BLOOMFIELD, NJ – The Bloomfield High School varsity baseball team had a tough season.
Indeed, the Bengals were snake-bitten from Day One. But that didn’t stop them from playing and competing hard each day, much to head coach Mike Policastro’s delight.
The Bengals featured a few standout players. Among them were Danny Carter, Eddie Abplanalp, Manny Corporan and Jamir Ramos, who all earned All-Super Essex Conference-American Division honors. The SEC-American Division is the highest division of the conference.
Carter, a senior right fielder, made First Team on the All-SEC-American for the third year in a row. He finished the season with an outstanding .488 average (42-for-86), including 15 doubles, three triples and two homers. He also had a .568 On-Base Average and a .802 Slugging Average. In addition, Carter had 29 runs scored, 20 RBI, and 15 walks, and struck out just three times in 86 at-bats. He was 21-of-24 on stolen-base attempts.
For his four-year career, Carter batted .409 with 140 hits (24 doubles, five triples, four home runs), 85 RBI, 70 runs scored, 37 walks, 54 stolen bases, .460 On-Base Average, and .544 Slugging Average. He only struck out just 24 times in 342 at-bats. “He had a great career for us,” said BHS head coach Mike Policastro of Carter.
Abplanalp, a junior center fielder, made Second Team on the All-SEC-American, while Corporan and Ramos, a junior second baseman, each made Honorable Mention.
Corporan, a junior righty, was the team’s best pitcher this season. Though he was 0-6, Corporan had a 2.62 Earned Run Average. In 42.2 innings pitched, he allowed 35 hits, 29 walks and 16 earned runs, striking out 37. He fired two complete games. Opponents only batted .224 against him.
Senior Andrew Altiery was another solid offensive contributor as he batted .295 with 18 hits and nine RBI this year.
The Bengals unfortunately had bad breaks all year, finishing with a 6-21 record.
“It was a very rough season, between losing 16 of 21 games by four runs or less, having pitchers get injured and miss time,” Policastro said. “The offensive struggles really hurt us early on. The first 15 games of the season, our pitching was outstanding and we were only scoring at an average of 3.4 runs per game. You are not going to win many games with that lack of offense. Guys were struggling early on, mainly because I believe we only got six scrimmages in, but four of them were doubleheaders on two days, so we really didn’t get many days playing against competition before the season started. We put ourselves in a hole early, and we were never able to climb out of it. We were 0-6 with five losses by two runs or less. The kids worked hard and we competed every day and game.”
Next season, the Bengals will move down to the SEC-Liberty Division in which they will face Verona, West Essex, Cedar Grove, Science Park, West Orange, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Glen Ridge, and Belleville. “It’s obviously not the American Division, but (has) some pretty good teams,” Policastro said. “You will still have to bring your best every game and compete. The good thing for us, is that we return most of our starting lineup and almost all of our pitching staff, including all four starting pitchers and three relief pitchers.”
The Bengals will return junior Craig Dittrich behind the plate, freshman Vinny Torrisi at shortstop and Ramos at second base. Junior Dylan Piacenza will return at third base, Corporan will return at first base, sophomore Rob Reboa will play DH, first base and catcher; junior Elliot Urgent returns in left field; Abplanalp returns in center for the fourth year; and sophomore Kyle Tice, who was the starting DH/right fielder this year, will replace Carter in right field, full time.
The Bengals also return Corporan, Piacenza, Abplanalp, and sophomore Kyle DiMatteo to the pitching rotation. Returning from the bullpen are Tice and junior Marcus Wolf, who each started two games; Robert Gilmore, and Urgent. “If everything goes well, we should be very good and competitive next year,” said Policastro.
This summer, the team will be competing in an inaugural Essex County High School Developmental league as well as participate in showcase tournaments, under the guidance of Danny McDowall.
11th Annual Bengals Baseball Camp and Lady Bengals Softball Camp to be held this summer
Policastro also will conduct his 11th Annual Bengals Baseball Camp for boys in grades 2-8 (ages 7-15) at Bloomfield Middle School for three weeks: July 17-21, July 24-28, and July 31-August 4. For more information, email: polibomb25@yahoo.com or call 973-809-2086.
In addition, the Lady Bengals Softball Camp will take place for two weeks this summer: July 10-13 and July 17-20 at Bloomfield Middle School for grades 2-8 (ages 7-15). For more information, email: polibomb25@yahoo.com or call 973-809-2085. You can also email: jennsanta@hotmail.com or call 201-452-7448. The Lady Bengals camp director is Jennifer Santa, who played for the BHS softball team from 1996-98 in which she was the starting pitcher for the Bengals team that won the Section 2, Group 4 state tournament title as a senior in 1998.
Bloomfield HS baseball team gives solid efforts despite tough season added by Joe Ragozzino on
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