Tag: Larry Santowasso

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep ousts top-seed and state No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan, moves on to SCT finals on the arm of Fronio

After two revenge wins over Franklin and Somerville in the second round and quarterfinals of the Somerset County Tournament, 12th-seed Rutgers Prep didn’t look like the same team that only had 2 wins before the event even started.

They didn’t look like it Thursday afternoon either in a 4-3 win over top-seed Bridgewater-Raritan (11-2) that puts them in the finals of the SCT in 12 days against second-seed and defending champion Ridge.

Zach Fronio threw five innings, giving up five hits and three runs, striking out five to get the win. But he almost didn’t.

With a 4-0 lead, he almost gave it away in the fifth, surrendering a two-run homer to Matt Moore, and an RBI single to Matthew Fattore, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI single himself.

But head coach Larry Santowasso had faith in his sophomore Maryland committ. After a mid-batter mound visit, Fronio bucked down, and got out of trouble without any further damage.

The Argonauts got two in the first and two in the second against Bridgewater-Raritan starter Jason Cozzi, who has been limited all year due to back issues. He walked six in just 1 1/3 inning, and took the loss.

Rutgers Prep (6-7) moves on to play in the Somerset County Tournament Final on May 9th at TD Bank Ballpark against top-seed and defending champion Ridge. It’s the same matchup as last year’s final.

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Click below for postgame reaction from Ridge, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

Rutgers Prep pitcher Zach Fronio
Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso
by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep isn’t off to a hot start, but Santowasso thinks Argonauts are about to turn the corner

Coming off a year in which the Rutgers Prep baseball team had a pretty solid season – a 19-6 record, Somerset County Tournament finalists – head coach Larry Santowasso figured his team was primed for an even better 2023.

With a 1-4 record through its first five games, though, it hasn’t quite worked out that way.

Thursday, they will try and pick up win No. 2 on the season when Rutgers Prep entertains Somerville (2-2) in a game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action with pregame at 3:40 pm and first pitch at 4. Click here to listen.

Rutgers Prep took its typical preseason trip down south to do get ready for the year, and do a little bonding. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

And even to look at the game results or season stats to figure out what’s going doesn’t make it entirely obvious.

To wit: they started 0-3, losing by three, three and four runs.

One of last year’s breakout freshmen, Andrew Parisi, who hit .537 last year, is hitting .538 through five games.

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Go figure?

Santowasso says there are little things that, put together, have added up to the record being what it is. But he also knows his team is getting a lesson in baseball you just can’t teach: sometimes, it just doesn’t happen.

Sometimes, you hit where the fielders are. Sometimes, you don’t get pitches to hit.

And he realizes baseball is one of the few things in life where the old adage – the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

Sometimes, in baseball, you just have to keep plugging away, and the hits – and wins – will come.

Click below to hear a preview of Thursday’s game with Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso:

by Mike Pavlichko

Last year, Rutgers Prep was a finalist; this year, the goal is to finish

Rutgers Prep baseball coach Larry Santowasso is the first to admit that maybe the 2022 version of the Argonauts was a little ahead of schedule.

Counting on two uber-freshmen, a host of sophomores and juniors, and just four seniors – only two of whom saw significant playing time – Prep went 19-6, and reached the finals of both the Prep B Tournament and the Somerset County Tournament. They earned the top seed in Non-Public North B in the state tourney, but were upset in the first round by eventual champion Immaculata.

They reached two finals, but couldn’t finish. So now, that’s the goal in 2023.

The team is now bonding and partaking of Spring Training in the most Spring Training of settings: Vero Beach, Florida, where they work out every year and scrimmage teams from the Sunshine State at the Jackie Robinson Sports Complex. And yet, this team may need it the least, because the Argonauts are mostly in tact from last season.

The Rutgers Prep baseball team after a scrimmage in Vero Beach, FL, as the Argonauts prepare for the 2023 season. (Submitted photo by head coach Larry Santowasso)

Sure, the Argonauts lose two significant seniors. Nick Baldev – a position player and fielder who hit .217 and drove in 11 runs, but also pitches 32 innings and struke out 55, while walking only 18 to the tune of a 2.62 ERA – has graduated, along with first baseman/outfielder Anthony Brigante, who his .262 but drove in 22 runs.

Everyone else is back, though. There’s senior James Jackman (.353, 11 RBI, 4 HR), junior Evan Laub (.333, 15 RBI), junior Nick Pizzie (.400, 26 RBI) and sophomore Cody Rullo (.358, 10 RBI). And then, the biggest bat of them all, Andrew Parisi, who as a freshman only hit .537, led the state in RBIs with 54, and cranked 11 home runs – good for fourth in New Jersey.

On the mound, the top pitcher returns in Zach Fronio. As a freshman, he threw 42 2/3 innings, striking out 58, walking 19, finishing with just a 1.64 ERA.

Rutgers Prep opens its season on Tuesday, April 4th against Montgomery, and make an appearance on Central Jersey Sports Radio on Thursday, April 13th, when the Argonauts entertain Somerville in a Raritan Division game set for 4 pm.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso:

by Mike Pavlichko

Poised freshman Fronio will get the ball for Rutgers Prep in quest for its first SCT title since 2017

Rutgers Prep doesn’t have a long and storied history in the Somerset County Tournament, or a host of county championship markers along its outfield wall.

But if the young man who will take the mound Monday night in the Somerset County Tournament Championship Game (7 pm, on CJSR) against top-seed Ridge (19-2) has anything to say about it, the Argonauts (18-3) may be on the verge of writing an exciting new chapter.

Consider this: even though Rutgers Prep’s only trip to the finals resulted in their first and only SCT title, and even though it was five years ago, a win Monday night would give them two of the last four SCT crowns – since the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID, and last year’s event wasn’t played due to the condensed season.

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And then consider the youth on this Rutgers Prep team, the impact they’re already making, and the impact they – and those to come – will have.

To wit: on the mound, it’s freshman Zach Fronio (3-0, 1.08 ERA) who will get the start at TD Bank Park Monday. He has already committed to play Big Ten baseball at the University of Maryland, and veteran skipper Larry Santowasso has increasingly trusted Fronio with the ball in big game situations this year.

READ MORE: Freshman Fronio has contributed in a big way to Rutgers Prep’s success

At the plate, it’s another freshman who can bash the ball with the best of them: Andrew Parisi. He’s only hitting .561 with nine homers and 47 runs batted in. Enough to make opposing pitchers cry.

And all that’s not even mentioning the rest of the team: Junior outfielder James Jackman is hitting .386, while freshman Cody Rullo is hitting .371 on the year.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep gets solid effort from Fronio, knocks off Somerville, clinches trip to SCT Finals

Freshman Maryland commit Zach Fronio threw six solid innings for Rutgers Prep, while fielders for both teams had difficulty with swirling winds and the sun field on pop ups, leading the 6th-seeded Argonauts to a 6-3 upset win over 2-seed Somerville in Game One of the Somerset County Tournament Semifinals at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater.

Fronio fanned four, walked three, and allowed just three hits, while Nick Baldev closed out the game.

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The win gets Prep in the finals for the first time since 2017, its only other appearance, when the Argonauts beat Montgomery 7-2.

Prep will face top-seed Ridge, which beat 4-seed Montgomery 3-1 Monday night, in the semifinal nightcap.

The Argos got on the board in the top of the first and had a 1-0 lead, but Somerville tied it in the third. Prep then scored twice in the fourth, and three more times in the fifth, chasing starter Kolbie Stellpflug, to go up 6-2.

Nick Baldev came in to close out the seventh, allowing a two runs on a one-out double down the right field line by Matty Wright, who was erased going past the second base bag, while the third run scored. But Baldev got Sean Noone on a groundout to short to end the game.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

Rutgers Prep starting pitcher Zach Fronio
Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso

by Mike Pavlichko

Timely hitting and four solid starters key Rutgers Prep into SCT semis

Larry Santowasso has been through enough of these to know what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes you have it and sometimes you don’t.

Sometimes hitting is just not enough. Timely hitting is the key.

Click the logo above to hear Mike Pavlichko’s interview with Zoned Sports Academy founder and owner Duke Baxter!

Rutgers Prep (12-2) has got that, and that – along with four rock-solid starters – is why the sixth-seeded Argonauts are the only “non-chalk” seed to be alive and playing in Monday’s Somerset County Tournament Semifinals at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater.

Prep will take on second-seed Somerville (10-7) in the 4:00 semifinal, which can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame scheduled for 3:40 pm. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will have the call; click here to listen.

The game will be followed at 7 by the other semifinal, top-seed Ridge and fourth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan.

Rutgers Prep has only lost twice on the season: once to Voorhees – and they’ll get another crack at the Vikings Thursday – and once to Montgomery. But they avenged that loss to the Cougars with an 8-3 win over the third-seed in the SCT quarterfinals just over a week ago.

It’ll be Prep’s first meeting with Somerville – typically a frequent opponent, even before joining the Skyland Conference – since 2018.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso:

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County Tournament semifinals set, as Ridge, Somerville, Rutgers Prep and Bridgewater clinch trips to TD Bank Park

Three of the four higher seeds won Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, setting up the matchups at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater for the semifinals on May 9th.

Top-seed Ridge, second-seed Somerville, and fourth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan were the higher seeds to move on, while 6th-seed Rutgers Prep knocked off third-seed Montgomery.

The Argonauts’ 8-3 win over the Cougars was an upset by seed, but Prep had come into the game at 9-2, while Montgomery was 5-5. Yet Rutgers Prep did lose to Monty earlier in April, 9-1 on the second day of the season. And both games were at Montgomery.

Nick Baldev went 2-for-2 and Andrew Parisi 2-for-3, with a double and 2 RBI each as Prep took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first and never looked back. Starting pitcher Zach Fronio got the win, scattering five hits over five innings of scoreless ball, striking out eight.

AUDIO: Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso on Prep’s “revenge win”:

In the semifinals, Rutgers Prep will face Somerville (9-5), which beat 7-seed Pingry 9-8. The Pioneers lead the game 7-0 after two, but the scrappy Big Blue clawed back throughout, despite playing its fourth game in as many days. Down 8-3 going into the sixth inning, they scored four times to cut it to one, and once more in the top of the seventh to tie the game at eight.

But Somerville won it in the bottom of the seventh as Tyler Stone reached on a two-out, three-base error, and then Devin McKinley smacked a 1-2 pitch back up the middle for a walk-off single.

AUDIO: Somerville head coach Chris Banos talks about the Pioneers’ dramatic win:

On the other side of the bracket, top-seed Ridge was a 13-3 winner over 9th-seed Gill St. Bernards, as the Red Devils (13-1) picked up their 12th straight win, while they continue to rise in the statewide rankings. Though Gill took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Ridge exploded for six in the bottom of the inning, and led 11-1 after three. Eight Ridge hitters knocked in runs in a balanced attack, with none driving in more than two runs in the game. Julian Keilb and Andrew Shawah each had triples in the game, and Ridge continued its aggressive base-running – a season-long trademark – stealing seven bases in the game.

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Ridge will face fourth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan, as the Panthers (8-7) beat 5th-seed Watchung Hills 5-3. Since losing four straight in mid-April, Bridgewater has turned it around, winning four of their last five, and three-in-a-row against Somerset County Competition. The Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, but BR held them after that, and chipped away, taking a 5-3 lead in the fifth on the strength of a four-run inning, fueled by a three-run homer by Frankie Verano, his first of the season.

In the May 9th semifinals at TD Bank Park, Rutgers Prep and Somerville will square off in the 4 pm game, while Ridge and Bridgewater-Raritan will play in the 7 pm game.

You can hear both on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the action. The games are brought to you in part by Bellamy & Son Paving, and Zoned Sports Academy in Bridgewater.

by Mike Pavlichko

Four homers, 5th inning onslaught, power Rutgers Prep past Bernards to keep Argos atop Valley

Rutgers Prep, thanks to four home runs in the first two innings – was on its way to perhaps a mercy rule-shortened win against Bernards until the Mountaineer bats came alive in the fifth and made it a two-run game.

But the Argonauts answered back – and then some – in the bottom of the fifth, sending eleven batters to the plate and scoring seven times to go ahead 15-6, the score they would win by in a full seven innings.

Senior starting pitcher Nick Baldev (2-0) went five innings, and though he allowed six earned runs, struck out nine and only allowed six hits, to get the win for Rutgers Prep (5-1). Starter Henry Depew took the loss for Bernards (2-4), responsible for seven runs in two innings, plus one batter faced to lead off the third.

The Mountaineers scored first, going up 1-0 in the top of the first, but it was their only lead of the game, and it was short-lived. Prep evened it up with a solo homer off the bat of Andrew Parisi with two out in the bottom of the inning to tie it, then after an Anthony Brigante walk, Baldev hit his first career homer to left field to make it 3-1.

The Argos added three more in the bottom of the second – on a solo homer by nine-hitter James Jackman and another dinger from Parisi, this one a two-run shot, his third of the season – and scored twice more in the third to take a 8-1 lead.

Bernards finally got to Baldev in the fifth, as they batted around and scored five runs to cut the deficit to 8-6. But it was easy come, easy go for the Mountaineers, as Rutgers Prep countered with seven more runs in the bottom of the inning, to take a 15-6 lead.

Then, it was up to Nick Pizzie to close it out. The starting shortstop took the mound and threw two innings of no-hit ball, retiring all six batters he faced, fanning three.

Click below for postgame reaction from starting pitcher Nick Baldev and head coach Larry Santowasso:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep, Bernards square off in critical Valley Division resked

April showers bring May flowers, and also rescheduled baseball games.

Originally scheduled for last week, Rutgers Prep (4-1) and Bernards (2-3) will finally get together for their first meeting this year, with a lot on the line.

To begin with, the Argonauts and Voorhees are both 3-0 in division, and Prep will want to keep pace, while the Mountaineers are right behind them and trying to move up in the Valley, with a 2-2 division mark.

Then there’s the small matter of the Somerset County Tournament seeding meeting, which is coming up quickly, scheduled for Monday night.

While Rutgers Prep is looking to build on a 14-8 season a year ago, Bernards is looking to get on the right track, still trying to find itself offensively.

You can hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio Saturday morning, with first pitch set for 11:00, and pregame scheduled for 10:45, as Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the action. Click here to listen live.

Click below to hear previews of Saturday’s game:

Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso
Bernards head coach Jeff Falzarano