Ramapo Baseball Preview

Finishing two games above .500 with a win in the first round of the state tournament might be considered a good year by some, but not for Ramapo. 

“Last year left a bad taste in our mouths,” admits head coach Mickey Hunt. 

The Raiders had plenty of quality wins, including an offensive assault on Passaic County tourney runner-up Passaic Valley in the states, but they also experienced some tough losses on their way to a 14-12 season.

Hunt believes this year his team needs to be motivated for every game, not just the big ones. “You need to get up for every game, whether it’s a game against a top 10 team like Morristown or a neighborhood game against Indian Hills,” he said.

This year, the Raiders return a large portion of last year’s roster including 10 seniors who are poised to finish their careers on a strong note. Among those are everyday starters last season: TJ Hunt, Nick Madormo, Justin Gartner, and John Gandolfo.

This year the Raiders will be tested with a tough schedule both inside and outside of their conference. 

Evidence of their difficult schedule will be shown right out of the gate when they open the season against former division rival Fair Lawn then travel to Morristown for game two. 

Morristown was a top 10 team in North Jersey last year, but Coach Hunt enjoys the challenge. With the Raiders’ eyes set on making the state final pretty much every year, Hunt realizes that his team will have to beat teams like Morristown along the way.

“We play a very competitive schedule and we’ve never backed away from a challenge,” he said. “In baseball anybody can beat anybody on a particular day.  Pitching is the great neutralizer.”

This season, Hunt believes he has a bevy of talented arms on this his roster that will form an excellent pitching staff. 

At the top of the rotation will be last season’s best starter, TJ Hunt. Already signed to play at Division I Monmouth University next year, TJ was the anchor of last year’s staff. Much like his brother , TJ came into his own in his junior season and put up big numbers as he worked up to become the ace of the staff.  He finished the year at 5-2 with a 2.87 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 61 innings.

The graduation of RJ Voorman and Andrew Bauer means Ramapo will be replacing two regular starters from last year’s rotation, but Hunt sees Justin Gartner and Ari Kaufman as guys who will step right in to fill those spots.  The two started only three combined games in 2010, but both showed great signs of things to come in 2011. Gartner defeated a very good Passaic Valley team in one of his two starts and, in his only start, Kaufman absolutely shut down a loaded Mahwah lineup for a complete game victory.

Chris Liquori also showed signs of brightness last year, coming in as a closer and chewing up some innings late.  This year, the junior will help solidify the bottom of the rotation as he will move into a starter’s role.

The Raiders have a couple of tough replacements in the field this year as well with the loss of RJ Voorman, Warren Hartmann and Myles Amador. Voorman played everywhere and was Po’s opening day starter on the hill. Hartmann was a hit machine at the dish last year, hitting .452 with 5 homers and 28 RBI. He also swiped 27 bags and was on base nearly half the time, posting a .495 OBP.  Amador was a one-year wonder, moving in from Texas and having a monster year hitting .409 with 4 HRs and 25 RBI.

All will be missed, but many worthy replacements have waited and are ready to get their chance to make an impact.  After putting up big numbers on JV last season, Rob Lerch and Max Kaufman join their fellow seniors this year. Hunt thinks these two will do a great job in making the transition and posting good numbers once again. 

In the outfield, Marshall-bound John Gandolfo will command centerfield and will be joined by a combination of a few different players.  Andrew Boylan came on strong in the second half last year and finished the season with a .375 average.  Chris Thompson spent most of last season as a courtesy runner, but the speedy senior went 6-9 (.667) at the dish and will be getting more AB’s in 2011.  Also Coach Hunt says that junior Alex Nickles could surprise some people.  Hunt says he has a “rifle for an arm” and has the potential to be an everyday player.

Another player Hunt thinks will make a big impact is catcher Joe Scaglione.  The versatile junior played short last year when Gartner pitched, but admitted to his coach that catcher is his natural position.  With a three-year starter in Gartner already there, Hunt was more than happy to try him out behind the plate, and he has been very pleased with his play in the preseason.  If Scaglione can supply Ramapo with the power that he is capable of, Hunt believes he will be "a big difference-maker" in the lineup. 

As a senior led team several returning starters, Hunt sees his teams’ closeness both on and off the field as a big advantage for his ballclub.  When most teams went their separate ways after the season, the Raiders stayed together to play summer ball each of the past four years.  When most teams went home after games or practices, the Raiders went and hung out at each other’s houses.  “It makes a big difference,” said Hunt.

This year, team goals remain the same as they have been every year Coach Hunt has been at the helm...to win  the state championship.