Monmouth County wins all-star game/Hayes, O'Hanlon provide spark
By TONY GRAHAM
STAFF WRITER
LAKEWOOD - It seemed Dom Hayes couldn't wait to grab a bat at Wednesday night's Shore Conference Baseball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game.
Hayes, whose final varsity plate appearance for Colts Neck High School one week ago to the day was a grand slam that clinched the Shore Conference Tournament championship at FirstEnergy Park, returned to those surroundings Wednesday night.
The former Cougar singled and doubled and scored two runs in an 11-6 victory by Monmouth County over Ocean.
""There must be something about this ball park and that (home team) dugout,'' said Hayes. ""Same dugout, same everything,'' he said.
For Hayes, who has signed with NJIT, playing with and against players he had only read or heard about made Wednesday all that much more worth while.
"'You hear so many things about all these kids and you finally come together,'' he said. "'Everybody gets the respect they deserve and it's a mutual respect. And it's good. Everybody comes here, has fun, and they all love the game.''
No one was having more fun Wednesday than Keansburg catcher James O'Hanlon.
""I love playing here, the pressure being on, it was a lot of adrenaline,'' said O'Hanlon. His two run single in the third inning, followed by a two-run single by Jim Laufer (CBA) accounted for four runs as Monmouth wiped out an early 1-0 deficit.
"'It (the hit) felt amazing,''said O'Hanlon. ""I just wanted to scream. It felt really good. I was looking forward to that (opportunity). I didn't want to do bad. It put our team in the lead which was huge.
"'We got the win and I helped start it,'' said O'Hanlon who said he plans to continue his baseball career at Brookdale Community College.
""I'm going as a catcher and if they need me to pitch I can do that, too,'' he said.
Monmouth, which claimed a 2-1 lead in the series since its switch to FirstEnergy Park, put the game away with four runs in the seventh that made it 11-1.
Dave Laufer (CBA) stroked an RBI single to center and Mike Galeotafiore (CBA) launched a three-run triple to deep right.
An infield RBI single by Ryan Casey (Manchester), an RBI double by by Brady Doyle (TR East) and an Anthony Mazzetta (TR North) sacrifice fly keyed a four-run seventh for Ocean.
Monies raised from Wednesday night, which also included a later game between New Jersey Troopers and a team of Shore Conference Alumni, will benefit the "Going to Bat for Brian" and "Light Up Manchester" charities.
""This is why we coach,'' said Kevin James, Rumson-Fair Haven coach and director of Wednesday's events.
"'This is why we do what we do,'' said James. ""To get this kind of game for these players is a wonderful experience.''
STAFF WRITER
LAKEWOOD - It seemed Dom Hayes couldn't wait to grab a bat at Wednesday night's Shore Conference Baseball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game.
Hayes, whose final varsity plate appearance for Colts Neck High School one week ago to the day was a grand slam that clinched the Shore Conference Tournament championship at FirstEnergy Park, returned to those surroundings Wednesday night.
The former Cougar singled and doubled and scored two runs in an 11-6 victory by Monmouth County over Ocean.
""There must be something about this ball park and that (home team) dugout,'' said Hayes. ""Same dugout, same everything,'' he said.
For Hayes, who has signed with NJIT, playing with and against players he had only read or heard about made Wednesday all that much more worth while.
"'You hear so many things about all these kids and you finally come together,'' he said. "'Everybody gets the respect they deserve and it's a mutual respect. And it's good. Everybody comes here, has fun, and they all love the game.''
No one was having more fun Wednesday than Keansburg catcher James O'Hanlon.
""I love playing here, the pressure being on, it was a lot of adrenaline,'' said O'Hanlon. His two run single in the third inning, followed by a two-run single by Jim Laufer (CBA) accounted for four runs as Monmouth wiped out an early 1-0 deficit.
"'It (the hit) felt amazing,''said O'Hanlon. ""I just wanted to scream. It felt really good. I was looking forward to that (opportunity). I didn't want to do bad. It put our team in the lead which was huge.
"'We got the win and I helped start it,'' said O'Hanlon who said he plans to continue his baseball career at Brookdale Community College.
""I'm going as a catcher and if they need me to pitch I can do that, too,'' he said.
Monmouth, which claimed a 2-1 lead in the series since its switch to FirstEnergy Park, put the game away with four runs in the seventh that made it 11-1.
Dave Laufer (CBA) stroked an RBI single to center and Mike Galeotafiore (CBA) launched a three-run triple to deep right.
An infield RBI single by Ryan Casey (Manchester), an RBI double by by Brady Doyle (TR East) and an Anthony Mazzetta (TR North) sacrifice fly keyed a four-run seventh for Ocean.
Monies raised from Wednesday night, which also included a later game between New Jersey Troopers and a team of Shore Conference Alumni, will benefit the "Going to Bat for Brian" and "Light Up Manchester" charities.
""This is why we coach,'' said Kevin James, Rumson-Fair Haven coach and director of Wednesday's events.
"'This is why we do what we do,'' said James. ""To get this kind of game for these players is a wonderful experience.''
posted by Tony Graham at 6:19 PM
3 Comments:
hayes=way over rated
Re Hayes - Ok...if you say so....
monmouth county was just flat out better then ocean county..anyone disagree?
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