By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
Believe it or not, Buddy Hausmann is surprised by his Red Bank Catholic baseball team’s 5-2 record despite the fact he has at least three Division I and three Division III recruits on the roster.
“I wasn’t totally expecting this start, I’m not gonna lie,” Hausmann said prior to the Caseys 2-1 setback to Middletown South on Apr. 17. “I don’t know if I’d say we’re a little down this year but I think we are compared to where we have been.”
The skepticism is understandable. In the past two seasons, RBC graduated four Division I players who helped it win the NJSIAA Non-Public A state title and Shore Conference Tournament in 2023 and reach the state finals last season.
“We have a lot of juniors,” the veteran skipper said. “I had 21 guys come back from last year, but it’s not guys that played huge roles last year.”
And yet, at least six of those guys (and probably more) will play at the next level.
With that talent, the Caseys are ranked No. 15 in the state and have outscored their opponents 58-11. RBC has scored in double figures every game but one and has allowed one run or less four times. Its two losses were by a total of three runs.
Score one for cohesiveness.
Ryan Prior (left), the ace of RBC’s pitching staff, has a veteran catcher to throw to in second-year starter Aiden Funk (right). Photo by Jennifer Harms/jharmsphotography.com
“The chemistry is better than last year,” Hausmann said. “It’s an enjoyable group, the guys are really buying in. It’s a very team-oriented group this year which is nice.
“We lost some pretty good three- and four-year players and replaced them with a lot of new guys. Some are showing what they can do, some are not.”
The Caseys are experienced at one of the most important positions, as junior Aiden Funk is in his second season as starting catcher. Funk is hitting .476 with an .810 slugging percentage.
“He’s been playing very well,” Hausmann said. “He caught every game last year and this year. That helps having a veteran catcher who’s only a junior. Last year he learned a lot from playing every day. He did well. He struggled late but it’s a lot to catch every inning of every game in a high school season.”
University of Notre Dame commit Dylan Passo returned at first base, junior Drew Cannon (.300) is at second, Lafayette-bound Max Dantoni is at shortstop and junior Landon Laido is on third. Dantoni is in his third year at short. When he missed some games with injury Cannon moved to short and Felician-bound AJ Sciametta – who is hitting .562 mainly as a designated hitter – filled in at second.
Slugging junior Jake Frankel, who’s hitting .522 with four home runs and a 1.130 slugging percentage, holds down left field. Sophomore Luke Lonczak, who hit over .400 as starting center fielder last season, is returning in two weeks from a torn ACL. Alternating in his place has been junior Myles Nessan and sophomore Luke Scaturro. Returning in right field is junior Charlie Stumberger (.346, 2 HR, 11 RBI).
The lineup has produced a .359 team batting average and .579 slugging percentage.
The pitching has been even more impressive with a 1.40 team ERA behind ace Ryan Prior. The University of Virginia commit – and nephew of former Cubs pitcher Mark Prior – is 1-1 with a 1.26 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 16⅔ innings.
Also on the staff – which contains 11 players who are strictly pitchers – is junior Glen Popes (2-0, 2.10 ERA), senior Luke Meyers (1-0, 0.00) and freshman Sam French (1-0, 0.00). Hausmann is also trying to find time for Ursinus commit Justin Spitzfaden and Albright-bound Reyes Quinones.
“I feel bad, they’re going to Division III schools and are supposed to be pitching but there’s no innings to be had right now,” said the coach, whose team has had three games shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule. “A lot of our pitchers are kind of unknown, that’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
The pitchers have gotten support as Hausmann said ‘We’re playing pretty well defensively.”
RBC had a rematch with the Eagles on Apr. 17. The Caseys were moved up from the Shore Conference’s A Central Division to the tougher A North, which contains powerful Middletown South and Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft. The Colts are ranked No. 8 in the state.
A big test comes next week when the Caseys play CBA twice. The two teams could potentially meet five times this season including tournaments, which is not an ideal scenario.
But Hausmann is looking to use next week’s CBA games as a measuring stick for where his team is at.
“We’re just trying to get better and hopefully keep improving,” he said. “This new division is not easy. They really put us in with everybody (great).”