Tommy Kowaliwsky gets the win for Ocean

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Getting the first win of the 2024 season for Ocean Township was Tommy Kowaliwskyj in the 3-0 beating of Freehold Borough.

On a freezing cold Friday afternoon, the Spartans of Ocean Township finally got their 2024 baseball season underway. They hosted and beat Freehold Borough 3-0 in a Shore Conference B North matchup.

This first week of April is tough for many programs as its spring break at many schools and the four days of heavy rain canceled practices and games.

Taking the mound for the Spartans was big Tommy Kowaliwsky. He pitched six and one third innings getting seven strikeouts. “Tommy did a nice job battling and made pitches when he needed to make them,” said Cip Apicelli, head coach.

Finishing the game on the mound was Ben Robinson, who had two strikeouts. Offensively, Ocean was led by Connor Tongring with two hits and two runs. Tongring, a junior, was the Spartan who was firing up his team with his enthusiasm. He is also the man behind the plate for Ocean.

Also getting two hits for Ocean was junior Derek Vazquez. Another junior, Jack Kelly, was 1-for-3 with an run batted in and sophomore Will Walsh also had an RBI. “We put the ball in play and made some things happen offensively. Overall I was happy with our approach,” added Apicelli.

Saturday, Ocean traveled to Matawan for another divisional game. This time the Spartans were beaten by the Huskies 7-2. With that win, Matawan is undefeated at 3-0, while Ocean is now 1-1. Losing pitcher for the Spartans was Vasquez, who threw 41 pitches in two innings. Ocean also had Anthony Torchia, Alejandro Sanchez and Kelly on the mound. Getting hits for Ocean against the Huskies were Tongring, Robinson, Walsh and Matt Richter.

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