The lineage of outstanding modern-day Montclair shortstops dates back at least two decades now, and with four featured standouts, all of whom had at least 100 hits in their strong high school careers before moving on to Division I college programs.
The latest member of the Mounties’ impressive 100-Hit Club involving first-rate shortstops is 4-year starter and Bryant University-bound senior Patrick Van Note who has been a consistent contributor since his freshman season, and he will finish his career as one of the Essex County diamond program’s best ever at a storied position of success for veteran coach Ron Gavazzi and company.
Montclair (12-13) is the 11th seed in the NJSIAA North 1, Group 4 state tournament and will be at 6th-seeded Morristown (13-13) in opening-round game set for 4 p.m., Wednesday, May 27.
The Mounties, who have been hit by a series of injuries, had a tough start out of the gates this spring losing six of their first seven games and nine of their first 12 before beginning to right the ship.
Heading into Wednesday’s state tourney opener, Montclair has won seven of its last nine, including a 2-0 triumph at Passaic Valley on Thursday, May 21, behind the strong pitching of senior southpaw David Aishton.
One of the team’s hottest hitters during a productive month of May has been Van Note, who is batting a solid .392 on the season with 30 runs, 31 hits and 15 RBI, while also improving his power numbers with 12 extra base hits including 4 triples and 3 home runs.
For his efforts, which include six multi-hit games since May 1, Montclair’s consistent senior star shortstop is the Parisi Fairfield/Sideline Chatter Athlete of the Week.
He is the latest in that impressive lineage of Mountie shortstops who have had at least 100 hits and have been Division I college performers, beginning with Marlon Calbi (MHS Class of 2008 and Villanova), Vincent Citro (Class of 2010 and Siena) and Eli Kashi (Class of 2013 and George Washington University).
Kashi was also a key member of the Mounties’ Greater Newark Tournament championship team in 2012.
Van Note is the epitome of the veteran team leader while being a very productive all-around player for what has been a very young Montclair diamond squad the past two years.
“Patrick Van Note has been an outstanding player during the last four years and he has been a great example for the younger kids as he has continued to show them what it takes in terms of preparation and focus on a daily basis,” said Gavazzi, who is in his 18th season as the team’s head coach, and has had two tours of duty in that role (2006-2013 and 2017-2026). “Patrick has been the hardest worker on our team since the day he joined our program, and this season he has been as consistent as one can be while having an offensive approach which has continued to improve.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have some outstanding shortstops through the years. It is a prominent position in the game of baseball and all the members of that 100-hit club, who are also Division I college players, has been the fact that they’ve all been high-character kids who have helped carry their Montclair teams.”
Van Note has enjoyed a very productive month of May. He went 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored, a double and an RBI in a 6-5 Mounties victory over Nutley on Monday, May 18. Before that he was 1-for-4 with a walk, 2 runs and an RBI in a 9-7 win at North Bergen. He went 3-for-4 with a walk, 2 runs and an RBI in an 8-4 victory vs. Millburn on May 14.
His hottest stretch came in a series of impressive performances to start the month as he went 4-for-5 with a walk, 3 runs, a triple and an RBI in a 19-5 romp past Memorial of West New York, which followed going 2-for-3 with a walk and double in a 4-3 win vs. Glen Ridge when he recorded his 100th hit, and that strong showing came after a perfect 3-for-3 day with 3 runs when he almost hit for the cycle with a triple, a home run and 4 RBI in a 15-1 Mounties rout of Passaic in a contest where he almost hit for the cycle; however, a Passaic outfielder made a great catch in the gap to rob him of what would have been a sure double.
His overall strong month of May began with his 2-for-3 with a run in a 7-4 loss to St. Benedict’s in the first round of the 93rd Greater Newark Tournament.
An area of increased productivity for Van Note has been in his power numbers with his 12 extra base hits through the first 25 games, highlighted by the 4 triples and 3 homers.
“I think it’s been a combination of increased strength and speed, and I’ve been able to leg out more extra base hits,” said the Mounties’ veteran team leader. “I continued to work during the off season with strength coach Jared Forrester at PS2 Athletics (in Wayne) and hitting coach Steve Teel (at Teel Baseball in Wyckoff), and I believe all of that hard work has paid off.
“I’ve just been doing whatever I can to help our young team this season, and – fortunately - we’ve been playing our best baseball the past few weeks heading into the states where we are looking to make a deep run.
“It’s been an honor to be mentioned with some of the great shortstops we’ve had at Montclair, and coach Gavazzi has helped me so much these past four years in working with me to continue to improve in all areas of the game.”
Van Note is one of just four seniors on the Montclair roster this spring. One of those is the veteran southpaw Aishton (1-4) who is now fully healthy and is coming off his best mound performance of the season when he hurled strong six shutout innings in this past Thursday’s win at Passaic Valley.
Another veteran left-hander, junior Asher Seawell, has been limited in his availability as a pitcher this spring, but has been a boost to the lineup as one of the team’s best hitters while playing a steady first base.
Otherwise, the lineup is a youthful one, including Patrick’s younger brother, promising sophomore left fielder Nate Van Note, and exciting freshmen starters in second baseman/catcher Silas Hart and third baseman/pitcher Clyde Hodari, who picked up a save in relief of Aishton while hurling a scoreless seventh inning in the recent win at PV.
“We’re a lot healthier now than we’ve been all season,” said Gavazzi. “We had guys who were out for multiple weeks and a few of those missed more than 10 games, but now we’re healthy and playing with more confidence which translates into a better brand of baseball.”
A lack of experience has not made it easy for Montclair the past two seasons after an outstanding year in 2024 when the team finished a solid 22-8-1 (7-4-1 in the Super Essex Conference’s American Division) and came oh-so-close to winning a state sectional title before being edged, 4-3, at Livingston in the N1G4 final.
Van Note drove in 26 runs while playing a superb brand of defense as a sophomore that season which followed a very productive freshman year when he batted .311 with 25 runs scored and 17 RBI for a 14-12-2 squad. He hit .293 last spring with 22 RBI.
“Patrick has been a picture of consistency throughout his four years with our program,” said Gavazzi. “He has also gained strength while becoming the future Division I college player he will now be at a great program in Bryant.”
Van Note attended a 2025 summer camp at Bryant University after hitting coach Steve Teel had made contact with a former hitting coach at the Smithfield, Rhode Island school. The Mountie senior was then invited for an official visit before he accepted an offer to become part of the team from Bulldogs head coach Ryan Klosterman.
Bryant, which has continued to rise up on the America East Conference scene, had posted six straight 30-win seasons under Klosterman before this season’s still-solid 27-25 squad which was 13-11 in conference play.
Among the other New Jersey players on the Bryant diamond squad are freshman pitcher Jameson Dobis of St. Augustine, junior pitcher Billy Mulholland of Pascack Hills, sophomore right-hander Justin Drexler of Waldwick, and sophomore outfielder Charlie Saul of Pascack Valley.
“The baseball program and coaching staff at Bryant are first-rate, and the academics are strong,” said Van Note. “I like Math a lot and will look to focus on the business courses there.
“One of my major goals has been to play Division I college baseball and I plan on working hard during this off-season as I continue to prepare for the challenges ahead!”
NOTES- Montclair’s last infield star, 2025 graduate Ben St. Pierre, has been a freshman outfielder this spring at Division III power Misericordia University (Dallas. Pa.) which entered recent action with a 28-17 record…Patrick Van Note began his baseball career as a 6-year-old with the Montclair Bulldogs. He has played travel ball as a high school player with the North Jersey Ghosts…Van Note looks up to major league shortstops Bobby Witt, Jr. of the Kansas City Royals and Trey Turner of the Philadelphia Phillies. “They play the game the right way,” he said. “I try to emulate them in how they about their business.”…Of the Mounties’ 100-hit club under Gavazzi, which also includes the graduated third baseman and second baseman St. Pierre, Vincent Citro accomplished his feat in just three years.
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