Baseball Team Gets Into Swing of Things

Through its first dozen games of the men’s baseball season, RVCC’s record stood at 1-11, but the team finished strong with a three-game winning streak to wind up at 4-16. Last year, the team went 3-18.

The team even got to play the role of spoiler, rallying from a 7-1 deficit to beat first-place Camden and damage that school’s playoff chances. In that contest, John Chismar’s three-run homer highlighted an eight-run fifth inning for the comeback victory. Jimmy Casey was the winning pitcher, and Ernie Lukacs picked up the save.

RVCC closed out its 2006 season with a doubleheader sweep, by 7-0 and 14-10, of Cumberland County College. In the first game, Chris Ellis pitched a complete-game shutout and was 3 for 4 batting. In the second game, Jason Snyder got the win on the mound and went 3 for 5 at the plate, including a home run.

The team also beat Bergen Community College on April 18. Lukacs pitched a complete-game victory, allowing four runs on five hits, while striking out seven.

The hitting improved from last season, with six players finishing with a batting average over .300 The offensive leaders include centerfielder Chismar, who led the team with a .424 average and had 28 hits. Shortstop Mike Klebaur topped the team in RBI with 20. In the second game of a doubleheader, Klebaur hit for the cycle on April 20 against Lackawanna Collge: a single, double, triple and home run. He finished four for four with a run scored, and drove in all four runs for RVCC in a 6-4 loss. Klebaur hit the first-ever home run for Raritan Valley at its new baseball field. Casey, who also played outfield, was a perfect 17 for 17 in stolen-base attempts.

Everyone has contributed with the bat at some point in the season, including Bill Bush, Jared Pasko, Chris Ellis, Dave DeRosa, Sean D’Anunciacao, Matt Smith, Dustin Smith, Lou Falciani, Steve Lobman and Snyder. All have gotten key hits.

All in all, the RVCC men’s baseball team is much improved, as Chismar and Klebaur led the way. With the new field, the turnouts have been great and the team is headed in the right direction.