LINCROFT – Brookdale Community College Baseball moved up three spots in the most recent NJCAA baseball rankings after going 6-0 on the week, pushing their season record to 23-4 overall and 16-3 in conference play.
The Jersey Blues are currently in second place in the NJCAA Region XIX DIII standings, two and a half games behind their nemesis, RCSJ-Gloucester (29-2, 18-0), ranked No. 1 in the country. The Roadrunners are the two-time defending national champions and five-time defending NJCAA Region XIX DIII champions.
Gloucester has 26 NJCAA Region XIX DIII championships in program history and nine national championships, while Brookdale has two regional titles (2007 and 2009) and is still searching for its first national title.
The Roadrunners are the 1927 Yankees of Region XIX baseball and stand in the path of Brookdale advancing to the NJCAA World Series year after year. Since 2017, Brookdale has reached the NJCAA Region XIX tournament finals every year, only to be eliminated by Gloucester each time, but once, when Northampton advanced.
Head coach Johnny Johnson, who just broke former Brookdale coach Paul MacLaughlin’s record for career wins (858) to become the winningest coach in Brookdale history, thinks this year’s team has a good chance to get by Gloucester and advance to the World Series for the first time since his 2009 team.
“If we can stay away from defensive errors, we can compete with Gloucester,” added Johnson. “Brookdale can hit with anybody in the country. Gloucester is good; they’re always good. They can swing the bat and have really good arms this year, but we always hit their arms. The last couple of years, they’ve had home-field advantage. The tournament is at Rutgers-Camden, a neutral site this year, so we should benefit from that. I thought we were the better team last year overall, but our middle infield killed us last year. At this level, if you don’t make errors, you can compete; you can’t give anyone extra outs and must limit the walks.”
Johnson feels this year’s team has the defensive capabilities to get them over the hump and lauds his deep pitching staff, which he thinks is one of the best pitching staffs, depth wise, that he’s ever had at Brookdale. He is confident that one through 16, his pitchers can get the job done.
Sophomore Tyler Spencer, who went 7-1 last season, is the staff’s ace. He’s 5-1 with a 3.82 ERA, 30 strikeouts, and just 11 walks in 35.1 innings pitched (IP). He boasts an impressive 0.96 Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched (WHIP).
Another Sophomore, Christian Simonsen, who was 2-1 with a 4.73 ERA a year ago, slots in as the number two starter. So far this season, Simonsen is 3-0 with a sparkling 3.28 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. He has 26 K’s in 24.2 innings pitched.
“Tyler and Christian are our two main guys,” said Johnson. “They’re great leaders and know how to pitch. Tyler’s got a little more velocity this year, and we’re trying to get more innings out of him. Christian came out of nowhere last year and improved a thousand percent. He’s healthy now, and we expect a lot out of him. Jeff Barham is our number three guy, and he’s been doing a good job for us.”
Barham is 3-0 with a 4.95 ERA in six starts. In 20 innings pitched, Barham has 21 K’s and only four walks with a nifty 1.10 WHIP.
Freshman Cole Arnold has been a revelation. In eight appearances, including three starts, he’s 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA in 17 IP. He has 16 K’s and issued just five walks, giving him an imposing 0.88 WHIP.
Sophomore righty Tyler Mendez, who Johnson says has a huge upside and throws in the low 90s, is 2-1 with one save in six appearances, including three starts. Control issues have led to 13 walks in 10.1 IP, giving him an inflated 2.23 WHIP and 6.10 ERA. But his 22 K’s in 10.1 IP show how dominant he can be if he can just rein in his pitches.
A trio of freshmen, Gary John Perrone (16.2 IP, eight appearances, two starts, 1-0, 2.16 ERA, 1.08 WHIP), lefty Matt Desiderio (13 IP, seven appearances, one start, save, 2.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) and righty Dylan Swanson (2-0, 10 IP, 2,70 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) have all made significant and somewhat unexpected contributions.
Sophomore righty Richard Barton has been effective in relief, posting a 3.24 ERA with one save in 8.1 IP in six appearances.
“We really don’t have any top-line guys like we had last year with Ryan Cole, but we have 16 guys who all can throw,” said Johnson. “We don’t have any fall off. We’re going to compete with the arms we have.”
Brookdale is hitting .397 as a team with an on-base percentage (OBP) of .513 and a slugging percentage (SLG) of .607, giving them a whopping 1.120 On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS). They’ve also hit 26 home runs in 27 games. Johnson wasn’t kidding when he said this team can hit with anyone in the country.
Johnson raves about leadoff hitter Justin Lopez’s defense, “he’s a gold-glove shortstop who can make all the plays. He came from Alvin Texas C.C., and everyone said he was all glove, no hit, but he worked his butt off and has become a great leadoff hitter for us.”
Lopez is hitting .361 with 2 home runs (HR), 4 doubles (2B), 5 triples (3B), 24 Runs Batted-In (RBI), 34 Runs Scored (RS), .535 OBP, .602 SLG, and 1.137 OPS.
Freshman Declan Sheehan has been a pleasant surprise for Johnson. Sheehan quickly worked his way into the starting lineup and has never looked back. He’s hitting .515 with 3 HR, 2 3B, 6 2B, 32 RBI, .593 OBP, .794 SLG, and a mighty 1.387 OPS.
Shane Andrus, the team’s number three hitter and catcher, is the undisputed leader and one of the best hitters in the region. A St. Peter’s commit, Andrus, plays with a contagious passion that rubs off on his teammates. According to Johnson, Andrus has a great shot at making All-American this season. He’s hitting .484 with 5 HR, 32 RBI, 11 2B, 4 3B, .539 OBP, .857 SLG for a dangerous 1.396 OPS.
According to Johnson, cleanup hitter Malik Little Jr. is a legitimate Division I hitter. A third baseman by trade, a shoulder injury has hampered his throwing ability, so he’s penciled in at designated hitter. He’s hitting .433 with 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 24 RBI, .589 OBP, .627 SLG and a 1.216 OPS.
Sophomore third baseman Junior Nunez backed up All-American Rocko Brzezniak last season while gaining valuable experience. He’s come into his own this season and has become a valuable cog in the machine. Nunez is batting .373 with 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 15 RBI, .453 OBP, .507 SLG, and a .960 OPS.
First baseman R.J. Kernan played five games at Montclair State before getting injured last season. He transferred to Brookdale and is finally healthy, and it’s showing on the field. The former Middletown North standout is hitting .290 with an HR, 3 2B, .421 OBP, .387 SLG.
Two freshmen, right fielder Casey Gardner and left fielder Anthony Pizzuti, are playing like anything but freshmen. Gardner, a first team All-Shore selection last season from Colts Neck, is hitting .417 with some nice power numbers. He has 4 HR (third on the team), 5 2B, 3 3B, 17 RBI, .561 OBP, .800 SLG with a pretty 1.361 OPS. Pizzuti was an All-Bergen County selection last season from Lyndhurst, where he was a tremendous all-around athlete. In his senior season, he won the Jim Hague Observer Athlete of the Year award. He scored 1,341 career points in basketball, including a 52-point game, and was also a standout football player. He’s hitting .446 with a team-leading 6 HR, 10 2B, and a team-leading 44 RBI. A .500 OBP with a .750 SLG gives him an impressive 1.250 OPS.
“Anthony is a tremendous athlete who can play any position on the field, including pitcher, but I can’t take him out of the lineup because he’s too good of a hitter,” said Johnson. “Casey is another great athlete who hits with power and can cover a lot of ground in the outfield.”
Sophomore second baseman Anthony Martino was hurt in the first half of the season but is back and is rounding into shape. Martino had a breakthrough year last season and has picked up where he left off. He combines power with speed to complement his defense. Martino is hitting .340 with 1 HR, 5 2B, and 13 RBI.
Filling in for Martino while he was hurt was freshman Christopher Clark, who more than proved he’s a starting second baseman. Clark is hitting .379 with 2 2B and 19 RBI. Even with Martino back in the lineup, Clark will see plenty of playing time.
Sophomore Jacob Ramirez, a transfer from Mercer County C.C., will back up at catcher and first base. In 19 games played, Ramirez is hitting .444 with 1 HR, 1 3B, and 8 RBI.
“The team is doing awesome, it’s one of the best group of kids we’ve had in a long time,” said Johnson. “Our talent level goes straight through. Even our backups are just as good as our starters. They battle, they’re family and play together; we have great chemistry.”
Will it be enough to get past Gloucester, though? Time will tell.
