Talent runs deep in the outfield

As Conestoga and Spring-Ford prepare to vie for statewide glory in Class AAAA baseball, we wrap up our top-10 tour by taking a look at the area's best outfielders.

We have cranked the list up to 15.

1. Dan Denton, Council Rock North, senior. Denton, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound leftfielder and first-team all-Suburban One League National Conference selection, batted .426 with 29 RBIs, 19 runs, 6 home runs, and 5 doubles. After first committing to Bloomsburg, the Newtown resident will head to Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, N.J.

2. Nick Bateman, Malvern Prep, junior. Helping spark the Friars to their first Inter-Academic League championship since 2008, the league's co-most valuable player hit .449 with 23 runs and 20 RBIs.

3. Ryan Pater, Central Bucks East, senior. The St. Joseph's recruit batted .393 with 19 RBIs, 18 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, and 2 homers.

4. Jimmy Kerrigan, Neumann-Goretti, junior. Kerrigan did a nice job of replacing Al Baur at the cleanup spot. He hit .500 with 28 RBIs and 24 runs.

5. Brian Ruditys, Episcopal Academy, senior. Batting .402 with 29 RBIs and 10 doubles, Ruditys again earned first-team all-Inter-Ac honors. He will play at Quinnipiac.

6. Jorge Montes, Perkiomen School, senior. Montes, who went 6-1 on the mound, hit .475 with 26 RBIs. He is bound for Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

7. Brendan O'Reilly, Conestoga, senior. O'Reilly, a hard-slugging leftfielder, was a first-team all-Central League selection.

8. Mike McLaughlin, Father Judge, senior. From the No. 4 hole, the first-team all-Catholic League Red Division honoree batted .451 with 23 RBIs and 22 runs.

9. Aaron Novak, Germantown Academy, senior. Novak, ticketed for Penn State, sparked the Patriots as a rightfielder and hard-throwing reliever.

10. Luke Alicknavitch, Kennett, senior. Alicknavitch, expected to be a pitcher at the University of Delaware, batted .364 with 19 runs and 13 RBIs. He had a .673 slugging percentage.

11. Zach Norton, West Chester Henderson, senior. Norton, a first-team all-Ches-Mont League National pick, hit .424 with 25 RBIs and 21 runs.

12. Jeff Boorman, Downingtown East, senior. The Cougars' leadoff man batted .338 with 32 runs, 11 RBIs, and a .514 slugging percentage.

13. Patrick Medley, Spring-Ford, senior. From the leadoff spot, Medley is hitting .379 with 29 runs, 26 RBIs, 2 homers, and a .573 slugging percentage.

14. Augusto Ortega, Frankford, junior. The speedy leadoff man, arguably the Pioneers' most valuable player, batted .494 with 33 runs and 17 RBIs.

15. Kyle Gaffney, Upper Merion, senior. The first-team all-Suburban One League American Conference pick hit .419 with 14 runs.

Twenty-five others to watch, listed alphabetically: Bobby Atwell, West Chester East, senior; Andrew Belfiglio, Penncrest, junior; Mike Cavallaro, Central, junior; Rory Clemens, Lansdale Catholic, senior; Sam Feirson, Chestnut Hill Academy, junior; Matt Greskoff, Malvern Prep, junior; Jamie Juisti, Monsignor Bonner, senior; Tyler Kozeniewski, La Salle, junior; Kyle Lockard, Upper Moreland, senior; Kevin Major, Holy Ghost Prep, junior; Chas McCormick, West Chester Henderson, sophomore; Matt Minetola, Plymouth Whitemarsh, junior; Andre Pendelton, Harriton, freshman; Jake Poeske, Central Bucks West, junior; Justin Pyle, Garnet Valley, junior; Tim Quigg, Springfield (Montco), junior; Scott Safford, Haverford School, senior; Casey Saverio, Hatboro-Horsham, senior; Cameron Stimpson, Friends' Central, junior; Matt Stoffere, Roman Catholic, senior; Mike Tentilucci, Council Rock North, senior; Kyle Tepper, Harry S Truman, senior; Mike Washington, Haverford School, senior; Shane Williams, St. Joseph's Prep, sophomore; and Taylor Wright, Episcopal Academy, senior.