SPORTS

Morris County baseball stars square off again

JIM HAGUE
CORRESPONDENT

MONTVILLE – Trevor Lee and Alex Busby have been good friends since they played baseball together for the Morris County Cubs when they were 13 years old.

But Lee, a Mount Olive second baseman, never got the chance to face Busby on the high school level.

"When we played them this year, he was on deck, so I didn't face him," said Busby, a Roxbury lefty who was the Most Valuable Player of the Morris County Tournament last month.

Added Lee, "He's lucky. I might have got him."

The two buddies will get one final time to be teammates tonight, when they play for the Northwest All-Stars in the annual New Jersey Scholastic Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Classic at Diamond Nation in Flemington.

The Northwest All-Stars will take on the Northeast All-Stars at 7 p.m., with the South and Central All-Star teams squaring off on an adjacent field at the baseball and softball complex.

Lee, who batted .367 with 22 RBI for the two-time defending NJSIAA North 1 Group III champions, was overjoyed to be selected for the squad and to be on the team with Busby.

Busby is headed to Susquehanna University after leading the Gaels to their second straight MCT title. He will pitch in the All-Star Classic, but with a host of other hurlers on the team, Busby will probably get only one inning.

"It's awesome," said Lee, who plans to play baseball at Suffolk University next year. "Just getting this last chance to play with Alex again means so much. We're getting the chance to play with the best guys in the state, play with great competition. It's going to get me ready for college."

Busby will see another familiar face in the game, Roxbury catcher Nick Matera.

The talented backstop was projected by some to be a late round selection in the ongoing Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, but Matera was not selected as of press time. Matera is heading to Rutgers University in the fall to play on a scholarship, so his plans are mapped if he's not selected.

"I can't wait for Rutgers, but this gives me one last chance at high school ball," Matera said. "It's awesome to be with these guys and it's awesome to get one more chance to catch Alex."

Pequannock's Tommy Ackershoek and Mark Gallo will also get to play one last game together. Ackershoek is headed to Stevens Tech in the fall, but doesn't know if he will play baseball.

"It's just another opportunity to play with Mark," said the left-handed Ackershoek, who went 6-2 with a 1.14 earned run average. "We've been together since Little League, so I'm going to savor the moment, this one last chance."

The Northwest team convened at Montville High School Wednesday, under the guidance of head coach Scott Uliano of West Essex, who took over the head coaching reins of the Northwest squad after the death of Hanover Park's Dave Minsavage two months ago. Minsavage helped to run the Classic for the past decade and will be remembered in a pre-game ceremony, as well as the team wearing his initials on the sleeves of their commemorative T-shirts.

Gallo, a centerfielder, batted .500 this season for the Golden Panthers, with 42 hits and 22 RBI. He's headed to Pace University in the fall and is unsure about whether he will try out for the team there.

Gallo reached the 100-hit mark for his career deep in the NJSIAA Group II playoffs.

"This could very well be our last baseball game and we're playing it together," Gallo said of Ackershoek. "I worked really hard to get where I am and I'm happy to get one more game. It's exciting to be playing with guys of this caliber. ... . At this stage, if you get one more chance to play baseball, you take it. This could be my last game. I have to see where life leads me."

Montville slugging first baseman Matt Tsukroff also made the team before he heads to play Division I baseball at Binghamton.

"I sincerely had no idea I was going to be picked," said Tsukroff, who batted .429 with four homers and 32 RBI. "When we lost in the states, I thought I would end my career that way. But I'm getting a chance to put that Montville jersey on one more time. It's a great feeling to be able to represent Montville one last chance. Any time I step onto a field, I want to prove myself. This way, I can have fun doing it."

Delbarton's Robbie Price is the final Morris County representative in the All-Star Classic. The right-hander went 6-2 with an ERA less than 2.00 this year. Price is still growing into his 6-foot-4 frame. He's grown more than a foot over the last three-plus years of high school.

"It's very exciting," said Price, who will spend a year at IMG Academy in Florida. "It's all still working out for me, but I'm ready to go."