Lenape Gets the Better of Timber Creek

MEDFORD—Even during warm-ups, Lenape senior Jeff McGarry looked imposing on the mound.

Part of it was his size, as the tall and lean hurler dwarfed his own teammates, not to mention the youthful Timber Creek baseball team.

The rest of the intimidation came from the sound that his catcher’s mitt was making with each pitch he threw.

It was Timber Creek’s second game against a Lenape Regional School District school in three days. The Chargers dropped Monday’s contest to Shawnee, 13-2. 

Behind McGarry, who at one point struck out five consecutive batters, the Indians (11-4) picked up where there district rival left off, getting out to a big lead and routing the Chargers (5-12).

The game was called after the Chargers were retired in the top of the fifth, with the score 11-0.

For the Chargers, Bobby Missovoulos once again took the mound. After sneaking out of the first inning with only one run surrendered, the sophomore ran into trouble in the second.

The Indians sent 14 batters to the plate during the second inning, scoring 10 runs. Steve Doulong and Tyler Patrick got the scoring started with a pair of RBI doubles, and the Indians never looked back.

For Chargers head coach Frank Torcasio, the lopsided result was viewed as the byproduct of having such a young team. When asked about what he sees in the future for his squad, the coach was more than eager to share some of his thoughts.

“I was expecting the sophomore class to produce this year and some have,” Torcasio said. “The only thing that might hurt us is that we are losing some pitching. We lose three pitchers this year. In the field, the other eight positions, we have sophomores that will be able to step up and learn from this year.”

Torcasio made it a point to note that he feels it is not a lack of effort or talent that is hindering his team—it's just the disadvantage of youthfulness when pitted against older, more mature athletes. It is something that the team can address with the proper preparation.

“They need to get bigger and stronger,” Torcasio said. “We are not the biggest. You can see the difference sometimes in our hits; there is a sound difference between the bat. They need to get in the weight room and get bigger. They are going to mature and hopefully that process continues.”

Still, there are five games left on the schedule, which means that there is still time before moral victories and offseason improvements can be measured. With 10 days left before the playoffs, there is still a season to be finished for the Chargers.

“We are 5-12,” the coach said. “You hope they learn from it and they don’t let this happen as they get older.”

The Chargers travel to Eastern today for an Olympic Conference matchup, then play in Haddonfield Memorial High School's Russ Spicer Tournament Saturday, with an opening-round game against St. Joe's of Hammonton.

The Chargers' regular season concludes with home games next Tuesday against Winslow Township and May 24 against Camden Catholic.

As for the team's chances of making the Group 3 playoffs, Torcasio offered his opinion.

“We’ll get in there," he said. "We will be a low seed, but we will get in.”