They still wear blue and white uniforms when they take the field, but the Lyndhurst baseball team has a different look this spring. Such a change was unavoidable when you graduate a trio of three-year starters in Anthony Pizzuti, Michael Rizzo and Jack Nowinski from a pitching rotation that has long been a strength of the Golden Bears.
Veteran head coach Patrick Auteri knows that replacing the trio, which combined for a stellar 1.70 ERA over 132 innings is nearly impossible. But it’s a task they hope to achieve with depth, both on the mound and in the field.
“They probably ate up about three-quarters of the innings last year so it’s definitely challenging,” Auteri said of the three-headed monster that helped lead the Bears to a 19-9 record. “We knew we’re going to need to develop some arms. We kind of have our backs against the wall in that sense, but I think going to Florida has helped give us a better understanding of guys that are going to step up. There’s still question marks, but we do have some depth and we’re going to find out (the quality of this depth) in this first part of the season.”
One pitcher who has emerged is junior Tyler Herman, who was stellar out of the bullpen last year. Herman, who had a 1.02 ERA in 20.2 innings, is a hard thrower, who will be the ace this season.
“He’s a competitor, he wants the ball,” said Auteri. “He has that mentality that you’re not going to beat him, which we love. Now, it’s a bigger stage for him as ace of the staff, but he worked his tail off all offseason. He added some muscle to his frame so he’s throwing a lot harder. He’s in the mid-80s (with the fast ball) and has developed a tremendous breaking ball and changeup. We’re looking forward to him being the horse at the top of our rotation.”
While the spots behind Herman in the rotation are more in question, junior Ryli Pineiro, senior Matthew Makar and sophomore Jayson Bellenger, Ryan Lemanowicz and Nick Musto all competing. Seniors Gio Servedio and Anthony Amaro, as well as juniors Matthew Jarvis and Joe Brennan, are also in the mix to throw key innings.
Regardless of who is on the mound, they’ll be throwing to junior Max Gonzalez, an all-league selection at catcher, who had 17 RBI and is a stellar defender behind the plate.
“He does a tremendous job with our pitching staff. I think sometimes we get spoiled,” Auteri said. “We know how good he is. He can neutralize the other team’s running game. Having him there, as a coaching staff, we get to have a little bit of a sigh of relief.”
While a lot of the infield spots will vary depending on who is pitching, one place that won’t be the case is at shortstop where Shawn Bellenger moves over from second base where he started the previous two years. Bellenger, hit hit .342 with 33 runs scored, is set to hit third in the lineup and is poised to be one of the NJIC’s top players.
“He’s gotten bigger, he’s gotten strong. He’s a high IQ player,” said Auteri. “He hits to all fields and you could see early on in spring training that he’s putting it together. I think he’s going to have a big year.”
Michael Longo, a senior, and Lemanowicz are set to see the bulk of the time at first base. The other is likely to see time at designated hitter with Jarvis also in the mix.
Makar is set to start at third base, with Herman also expected to see some time at the hot corner, while second base will be a mix and match with Jayson Bellenger, Brennan and Servedio.
Junior Johnny Chaname, coming off of a breakout basketball season, moves over from left field to center field this spring. He’ll be joined by fellow junior Pineiro in left field and Jarvis in right field. Amaro is also sure to see plenty of time in the outfield.
Lyndhurst opened the season on Monday, March 31 at Becton before playing a trio of home games against Dwight-Englewood on Wednesday, North Arlington on Friday and Park Ridge on Saturday.
The Bears will once again be challenged out of division with high profile contests at DePaul, who is ranked No. 9 in the NJ.com Preseason Top 20 on April 12, and at home against No. 5 Gov. Livingston on April 19.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)