Allentown baseball having another stellar season Redbirds have a 13-2 mark and are looking forward to postseason BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer After putting together the finest season in school history a year ago, the AllentownHigh School baseball teamis putting together quite an encore this spring. The Redbirds, who finished 16-6 a year ago, reaching the Central Jersey Group III championship game for the first time, have picked up this season right where they left off. Head coach Brian Nice's squad entered the week at 12-2, and made it 13-2 (and 11-2 in their division) with a 12-2 victory over Trenton on Monday. "We're playing well, there's no question about it," said Nice. "We keep getting better and better, and doing all the things we need to do to win ball games." On Tuesday, the Redbirds were hoping to avenge one of their two losses when they took on Steinert in the second round of the Mercer County Tournament. "We lost to them 6-5 the first time around and it was a very good game," the coach said. "We expect it to be another good game tomorrow. Both teams are playing very well; I think Steinert has won something like nine games in a row. We'll have to play very well to beat them." With a win, the Redbirds would have advanced to the next round on Saturday. And with three other games scheduled for this week, Allentown's pitching depth is sure to be tested. However, Nice doesn't seem overly concerned about the number of games his team will play this week. "We had some questions marks coming into the season, including some younger guys in some key spots," he said. "We knew how well they came around would determine how successful we could be. "We've got a pretty good core of guys to build a team around in guys like Ethan Perro, Logan Gallagher, Rob Juliano, Anthony Gambino and Doug Ticse," he added. "And we've relied mostly on our pitching so far this year." That's why Nice is confident in his team's chances regardless of who is on the hill on any given day. "Our pitching has kept us in the game every time out, even in defeat," he said. "We just weren't able to get the big hits when we needed them in those two losses." Perro is the team's ace, and was expected to get the ball on Tuesday for the MCT game. Gambino is the No. 2 starter, with junior Ed Ras putting up some stellar numbers as well. "He's among the leaders in the Colonial Valley Conference, having thrown something like 21 or 22 innings with an ERA around 1.15," Nice said. "(Junior) Thomas Koontz also does a real nice job for us whenever he's asked." Gallagher is the team's closer, where he has shut teams down to the tune of four saves. The Redbird lineup, meanwhile, has been consistent, and at times, extremely potent. Juliano, the speedy senior center fielder, leads off, with sophomore Mark Mairano, who plays left field and second base, depending on who's pitching, batting second. Gallagher and Perro bat third and fourth. "Logan is our everyday shortstop, and Perro plays first base when he's not pitching," Nice said. Gambino, a first baseman/DH bats fifth, followed by Ticse, who also plays right field and DH. Junior outfielder Ed Ras bats seventh, followed by Koontz, who plays second base when not pitching, and junior third baseman Josh Howell. Howell's contributions have been especially important, according to his coach. "Josh bats ninth for us and is third in the team in RBI and is hitting about .480," Nice said. "He's like having a second lead-off hitter, because he runs well and gets on base the majority of the time." FreshmanMike Ras has been handling the majority of the catching duties for the Redbirds, while junior Ben Miller and sophomore Pat Gaeta have also seen some time behind the dish. Yesterday, Allentown took on Robbinsville in an important divisional game, and will be back in action today against Trenton Catholic. Tomorrow, the Redbirds will face Princeton, with a possible MCT looming on Saturday as well. "We're definitely going to get tested this week, that's for sure," Nice said. "But we've got a legitimate five-man rotation, so I'm not worried about our pitching depth at this point." Looking ahead to the upcoming postseason, Nice said his team is ready to compete for some hardware once again this spring. "These guys are definitely chomping at the bit a little bit for the state tournament, because we came so close to winning our first sectional title last year," the coach said. Allentown took a very good Ocean Township team to the limit last year, and despite graduating seven players from that team, the Redbirds fully expect to get back to the finals this spring. "But the scary thing about the postseason is that if you have one bad game, you're done," Nice said. As he looks at his team right now, Nice said he would certainly like his team's chances should the state tournament start tomorrow. "You always want to do certain things better, and we talked today about some of the little things we need to get better at," he said. "Things like moving guys over, bunting, and bringing home runs when they're out there for us. You're not going to beat teams 12-2 like we did today in the state tournament." That being said, Nice would not be surprised at all to see hisAllentown teamplaying for a sectional title for the second year in a row. Just as hewouldn't be surprised to see his team win it this time around. "If there's anAllentown teamthat can do it, this is the team," he said. "I certainly believe they are capable of something special."