Colonia Baseball Team is Optimistic as Season Gets Underway

Baseball great Rogers Hornsby once said, “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” That is exactly what the Colonia High School baseball team has been doing since last year’s rebuilding season, waiting for spring.

Now that spring has arrived, the Patriots are ready to prove to their naysayers that they deserve respect in the highly competitive Greater Middlesex County White Division. Head Coach Tom Hennessy and his staff knew the prospects for this year’s team were promising, but needed a season of grooming before they were ready to shine.

“Last season was a rebuilding season. I experimented with different players at different positions to see what I had for this year,” said Hennessy.

After a challenging 9-17 season left the Patriots’ coaching staff frustrated a year ago, Colonia will have a new face at nearly every position, including a revamped pitching rotation.

“We have three starters this season that are new to the varsity staff that can throw hard and can be effective for us,” said Hennessy.

The Patriots boast a very young, but talented, squad this year after losing nine players to graduation a year ago. Delio Coutinho and Dave Berger will be the hardest to replace. Coutinho was a strong, hard-throwing lefty who led the staff with four wins, while Berger was a power-hitting first baseman in the middle of the lineup.

Colonia’s outfield will consist of three senior speedsters in Matt Wagner, Ellery Ramos, and Anthony Joe. The infield will showcase junior Tim Filzen at third, junior Tom Trela and senior Frank Gaydos splitting time at short, senior Steve Nowak at second, sophomore Kyle Dorocki at first, and sophomore Chris Czapik and junior Andrew Neich splitting time behind the plate.

The Patriots will turn to hard throwing senior Mike Gallagher to lead the rotation with fellow senior Alex Villon as a viable number two, while Trela, Ramos, and Wagner round out the staff.

Colonia will look to the four seniors with a year of varsity experience under their belts to lead the team as the head coach believes, “Leadership and team chemistry will set the tone for this season”.

Solidifying his philosophy, Hennessy preached “Hard Work and Hustle” each day as his team prepared for the opener against North Brunswick.

“Hard work and hustle is what builds champions and if we expect to win this season we need to work hard day in and day out,” said Hennessy.

Because baseball is all about pitching, the Patriots spent the preseason working tirelessly on building a solid pitching staff under the guise of ex-major league pitcher and current Colonia pitching coach, Jeff Grose.

“We have been working on their (pitchers) mechanics through a lot of hard work and now they are at the point where they can recognize their own mistakes without me pointing them out,” Grose said.

Hennessy added, “Pitching and defense are key to winning and I think we improved in both areas.”

The White Division is highly competitive leaving Colonia with challenges despite the team’s improvements. The Patriots will face stiff competition from division foes like Iselin JFK, Monroe, North Brunswick, and last year’s GMC champions, South Plainfield.

“Every game is a challenge. We have to play the game one inning at a time,” said Hennessy.