Greg Tufaro,
@GregTufaro
Following are the Home News Tribune’s Top 10 Greater Middlesex Conference baseball rankings for games played through April 17.
1. Monroe 5-1: The Falcons had their five-game winning streak snapped in an 8-5 loss against Toms River North at Diamond Nation on Sunday night. Monroe previously defeated three consecutive opponents in close games, edging Spotswood 4-3 and Woodbridge 2-1 after defeating the Barrons 5-2 in 10 innings. Monroe’s victories – including a series sweep of Colonia – have come by a total of 11 runs or 2.2 per game. Toms River North, the defending Shore Conference Class A champions, opened the year No. 5 in the Asbury Park Press Top 10, but has since dropped out of the rankings.
2. East Brunswick 7-0-1: The Bears went 3-0 last week with a sweep of St. Joseph and a 6-5 win over Perth Amboy. After defeating the Falcons 3-2 in the opener, East Brunswick beat its Red Division rival 7-2. Three of the Bears’ last four victories have come in their final at-bat.
3. South Brunswick 7-2: The Vikings have their three-game winning streak snapped with a 4-3 loss to Piscataway last Tuesday. The game was the first of six over a span of five days for South Brunswick, which won four in a row before falling 6-1 to Rutgers Prep on Saturday after it had defeated Ewing 7-5 earlier in the day. The Vikings swept a series from Edison – winning 3-2 and 5-0 – and also posted their second mercy-rule defeat of J.P. Stevens with a 17-0 thumping.
4. Old Bridge 6-2: After dropping a 1-0 decision to Sayreville last Tuesday, the Knights rebounded to win three in a row before falling 2-1 on Saturday to Seton Hall Prep, widely regarded as a Top 10 team in the state. Old Bridge’s staff – with Jake Kodros, Luis Cruz, Carlos Lopez and Joe Papeo complementing ace Zach Attianese – has been phenomenal. Excluding last week’s 5-4 win over J.P. Stevens, the Knights have allowed just seven runs in their other seven games. Old Bridge played six games in six days last week, splitting with Sayreville (including a 7-1 win), sweeping J.P. Stevens (winning the opener 11-1) and defeating Perth Amboy (10-2).
5. St. Joseph 4-2: The Falcons sandwiched a 3-1 victory over perennial state power Cranford and a 1-0 win over Paramus Catholic around a pair of losses to East Brunswick. St. Joseph lost 3-2 and 7-2 to the Bears. With the exception of the loss to the Bears, pitching has been outstanding for St. Joseph, with the staff allowing a total of eight runs in its five other games combined.
6. Woodbridge 6-3: The Barrons posted a 3-2 record last week, defeating Perth Amboy 5-3, Plainfield 14-4 and defending Blue Division champion Bishop Ahr 6-2. Woodbridge dropped a season series to Monroe, falling 5-2 in 10 innings and 2-1. The Barrons’ only other loss is to Marlboro, which the Asbury Park Press ranks No. 3 in the Shore Conference.
7. South Plainfield 5-3: After playing without aces Jake Alba (pneumonia) and Jean Sapini (working his way back after surgery to repair a torn meniscus), the Tigers bounced back from getting swept by North Brunswick in a doubleheader by winning four in a row. After sweeping a season series from Colonia by outscoring the Patriots 16-2, South Plainfield used a dramatic three-run rally in the seventh for a 14-13 comeback win over Notre Dame. Billy Keane then earned the win on the mound in a 6-0 blanking of Paramus.
8. Edison (3-5): The Eagles, who will benefit from the return of third baseman John Zanfordino, who missed the start of the season while recovering from an injury, remain a scrappy bunch with four of their losses coming by a total of eight runs. After splitting with J.P. Stevens (rebounding from a 2-1 loss with a 5-4 win), Edison got swept by South Brunswick, falling 5-0 and 2-3. The club’s other losses are to St. Joseph by a combined 9-4 margin.
9. South River 7-2: After helping veteran head coach Mike Lepore Jr. earn his 200th career victory, the Rams endured a 16-4 loss to undefeated Delaware Valley, ranked No. 10 in the Courier News, which covers all of Somerset County as well as parts of Hunterdon, Union and Middlesex counties. The loss snapped a five game-winning streak for the Rams, who had outscored their four previous opponents 47-1, allowing just two hits during that stretch. South River’s wins last week included a season sweep of New Brunswick and a victory over Academy Charter.
10. J.P. Stevens (5-5): A four-game losing streak – during which the Hawks were mercy-ruled by South Brunswick and Old Bridge – nearly knocked them out of the Top 10, but the defending Red Division co-champions will get another week to redeem themselves. J.P. Stevens sandwiched 5-4 losses to Edison and Old Bridge around the aforementioned lopsided defeats. The Hawks opened the year winning five of their first six including a 4-2 victory over Eastern, which one statewide publication ranked No. 10 in New Jersey at the time.
Greater Middlesex Conference
baseball rankings for April 20
GMC RANKINGS
1-Monroe (7-1)
2-East Brunswick (9-0-1)
3-Old Bridge (8-2)
4-South Brunswick (7-3)
5-St. Joseph (Met.) (5-2)
6-South Plainfield (6-4)
7-Woodbridge (7-4)
8-North Brunswick (4-4)
9-Sayreville (4-4)
10-South River (7-2)
Based on results reported to sports@njschoolsports.com
Joe Zedalis may be reached at jzedalis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephzedalis. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.
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