GLANCY AND BIANCHI STAR IN NEW ROLES

As far as they are both concerned, David Glancy has always been a leadoff hitter and Vincent Bianchi has always been a shortstop and a top-of-the-order hitter. Now, both are doing it for Red Bank Catholic's High School team for the first time and in their first regular season game in their new-but familiar roles, both Glancy and Bianchi got the job done. Glancy and Bianchi combined for five hits, eight total bases and six RBI as the Caseys - ranked No. 1 in the Shore Sports Network Preseason Top 10 - pounded out 14 hits in their season-opener Wednesday, a 11-5 win over Ocean. Glancy hit at the bottom of the order as a sophomore and still made the Carpenter Cup Team as one of the Shore's best underclass talents. In his first game in the leadoff spot as a varsity player, Glancy went 3-for-5 with a base-clearing double and four total RBI, as well as a pair of runs scored. His three-run double broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the fourth inning and gave RBC the lead for good. "I've always seen myself as a leadoff hitter," said Glancy, who found himself up in multiple RBI situations on Wednesday. "Even last year when I was hitting eighth or ninth, I tried to approach my at-bats like a leadoff hitter. Today, I was a little more aggressive because I came up with guys on base." Glancy's double was part of a seven-run fourth inning for RBC that answered Ocean's three runs in the bottom of the inning. The Spartans played as the home team Wednesday on the turf at Count Basie Park in order to get the game in. Bianchi emerged last year as Red Bank Catholic's No. 2 pitcher behind Wednesday's starter and All-Shore right-hander Austin Nappi. In addition to reprising that role, Bianchi is the Caseys starting shortstop and No. 3 hitter and his bat and glove played up right away in the varsity game. Bianchi went 2-for-5 with an RBI triple and an RBI single and was sharp in the field as well, turning a 1-6-3 double play to end the first, handling a pair of ground balls and staying with a high pop-up that twisted in the wind before finding his glove. "We had a lot of seniors last year so even though I knew I could play shortstop and hit, the team needed me as a pitcher and that was the job I knew I had to do," said Bianchi, a St. John's commit. "There is a little bit of an adjustment starting in the field and hitting on this team just because we have so many new starters, but it doesn't feel all that different out there." Glancy and senior first baseman Jon Michael Rotondo are the only two returning starters from the lineup and despite that, the Caseys debuted in 2018 with 11 runs on 14 hits with each starting collecting at least one knock. Senior left fielder Nick Merlo was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI on one of the doubles. Designated hitter Dan Ianelli went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored, Rotondo and junior catcher Ryan O'Hara both picked up an infield single, a walk and an RBI and junior second baseman Alex Gonzales was 2-for-4. Junior center fielder Elijah Ally was 1-for-3 with a run scored and reached when a would-be sacrifice fly to left field was dropped, plating RBC's second run. Sophomore Jack Scrivanic also went 1-for-5 with a run scored. Nappi was his usual, economical self on Wednesday, navigating through five innings on only 48 pitches to pick up his first win of the season. He threw 40 of those pitches for an eye-popping strike rate of 83.3 percent and that was despite issuing a four-pitch walk on the second batter of the game. He allowed four runs - three earned - on six hits and the one walk while striking out a pair. Ocean senior center fielder Jack D'Auria drew the four-pitch walk off Nappi and led the Spartans offense by going 1-for-1 with an RBI single to open the scoring in the second, a sacrifice fly for a second RBI, two walks and a run scored. Spartans junior catcher Max Winters continued his hot start to the season by going 2-for-4 with his second triple of the season. Winters went 3-for-3 with a homer and a triple in Ocean's opening-day win over A.L. Johnson on Saturday. Junior designated hitter Scuba Hagerman also had a strong showing at the plate for Ocean, going 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. Ocean needed five pitchers to get through Thursday's game, with sophomore starter Kevin Schoenberger pitching three scoreless innings before running into trouble in the fourth. Box Score No. 7 Red Bank Catholic 11, Ocean 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E RB Catholic (1-0, 1-0) 0 0 0 7 4 0 0 11 14 2 Ocean (1-1, 0-1) 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 5 8 4 Pitching RB Catholic IP H R ER BB SO PC Austin Nappi (W, 1-0) 5 6 4 3 1 2 48 Jack Bertoldo 1 2 0 0 0 0 13 Jake Birnbaum 1 0 1 0 1 0 16 Ocean IP H R ER BB SO PC Kevin Schoenberger (L, 0-1) 3.1 5 4 4 1 1 56 Isaac Greenspan 1 3 5 2 1 0 35 Dylan Thomas 0.1 3 2 2 2 0 18 Jack Mostow 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 22 Mike Cascaes 1 1 0 0 1 2 24 Top Hitters RB Catholic Stats David Glancy 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI Vincent Bianchi 2-5, 3B, R, 2 RBI Nick Merlo 2-4, 2 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI Dan Ianelli 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R Ocean Stats Jack D’Auria 1-1, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI Max Winters 2-4, 3B, R Ryan Toomey 2-4, RBI Scuba Hagerman 2-3, 3B, 2 R

GLANCY AND BIANCHI STAR IN NEW ROLES

SHORE SPORTS NETWORK

shore sports network | 4/4/2018