Raptors tabbed for ninth in pre-season NJAC baseball poll
Friday, February 15, 2013
Press release
CAMDEN, N.J. (February 13, 2013) – The Rutgers University-Camden baseball program features a new coaching staff, practically a whole new team and a new direction as it heads into the 2013 season.
The Scarlet Raptors, however, still have to build a new reputation on the field and, after an eighth-place finish in the New Jersey Athletic Conference last spring, they have been tabbed ninth in the pre-season poll by NJAC coaches, which was released today.
Perennial powerhouse Kean University received six of the 10 first-place votes from the NJAC coaches to be tabbed as the pre-season conference favorite. Ramapo College finished second in the poll, receiving three first-place votes. Rowan University was picked for third and Montclair State University was tabbed for fourth, receiving the other first-place vote.
William Paterson University, tabbed as the NJAC dark horse by the coaches, was picked fifth overall, while The College of New Jersey rounded out the top six in the pre-season poll. The top six teams in the league standings qualify for the NJAC playoffs.
Richard Stockton College, Rutgers-Newark, Rutgers-Camden and New Jersey City University finished seventh through 10th in the poll, respectively.
The Scarlet Raptors posted a 15-24 record last season, including a 7-11 NJAC mark to finish in eighth place. Since that time, highly-successful Gloucester Catholic High School and Brooklawn American League Coach Dennis Barth has taken over the reins of the Scarlet Raptors’ program.
Barth’s first collegiate team will feature 18 Raptor lettermen, including senior outfielder Albert Rivera (Matawan, NJ/Matawan Regional),the lone returning all-conference player. Rivera captured NJAC Honorable Mention in 2012 after hitting .346 with 22 stolen bases. He also added numerous academic honors, including a berth on the Academic All-District 2 First Team.
Two key additions will be the return of junior George Spingler (Gloucester City, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and senior John Santilli (Folsom, NJ/St. Joseph-Hammonton), a pair of infielders. Spingler missed the entire 2012 season due to injuries and Santilli had season-ending surgery after only eight games. He heads into his senior season needing only 15 hits to reach the career 100 milestone.
The Scarlet Raptors also return staff ace Tommy Potts (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown Regional), whose 3-4 record was an indication of his lack of support, not his talent. He posted a 3.29 ERA, held opponents to a .226 batting average, tied for team-high honors with 63 innings pitched and walked only 16 while fanning 60. He pitched two complete games, including one shutout, and ranked among NJAC leaders in numerous pitching categories.
Barth was hired at Rutgers-Camden in August after leading Brooklawn to the finals of the American Legion World Series. That success came after leading Gloucester Catholic to the Parochial A state championship earlier in the summer, marking the ninth Parochial A or B state title in 10 tries since Barth took over the program in 1994. He also helped Brooklawn capture 10 regional championships and earn a pair of national titles (1991, 2001) while a member of its coaching staff.
His first coaching staff will include long-time Raptor assistant Mike Roth, as well as newcomers Josh Copskey, Mike Brown and his nephew, Bryan Barth.
Dennis Barth and his staff have 13 incoming freshmen, including some of the top scholastic talent in the South Jersey area. They also have 11 talented transfers from either community colleges or four-year institutions on their 42-man roster, including slugging senior first baseman Dave Prager (Deptford, NJ/Deptford), a transfer from Eastern University who was a First Team All-South Jersey player in high school.