RBC Baseball Showcasing Strength
Behind Talented Seniors
BY TIM MORRIS
Red Bank Catholic’s Shane Panzini gives the Caseys a chance to win
every time he steps on the mound.
TheJournalNJ.com | MAY 2021 25
Like every high school coach in the Shore region, Red Bank Catholic
head skipper Buddy Hausmann doesn’t know what to expect this
season. No one knows what the impact of a year away from high
school ball will have on this year’s seniors and juniors. They are a year
less experienced but still being counted on to be productive leaders.
That lack of experience, Hausmaan pointed out, has shown in pre-
season scrimmages.
“Missing a year is hard,” the RBC coach remarked. “The juniors and
seniors are playing catch up.”
There is one thing that Hausmann and the Caseys can count on, however,
and that is that every time senior right-hander Shane Panzini takes
the hill, the team will draw a crowd. That’s because Panzini is one of the
top prospects in the country, and as his coach noted, not every team has a
pitcher who can “deliver a fastball up to 97 mph.”
Last year, the Casey hurler participated in the Major League Baseball
Development Showcase in California. Although he is headed to the University
of Virginia, Major League scouts are still following his every pitch.
When Hausmann pulled into the parking lot at 8 am at Count Basie Park
scouts come to get a look at Panzini.
Hausmann and the Caseys, of course, can’t wait for Panzini to put
his talents on display for them. The last time he was on a high school
mound, Panzini tossed a one-hit shutout for the Caseys in their win over
Manalapan in the Shore Conference Tournament Championship game. As
a sophomore, Panzini pitched to a 0.66 era.
With Panzini pitching the team’s most important games, the Caseys
can expect to be competitive in 2020, despite the obvious challenges of
playing during a pandemic.
“This is a good group of hard workers,” said Hausmann of the ’21
have a good freshman group and some could help us this year.”
Although the team is coming off a missed season, there is proven
football, and third baseman Matt Scrivanic has signed with Monmouth
University. The seniors will be the heart of the batting line-up. Another
senior, Sean Ettore, who had experience as a sophomore, is the
Seniors Nico Gonzalez and Andrew Gonzalez, no relation to each other,
will be splitting time at second base. Riley Supp, a senior, and sophomore
Shane Andrews are the catchers. Completing the line-up is senior
Rounding out the pitching staff are senior Dylan Wannagiel, who is
headed to Ocean County College; senior Alex Stanyek; sophomore Dominick
Mallamaci and freshman Sean Griggs. Stanyek, like Panzini, is also
one of the team’s top hitters.
With a lot of questions and only four pre-season scrimmages, Hausmann
knows it will take time for the Caseys to gel. Fortunately, they
have a full 25-game planned schedule which is enough time for them
to build chemistry and take their place as one of the Shore’s best. Having
missed out on 2020, Hausmann said the Caseys have a new attitude
toward the game.
“They appreciate getting back to baseball,” he said. “They don’t take
it for granted.”
/TheJournalNJ.com