NBHS baseball looking for more improvement this season
Raiders looking to defend their GMC White Division
BY GEORGE ALBANO Staff Writer
If a recent trend holds form this spring, then the 2008 North Brunswick High School baseball team could be headed for a big season.

The Raiders have improved recordwise in each of head coach Ryan Lillis' first three years, going from 0-19 his rookie season in 2005, to 11-12 his second year, to 14-11 and GMC White Division champions last year.

That team, however, had no less than 10 seniors on it, including seven starters and its three top pitchers.

But don't shed too many tears for the Raiders, who appear to have another strong team this season.

"We've had a pretty good progression each year, so hopefully the same will occur this year," Lillis, whose team also made the Group IV state tournament a year ago and beat Manalapan 4-3 in the opening round, said. "We lost a lot of seniors, but this year's team, I think, has a chance to be as talented, if not more talented. It's a pretty darn good team."

The key player back from last year's division title-winning teamis junior shortstop ElijahYarborough,who's been starting since his freshman year. A Division I prospect who's already drawing interest fromseveral colleges,Yarborough hit .380 as a sophomore with 23 RBIs and eight doubles.

He's also expected to be one of North Brunswick's top pitchers after compiling an impressive 1.68 ERA in 2007 with 17 strikeouts and two saves.

The other returning starter is also a junior, Jacob Baron, who can play right field, first base, and DH, as well as do some pitching. Last season, Baron batted .274 and drove in a dozen runs.

"Everybody else will be new to the varsity," Lillis said.

That would include juniorsMatt Kurtz in left field, Chris Rosenberg at second base, and Matt Stasik at third.

"All three of them were on JV last year, but the only reason they were down there was because we had a lot of upperclassmen," Lillis pointed out. "They can all play the field very well and hit very well.

"Matt Kurtz is a big hitter and we're hoping for a lot of things out of him," he added. "He can really hit the ball."

Two more juniors up from the JV level who should be in the mix are first baseman/ DH Jose Arroya and pitcher Brandon Baldini.

Jeff Geragallo, one of only four seniors on the roster, will be in center field, while junior Dan Mangiapane starts in right.

Chris D'Amore, who joins Geragallo as the only seniors in the starting lineup, will be behind the plate.

Meanwhile, Lillis is counting on sophomore Alex Taylor to be a key contributor to the NBHS pitching staff.

"We're looking for him to be a big arm on the mound," the Raiders' coach said. "He was a freshman last year who's gonna make the jump, at least as a pitcher, right to the varsity level."

"Not to take anything away from last year's team, but I definitely think this is the most talented group we've had since I've been here," he said. "We have a very good junior group. Theywork extremely hard and they do everything it takes to win. They're definitely a fun group to work with, and I'm looking forward to working with them this year and next year as well."