By Andy Loigu

Former Warren Hills pitcher and basketball forward Anthony Veneziano is one step closer to fulfilling his dream of pitching in the major leagues.

After mastering the Double-A level, the Kansas City Royals recently promoted him to their Triple-A affiliate at Omaha. Triple-A is the most advanced level of minor league baseball. The next rung is the majors.

“It happened in a flash,” he said in a Royals centered website. “I told my teammates, texted my mom, and drove to Omaha the next morning.”

In Double-A, the 25-year old phenom only walked three percent of the batters he faced. With command of an arsenal of pitches, he had a sparkling 2.13 earned run average.

He made his Triple-A debut against the St. Paul Twins.

The occasion brought back memories from 2011, when Cole Kimball (Hackettstown High and Centenary College) made his Triple-A debut against the Mets’ affiliate in Buffalo. A month later, when he no longer had anything to prove by pitching in the minors, he reached the majors with the Washington Nationals.

About stepping up to the next level, Veneziano said, “I’ve got to read the hitters a little bit better up here. That will take some time.”

Many Triple-A players have already been in the major leagues. As major league teams assess and reassess their needs, some players go back and forth before they finally find their niche. Pitching against former big leaguers, unhappy about being demoted, can be a daunting task for a pitcher who has just been called up from Double-A.

TRACK STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Several current Hackettstown and Warren Hills athletes placed in sectional track meets and got the opportunity to compete in the state championship meets. Hackettstown, as determined by their enrollment numbers, went to the Group 2 meet while Warren Hills went to Group 3.

Hackettstown junior Redjee Nonez qualified in two events. At the state meet he finished ninth in the triple jump with a hop, skip and leap of 41-09.75. He came in 16th in the 110-meter hurdles with a 16.24 time.

Basketball standout Ethan Almeida was 11th in the high jump with a 5-10 float.

In the Group 3 boys meet, sophomore pole vaulter Brady McKenna cleared the bar at 11-06, good for 18th place.

Three Hackettstown girls, all underclassmen, qualified for the girls state meet.

Meg Kerwin took 13th in the shot put with a 33-02.25 heave, ahead of teammate Carsyn Corydon, 20th place at 31-02.75.

In the high jump Delaney McHale was 25th with a 4-08 lift.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.