The 2016 Rancocas Valley League season for the Cinnaminson Reds gets underway on Wednesday night when the Willingboro Townsends visit Memorial Park at 7:30pm.
Let’s take a look at what the 2016 season has in store for the Reds in our season preview.
“Through the years, you expect to be in the top two or three teams in the league,” first-year manager Frank Sirolli said. “You know when August rolls around, you’re going to be ready to compete for another championship. That’s always been the feeling in our dugout.”
Sirolli, an outfielder, missed the 2015 season due to a knee injury.
“I’m going to try to play. My knee is healed,” Sirolli said. “I’d like to say that I will try to play every game, but it’s not realistic. It feels good some days and then other days, it limits by activity. I have to monitor it closely.”
Cinn City Sports will have coverage of the season opener for the Reds tonight, so be sure to follow us on Twitter for live updates throughout the game.
Cinnaminson finished the 2015 season with a 20-17-1 mark, earning the four-seed in the playoffs. The Reds advanced to the RVL finals and promptly fell behind in the best-of-five series 2-0 to the Vincentown Merchants.
“If you want a classic rivalry, Cinnaminson and Vincentown is always a good game,” Sirolli said. “I think between us we have the most championships in the RVL. Every time we get together with them we play some good games. It’s gonna be a battle.”
Cinnaminson did not back down, winning three straight to take home the club’s 18th RVL title, the most in league history.
Cinnaminson High School alum John Dockins played a major role in the Reds comeback victory in the RVL Finals, hitting .413 with 28 runs scored and 18 RBIs for the season.
Dockins was named the MVP of the league’s playoffs.
Everything went right for the Reds in the 2015 postseason. Cinnaminson lost the first game of all three playoff rounds, but rallied to win each round.
In the first and second rounds, the Reds had to win the next two games in best-of-three series against Riverside and then the Burlington Mets.
The league moves back to eight teams this year with the return of Delran, which moves the playoff format back to all eight teams making the post-season.
“It’s good to have another team in the league. Ever since I started, it’s always been an eight-team league,” Sirolli said. “The more teams in the league, it creates more competition. It’s very competitive. We’ve had some good battles with Burlington and Vincentown. The Pinelands team has gotten better over the years. Every night is going to be a grind.”
Sirolli takes over at manager for fellow veteran Brett Miller, who remains on the roster. This is Sirolli’s ninth year in the league, all with Cinnaminson.
“We’ve added a couple young arms from college to go with our veterans on the mound in Jim Goodwin, Clinton Hart, ryan Martin, Christian Rahman and Alex Sankey,” Sirolli said. ”
Our infielder who comes in and nails down games for us, Kyle Ballay, is back.”
“Our hitters are all back except for Connor Hall. He’s the only regular player who didn’t return from last year. We added Dan Gavlick who was on the team two years ago.”
First pitch is slated for 7:30pm tonight. Follow Cinn City Sports on Twitter for live updates throughout the game.
2016 Cinnaminson Reds Roster:
John Dockins, Geoff Gilbert, Mike Wasco, Cody Macnair, Kyle Higgins, Kyle Ballay, Bill Dove, Mark Wickersham, Troy Hunter, Joe Sirolli, Clinton Hart, Greg Santuro, Greg Gilbert, Dennis O’Hanlan, Brett Miller, Jeff Vitale, Brett Bowles, Eric Gertie, Jim Goodwin, Dan Gavlick, Pat Graham, Ryan Martin, Christian Rahman, Alex Sankey, Frank Sirolli, Tim Wasco
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