of the lineup who were senior leaders,” Dalatri said. “But it’s our turn to be seniors and lead the team and groom the young guys we have in the program to just follow in their footsteps.

“It’s not just me, just not Luca, it’s all these guys,” Martorano added. “The rest of the seniors are a big part of the team. It’s really not just a one-man, two-man thing, it’s one of us wouldn’t good without the other, it’s a real team thing.”

CBA is the preseason pick as the No.1 team in the NJ.com top 10 and the Shore Conference top 10.

The Colts opened the season beating Dunbar (Ky.) 10-0 in six innings at Vero Beach, Florida. Dalatri pitched a six-inning, six-hit shutout with 10 K’s and no walks while going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI. Martorano also went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in two runs while Andrea Dalatri and Galvin each went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Hohenstein added two hits in three trips to the plate with a run and an RBI and Porter went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI.

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