Battle on the Border: New Jersey Top Performers

Top Performers -- Offense

Matt Cocciadiferro, OF, St. Joseph Regional, 2016

+ Cocciadiferro reached base in all six plate appearances; two extra base hits, two HBPs, and  two times on errors, one due to a bad hop taken on a hard hit groundball and the other forced by quickly getting up the line (4.38). The team’s only senior drove in one of the team’s two runs against New York and tripled in two runs to seal the victory against New England.

Vinnie Martin, OF, Bergen Catholic, 2017

+ Martin led the team in hits with three, one being a no-doubt blast to right field against Team New England. The left-handed hitter hit the ball hard in four of five at-bats. He also made a very rangy play to the left-centerfield gap in the half inning following his two-run homerun.

Jesse Gerdes, C, Montgomery HS, 2017

+ Gerdes seemed to want the at-bat each time he stepped to the plate. The right-handed hitter reached base in four of his six plate appearances; collecting two hits to centerfield. Even his strikeout was quality; hitting a long foul ball in an 8-pitch at-bat.

Even Geisler, 1B, Lodi High School, 2017

+ Geisler struggled earlier, chasing pitches up and out of the zone. He made an adjustment throughout the course of the day, making a conscious effort to see the ball deeper and allowing his hands to work. He broke the hitless effort with a line drive single to left-field and later hit a hard double to the left of the centerfielder.

Danny Serretti, SS, Governor Livingston, 2018

+ Serretti had a tough day at the plate but made up for it in his last at-bat with a two-run homerun to rightfield. He did a nice job defensively throughout the day in the middle infield.

Top Performers – Pitching

Matt Semon, RHP, Don Bosco Prep, 2018

+ Semon was brilliant against a New York team filled with juniors and seniors. The sophomore worked two scoreless innings, showing to have a feel for the bottom third of the strike zone. He worked his fastball inside and outside with sink and run action at 77-81 miles-per-hour. His breaking ball was tighter in this outing despite the cold weather (67-70 MPH). His changeup was thrown with fastball hand speed and tempo at 74-75 MPH.

Evan Menendez, LHP, Christian Brothers Academy, 2017

+ Menendez had the most dominant outing of the New Jersey pitchers and possibly of the entire event. The left-hander pitched with confidence and with plus pitchability. He struck out five hitters in his outing, two with fastballs up and three with a plus breaking ball. He had an advanced feel for an elevated fastball/curveball down combination; making it a point to mix the two consistently. His fastball was 77-79 miles-per-hour and he topped out at 81 MPH. His breaking ball was 1-to-7 with sharp, late break at 70-74 MPH.

Kevin Teschko, RHP, Gateway HS, 2018

+ Teschko was excellent in his start against New England. The sophomore did an excellent job of remaining composed after the slow start. He gave up a leadoff double and a one out single but did not let up a base hit after that. He struck out three hitters with a late, big sweeping breaking ball at 64-67 miles-per-hour. His fastball had some late arm side life at 77-80 (81) MPH.

Scouting Highlights – Beyond the Box Score

+ 2017 second baseman Matt McDermott had a standout day despite not standing out in the box score. He went 1-for-6 but three of his outs were hit hard. His long hit was on a well-executed bunt for hit in which he ran down the first base line in 3.91 seconds.

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