Sheldrick Savors Last Season at Central Regional

It's an ideal sendoff season for Central Regional's Patrick Sheldrick, before he takes his talents to NCAA Division II college Nyack College where he signed a financial package to play the next four years.

"I expected this," he said of the Golden Eagles' a 6-2 start, with a schedule cut down by repeated rainouts. "We have a lot of seniors."

Sheldrick has done his part with 10 RBIs through those eight games and his steady play in an unexpected start at first base. He had played at third base and figured to be in the outfield this year.

But when one first baseman switched to outdoor track and another injured his knee, Sheldrick moved over before the start of the season. No complaints from him. His tender sprained ankle hurt severely every time he made a hard stop in the outfield. He has less of that type of running playing at playing at first base.

"I go wherever I'm needed," said Sheldrick. "It's not much different from playing at third base, not that bad."

He figures he'll start off at Nyack playing for a start in the outfield, but he might wind up at third base.

"At 5-feet-9, I'm not big enough for first," he said. "They said I can play in my first year there in the outfield. I want to play in my first year, wherever that is."

That may not be too hard as Sheldrick and other recruits will look to change the fortunes of Nyack,  whose baseball team has only one victory over the first two months of the season.

It's a far different situation from what he has this year at Central Regional. The team moved into a tie for the lead in Shore Conference B South by handing Manchester its first division loss of the season, 4-0, with catcher Steve Uhlak going to the mound to pitch a four-hitter. No big surprise there. Two players who have not pitched before for the program have gone to the mound on a staff that has no aces, but pitches by committee.

"A lot of people are stepping up and becoming pitchers," Sheldrick said. "There's no ace here there this year, but a lot of guys who can come in and do the job. It's whoever's arm feels great."

That was evident in a 3-2 victory over highly regarded Toms River North while Sheldrick supplied the clutch hitting. He drove in the first run with a fielder's choice in the first inning and lined a single into right field that drove in the winning run in the 10th. It delivered Mickey Donnelly, who walked and stole second. Donnelly is part of that pitching "committee'" with Mark Calleo and Uhlak, among others.

How well that all has come together was slated to be to the test today, when Central Regional traveled to Brick Township, which handed the Golden Eagles their only division loss by a convincing 9-1 margin in their season opener. The following two games also are on the road, the next day at Pinelands and on,April 30 at Toms River East in a 7 p.m. start.

"We started off the season playing tense and then started loosening up," Sheldrick said. "I thought pitching would be a (negative) factor but it's been dominant."

As for his own hitting, Sheldrick said he is not exactly belting tape measure shots at the plate. But he's driving in runs from the No. 3 spot in the batting order and that's what matters most.

"I got a lot of my hits off (pitches on) the outside corner and going the opposite way with it," Sheldrick said.

But Sheldrick remembers his sophomore year when the Golden Eagles went through the division unbeaten, only to lose the opening games in the Ocean County, Shore Conference and NJSIAA Tournaments.

"We don't want that to happen this year," he said."With all the seniors we have, we want to win those games."