Small ball the name of the game for Redbirds
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff Above, Allentown's Josh Howell takes a healthy lead off first base during a recent scrimmage against JFK-Iselin. Below, one of the Redbirds' big hitters, Logan Gallagher, puts his bat on the ball.

Playing what proves to be a daunting schedule every season, the Allentown High School baseball team annually has little room for error.

Therefore, when head coach Brian Nice has a talented roster, like he believes he has this year, it becomes vital that his team is constantly reminded what makes good teams more successful than others.

"From the beginning of the year [last season] we stressed that we need to be able to do the little things well, like moving guys over, running the bases well, throwing strikes - the basic fundamentals that successful teams are good at," Nice said. "As soon as the guys started buying into it we started winning, so once again this year, we're really stressing it with the guys."

Coming off a season in which the Redbirds went 9-12 and finished in second place in the Patriot Division behind Ewing, Nice is expecting a bit more out of this year's team.

"We're still trying to build off what we did last year," he said. "We did some nice things as the season went on last year, and now we just need to get over the hump. We're capable of playing well day in and day out, but we need to become more consistent."

Nice envisions this team making a run at the postseason, but again, he knows exactly what it's going to take for the Redbirds to make the jump to a playoff team.

"We're going to have to do those little things well - play small ball - because we can't score 13, 14 runs all the time. We're going to have to beat some teams 4-3, 3-2, 2-1," he said.

More often than not, it's the more experienced teams that win the low-scoring affairs, and Allentown is in good shape in that regard.

"We've got most of our guys back from last year. We lost Jim Nelson, our catcher, and that's a big loss that's going to hurt a little bit. He was our clean-up hitter. We also lost Jay Cullen, who was very good for us last year.

"Everyone else is back for us, and we've got a couple of young guys who are going to see some time as well," the coach added. "We've got all of our arms back from last year."

Allentown's depth at pitching should be among the team's strengths, and Nice will have plenty of options this spring.

"Junior Ethan Perro is our ace, and senior Chris Kubik is our No. 2," the coach said. "They're really more like a 1 and 1A, really. But Perro gets the ball in the opener (April 2 against Steinert)."

Also expected to see plenty of time on the mound for the Redbirds are junior Logan Gallagher, who Nice said is expected to be the team's closer, sophomore Thomas Koontz, sophomore Ed Raf and junior Anthony Gambino.

Offensively, the big bats are Gallagher, who will play shortstop and third base when not pitching for the Redbirds, and Perro, also a third baseman. They will bat third and fourth in the lineup.

"They both produced quite a bit for us last year, and I expect nothing less out of them this year," Nice said.

Junior Rob Guliano, a three-year starter, will be the lead-off hitter and will man center field.

"He'll make the move from center to right," the coach said. "He's proven that he can set the table for us."

Senior catcher Vin Pugliese has the unenviable task of replacing Nelson, but Nice is confident that Pugliese will thrive behind the dish.

"He shared a lot of the catching duties with Nelson last year, and I don't think we lose anything defensively with him back there. He might not have the bat that Nelson did, but he's very solid defensively."

Some of the other infielders Nice expects will contribute throughout the year are senior second baseman Tom Kuzma, a returning starter, sophomore shortstop Josh Howell, Koontz, who plays second base, and senior first baseman Chris Kubik, who is entering his fourth varsity season.

With Guliano anchoring the outfield, Nice said, the corner outfield positions are up in the air right now, with as many as six players vying for playing time.

"I've been telling these guys from the start that nothing's set out there," he said. "They're going to have to fight for playing time, but they'll all get their shot."

Among the players in the mix are seniors Steve Lancosky, Jeremy Valesi, Craig Bacovin and Josh Alster, junior Dan Westfall and sophomore Raf.

"We're gonna score some runs this year, but a lot of it is going to come down to how well we play small ball," the coach said.

As for his expectations, Nice is setting some realistic goals for this team.

"I think we'll be around .500, and anything above and beyond that will be a bonus," he said. "I think that's a realistic expectation for this team. We play in the Colonial Valley Conference, and we can't take any games off. We play a good opponent every day in this conference.

"Our ultimate goal is to make the state playoffs, so I would think 11-9, 12-10 would be a good year for us."

Some may question why a coach wouldn't set his goals higher than simply being above .500. But when a team plays the type of schedule the Redbirds do - a schedule made up of primarily Group III and Group IV schools - it's hard to expect too much success from a team.

That being said, if the Redbirds can do some of the things that Nice believes they need to do - the little things - they may find themselves playing in some big games down the stretch.