Matt Tenaglia is slowly recovering from a two-and-a-half-week bout with walking pneumonia that caused him to miss some of Central Bucks East's preseason baseball workouts and the squad's first game of the 2009 campaign.
"I'm still kind of feeling the effects of it," the strong-hitting third baseman said. "When I'm running, I get out of breath really easily."
In six appearances, Tenaglia, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior who also serves as a relief pitcher, is batting .278 (5 for 18) with nine RBIs. He has belted home runs against Malvern Prep, Hatboro-Horsham, and Esperanza.
"He has the ability to change the game with one swing of the bat, with a diving play at third base, or by dominating hitters on the mound," East coach Kyle Dennis said. "He makes the players around him better and is a tremendous asset to any team."
After arriving at East, Tenaglia, a three-year varsity member and product of Holicong Middle School, was moved from shortstop to third base.
"Baseballwise, that turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me," Tenaglia said. "It didn't take me long to get really comfortable with the position. It suits me well because I have a quick reaction to the ball and a pretty strong arm."
This season, Tenaglia is getting used to hitting from the No. 3 hole in the order. As the cleanup man last year, the James Madison recruit batted .476 with 26 RBIs, 52 total bases, and four homers. He had a .560 on-base percentage and .825 slugging percentage.
"I do have power, but I wouldn't call myself a home run hitter," the 18-year-old said. "I'd call myself a gap hitter. I hit for average."
The Patriots are 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Suburban One League Continental Conference. Their other senior catalysts are shortstop and leadoff hitter Mike Damm (.435, eight RBIs, three doubles), pitcher Tim Wessel (.500 on-base percentage), and second baseman Ryan Sparks.
Last summer and fall, Tenaglia, an erstwhile football player, competed for the Mid-Atlantic Rookies baseball program. The team, coached by Mike Chroniger, traveled to Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia, among other states, for tournaments.
Tenaglia has good baseball bloodlines. His father, Mike, was a quality catcher and centerfielder for Woodrow Wilson High, now Harry S Truman, in Levittown. His cousin, Steve Tenaglia, was a standout pitcher at Neshaminy (Class of 1992) and played in the minor leagues.
At James Madison, Matt Tenaglia, clocked at 6.7 seconds for 60 yards, is projected to be a third baseman or outfielder. He is thinking of majoring in business or sports management.
Extra bases
Hatboro-Horsham's leaders are first baseman/outfielder Eric Bahmueller (.455 batting average, .588 on-base percentage, .727 slugging percentage), pitcher/catcher Matt Schoettle (2-0 record, 0.70 ERA, one save), and pitcher/first baseman Matt Hollenbeck (2-0, 0.57 ERA, 15 strikeouts in 121/3 innings). . . . Upper Moreland hurler Steve Sawa (2-1) has yielded only five hits in 17 innings. . . . For Council Rock North, Scott Runzer and Tyler Ferrell are batting .500 and .368, respectively. Runzer has a 2-1 pitching record with 16 K's in 16 innings. . . . Wissahickon's Brian O'Donnell, a junior infielder, is hitting .444 with 10 runs and a .595 on-base percentage. . . . Conwell-Egan's Kevin Cahill, a senior southpaw, is 4-0 with a 2.17 ERA. . . . For Philadelphia Academy Charter, senior pitcher/third baseman Tony Summers has six hits, including three doubles, in his first eight at-bats.
Franklin Towne Charter posted its first-ever Public League Division A victory on Monday, beating George Washington, 3-1. Tossing a complete-game three-hitter, with six K's, junior Ryan Kubacki earned the win. . . . Lansdale Catholic's Nick Manai, a senior third baseman, is batting .583 with 10 RBIs and nine runs. . . . For Neumann-Goretti, third baseman/pitcher Al Baur is hitting .500 with 14 RBIs and 10 runs. In 21 innings on the mound, the 6-foot-4 junior has allowed six hits and zero runs. . . . Cheltenham's Jordan Hofferman, a senior pitcher and infielder, is expected to sign a letter of intent to attend Chestnut Hill College next week. . . . Pottstown centerfielder Ronnie Levan is batting .500. . . . Central Bucks South's Kyle McLaughlin, a senior outfielder, is hitting .462 with 14 RBIs. . . . Avon Grove's Josh Hampton has homered in each of the last three games. . . . Perkiomen Valley senior shortstop Garry Jabs is batting .500 with 13 RBIs and 23 total bases in 22 at-bats. He is closely followed by senior rightfielder Dan Good (.500, 11 RBIs). . . . Neshaminy's offensive leaders are Mike Kusters (.444), Brian Cleary (.429), and Rick Brebner (.417, 2 HRs). . . . Sun Valley seniors Andrew Machemer and Sam Farnell are hitting .536 and .484, respectively. Farnell, with 15 RBIs and nine runs, is 10 for 14 with nine RBIs in the last four games. . . . Harriton junior infielder Dan Cooper is batting .563 and has a six-game hit streak. . . . Spring-Ford has been sparked on offense by third baseman/pitcher Mike Haslam (.500, 13 RBIs), leftfielder Kenny Pierson (.458, five RBIs), and shortstop Jason Sampat (.435).