By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
Based on conventional wisdom, the Delsea Regional High baseball team has no business being 12-0 and ranked No. 8 in the state by nj.com. Just take a look at some of the losses the Crusaders have had to deal with since making a run to the South Jersey Group 3 state championship game a year ago:
Joe Smith. The former head coach is now at Mainland Regional after a hugely successful run at Delsea, which followed an impressive run at Williamstown.
Frankie Master. Starting center fielder, hit .372 with 37 runs scored last year. (Graduated)
Zach Maxwell. Another outstanding outfielder who hit .433 with 30 runs, 24 RBIs and a team-high 13 stolen bases. (Graduated)
Mike McGinley. One of the best catchers in program history, a 100-plus-hit guy who finished his career with a .372 average and 86 RBIs. (Graduated).
Tyler Schoppe. Had 29 RBIs last year and tied for the team lead with six home runs. (Graduated).
George Starr. One of the aces of the pitching staff, finished his career with 165 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA in a remarkable 158-plus innings. (Graduated).
Max Van Auken. Starting shortstop, he had 24 runs scored and 22 walks a year ago. (Graduated).
Austin Buchanan. One of the best outfielders in South Jersey, he’s yet to have an at-bat this season because of a hand injury. He had a team-high 33 RBIs, scored 35 runs and hit .430 last year. (Injury).
And — check out who is now in the starting lineup: C.J. Six, a senior who only had three at-bats last year. Alex Grippo, a senior and wrestling star who had just nine at-bats as a junior. And other guys, like Gavin Deegan, Jax Familiare, Milo Gebhard, Ryan Looby, Nick Mokienko, Cooper Mulhern, Gavin Reissek and Kyle Harrison — these are guys who all came into the season with virtually no varsity experience. The only returners with any significant playing time are senior Cole Hudson, sophomore Ethan DuBois, senior pitcher Otley Makosky and star pitcher Frank Cairone, now a senior.
What is this sorcery that new head coach and former Smith assistant Vincent Londino is pulling out of his red cap?
“We’re tough, Delsea tough. We are what we’re supposed to be. We’re young and we’re learning,” Londino said after the Crusaders came from behind to beat Shawnee, 3-2, at the Downbeach Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Margate last Friday. “This team, coming into May, I think we’re going to put it all together. It’s hard to say that at 11-0 right now — it’s hard to say we haven’t put it all together yet — but our best bat hasn’t taken a swing yet and we’re still in the spot where we are. It’s a testament to the dudes who are here right now, we’re working every day. We’re being tough and we’re doing our jobs.”
South Jersey baseball fans would have laughed in your face if you had told them in March that Delsea would be 12-0 after losing nearly its entire starting lineup plus having its best bat shelved for half the year — and having a new head coach.
“To say this is a surprise is an understatement,” Cairone said after the win over Shawnee. “We lost a lot of guys from last year and have a lot of young guys, but we’re trying to figure things out. We figured something out (today). We weren’t coming in scared. We got down but didn’t stop fighting, put a couple hits together and came back and won the game.”
So, how are the Crusaders doing it?
Well, they certainly are not crushing the ball. They’re hitting .284 as a team — good, but not great for the high school level. But what they do well is get on base, big time. Just in walks and hit batsmen alone they average nearly six base runners per game, and when you add in their 82 hits, Delsea averages more than 12 base runners per game. That makes things very tough on opposing pitchers.
They don’t hit for power — only 12 extra-base hits in 12 games — but they steal bags. The Crusaders have swiped 37 bases already, which means they don’t have to give up a lot of outs via bunting in order to get guys into scoring position.
Their pitching, spearheaded by Cairone, a potential Major League Baseball draft pick this year, has been lights out. As a team, Delsea owns a 0.68 ERA and has allowed just eight earned runs all year. Not a single pitcher has given up more hits than innings pitched, and they have only 40 walks compared to 114 strikeouts. So, while they’ve allowed 92 base runners in 12 games, they tend to get out of innings without major damage by playing good defense and getting a lot of strikeouts.
In a win over Timber Creek earlier this season, Delsea allowed nine base runners, but only four of them scored. In a victory over Vineland, the Crusaders allowed 13 base runners, but only three of them scored. Seven of their 12 wins have come by three runs or less, and they’ve only scored in double digits twice all season.
Grippo said the Crusaders’ success comes down to a blue-collar approach to practice. Get there, get your work done, do it right and go home ready for the next game.
“It’s just practice. We’re just going hard at practice,” Grippo said. “We’re not out there for hours and hours, but we’re getting good work in while we’re there. It starts with that and then translates (to game day).”
WHAT’S NEXT: Delsea hosts Washington Township today then hosts Absegami on Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Diamond Classic.
