An 0-4 start to the North Arlington baseball season did not cause a panic within the Vikings team. While disappointed by the early results, the belief that a turnaround was coming remained strong.
Sure enough, North Arlington showed signs of waking up from the early-season slumber with wins over Weehawken and Manchester Regional. And while the Vikings dropped a tough one to an undefeated Park Ridge squad on Saturday, at 2-5, there’s little doubt that better results are on the way.
“I’ve been preaching to them that it’s going to turn around. Things are going to start falling our way,” said head coach Paul Marcantuono, citing a 10-inning loss to Waldwick and two-game split with Weehawken as signs of the turnaround starting. “Just to be patient and just keep your approaches, good approaches at the plate. Keep playing solid defense and we’ll be fine.”
A big reason for that confidence is a solid Vikings rotation led by the trio of senior Chris Troyano and juniors Danny Higgins and Vincent Hinojosa.
Troyano, a four-year mainstay on the mound for North Arlington, has 21 strikeouts in just 15.2 innings with a 3.65 ERA. Higgins has a 3.23 ERA in 13 innings, striking out 10 batters while showing better control on the mound than a season ago. Hinojosa, who tossed a complete game victory over Weehawken, has 10 strikeouts and a 3.50 ERA in 10 innings.
“They all did a great job last year, all doing a great job this year as well,” Marcantuono said.”When you give them the ball, you know your team has a chance to win and you’re going to be in the game.”
Others who could see starts as the season progresses includes Owen Alvarez, a promising freshman who has shown poise out of the bullpen, senior Matt Higgins, junior TJ Roman and sophomore Cesar Echavarria. Sophomore Ariantony Monegro and freshman Tyler Lopez have also seen time on the mound this season.
While the offense, as whole, has struggled early on, there are signs the lineup could prove to be deeper than previously anticipated. A big reason for that is Hinojosa at first base. Hitting primarily out of the sixth spot so far, Hinojosa leads the team in batting with a .364 average and also has a team-best three stolen bases. Matt Higgins takes over at first when Hinojosa is on the mound.
Hitting in front of Hinojosa so far has been second baseman Luis Ramos, a four-year starter, who is also off to a strong start at the plate as he leads the team in runs (seven), RBI (seven) and walks (six), while hitting .286. Ramos, who scored a career-high four runs in Wednesday’s win over Weehawken, had a career-best six RBI two days later against Manchester Regional.
Shortstop is a split between Troyano and Danny Higgins, depending on who is pitching. Troyano, who hit .393 with 25 stolen bases last year, needs just 10 hits to become the first player in North Arlington history to record 100 career hits.
Troyano also sees extensive time at third base, a position he shares with the versatile Alex Zaldivar, who led the team in runs scored with 19 last season. Zaldivar can also start all over the outfield.
Senior Sam Rosamilia is a three-year starter in left field and despite hitting .263 is getting on base at a greater than 40-percent clip thanks to four walks and two hit by pitches.
In centerfield is freshman Braden Duffy, who is hitting .294 and providing good defense. While right field has largely been a combination of Roman, Alvarez and Hinojosa.
Junior Justin Tarulli is the starting catcher.
Others vying for at-bats include Monegro, Nick Ziakos and Lopez on the infield, Liam Richards-Moya in the outfield and Jacob Castillo behind the plate.
North Arlington, which entered the week with a 1-1 record in the NJIC Patriot Division, looked to continue its resurgence against Hasbrouck Heights on Monday, before returning to division play with a home-and-home series against Becton on Tuesday (away) and Thursday (home).
“They’re still confident that there’s good things coming and they know what they’re capable of doing,” Marcantuono said. “They’re fine, they’re confident and they know it’s going to click soon.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)