Baseball: Voorhees, Osgood improving with consistency, swagger
SOMERVILLE - The success of the Voorhees High School baseball team and its ace pitcher Ethan Osgood has seemingly come out of nowhere, but the Vikings are letting it be known that they have a ton of confidence and are ready for any challenge the Skyland Conference throws at them.
Osgood, a senior right-hander, tossed 36 quality innings last year, but has taken it to new levels this year, throwing three complete games in his first three starts to help lead the Vikings to the second seed in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament. Not bad for a team that went 9-15 a season ago.
On Thursday, Osgood took his toughest test of the season against Somerville and passed with flying colors. The senior tossed his fourth consecutive complete game with great efficiency, allowing only one run on four hits and no walks to lead Voorhees to a 6-1 victory over the Pioneers to improve to 7-2.
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Osgood and the Vikings have been the surprises of the Skyland Conference, and they’ve done it with a dedicated work ethic and some exciting, refreshing swagger.
“All offseason, I really worked out and tried to build my legs and my muscles in my arms so I can keep going in games,” Osgood said. “I’ve been having pitching lessons with my travel coach on weekends during the winter to get ready for the spring season.”
Watching the Voorhees dugout during games is like watching a slapstick comedy routine. There is a constant cacophony of chatter bursting out of the dugout, where every chant imaginable, and at times one player barking like a dog, can be heard.
They dance to the opponent’s walk-up music and have an undeniable swagger that most teams can’t match. After some years of losing, the Vikings decided this year was the time to create an atmosphere of confidence and winning.
“We’re really confident, and we feel we can have a really good battle with any team coming,” Osgood said. “We have really good energy, and that keeps us in the game. When we get really rowdy and start scoring runs and try to get in their heads, that’s when I feel most comfortable. I get to attack more and throw more fastballs close to the plate.”
The success of Voorhees perhaps shouldn’t come as a big surprise. In 2016, they beat the HWT champion North Hunterdon, Somerset County Tournament champions Montgomery, and county semifinalists Ridge. The talent and potential were there, but not the consistency. So far in 2017, they’ve achieved that third element and could be a very dangerous team to go up against down the stretch.
“We beat some of those higher quality teams, but the consistency of how they go about their business has been the biggest difference,” Voorhees coach Cory Kent said. “I tell them every year the season will be what you decide it to be as a collective whole. I’m steering the train, but those guys are pushing from behind, and they made the decision last year that things were going to change and get over that hump and beat a quality program like Somerville."
Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice can be reached at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.