The 2015 Rancocas Valley League season got underway on Monday and the Cinnaminson Reds open their schedule tonight at 7:30pm against Willingboro at Memorial Park.
The Reds are managed by Brett Miller, who has been at the helm of the team since 2007. The team nickname is a tribute to former manager Red Herron.
The 2015 season marks the 69th for the storied league, which has experienced some changes heading into the new slate.
Mount Laurel has dropped from the league, which has allowed Cinnaminson to pick up some players from that team. Newcomers Connor Hall and Cole Pewor join Cinnaminson from the defunct Mount Laurel club. Pewor is an alum of Cinnaminson High School.
Cinnaminson native and Rutgers-Camden starting pitcher Jeff Singer returns to the Reds. Hall is from Delran and is a teammate of Singer’s at Rutgers-Camden.
The Reds will be without center fielder Frank Sirolli, who suffered an injury at the York Tournament last year. Ryan Varga, a side-armed right-handed pitcher, will not play this season for the first time since 1999. Dan Gavlik, a potent hitter, will not return this season after hitting .441 with 24 RBIs in 2014.
The Reds are coming off an impressive 2014 season, posting a regular season record of 23-4-1 after a dismal 2013 season that saw them win just 11 games.
“We were very pleased with our 2014 season,” Miller said. “We were used to always having somewhat of similar record to last year, in the 20-22 win range. Two years ago guys who were staples were near the end because of more family stuff, so we brought young guys in. Some worked and some didn’t. We went out and got the best players this past off-season to put us back to where we are used to being. We are expecting more of the same.”
The Reds boast 17 RVL titles in team history and will be looking for an 18th when play begins tonight. The Reds fell short of their 18th title in team history last year when they fell to the Burlington Mets in the RVL Finals 3-2. Their last title came in 2011 in four games against Vincentown.
In regards to the toughest competition Cinnaminson will face in the RVL this year, Miller said, “The last few years it’s been Burlington. Vincentown is really good. Delran is usually good, but they folded before last year. Willingboro is competitive and Pemberton and Riverside are getting better.”
The Reds boast one of the strongest pitching staffs in the RVL for 2015.
“We have four top pitchers to go along with Christian Rahman, Craig Carroll, Clinton Hart and Alex Sankey” Miller said. “If Singer does not get drafted, he will be a big addition to the staff.”
Cinn City Sports will have live coverage of the Reds opener against Willingboro beginning tonight at 7:30pm. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for the live updates @cinncitysports. We will also have a story following the game on the site.
2015 Cinnaminson Reds Roster
Kyle Ballay if, Craig Carroll p, John Dockins ss, Bill Dove c, Eric Gertie p, Geoff Gilbert of, Greg Gilbert 2b, Jim Goodwin p; Anthony Guido p, Connor Hall 1b, Clinton Hart p, Kyle Higgins 2b, Matt Janulis 1b, Brett Miller p, Dennis O’Hanlan 3b, Cole Pewor if; Christian Rahman p, Alex Sankey p, Greg Santoro p, Frank Sirolli of, Joe Sirolli of, Jeff Vitale if, Mike Wasco of-1b-dh, Tim Wasco if, Mark Wickersham 3b-p.
[…] a dominating regular season in 2014 in which the Reds went 23-4-1, Cinnaminson played to a record of 20-17-1 in 2015. The Reds played in the championship round in […]