Longtime baseball coach begins final season
The Lyndhurst baseball team will try to make veteran head coach Butch Servideo’s final season a memorable one. Servideo, who is retiring after this season, likes his pitching staff, which consists of, from l., Jonathan Ferrer, Nicholas Romito, Danny Tallent, Nolan Kelly, head coach Servideo, Michael Polito, Patrick Dennehy and Jordan Lopez. Not pictured is Paul Minervini.
By Jim Hague
Observer Sports Writer
After nearly 40 years serving as a coach and administrator in the Lyndhurst school district, Frank “Butch” Servideo has decided to retire at the end of this season.
So this will be the final go-round for the veteran Lyndhurst High School baseball coach, a position that he’s enjoyed through more than 500 victories and several championships, including the overall 2008 NJSIAA Group I state championship.
“I saw this coming one day,” Servideo said. “I’m of the mindset that this will be my last year. My assistant Pat Auteri is more than ready to take over. He’ll be a good one. He deserves the chance. I’m just hoping that we have a really successful year.”
Servideo has his retirement plans all set. Next winter, he’ll spend some time in West Palm Beach, soaking up the sun and working at a baseball camp.
But for now, his job is to guide the Golden Bears for one last campaign. Maybe there can be a repeat performance of a year ago.
When the 2013 season began, Servideo worried that perhaps the Golden Bears would be a .500 club. He entered the season needing 19 wins to get to the 500-win milestone.
“I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll get it next year,’” Servideo said.
But after a 1-2 start, the Golden Bears set a school record with 18 consecutive wins. They ended with 23 wins, including the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference-Meadowlands Division championship and the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group II title.
“We weren’t supposed to do much, but the kids put it together and won the league and state sectional championship,” Servideo said. “It was magical.” Many of those players have now graduated and moved on. There are a few returnees, but Servideo will have to count on some inexperienced kids to make his last season memorable.
“We have great kids who are willing to work hard,” Servideo said. “They are very hungry. They played together in the summer and fall. We are lucky enough to have multiple kids at every position and we have a lot of arms. We have some good arms. Pitching is definitely our strong point this year.”
Leading the returnees is junior right-hander Nolan Kelly, who won four games last year. Kelly gained some recognition last year for overcoming his battles with Tourette syndrome.
“He pitched against the toughest teams in our league last year and did well,” Servideo said. “He’s grown about three inches and got bigger and much stronger. He’s throwing harder this year.”
Senior Paul Minervini is another pitcher who grew in the offseason. Minervini saw quality innings last season.
“He throws hard,” Servideo said. “He’s a good pitcher.”
Junior Jordan Lopez, the standout bowler, is another quality arm.
“We’re trying to make him into a pitcher,” Servideo said. “He’s doing a good job.”
Senior Danny Tallent is a left-hander who played a lot in the outfield last year. Senior Nicholas Romito is a righthander who throws a knuckleball.
“He throws the knuckleball for strikes, so we’re going to give him some innings,” Servideo said.
Patrick Dennehy is a senior righty who also pitched a little during last year’s championship season.
“When you’re playing four or five games a week, you need to have a lot of guys who can throw,” Servideo said. Sophomore Eddie Rivera is another right-hander who is the Golden Bears’ jack-of-all-trades.
“He’s a multi-talented kid,” Servideo said. “He catches, plays the outfield and infield.”
The team will get a huge boost when Jonathan Ferrer becomes eligible to play after the first 30 days of the season. Ferrer is a transfer who played at both St. Mary’s of Rutherford and Paramus Catholic.
“We’re going to give him a fair shake,” Servideo said. “He definitely has talent and has been pretty good with us.”
The catcher is senior Anthony Meeney, whose older brother, Austin, was the starter at catcher the last two seasons.
“He’s following in his brother’s footsteps,” Servideo said. “He’s a good defensive catcher who blocks the ball well.”
Lopez is sharing the first base duties with sophomore Matt DeMarco, who has a ton of promise, and senior Gio Santiago.
Sophomore Vin Dorio, the younger brother of former Golden Bear standout Anthony, is in the mix to play second base.
“Like his brother, he has good baseball instincts,” Servideo said. “He’s a solid left-handed hitter who is a good baseball player.”
Senior Frankie DeLeva returns to his starting position at shortstop. DeLeva was the top hitter in all of Bergen County last season, batting .549.
Junior Brandon Karlok started at third base last year and also returns to his position.
“He’s a solid player,” Servideo said. “He can hit and field well.”
Tallent is the prime contender to play a majority of time in left field, although sophomore Evan Kelly, the younger brother of Nolan, will see time there as well.
Senior Sergio Turelli is another key returnee in centerfield. Turelli batted .350 with 27 stolen bases last year.
“He has good wheels,” Servideo said. “He’ll be our lead-off guy.”
Dennehy is the starter in right field, but senior Sean McChesney will see time there as well. Servideo said that most of his pitchers are good hitters, so they will hit this year.
“Nolan is surprising me as a hitter,” Servideo said. “Minervini can hit. Our pitchers will hit.”
The Golden Bears begin Servideo’s final season this week against Dwight-Englewood, then will face Harrison and Ridgefield Park.
Next week, the Golden Bears will travel to Cal Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md., for a special game against Park Ridge on Sunday, April 13. Servideo has made arrangements for the Golden Bears to play there several times before.
“We’ll see right away how we match up in the first week,” Servideo said. “Our league is totally up for grabs. I think we’ll be a strong contender. We have a good group of kids. I’m really looking forward to this year.”
For one more time.
