In The Dirt 0424

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Al Etter Sacred Heart CF

STANDINGS* CAPE-ATLANTIC LEAGUE American Conference I Div. Conf. Overall Millville 3-0 4-0 7-0 Egg Harbor Twp 1-1 1-1 2-1 Vineland 1-3 2-3 2-3 Absegami 1-2 1-5 1-5 Atlantic City 0-2 0-3 1-3 American Conference II Div. Conf. Overall Hammonton 2-0 3-0 3-0 Oakcrest 1-0 3-0 3-0 Mainland 0-1 2-1 2-2 St. Augustine 0-1 1-1 2-3 Ocean City 0-1 0-2 0-2 National Conference I Div. Conf. Overall Buena 2-0 5-0 8-3 Middle Twp 1-0 3-1 3-1 Holy Spirit 2-1 7-1 8-1 Lower Cape May 0-1 0-2 0-2 Bridgeton 0-3 0-4 1-5 National Conference II Div. Conf. Overall Sacred Heart 2-0 3-1 9-2 St. Joseph 0-1 1-3 3-4 Wildwood Catholic 0-0 1-2 1-2 Cape May Tech 0-1 0-6 0-7 TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE Classic Division Div. Overall Pitman 8-0 8-2 Gloucester City 3-1 4-4 Clayton 3-2 5-4 Schalick 2-4 2-6 Salem 1-4 2-5 Wildwood 0-6 3-7 Diamond Division Div. Overall Gloucester Catholic 4-0 7-2 Penns Grove 2-1 4-2 Pennsville 1-1 3-3 GCIT 1-2 2-6 Glassboro 1-3 4-3 Woodstown 0-2 2-2 Royal Division Div. Overall Cumberland 3-0 5-0 Highland 2-0 4-1 Deptford 2-1 4-1 Williamstown 2-1 3-1 Kingsway 1-4 2-6 Clearview 0-1 3-1 Delsea 0-3 1-4 OLYMPIC CONFERENCE American Division Div. Overall Cherokee 1-0 3-2 Washington Twp 1-1 6-3 Lenape 1-1 5-2 Cherry Hill East 0-0 3-0 Eastern 0-1 6-2 Patriot Division Div. Overall Shawnee 3-0 6-2 Winslow Twp 1-0 6-3 Cherry Hill West 0-1 2-4 Triton 0-1 0-2 Pennsauken 0-2 2-5 National Division Div. Overall Seneca 2-0 3-1 Timber Creek 1-0 3-5 Bishop Eustace 0-0 6-0 Paul VI 0-1 0-2 Camden Catholic 0-2 1-4 COLONIAL CONFERENCE Overall Conf. Haddonfield 5-0 6-0 Sterling 5-1 5-1 Haddon Twp 3-0 5-1 Haddon Heights 3-1 5-1 Gateway 2-1 4-1 Audubon 2-1 3-2 Paulsboro 1-2 1-4 West Deptford 1-3 2-3 Overbrook 1-3 1-6 Lindenwold 1-5 2-5 Collingswood 0-3 0-5 Woodbury 0-4 0-5 BURLINGTON COUNTY CONFERENCE Liberty Division Div. Overall Rancocas Valley 2-0 5-1 Northern Burlington 1-0 2-3 Westampton Tech 0-0 2-1 Moorestown 0-1 2-1 Willingboro 0-1 1-2 Pemberton 0-1 1-4 Patriot Division Div. Overall Cinnaminson 4-0 6-3 Burlington Twp 1-0 2-3 Holy Cross 2-2 4-3 Bordentown 1-2 4-2 Delran 1-2 4-2 Medford Tech 0-3 0-6 Freedom Division Div. Overall Maple Shade 3-0 3-2 Florence 3-1 3-1 New Egypt 2-1 2-3 Riverside 1-3 2-6 Burlington City 0-0 0-1 Palmyra 0-2 0-3 Trenton Catholic 0-2 0-3 *Records through Wednesday.

Friday, April 24, 2009 – C5

SPORTS

Question: How did you like Cocoa a Beach, Fla., where your team played n a tournament last week? d Answer: I loved it. It’s a great time, not only with the guys, but you get to play a lot of good baseball. The weather, I can’t say enough about the weather. I’m used to waking up here, 40-something degrees, putting on the Under Armour. Down there, you just throw on shorts and practice. Q: Did you get a chance to do anyEtter thing other than play baseball? A: We got some time to ourselves, mainly at night. We had to be up pretty early, so we had to be in by 11 every night. There were go-karts, a lot of live music down on the pier, so there were some other things to do. Q: What was the coolest thing you saw there? A: Baseball-wise, the coolest thing was Juan’s 400plus-foot home run off this revolving scoreboard. Juan hit a ball to left-center field about 30 feet up, off this scoreboard that spins around with the wind. I don’t know why it does that, but Juan hit it. Q: Does warm weather really help a hitter? A: I’ve found it to be true for me. I don’t know why. I guess you feel more comfortable, more loose. You don’t get jammed like you do in the cold. Q: What are your thoughts on the Lions’ new caps, which have a “1” on the back to commemorate Josh Moren? A: I love the hats. They’re a great thing to do. I was talking in the offseason about getting patches on the jerseys, but the hats are just as good. You don’t wear your uniform in public, but you wear your hat around, so people know what’s up. Q: What’s the hardest part of playing centerfield? A: Getting stuff in the gaps. You’re responsible for everything that goes on out there. It’s not really difficult, but it’s one of the more difficult things out there. — Ben Watanabe

Q A

Staff photo/Cody Glenn Millville’s Efren Fernandez takes a big rip during the Thunderbolts’ victory over Buena Regional in the Grand Slam Classic. Use of the long ball is one reason why the Thunderbolts are still undefeated on the year.

Momentum shifter Long ball sometimes is more than just another hit incere apologies to all hitting coaches for the following article, which will surely do excruciating damage to swings everywhere, requiring weeks of extra time in the batting cage to cut down on the uppercut hacks that will result from players reading this. This has to do with the home run. That’s right, kids. All that stuff your coaches tell you about shortening up, a double being just as good as a home run, etc.? Forget it. Sometimes, a home run can leave a much greater impact than the number of runs it puts on the scoreboard. Vineland slugger Joel Rodriguez has a natural swagger. Still, he wasn’t just being cocky when he acknowledged the role his two-run home run against

S

Ben Watanabe Absegami on April 9 had in sparking the Fighting Clan to a near-comeback from a 4-0 deficit. Rodriguez hit a similarly huge home run last season, when he pulled a fastball by Millville’s Mike Trout into the parking lot at VHS North, inspiring his team to a 2-1 victory. Can a home run be more than just another hit? “Yes, I believe it can,” Rodriguez said. “A hit like that, it gets the whole team fired up. Before that (home run against the Braves), I could tell we were kind of down. The younger players look to me, and after that hit, I could tell we were ready to come to play.” Nobody illustrates the emotional force of a home run more than Trout and Buena senior Ken Miles, both centerfielders and

leadoff hitters. Miles leads the area with six home runs; Trout is a close second with four dingers. In games in which Miles or Trout homers, their teams are a combined 8-0. Then again, Trout is a Division I college player and professional prospect. Miles would be a D-I baseball player, too, if he weren’t already signed to play football at Villanova University. Rodriguez, with two home runs, possesses some of the best raw power in the area. In other words, these are big shots hitting the, uh, big shots for their teams. Most other members of the bat-swinging world will be better served listening to their hitting instructors. Shorten up, go with the pitch, and get on base. The big guy is on deck, waiting to put one out. Ben Watanabe covers high school baseball for The Daily Journal. Contact him at (856) 563-5259 or [email protected].

Hot start

Staff photo/Cody Glenn

Buena Regional senior outfielder Ken Miles strokes a line drive during the Chiefs loss to Millville in the Grand Slam Classic. Miles leads the area with six home runs in 11 games.

PLAYER TO WATCH

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION:

Chris Branigan BISHOP EUSTACE

The Daily Journal’s

SJ Mean 15 1. Bishop Eustace (6-0) 2. Millville (7-0) 3. Gloucester Catholic (7-2) 4. Cherokee (3-2) 5. Buena Regional (8-3) 6. Cherry Hill East (3-0) 7. Cumberland Reg. (5-0) 8. Washington Twp. (6-3) 9. Shawnee (7-2) 10. Williamstown (3-1) 11. Haddonfield (6-0) 12. Haddon Twp. (5-1) 13. Deptford (4-2) 14. Holy Spirit (8-1) 15. Clearview (3-1) Under consideration: Pitman (8-2) ; Penns Grove (5-2) ; Lenape (5-3) ; Gateway (4-1) ; Sacred Heart (9-2) *Rankings are set by Ben Watanabe and based on records reported to area newspapers through Wednesday.

The Daily Journal player poll

Two trends to watch: 1) Millville has a chance to run the table against Cape-Atlantic League American Conference competition. The Bolts are deep, and the CAL is down overall, so this isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Right now it’s only a murmur among informed spectators, but with every conference win, the talk is bound to get louder. The Bolts have the right mindset, with a one-inning, one-batter, one-game-at-a-time mentality that comes from their seniors. 2) Sacred Heart could be one rainout away from failing to qualify for the state tournament. NJSIAA rules require teams to have played 70 percent of their games against New Jersey schools at the May 8 cutoff date. Sacred Heart (9-2), which played six out-of-state teams in Cocoa Beach, is on pace to play 14 of its 20 games before the cutoff against New Jersey teams. That puts the Lions exactly at the 70 percent threshold. One postponement would put them in dire straits. … The best centerfielder in the area (and probably South Jersey) so far is Buena’s Ken Miles. Certainly Millville’s Mike

Trout, who has fewer at-bats than Miles, will get his, but for now it’s worth recognizing Miles, who has a .400 batting average, six home runs, four doubles and 18 runs batted in. … You knew he would break out eventually. After going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his first two games, Sacred Heart catcher Juan Velazquez is batting .484 and driven in 19 runs. He hit two home runs during the Lions’ stay in Florida. … With a 2-6 record, Schaick would surely be in better shape if Pitman hadn’t thrown stud Rob Cressman against them twice. … Setting up double-elimination tournaments for early April is dumb, dumb, dumb. Millville and either Gloucester Catholic or Bishop Eustace won’t completely wrap up the Grand Slam Classic until mid-May due to repeated washouts. The tournament was supposed to be over two weeks ago. Keep the April tournaments to as few games and as few teams as possible to maintain flexibility in the event of long stretches of inclement weather. — Ben Watanabe

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Senior

1B

If you had only one “tool,” which one would you want?* Arm strength 5 votes

Speed One of four left-handed hitters in the Crusaders’ everyday lineup, the 6-foot-3, 210pound power hitter is one of the most physically impressive players in South Jersey. He connected for his first home run of the season last week in a win over Audubon. Upcoming games: Saturday in Tom Heinkel Tournament, 10 a.m. Sunday vs. Millville, 2 p.m.* Tuesday at Camden Catholic, 3:45 p.m. *With Eustace win over Glou. Catholic on Saturday

7 votes

Glove, 4 votes Hit for power, 3 votes

Hit for average 16 votes

*Based on responses from 45 local baseball players Staff graphic/Joe Moore

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