his New Milford home. “I’m sitting here
right now trying to figure out who I’m
going to pitch in those games.”
Pitching by committee did work in
several contests. In two of their first
three wins, the Bulldogs threw com-
bined no-hitters. Sophomore Daniel
Neuwirth and senior Oliver Oz complet-
ed the feat April 8 versus St. Benedict’s
– Salvano Jr.’s first coaching win – and
the quartet of Joe Viviano, Jake Lagana,
Josh Linder and Neuwirth no-hit Bergen
Charter five days later.
“With the new pitch-count rule, I try
to keep my guys under a certain amount
so I can bring them back in a day or
two,” Salvano Jr. says. ”I’ve got three or
four quality arms, which is good for a
small school.”
Junior right-hander Lachlan Charles
emerged as the staff ace with a 3-1
record, 2.30 earned-run average and
28 strikeouts in 21 regular-season
innings pitched.
Dwight-Englewood’s top offensive
weapons include senior shortstop Mike
Gurriero, who led the squad in batting
average (.393), runs scored (20), dou-
bles (six), triples (four), home runs (one)
and stolen bases (11). Junior outfielder
Cameron Dupre (.375) had the most
runs batted in with 17, and Oz hit .368
with 16 runs scored and 10 steals.
“The biggest thing for me to do is
to try and change the culture around
there,” Salvano Jr. says. “They’re used
to almost having baseball as a hobby.”
”He teaches and coaches the same
way he did at St. Joe’s,” Salvano Sr.
says of his son. “I can see the difference
already...there’s much more commit-
ment, more knowledge of the game, and
they’re much better on the fundamen-
tals than they were. So they’re moving
in the right direction.” ●
– GREG TARTAGLIA
A FAMILY THAT PLAYS TOGETHER
Three generations of the Salvano family pose
together at Dwight-Englewood School –
(left to right) Frank Salvano Jr., his son Luca, 5,
and father Frank Salvano Sr., the winningest
coach in Bergen County.
(201) FAMILY | AUGUST 2017
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