For Marlboro baseball team .500 season was a winner
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
There may not seem to be a big difference between 11-13 and 12-12. However, for the Marlboro High School baseball team, it was huge.

"That made all the difference," said Mustang head coach Paul Sessa, whose team won its last two games to reach .500.

For a Marlboro baseball program that has been down for a number of years, the non-losing campaign was a sign that the team is moving forward under the direction of first-year head coach Sessa.

For the seniors, who went through three head coaches in their four years, who wanted to end their careers with some fond memories and with something for the underclassmen to build on, the .500 season provided just that. And for those underclassmen, the season provided final proof that the Mustangs can compete with the best teams in the Shore Conference.

The Mustangs couldn't have scripted a better ending to the season. Bringing an 11-12 record into the final game with St. John Vianney, they beat the Lancers 4-3 in 10 innings to square their season record at 12-12.

"Our last two games were very exciting come-from-behind wins," noted Sessa.

Jeremy Paster, Craig Bodziner, Jeff Paglio-Pizzi, Tony Roegiers, Jason Taub, Cameron Nichols, Mike McLaughlin, Anthony DeMarco, Chris Tomaselli, Mike Dietrich and Phil Zanardi made up the senior class that provided outstanding leadership along with solid play.

After an 0-4 start, the Mustangs went 12-8. They came up one game short of the state playoffs, and Sessa believes the way the team was playing in May, they would have been no pushover.

"I think we could have done some something [in the states]," he pointed out.

Matt Wekerley (who hit .436 this year), pitcher Anthony Castelli (4-3 with 55 strikeouts in 34 innings) and Jason Ortiz are the players who represent the team's future.

Paglio-Pizzi going to NJIT

Outfielder Paglio-Pizzi will be continuing his baseball career at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He made an early decision, signing with the Division I college last fall.

"I'm looking forward to the whole experience," he said of NJIT, where he will major in business and education. "It's a big challenge."

Paglio-Pizzi said that he will have an opportunity to play his freshman year at NJIT. But, there are no guarantees.

"The position won't be given to me, I have to work for it," he said.

The Marlboro senior worked hard to earn his athletic scholarship, traveling to showcases and playing as much baseball as he could.

"I knew I had to catch their [scouts'] eye by going to showcases and playing hard," he said.

The early signing took the pressure off the high school season for Paglio-Pizzi. That alone made the season enjoyable, but it was the way it all ended for him and his fellow seniors that was the most rewarding.

"To go out with all my friends with a .500 season was nice, and we ended it with a walk-off," he said. "We're very close, doing everything together. That made a difference after our 0-4 start."

Besides the personal satisfaction of ending Marlboro's long nonwinning streak, Paglio-Pizzi said the seniors were happy that the team's young players gained confidence for next season