Columbia sophomore Zach Barron, shown sliding to second base, was a key contributor for the Cougars this season.
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Entering the season, the Columbia High School baseball team lost a slew of players to graduation from the 2022 squad that finished with a 17-12 overall record.
Despite finishing this season with a 8-19 overall record while in the top division of the Super Essex Conference, the Cougars posted competitive efforts, much to head coach Ryan Muirhead’s delight.
“Going into this season, we knew there were going to be some growing pains,” CHS head coach Ryan Muirhead said. “We had just graduated a class of 17 seniors in 2022 and we were really only returning one player (Brandon Doubek) with a full season under his belt, and unfortunately he was lost for the season halfway through the year due to injury, and as a result we played some really good baseball at times and some not so good baseball at times. Despite all that and being in Essex County’s top division, we were pretty competitive in every game and we will have a lot of returning players with experience heading into next season.”
Here are the CHS players who earned All–SEC–American Division honors, as selected by the divisional coaches:
First team
- Reno Spagnoli, junior.
- Brandon Doubek, senior.
Second team
- Zach Barron, sophomore.
- Jared Carlucci, junior.
Honorable mention
- Jack Kalsched, senior.
- Alex Mandell, junior.
Here are the CHS players who earned All–Essex County honors, as selected by the county coaches:
First team
- Reno Spagnoli
Second team
- Jared Carlucci.
Third team
- Zach Barron
- Brandon Doubek.
Here are CHS notable season stats:
Pitching leaders
- Jared Carlucci: 30 innings pitched, 2.80 earned run average, 45 strikeouts.
- Reno Spagnoli: 16.2 innings pitched, 3.30 ERA, 29 strikeouts.
- Alex Mandell: 21.2 innings pitched, 2.52 ERA, 16 strikeouts.
- Jack Kalsched: 37.2 innings pitched, 3.95 ERA, 43 strikeouts, 1 complete game.
Offensive leaders
- Reno Spagnoli: .403 batting average, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 1 home run, 21 RBIs, 18 stolen bases.
- Zach Barron: .353 batting average, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 21 runs scored, 12 stolen bases.
- Zach Calveric, sophomore: .364 batting average, 3 doubles, 7 RBIs, 4 runs scored, 4 stolen bases.
Photos Courtesy of Jerry Simon
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