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SOUTH RIVER – Between innings, North Plainfield baseball coach Stephen Zurawiecki doesn’t just tell his players what adjustments to make or what to correct.
Rather, he’ll ask them questions to get the answers. How were they successful in the past? What worked? Why did they make a mistake? What was the difference?
More: Baseball Player of the Week: North Plainfield's Bennie Sokolowski wins award
More: Baseball April roundup: Results, analysis, links for GMC, Skyland and area Union County
“I like to ask them these questions because some coaches will try to tell them what to do,” Zurawiecki said. “I like to approach it as this is a learning experience, right, and how can we learn from one at-bat to another, so that the younger kids understand that they have to learn how to be successful.”
The Canucks are a smart bunch and they’ve been figuring things out just nicely.
Monday, surging North Plainfield topped South River 4-3 to get the series split and stay afloat in a tight Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division race.
Tommy Zotollo had a three-RBI double on the first pitch into right field to highlight a four-run first inning. On the mound fueled by a strong curveball, the lefthander allowed three runs in five innings (two earned) with eight strikeouts. Fellow senior Davyn Ciriaco closed with two shutout innings and four strikeouts.
South River’s Julius Rosado, one of the area’s best players, laced two doubles and walked, while Julien Borusovic hit a two-RBI double for the Rams (8-4 overall, 7-4 in the division).
North Plainfield (9-3 overall and in the division) already surpassed its win total from last season after going 7-19 and 0-12 in the Blue.
That’s a stunning turnaround. In fact, North Plainfield’s last winning season came in 2018 when it went 12-7 in the Skyland Conference.
“I think they’re one of the most improved teams in the GMC right now,” South River coach Mike Lepore Jr. said. “They took their lumps the first couple of years. …. Give their coach and his staff credit. They got three really good pitchers that keeps them in baseball games and that’s what you got to do. They throw strikes. They got experience and they got a taste of winning and now they know how to win.”
One thing that’s helped is they returned seven starters and the seasoning has paid off. Zurawiecki has stressed a fundamentals approach such as making good throws.
“We practice routine plays 90 percent of the time,” he said. “I don’t really practice trick plays. I don’t really practice a ton of unique situations. What I try to do is on a daily basis for practice I have them practice the highest probability plays that are going to happen on a daily basis and then throughout the week I will sprinkle in certain situations.
“… It’s one of those things where we just want to be able to make those routine plays be routine. And if we can do that with our pitching, we’ll be in almost every single game. So it’s really just all about minimizing those mistakes and capitalizing when we have those opportunities.”
He also added that many of the players were need as underclassmen in the past going against older players.
“That experience not only just makes it easier but it makes it simple to find the confidence because you’ve done it before,” Zurawiecki said, “and then all it is after that is saying to yourself, 'I’ve done this before. I’ve been in this position before. I faced pitchers like this before and then we can just do it.' Whereas, if it’s your first time out there then it’s more of a challenge.”
Those varsity innings have shown on the mound, where the pitchers have all improved their stats from a year ago.
Zotollo (25 2/3 IP, 36 Ks, 3.27 ERA), Bennie Sokolowski (17 IP, 22 Ks, 0.00 ERA), Ciriaco (18 IP, 33 Ks, 0.39 ERA) and Ian Lameira (15 IP, 26 Ks, 1.87 ERA) have given North Plainfield top-flight pitching.
While they’re batting .213 as a team, they’ve gotten timely hits and heads-up play. Victor Ceda leads with a .344 average (11-for-32). Leadoff hitter Mark Fultz is hitting .250 but is doing the job as table setter with an on-base percentage of nearly .500 fueled by 11 walks and three hit by pitches.
Jake Zotollo has done a good job at catcher and freshmen Luis Ceda, Ryan Soto and Jaden Herrera have contributed.
“When we work together – that’s how winning is done,” Tommy Zotollo said, “because we can’t win with one person. Everyone has to commit to it.”
Now, Zurawiecki, of course, does tell his players some nuggets of info.
“There are three things that I tell them before every game,” Zurawiecki said. “I say keep the game in front of you, so we’re not running with our numbers facing the infield. I say make good throws and have fun and that’s pretty much about it.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: North Plainfield surpasses its win total from last year
Continue reading...
Rather, he’ll ask them questions to get the answers. How were they successful in the past? What worked? Why did they make a mistake? What was the difference?
More: Baseball Player of the Week: North Plainfield's Bennie Sokolowski wins award
More: Baseball April roundup: Results, analysis, links for GMC, Skyland and area Union County
“I like to ask them these questions because some coaches will try to tell them what to do,” Zurawiecki said. “I like to approach it as this is a learning experience, right, and how can we learn from one at-bat to another, so that the younger kids understand that they have to learn how to be successful.”
The Canucks are a smart bunch and they’ve been figuring things out just nicely.
Monday, surging North Plainfield topped South River 4-3 to get the series split and stay afloat in a tight Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division race.
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Tommy Zotollo had a three-RBI double on the first pitch into right field to highlight a four-run first inning. On the mound fueled by a strong curveball, the lefthander allowed three runs in five innings (two earned) with eight strikeouts. Fellow senior Davyn Ciriaco closed with two shutout innings and four strikeouts.
South River’s Julius Rosado, one of the area’s best players, laced two doubles and walked, while Julien Borusovic hit a two-RBI double for the Rams (8-4 overall, 7-4 in the division).
North Plainfield (9-3 overall and in the division) already surpassed its win total from last season after going 7-19 and 0-12 in the Blue.
That’s a stunning turnaround. In fact, North Plainfield’s last winning season came in 2018 when it went 12-7 in the Skyland Conference.
“I think they’re one of the most improved teams in the GMC right now,” South River coach Mike Lepore Jr. said. “They took their lumps the first couple of years. …. Give their coach and his staff credit. They got three really good pitchers that keeps them in baseball games and that’s what you got to do. They throw strikes. They got experience and they got a taste of winning and now they know how to win.”
One thing that’s helped is they returned seven starters and the seasoning has paid off. Zurawiecki has stressed a fundamentals approach such as making good throws.
“We practice routine plays 90 percent of the time,” he said. “I don’t really practice trick plays. I don’t really practice a ton of unique situations. What I try to do is on a daily basis for practice I have them practice the highest probability plays that are going to happen on a daily basis and then throughout the week I will sprinkle in certain situations.
“… It’s one of those things where we just want to be able to make those routine plays be routine. And if we can do that with our pitching, we’ll be in almost every single game. So it’s really just all about minimizing those mistakes and capitalizing when we have those opportunities.”
He also added that many of the players were need as underclassmen in the past going against older players.
“That experience not only just makes it easier but it makes it simple to find the confidence because you’ve done it before,” Zurawiecki said, “and then all it is after that is saying to yourself, 'I’ve done this before. I’ve been in this position before. I faced pitchers like this before and then we can just do it.' Whereas, if it’s your first time out there then it’s more of a challenge.”
Those varsity innings have shown on the mound, where the pitchers have all improved their stats from a year ago.
Zotollo (25 2/3 IP, 36 Ks, 3.27 ERA), Bennie Sokolowski (17 IP, 22 Ks, 0.00 ERA), Ciriaco (18 IP, 33 Ks, 0.39 ERA) and Ian Lameira (15 IP, 26 Ks, 1.87 ERA) have given North Plainfield top-flight pitching.
While they’re batting .213 as a team, they’ve gotten timely hits and heads-up play. Victor Ceda leads with a .344 average (11-for-32). Leadoff hitter Mark Fultz is hitting .250 but is doing the job as table setter with an on-base percentage of nearly .500 fueled by 11 walks and three hit by pitches.
Jake Zotollo has done a good job at catcher and freshmen Luis Ceda, Ryan Soto and Jaden Herrera have contributed.
“When we work together – that’s how winning is done,” Tommy Zotollo said, “because we can’t win with one person. Everyone has to commit to it.”
Now, Zurawiecki, of course, does tell his players some nuggets of info.
“There are three things that I tell them before every game,” Zurawiecki said. “I say keep the game in front of you, so we’re not running with our numbers facing the infield. I say make good throws and have fun and that’s pretty much about it.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: North Plainfield surpasses its win total from last year
Continue reading...
