Mike Lepore likes to view the cup half full, which is why the South River coach points to his baseball team’s eight wins in the last 11 games of 2009 as a reason for optimism this spring.

Top: South River High School’s Chris Tompkins (r) tries to evade a tag from Highland Park’s Angelo Odato at second base during an April 1 game. Above: South River High School baseball coach Mike Lepore gathers the team together for a talk prior to the game. The Rams won the home game, 3-0. At this early juncture in the season, his upbeat attitude is warranted. The Rams opened with a 3-0 victory over Highland Park a week ago and registered a 5-3 victory over Keyport, Saturday. South River hoped to keep the streak alive Tuesday when it visited Metuchen and hosts Somerset Tech tomorrow.

Still, the fact is the Rams compete in the GMC Blue Division with the likes of Spotswood, Bishop Ahr, Middlesex and Metuchen, teams who have given bigger Red and White Division opponents a run for their money. While the record will benefit from games with the various Techs in Central Jersey, if South River has designs of being a Blue Division challenger, it needs to beat the powers in its own division.

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff “We had six sophomores play extensively last year,” said Lepore, entering his 13th season as head coach, “and the starting nine has had varsity experience at one time or another. That has to be a plus.”

What South River needs is a pitching staff that it can depend on. The Rams don’t return arms with head-turning records, but sport experience, nonetheless. Junior Dave Rondesko is a lefty Lepore is counting on, although the junior didn’t register a win last year. Nick Boyler, another junior, is a left-hander who won two games and showed poise when the going got tough.

The pair is joined by senior righty Maxx Johnson, who finished with a 2-3 record and pitched well in tight spots. Dylan Hayes is untested but Lepore is confident the sophomore will excel in a starting role.

Certainly, the target for the pitching staff is a good one. Matt Rosko, a senior, returns to catch and has shown he will be a factor at the plate with a solid spring in scrimmages.

The infield starts Boyler or Rondesko at first base. Rondesko was All-Blue Division a year ago, hitting .449 with seven doubles, a triple, five home runs and 24 runs batted in so he will see frequent action. At second base, Daylan Griebell, a junior, gets the starting nod with Johnson at third base when he doesn’t take the mound. The shortstop is senior Ed Tompkins.

In the outfield, the Rams will capitalize on the experience gained last year by three juniors. Twins Tim and Craig Huff start in left and center fields, respectively. Tim is the leadoff hitter and batted .328 last year. James Vecchio is slated to start in right field. Brennan Mahoney, junior, has a good bat and will be the team’s designated hitter, with Marcus Castro, another junior, coming off the bench in a pinch-hitting role.

Lepore is the team’s primary hitting instructor and utilizes the services of former Ram, Tim Dexter, who handles the pitchers.

“Winning more games will obviously depend on our ability to hang with the good teams,” said Lepore. “We have what it takes from an experience standpoint and we need to capitalize on that.”