WEST CALDWELL- Caldwell’s Marco Sozio tries to be like a sponge when it comes to soaking up everything around him, whether it’s the lessons learned on the mound or just watching how the seniors around him react to the inevitable ups and downs of a baseball season.
The strong junior right-hander, who entered this week with a 3-1 mound record and a 1.64 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances for the 8-12 Chiefs (3-6 in the Super Essex Conference-American Division), had a splendid relief appearance while gaining the victory in this past Friday’s 6-4 win over neighboring rival Verona in the first round of the 91st Greater Newark Tournament.
For his latest efforts, which came two weeks after a masterful complete-game 1-hitter in a 7-0 shutout conference victory vs. Columbia, Sozio is the latest Parisi Fairfield/Sideline Chatter Athlete of the Week.
While he comes from a very sports-minded family, the young Chiefs hurler looks around him at the Bonnel diamond, and when the team is on the road, and he appreciates the seasoned veterans on the Caldwell diamond squad, some of whom were also key members of Caldwell’s highly-successful football team that was the talk of Group 2 football the past three years and late last fall had an impressive 37-game winning streak that was snapped in the North 2, Group 2 playoffs following back-to-back undefeated championship seasons.
“I see guys each day like Julian Casale, Joey Mariniello and Louie Anemone, who’ve won a lot of games as athletes at our school and were great football players for our school, and I see how they stay so composed out there, even when we go through some tough losses along the way,” said Sozio. “That’s something I try to do as well when I get out on the mound because you have to try not to carry over a bad pitch against a particular hitter, and you realize that you just have to trust your stuff, while also realizing your defense always has your back.
“Pitching is definitely a learning process, and I love the competition plus games like against Columbia give me a lot of confidence and show me that I can be a guy my team can count on to get the job done out there.”
Sozio began last week with a solid inning in relief, albeit in his team’s 7-6 independent loss at Montville on Tuesday, April 30. He came into the contest in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Chiefs trailing by just a run and a baserunner on third with no outs.
He proceeded to strike out the first two batters he faced, walked a man and then ended up striking out the side to strand the Mustang baserunner at third.
Then, in last Friday’s (May 3) GNT game vs. Verona he entered the contest in the fourth inning with his team trailing 4-1 and proceed to hurl 3 2/3 innings of solid relief to earn the mound triumph while throwing 62 pitches, scattering four hits, walking two and striking out two.
He also delivered an RBI triple in the bottom of the fourth inning as his team rallied to tie the contest and the Chiefs then scored two runs in the fifth inning to help earn the 6-4 victory.
Along with getting out of a potential jam with no further damage in the fourth inning, Sozio made sure to get the big outs the rest of the way while working through traffic on the bases in the final three innings that he helped create by allowing those four hits (all singles) and issuing the two walks; but, he still demonstrated poise and patience while pitching out of any potential trouble in each instance.
While he had already proved his worth as a starter with his masterful performance vs. Columbia, pitching in relief is also fine for the versatile Chiefs pitcher.
“I’ll do whatever coach wants me to do, whether it’s pitching in relief or starting; it doesn’t matter,” said the up-and-coming Caldwell hurler. “I go out there, trust my fielders and -most importantly- trust myself.
“I’ve been doing a better job of keeping my composure, holding my emotions, and just concentrating on the next batter.
Caldwell coach Ryan Smith is certainly pleased with the progress of his young right-hander.
“Marco has come along so well, and he has improved tremendously this season,” said the Chiefs head diamond mentor “He has worked on his composure out there, not worrying about what happens and just focusing on what he can do while trusting his defense and pitching to contact, because you find more strikes that way; and, he’s been doing a great job for us!”
Entering this week Sozio’s pitching stats in six appearances, including four starts, read: 25 2/3 IP, 16 HA, 9 R, 6 ER, 14 BB, 1 HB and 32 K’s.
At the plate he was 4-for-16 with a triple an RBI and 2 runs scored through the May 3rd GNT first round contest.
Sixth-seeded Caldwell is scheduled to host 14th-seeded Bloomfield, a first-round upset victor over third-seeded Columbia, in Wednesday’s (May 8) GNT quarterfinals.
In his terrific complete game shutout vs. Columbia, which earned him recognition with a special ‘game ball’ presented by the statewide video program ‘Jersey Sports Now,’ he threw 93 pitches in his 7 innings of work allowing just the one hit while walking 2 and striking out 9.
His other victory came in a 4-1 win vs. Belleville on April 13th when he needed 99 pitches for his complete game effort while allowing 4 hits 1 run (earned,) walked 2 and struck out 8.
In another start at West Orange on April 26 he threw 95 pitches in 4 innings of work allowing 4 hits, 4 runs (1 earned) while walking 3 and striking out 6.
Although he knows that he had thrown too many pitches for just 4 innings of work vs. the Mountaineers he did leave the game with a 6-4 lead in the fifth inning; however, the Chiefs wound up losing 10-6.
His first appearance of the season came in a start vs. Sparta in independent action back on April 6 in a 5-3 loss when he worked 3 innings allowing 3 hits and 4 earned runs in taking the loss.
“It was my first varsity start and I did feel a little nervous,” said Sozio. “Still, no excuses, and I knew right away I just had to get back to work and prepare for my next appearance.”
Sozio relies mainly on his fast ball and slider while he continues to work on fine-tuning his change-up as the third pitch in his repertoire.
“Pitching is definitely a craft you have to keep working at, and you can learn something new every day you go out there,” he said. “I’m going to just keep at it because I know there is always room for improvement, and I’m excited to get out there on the mound every opportunity I have to try and help my team win.”
NOTES- Marco’s very sports-minded family begins with his dad Lorenzo, the athletic director at nearby Mount St. Dominic and former longtime successful softball coach for the Lions. He is a former standout quarterback for the Bloomfield High School football team and also excelled in baseball for the Bengals. Marco’s mom, Jayme, is a former basketball and softball player at Cedar Grove. His older brother Lorenzo, Jr., who just finished his freshman year at the University of Rhode Island, is a former standout basketball player at Caldwell where he was a 3-year starter in the Chiefs backcourt and a key member of their North 2, Group 2 state sectional championship team in 2023. He was also a starting second baseman for the Caldwell baseball team…Younger brother Nico, a freshman at Caldwell, is a young football and basketball player to watch in the years to come for the Chiefs…Marco plays for the North Jersey Ghosts travel team out of Fairfield and also works out when he can find time in the off season at Wladyka Baseball in Rutherford. He is also a member of the successful Caldwell Chiefs basketball team which he says keeps him in good physical condition during the winter months.
91st Greater Newark Tournament first round:
(1) Livingston 6 (17) Belleville 0
(2) Seton Hall Prep 1 (18) St. Benedict’s 0
(14) Bloomfield 5 (3) Columbia 4 in 13 innings
(4) Montclair 14 (13) MKA 1
(5) Millburn 2 (12) West Orange 1
(6) Caldwell 6 (11) Verona 3
(7) West Essex 10 (10) Cedar Grove 5
(9) Barringer 5 (8) Nutley 3
GNT Quarterfinals, Wednesday, May 8, at 4 p.m.:
Barringer at Livingston
Millburn at Montclair
West Essex at Seton Hall Prep
Bloomfield at Caldwell
GNT semifinals, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Saturday, May 11, at Seton Hall Prep’s Porcello Field in West Orange
GNT final, noon, Saturday, May 18, at Verona’s Doc Goeltz Field
Follow Steve Tober on X (Twitter) @ Chattermeister
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