Sandy's will open the 2009 season with a pre-season warm-up tournament at Hillcrest Park in Readington, NJ, Sunday, April 5. Our first game will be against a 40+ team; Cryan's, at 8:30 a.m. Our second game will be against the Sweet 50 Major Plus team, a national powerhouse with the talent (barring injuries that derailed them last year) to contend for the national title. We are guaranteed three games; winners/losers will determine our third opponent.
John Masterson will pitch the first game and our 1/2 man, Gregg Gross, a pitcher several years ago with the Three Little Bakers team from the Glouscester area, will toss the second. Our lineup will feature a nucleus of players from Sandy's in Ocean with superior reinforcement from several new tournament players.
Russ Casey will lead off, followed by Tom Donnelly. Connecticut Sportplex (Super Major team with numerous national championships under their belt) star Eddie Sindoni will play SS and bat third. Tony Vodola, a teammate of Eddie and Russ on Connecticut Sportplex and an all-season addition to our Ocean Sandy's team, will bat cleanup. Andre Thomas, a rookie with startling potential, will safeguard Tony from the 5th spot. Phil Hewett, endeavoring to prove himself at the Major level, will follow Andre. Jeff Conner, a well-known offensive force with sterling credentials from Rada Chiropractic in Ocean, will follow Phil. Jay Majewski, a power-hitting 3B, will attempt to clear the bases for Jim Fischetti and John Masterson. Bill Kokoska, another rookie with great potential, will be anticipating a lot of RBI opportunities with Jim and John ahead of him. Jerry Palazolla will split time at 2B and SS. Jerry is a fleet-footed line-drive hitter who would usually lead-off if our guy wasn't a lifetime .900 hitter. Gary Bendian will be playing with us as well. Gary is new to senior ball and will help at various defensive and offensive positions throughout each game.
This team is a good one. Its challenge will be a lack of time playing with each other; it will take some time to gel. But its potential is considerable, including a combination of the country's best players on the senior circuit, several proven players from tournament champions, and several new players who have stardom written all over them. Hopefully Cryan's will wake us up so we play our best game against Sweet 50. Should our defense make the routine plays and our offense has a routine day Sweet 50 will have its hands full!
