Pines’ season comes to a close with loss to TRS
By doug mckenzie
Staff Writer

VERONICA YANKOWSKI Lakewood catcher Bill Companile slaps a late tag on Toms River South’s Steve Holt during the Piners’ 13-2 loss on Friday in the South Jersey Group III final in Stafford.

The Lakewood High School baseball team took on a red-hot Toms River South squad on Friday in the South Jersey Group III final at Southern Regional High School, Manahawkin, and had one of those days that coaches have nightmares about.

"Nothing seemed to go right for us," head coach Tom Carney said. "Not to take anything away from South, because they’re a terrific ball club, but it was just their day and not ours."

The Piners, who finished the year at 19-9, were playing their best ball of the season entering the game. They had made their way to the final with wins over Willingboro, 13-7, and Williamstown, 2-0, and were poised to make the fifth-seeded Indians their next victim. However, as Carney noted, it was just one of those days.

"We didn’t play well and it cost us early," he said. "They put nine runs on the board and we couldn’t respond."

TRS scored the nine runs thanks in large part to three Lakewood errors which prolonged the second inning. After already plating a pair of runs in the first, the Indians were in cruise control after two with a 9-0 lead. The game ended after five innings with the score at 13-2.

"We’re disappointed with the way we played, but not with our overall effort," Carney said. "To make it to the final eight out of 86 teams in Group III is quite an accomplishment.

"In hindsight, there’s probably a few games we should have won this year that we didn’t, including six games where we lost by one run after having a lead, but overall, I’m pleased with the season."

The hardest part of Friday’s loss for Carney was knowing that he won’t be coaching this year’s batch of seniors next spring when the Piners return to the baseball diamond. At the top of the list of players he will miss is Jeremy Aguirre.

The senior left-hander had a dominant season and established himself as one of the top aces in the state. His numbers are certainly gaudy, 8-4, a 1.70 earned run average, and 110 strikeouts in 81 innings, but Carney believes Aguirre was even better than his stats prove.

"His four losses came as a result of not getting a lot of run support," Carney said. "He was really solid for us every time we handed him the ball."

Aguirre, who is one of only four pitchers in Shore Conference history to win 30 games in his career, made a visit to Ramapo College, Mahwah, with Carney yesterday, and will either attend Ramapo or Brookdale Community College next year.

Behind Aguirre, the Piners had a solid group of underclassmen on the hill, starting with sophomore Adam Ortiz.

Ortiz, who Carney said will probably be the squad’s No. 1 starter next year, finished the campaign 6-3 with a 2.60 ERA, and gained valuable experience in some tight contests.

Behind him, sophomore Joey Scatino was also solid, going 3-1, while junior Kieran Gavin was 1-1 on the year.

Offensively, the Piners will miss senior catcher Billy Companile, who led the team in batting at a .487 clip, and should be a first team all-county selection, according to his coach. Companile will be playing at Ocean County College next year.

Junior left fielder Alex Holquin was the nest leading hitter, batting .390 with three home runs.

Senior right fielder Craig Wood hit .323, while senior second baseman Tom Smoke was next in line at .320. Senior third baseman Bully Mackolin hit .280 for the year.

Despite the loss of some key players, Carney has reason to be optimistic about next season. Along with Holquin, the Piners will return sophomore right fielder Ed Looney (.270), sophomore first baseman Jed Rechfuss (.273) and junior shortstop Moses Bermudez (276).

"We have some good varsity players coming back, and our freshman team finished 17-3 while our jayvee team was 15-5, so we know we’ll have some guys to fill some holes for us," he said.

Carney has established a reputation as a coach who fields solid teams each and every season (his average finish over his 10-year career at the helm is 17-8), so it will be a surprise to no one if Lakewood is right back competing for a sectional crown next year.