Livingston coach Mickey Ennis has a time-honored philosophy when it comes to directing his Lancers, and it’s not necessarily about the inevitable setbacks even any good team will absorb along the way in a 25-to-30 game spring season.
“We feel that our strong schedule will help us continue to keep improving, and we’re hoping to be playing well at the end of the season,” said the veteran head diamond mentor. “That’s been our trend the past few years, to be playing good ball late, because we’re interested in winning championships more than whatever our record might be.”
The Lancers have lived up to their coach’s approach the past three seasons, reaching state sectional finals in both 2021 and 2022, including winning the North 1, Group 4 title in ’22, and also advancing to the sectional semis last spring.
This season’s squad, off to a fine 6-0-1 start, including 5-0-1 in the Super Essex Conference-American Division, is a rather young group, but loaded with talent, including what could be a formidable mound staff.
“We think this may be the most depth that we’ve had as a pitching staff,” said Ennis. “We don’t have that guy who is throwing 90 (mph) plus, but we think that we have three quality starters on this staff and we’re starting to work other guys in relief now.”
In addition to Schultz, who was also one of the team’s top hurlers last season during a 17-11 (8-5 in the division) Lancers 2023 campaign, two other young starting pitchers to watch this spring are a pair of promising right-handers in sophomore Adam Goldberg (2-0, 1.75 ERA with 14 Ks and 3 BB in 12 IP) and junior Max Peri (2.10 ERA with 11 K’s in 20 2/3 IP).
Peri hurled 6 1/3 innings scattering 8 hits and striking out 7 as the Lancers posted a 4-3 walk-off victory against Seton Hall Prep (6-2-1, 3-1-1) on Monday afternoon at the Oval.
Robbie Lynn delivered an RBI single plating fellow junior Alex Yang from second base with the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
In Friday’s come-from-behind 7-4 win over Caldwell (3-5, 2-4) at Kiwanis Oval, the Lancers’ starter, junior southpaw Julian Schultz (2-1) worked 5 1/3 innings allowing six hits and four runs, but just one earned run while walking two, hitting a batter and striking out eight.
Lynn, the team’s starting third baseman and clean-up batter, provided 1 1/3 innings of 1-hit relief for his first save of the season.
Livingston trailed the Chiefs 3-0 after one inning and 4-2 after five innings, but was able to generate three runs in the sixth and add two insurance runs in the seventh on the way to another strong conference win.
Along with the deep and solid pitching staff that is continuing to develop, the Lancers have a fairly deep lineup. Against Caldwell, all but Lynn, who reached base twice on walks, had at least one hit and were led by key hitters including leadoff batter Schultz, who had a hit and 4 RBI, the No. 2 hitter,Yang, the team's shortstop, who was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, No. 3 hitter, junior right fielder E.J. Frayne, who was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
A trio of first-year starting seniors in leftfielder Noah Boxer (1 for 2 with 3 runs vs. Caldwell), DH Ethan Sze and first baseman Massimo Depapola (2-for-2 with a run) have provided a nice boost to the lineup along with junior second baseman Joey Meierhofer (1-for-3 with a double vs. Chiefs) and junior catcher John Marco Maiello (1-for-3 with a run and RBI).
Frayne is the team’s top run producer with 8 RBI through the first six games while batting .450 with four doubles and a triple. Schutlz, a fine two-way player as a center fielder and starting pitcher, was hitting .438 with 6 RBI through the first six contests. |
