Third baseman Wayne Laitala lunges at a hard line drive. Wayne'sskill at third base is hard to come b\ in high school baseball.

'66 Baseball Posts SecondWinning Season; ClarkDowns 115 in 80 Innings

Thanks to the fine coaching of Mr. Jim Sochan andMr. Frank Petrulla, the 1966 baseball team played atight and tough brand of ball in the best tradition ofthe sport at S.P.F.H.S. The team compiled a respect-able record of twelve wins and nine losses, and rankedfourth in the Watchung Conference. The squad wasnearly as successful as the 1965 team which featuredsuch stars as Terry Morton and Mike Jackson, andwhich was only the first in school history to post awinning season. The J.V. compiled an excellent 15-3record.

Standouts were pitcher Al Clark (5-6 record, 105strikeouts in 80 innings') and who had superb controland lost many heartbreakingly close games throughno fault of his own, and his co-captain, catcher MickeyVoget, who slugged at a ..'!05 pace. Other varsity regulars included inlielders Jim Baldwin, Ken Arnesen,Gary Fcrrao, and Wayne Laitala, and outfielders BobIhrie, Rudy Lanza, and Mike Dougherty. Ken Mantzalternated with Clark on the mound. Nearly the entireteam, led by co-captains Arncsen and Laitala (who wonthe sportsmanship award, returned for the 1967 season,thus insuring strong hitting and a sink defensive game.

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Alan Claik (k lhe r s his drop l u r w against an unsuspecting \ictirr

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