Sports
Watchung Hills Baseball Ready to Bounce Back
After tough 2010 season, the Warriors are looking to turn things around.
As the weather warms up, the start of spring sports at Watchung Hills Regional High School is right around the corner. Today, we'll take a look at the Warriors baseball team.
The Warriors came into last season looking to defend their North II Group IV sectional title and Somerset County titles from 2009. However, they struggled to find consistency and had an up and down season under head coach Mario Diez, missing out on the state playoffs after being crowned North II Group IV champions in 3 of the last 6 seasons. The Warriors are looking to bounce back in their 2011 campaign.
Last season’s resultsThe Warriors went 10-16 during the regular season and did not qualify for the state playoffs.
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Richard Hunt, Pitcher/First Baseman (Sr.) – Hunt is expected to be one of the aces of the pitching rotation and will add some pop in the middle of the order.
Matt Meyers, Pitcher/Second Baseman (Sr.) – One of the few players who saw time on ‘09 State championship team, Meyers is expected to be a strong offensive presence in the Warriors lineup.
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Chris Berry, Catcher/First Baseman (Sr.) – Third team all county last year, Berry will be one of the most relied on Warriors in the field and at the plate.
Nick Rivera, Pitcher/Third Baseman (Sr.) – With a year of varsity playing experience under his belt, Rivera will see lots of time at third base as well as a few innings on the mound.
Zach Zareva, Pitcher/Outfielder (Sr.) – The southpaw pitcher who saw some time last year, is expected to see a lot of innings on the mound and be a key contributor to the pitching staff.
They’ll MissRonnie Rowe, Designated Hitter/Outfielder – Also a captain on the football team and a Somerset County Scholar-Athlete, Rowe now attends Johns Hopkins
Nick Argiro, Pitcher/Outfielder - A varsity basketball player as well, Argiro is studying at Villanova.
Coach’s Take“Our kids have put in a lot of work in the offseason. Now we just got to take it to that other level. Once we get the team (aspect) down, we’ll be OK.” - Diez
They said it“We stress a team mentality. Last year we were kind of individual. So we’re trying to bring it together this year. Most importantly, we’ve got experience coming back. What we went through last year is not the norm here at Watchung Hills. We want to bring that pride back this year.” - Meyers
No. Name Position Grade 1 Brian Lockwood P/OF Senior 2 J.C. Rizzi OF Junior 3 Joey Rocchietti P/SS Sophomore 4 Tommy Giaimo P/SS-2nd Sophomore 5 Joe Kinsella OF Junior 6 Zach Raibley OF Senior 7 Kyle Taylor OF Senior 8 Eric Driver P/ 1B Junior 9 Eric LangenauerP/ 3B Sophomore 10 Kyle Kurland 2B Senior 11 Kyle McLaughlin 3B / 2B Junior 12 Kyle Murray P Junior 13 Zach Zareva P/ OF Senior 14 Cody Hinds C Sophomore 15 Frank Urso P/ OF Sophomore 16 Nick Rivera P/ 3B Junior 17 Eric Zadrozny P Junior 19 Eric Souma OF Sophomore 20 Mario Parisi P Junior 21 Chris Berry C/ 1B Senior 22 Richard Hunt P/ 1B Senior 25 Matt Meyers P/ 2B Senior
Head coach: Mario Diez
Varsity assistant coach: Joe Tremarco
JV coach: Joe Ascolese
Freshman coach: Spenser Brenn
Volunteer varsity assistants: Dom Mastroianni, Anthony Benish
Managers/statisticians: Jessica Ugarte, Ali Spurr
