As North Hamilton celebrated its first American Legion district championship July 22 on DeMeo Field, it did so with a mixture of eighth-graders, college freshmen and everything in between.
One of those key in-between contributors to the cause was Nottingham High rising senior Alex Alonzo, who stepped up on the mound in a big way and also provided some solid hitting this summer.
“That kid has worked so hard, he’s gotten a lot stronger the past couple of years,” manager Eric Struble said of the third-year Hibos player. “When he came in as a freshman he was such a little dude. You could see there was some talent there and he was in the weight room, he gained some weight, he got stronger, he got faster, his velo is up on the mound. It’s obviously showing with the results he had this year.”
Coupled with Austin Wright, Alonzo gave North Hamilton a solid one-two punch on the mound. Entering the New Jersey State Tournament Final Four, he had a 4-1 record with a 2.41 ERA and 24 strikeouts.
In the District 2 winner’s bracket final, Alonzo pitched four innings to pick up the win against favored Cherry Hill and also went 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored.
“When the pressure is high it’s fun to come through and have the big hit or the big pitch,” Alonzo said. “It gets me fired up. It felt good. There was chirping from both sides, the home run kept them quiet a little.”
North Hamilton opened the tournament with a 1-0, 10-inning win over Montgomery Superior as veteran Brandon Rigas singled home J.P. Santos with the winning run, while Nick Gaglione pitched seven shutout innings before Nolan Farr and winning pitcher Luca Gaglione finished off a three-hitter.
In the championship game, the Hibos rallied from a 4-1 fifth-inning deficit to take a 7-5 win over Montgomery Superior. Wright hit a two-run double and Santos added an RBI double in a four-run fifth. After Montgomery Superior tied it, Alonzo started the winning two-run rally in the sixth by drawing a leadoff walk and eventually scoring on a wild pitch. Rigas threw a scoreless seventh to clinch it.
“We had a lot of ups and downs but when everyone is here and everyone is together it’s a lot of fun to play,” Alonzo said. “Every time we have all our guys we have a great shot to win and it’s showing in the playoffs, this is great.”
Struble agreed, saying, “It’s amazing. We’ve been coaching this team for five years now and never made it to states. It used to be Final Eight now it’s the Final Four so we had to win the district to get there. These kids have bought in and it means a lot to the coaches that have been here for five years.”
It meant a lot to Alonzo, too, who was used to playing high-stakes games with HTRBA Little League. He and several other Hibos were part of HTRBA’s last District 12 championship teams as 11- and 12-year-olds.
“Growing up we were always in the big games,” he said. “When I came to high school it was a little different, but now I’m back the in big games it feels good. That’s when I play my best.
“Last year we were at Whitehouse and we lost in the final. Now we’re home, it’s exciting. I would say the home team has always had the advantage. I’ve played at DeMeo so many times and it’s always good to have the fans behind us.”
Alonzo was coming off a high school season in which he hit a career-high .373 with 17 RBIs and was named All-CVC. He dropped off a bit in the summer but still carried a .302 average with 19 RBIs into the Final Four.
“Sometimes it’s just baseball and you hit into some hard luck,” Struble said. “But hit his first homer of the summer against Cherry Hill. He’s streaky, at the beginning of the summer he wasn’t doing that much but he’s hot right now and this is the best time to be hot.”
“I wish I was hitting a little higher, to be honest, and that I was matching those high school stats,” Alonzo said. “I’m starting to pick it up lately, seeing the ball well and driving balls to the outfield.”
Conversely, he had a tough pitching year for the Northstars, statistically at least, going 1-4 with a 4.34 ERA. But he became one of Mercer Legion’s better hurlers.
“In high school I had a decent amount of innings,” Alonzo said. “When Austin would pitch I would catch, but when I had the chance I would go out there and pitch and I enjoy it. In high school I pitched pretty decent. When I came into summer I was very confident.”
And that confidence showed brightly throughout the season.
“When he’s on, he’s our number one,” Struble said. “We feel like he’s our ace, he’s been pitching that well recently. He threw a complete game against Lawrence last week. When he’s on, he’s on.
“He throws a fastball, slider and change-up. He was really one of those guys who was gonna locate but he never threw that hard. This year he’s picked up so much velo that he’s striking a lot more guys out.”
But Alonzo does more than pitch. He and Wright also alternate at catcher, and Alex played shortstop during the high school season.
“He’s been super important to us in a lot of ways,” Struble said. “He is a super utility guy. He’s played all over the infield for us except for first base. He’s had to catch most of legion because Austin’s been at travel a lot.”
Alonzo feels that both pitching and catching help him understand what a hurler wants when he is behind the plate.
“It definitely helps,” he said. “Especially with location and how he wants to go at it. It’s an advantage for me.”
Struble, who is a Nottingham assistant in the spring, said the staff quickly realized Alonzo’s potential.
“He came in primarily as a catcher when he came into high school but we could see he had some talent on the mound,” the manager said. “He’s an accurate pitcher; he’s got some good breaking balls.
“He’s just stepped up in every role we’ve needed him and that’s a coach’s dream. You come to the ballpark, you need him to play one place, he’s fine with it. You need him to go behind the plate the whole game, he’ll do that. It’s awesome to see how his work has translated to success on the field.
“And the other big thing is he’s a likeable guy. He’s friends with everyone on the team.”
Alonzo also plays travel ball but enjoys the atmosphere of Legion baseball.
“I like having all the guys here,” he said. “I like winning with all my guys from high school. There’s a little bit less pressure, but it’s the same intensity for me. I just go out and have fun.”
And winning a district title certainly qualifies as a lot of fun.
