NJB Feature Story
Calling ‘Em As She Sees ‘Em
by Joe Nardini
 Carolyn Malmi has “loved baseball since she was a kid” growing up in Chicago. She played girls’ softball until she turned sixteen years-old, when she reached sophomore year of high school. She played the game well enough to earn a roster spot on the girls’ U.S. Junior Olympic team that went to Amsterdam in 2001.
Interestingly, she chose not to continue playing girls’ scholastic softball past tenth grade. When asked about that Carolyn explains that she really wanted to play baseball, but “didn’t know girls could play baseball.” She means, of course, that girls do not receive encouragement to play baseball because American society generally does not expect them to have the interest, let alone the ability, to play sports typically reserved for boys.
When it comes to umpiring, however, the twenty-three year-old arbiter breaks that societal mold. Ump Malmi has umpired baseball for four seasons now, the last two at Cooperstown Dreams Park (CDP) in upstate New York, and the experience has lit a new baseball fire for her. Aspirations that she once had for playing the national pastime now focus on umpiring.
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Gators Crowning Achievement:
Back-to-Back CJABL Championships !!!
By Sal Nesto
The Garden State Gators concluded their magical perfect season with a convincing come from behind 12-3 victory over the Flemington Devils in the Spring 2008 Central Jersey Amateur Baseball League’s 14U Championship Game on June 22nd in Warren. The standard Gator recipe for success of clutch hitting, stifling defense and outstanding pitching once again proved too much for the opposition as the Gators became the first “big diamond” team in CJABL history to win back-to-back AAU Championships.
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A Flower, A Leader, Blooms
in Ewing
New Jersey Baseball Feature Story
 If the major leagues represent the pinnacle of achievement for ball players, you would never know it from watching 14 year-old Stefanie Fox grace the girls’ softball fields in Mercer County, New Jersey. In addition to anchoring championship caliber recreation teams for Ewing Township at second base and shortstop, this budding star completed her second year at shortstop for the Hun School of Princeton’s Middle School team in 2008. In fact, you might say that this spring blossom has in many ways already bloomed.
A natural born leader by any definition, Stefanie "executes well anything you tell her to do while up at the plate, according to Middle School Coach Keri Marino. "The younger girls look up to her, she is aggressive on the base paths, and she has great knowledge of the game," Coach Marino explains. Even when she had an injury and could not practice at the start of the season, she attended tryouts in support of her team.
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 Field of Green,
Field of Dreams
by Joe Nardini
In 2008 The Somerset Patriots Baseball Club celebrates the tenth anniversary of its field, Commerce Bank Park. To commemorate the occasion, the ball club will stage a ten-day series of events starting on June 5 and running through June 8. See the list following the end of this article.
Aside from the loyal fans who have followed the exploits of the team game-by-game, year-after-year, no one is happier about this anniversary season than the dedicated staff who work behind the scenes.
Starting with General Manager, Patrick McVerry, you can almost hear a collective sigh of relief, coupled with a general sense of satisfaction. That’s because, ten years ago, the idea of building a high caliber sports team in a previously untested market ranked right up there with great business ideas that go astray after only two or three years of operation.
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My Child is a Talented Athlete, Now What?
by Kevin A. Pollock
When spring arrives and it is time for another season of our national pastime to begin, professional baseball players get geared up to play and get in shape, so do high school and college students.
If you have a child who is a gifted baseball player, it can be both a blessing and a curse. Your child will likely be the recipient of a lot of attention from the school, local reporters, and possibly even college or professional scouts. This can be a major source of distraction for anyone, let alone someone who has not even completed high school. Also, it is not uncommon for both the children and parents to obsess over unrealistic success and income.
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Ironmen Rule
by Joe Nardini
 The latest superhero to explode over movie screens nationwide, Ironman, has nothing on the real Ironmen baseball team of Don Bosco Prep. Recognized by various ranking services as the #1 high school baseball team in the country, this highly talented squad lives up to its billing every time it takes the field.
With seven players on its roster already committed to college programs, the Don Bosco baseball team serves notice that high school baseball in the Garden State sets the standard for other scholastic programs to emulate. Senior pitchers Tim O’Sullivan (Quinnipiac), Eric Pfisterer (Duke), and Mike Denhardt (Boston College) lead the way for a New Jersey baseball team that has achieved national acclaim, rivaled only by Mike Sheppard’s great Biggio-Vaughn-Valentin college teams of the mid-1980s.
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Field Preparation for the 2008 District 4 State Little League Tournament
by George Van Haasteren
 This year Bergenfield, New Jersey Little League will host the 2008 State Little League Tournament which will be held from July 24 thru July 29th. In order for the field and the facilities to be ready for such an event many hours of preparation leading up to the event will be accomplished by hardworking and dedicated volunteers.
Anyone who has ever hosted a baseball tournament knows the hours and commitment that are needed to ensure that the players, coaches and fans have not only the best time possible but also a field that is safe and playable. It sometimes takes a year or more to prepare for such an event. In Bergenfield’s case it would need to be done with considerably less time.
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Diamonds in the Rough
Featured Player: Dan Donohue
New Jersey Baseball Magazine could not have chosen a more focused, more dedicated player to sponsor on the 2008 Diamond Jacks than Dan Donohue. Now fourteen years-old, Dan formed his love of baseball when he played Little League ball in Great Kills, Staten Island. Before he began learning the intricacies of the game at Jack Cust Baseball Academy (JCBA), Dan appreciated baseball because he knew it as a “thinking man’s game.” Pretty sophisticated for a young teen, to be sure.
When he talks about what he enjoys best about baseball, Dan says, without hesitation, “coming up big in key situations, playing in front of a crowd, the PRESSURE.” Sophisticated indeed.
 Dan plays for the 14-and-Under Diamond Jacks team based at JCBA. Although he’s learning to play a variety of positions, his first love is playing shortstop. Having the versatility to play different positions “makes you a better player,” Dan says. For a young ball player thirsting to learn and grow, being better means thriving on competition.
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Clinton Knights Crowed State
Connie Mack Champ Again!
by Lowell M. Snare
On Sunday, July 20, it was indeed survival of the fittest as the Clinton Knights American Legion team gutted out a do-or-die second game on the day to outlast Erial in the AABC New Jersey Connie Mack Championship game played at Prince Rogers Field in Bridgewater, 15-7.
The Knights (18-7) outlasted not only the fine Erial team (14-6-1), but also the 99 degree heat, the fact that the team played six games over the span of three days, and two in a row on Sunday after losing the first game of the day’s double-elimination championship round, 9-7, to the kids from south Jersey after blowing a 6-0 lead.
It was the second straight state Connie Mack Title for the Knights, and this one was a battle which the Clinton kids gutted out according to proud coach Paul Sutor.
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The Beauty of the Game
By Jorge Hernandez
The 2008 Division III season proved memorable for the Bergen County Community College (BCC) baseball team. Besides having its first winning season and playoff birth in more than 25 years, Bergen CC beat three nationally ranked teams, Brookdale CC, Gloucester CC and Suffolk Grant (New York) CC. Both Gloucester and Suffolk qualified for the NJCAA World Series this year.
The Bergen CC baseball team ranked 7th in the nation in batting average with a team BA of .361 and 19th in winning percentage, going 15-9 for the season.
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It’s All About the Preparation
by Joe Nardini
 If game preparation equates with success on the field, you will find no better a practitioner of the art than Tom Tesauro of Lawrenceville Prep. Playing for “one of the best coaches,” at a high school program with a “strong tradition for baseball,” as Tom explains, he learned the fundamentals of succeeding both in the game of baseball as well as in the game of life.
“Everything hinges on personal preparation and time management,” says Tom. Doing his homework academically enabled him to succeed in a rigorous school curriculum. Villanova did not select Tom for a baseball scholarship just because he can throw strikes with consistency. Being able to handle the challenge in the classroom amounted to a key ingredient as well.
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Mike Newland Update:
DeSales University freshman Mike Newland (Frenchtown, NJ / Delaware Valley High School) earned Freedom Conference Rookie of the Year honors in 2008. BJ Spigelmyer, Sports Information Director for the Central Valley, PA school reported that Mike, along with seven of his DeSales teammates and head coach Tim Neiman, received recognition on the 2008 All-Conference team, as announced by the conference office and as voted by the Freedom Conference coaches.
From Delaware Valley Terrier to DeSales Bulldog |
Newland’s selection marked the second straight year that a DeSales Bulldog received Rookie of the Year recognition. As of May 8, Newland had a .389 batting average and a 1-2 record on the mound, with a 5.17 ERA in 47 innings pitched. He assumed starting duties in centerfield mid-way through the season and has been a steady contributor on the mound, earning his first win of the season in the second round of the Freedom Conference playoffs.
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College Baseball Corner 2008
by Lowell M. Snare
The Hunterdon connection to college baseball is growing and growing, and I am likely just hitting the surface with the mention of some names in this rendition of 2008 collegiate baseball news.
Three Hunterdon Central grads are playing for the Mercer County Community College Viking baseball team with sophomore lefty Will Blackman, and frosh righty Sean Reindel and infielder Justin Bay all on the roster of coach Matt Wolski.
The Central grad duo of Dan Morogiello and Mike Turner are both mainstays on the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Division I baseball team. Morogiello is coming off a medical red shirt season, and is back in the swing at second base with a .364 average and making the plays.
Turner is off to a super start as a junior with a .360 average, with a homer and three RBI to open the year. As a soph he hit .251 with eight doubles, two homers and as a frosh he was the MVP in the ECAC Division II Regional Tournament, and set a new school mark with 42 RBI in that season.
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Rutgers Baseball Head Coach
Fred Hill Sr
One Class Act
by Dan Cleary
PISCATAWAY, N.J—There is a certain buzz surrounding the athletic program at Rutgers University these days.
The football team has gained notoriety with its emergence as a player on the national scene under Jersey native Greg Schiano. C. Vivian Stringer guided the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Division I women’s basketball national championship game last spring, while showing dignity and class throughout the unfortunate situation involving radio personality Don Imus.
But there is another coach that plies his trade at the State University of New Jersey located “On the Banks of the Raritan” that deserves just as many accolades as Schiano and Stringer, and is as Jersey as diner food and summers at The Shore.
Fred Hill Sr., an Essex County native, has molded the Scarlet Knights into one of the top Division I programs in the nation in his 25 years at the helm, while flying under the national radar, which is probably just fine with him.
“Coach Hill is one of the class acts in all of college baseball,” praised former Scarlet Knights outfielder and current New York Yankees farmhand David Williams, who played under Hill for four seasons before getting drafted by the Bronx Bombers in the 15th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Williams, a former standout at Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta, N.J., led the BIG EAST in hitting and was ranked 17th nationally with his .412 batting average in 2007.
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Todd Frazier
"...leaving soon for Florida"
by Dan Cleary
 TOMS RIVER, N.J—Todd Frazier was running some errands around town while conducting an interview with this magazine on his cell phone. Frazier was getting ready to head down to Florida and twice during the interview he was interrupted by adoring fans.
“Yes, I’m leaving soon for Florida,” you could hear Frazier say. “Oh, thank so much, I’ll do my best.”
You didn’t have to hear the questions he was fielding, but Frazier was gracious and humble to everyone he spoke with including this magazine. When asked if that happens a lot, Frazier said, yes, but he doesn’t mind it at all.
“I think it is great,” said Frazier. “People follow your career and I really appreciate it. It has been that way since Little League.”
Such is life when you are Todd Frazier, baseball hero, walking the streets of Toms River.
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