Baseball: Cieri could be back in 3 weeks

By Phil Anastasia

Rancocas Valley coach Dave Hower said Monday that senior catcher Nick Cieri, who dislocated his left shoulder on Saturday, could be cleared to return to the team in three weeks.

But that's no sure thing.

"That's best case,' Hower said. "The one thing we're not going to do is put this kid's future at risk."

Hower said Cieri was re-examined on Monday and that doctors said it was possible that he would return to the field in three weeks.

That would bring Cieri, who  might be South Jersey's most dangerous hitter, back in time for the last week of the regular season as well as the Central Jersey Group 4 tournament.

"Maybe we can get him to swing the bat a little bit," Hower said.

But Hower said Cieri's return would not be rushed because of his future in the sport. Cieri is a Maryland recruit who also has projected as a possible selection in the Major League Baseball draft in early June.

Hower said the Red Devils, the No. 8 team in The Inquirer Top 10 with a 9-1 record, held a team meeting on Monday.

"We talked about things," Hower said. "Everybody is going to have to pick up the difference and we go on. If Nick is able to come back, that would be great.

"If not, we'll go watch him play fall ball at Maryland."

-- Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com. Follow @PhilAnastasia on Twitter.