Howell’s Drew enjoyed record-setting season

As good as he was in high school, Howell High School 2010 graduate Ryan Drew believes that his best baseball is still in front of him. The Rebels’ infielder, fresh off a record-setting season in which he batted .423 and helped Howell return to the state tournament after a long absence, will continue his baseball career at Felician College, Rutherford, and he can’t wait.

“I’m excited to be there,” he said. “I’ll be able to go to the gym whenever I want to. I’m only going to get better.”

Drew believes that having access to a gym any time he feels like working out will be the key to his improvement — not that he needs much after a fine four-year career at Howell, where he set school records for career hits (100) and longest hitting streak (18 games).

In rapping out 100 career hits, Drew broke the previous record of 98 hits set by Mike Cerminaro, who went on to play baseball in the Chicago Cubs organization.

Cerminaro is a member of Howell’s Athletic Hall of Fame and Drew said he remembers walking by Cerminaro’s Hall of Fame plaque and becoming aware of his accomplishments. He knew that Cerminaro was the school’s record holder for hits in a career.

“I didn’t really think about the hits record,” Drew said.

However, when the 2010 season rolled around Drew was 30 hits shy of Cerminaro’s mark and 32 hits away from 100.

“One hundred (career) hits was one of my goals going into the season,” he said.

Drew prepared for the 2010 high school season by spending a lot of time in a batting cage he has in his backyard.

“I worked on my timing,” he said, adding that heading into the season he “felt comfortable.”

From the start of the campaign, Drew was hitting the ball to all fields and the hits were piling up. Eventually, he caught and passed Cerminaro, the player who had inspired him. He got the 32 hits he needed to reach the 100-hit mark, becoming the first Howell player to accomplish that feat.

“It’s an honor to have the school record,” he said. “I know Mike Cerminaro was a great player.”

Drew added one more record that he had not been aware of: longest hitting streak. The previous mark was 17 games set by his former teammate Brian Battaglia. Drew hit in 18 consecutive games during one stretch of the 2010 season on his way to batting .432 with an on-base percentage of .516.

If Drew has any philosophy about hitting it is to go with the pitch and to use the entire field. His coach, Eric Johnson, marveled at his consistency this spring.

“He always put the good part of the bat on the ball,” Johnson said. “He took what the pitcher gave him and would go to the opposite field.”

Drew said he does not like to guess what a pitcher is going to throw.

“I look fastball and adjust to off-speed,” he said, adding that he looks for things like how a pitcher grips the baseball when he is throwing a curve or a fastball.

As much time as Drew spends polishing his batting skills, he is just as dedicated to being an all-around player. The shortstop takes his defense seriously.

“I take pride in what I do,” he said. “I love playing the field. It lets you be in the game. I try not to make errors.”

More important to Drew than the individual records he set in 2010 was the success of the Howell baseball team, which enjoyed its finest season since 1994, winning 15 games and earning a trip to all three postseason tournaments (Monmouth County, Shore Conference and NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV). The Rebels were just one win away from playing for the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional title.

“I knew coming in that we would have a strong year, I didn’t know how strong,” he said. “We had a great year.”

And Drew was a major part of that success.

D

rew is staying sharp for college by

playing for the Monmouth Brewers in the Jersey Shore Baseball League. It is a wood bat league, but that does not impact Drew’s hitting because, as Johnson noted, he always gets the good part of the bat on the ball.W

hen Drew leaves for Felician College later this summer he will not be alone. His Howell teammate and best friend Chris Colavecchio is also going to Felician to play baseball. That should make the adjustment to college a little easier for both young men as they begin a new chapter in their sporting lives.