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Vacation is a foreign word to Reno Regalbuto.
Sure the Neumann-Goretti junior-to-be would love to hit the Jersey Shore with friends or even have a family vacation — if it wasn’t for baseball, that is. This pitcher/outfielder has aspirations of playing in Division I and he’s doing everything he can to get noticed, even it means sacrificing some beach days.
As a member of the South Jersey-based Glendora Gators, Regalbuto has traveled to Connecticut to help his team win the North Atlantic Regional Championship, with a trip to Texas earlier this month for the Mickey Mantle World Series.
The resident of the 2600 block of Jessup Street now will dedicate his weekends to the Maryland-based Mid-Atlantic Red Sox, a fall high school showcase team he was invited to join after participating in a camp earlier this year. Team members have earned Division I college scholarships or have been drafted by the Major Leagues, as was the case with three recent players.
The 16-year-old has no doubt he has what it takes to continue excelling on the diamond.
"I feel a lot more confident at the plate," the college prospect said. "I feel like nobody can get me out."
The positive outlook stems from a very successful 2008 high school season, where his Neumann-Goretti Saints tallied a winning campaign for the first time since 1998 and halted an 11-year playoff draught. The only thing missing was an All-Catholic nod.
"I am going to get it next year," a confident Regalbuto said.
The budding baseball talent, already in his second year with the Gators, takes little time off from the game. In ’07, the squad traveled to Oklahoma for another World Series competition, where, like this summer, they were eliminated after two games. Despite this year’s early exit, Regalbuto said he is pleased with how Glendora’s season unfolded.
"It was a good experience," Regalbuto said of the Mickey Mantle World Series. "Even though we didn’t win, we were just as good as any team out there."
The successful run started with taking all five contests at last month’s American Amateur Baseball Congress New Jersey State championship in Newark. Regalbuto did his part by going four-for-four with a walk in the title match.
It was then off to Connecticut for the North Atlantic Regional, where the Gators knocked off the Canadian National champ Ontario Blue Jays. Regalbuto picked up the win by throwing the final four frames, giving up just two hits while striking out seven.
Since Regalbuto has yet to reach his goal of a Division I offer, vacations will be pushed aside in favor of playing for the scouts. As those Division I dreams get closer, the athlete knows slacking off is not an option.
"This is an important time right now," Regalbuto said of his upcoming junior year. "I am not sure [what school] I want to go to yet."
