Greg Tufaro ,
@GregTufaro
1. Woodbridge (13-2): The Barrons had a 13-game winning streak snapped in consecutive losses to Sayreville – 4-3 and 6-1 – that left Woodbridge with a slim two-game lead in the victory column over South Plainfield for first place in the White Division. Woodbridge and South Plainfield will play a two-game series on Monday and Tuesday. The Barrons can clinch the division title with a sweep.
2. East Brunswick (10-4): The Bears, who are 8-2 in the division, split their regular-season series with Old Bridge and St. Joseph. East Brunswick’s only other losses are to Woodbridge in 13 innings and 7-5 to Shore Conference power Jackson Memorial in the Autism Awareness Baseball Challenge. The Red Division-leading Bears have a two-game set with South Brunswick on Monday and Tuesday that will factor into the division title race.
3. St. Joseph (9-6): The Falcons, who are 7-2 in the Red Division, split their regular-season series with East Brunswick and Monroe, accounting for their only division losses. St. Joseph has played the toughest schedule of any GMC school with its four other defeats at the hands of perennial state powers St. Joseph of Montvale, Bergen Catholic, Pope John and Paramus Catholic. The Falcons currently trail division-leading East Brunswick by one game in the win column. St. Joseph, which has hurled a conference-best six shutouts, has blanked its last three opponents and will put its streak of 21 consecutive scoreless innings on the line against streaking Perth Amboy on Monday.
4. South Brunswick (10-5): The Vikings have dropped three of their last five and enter this week’s action after losing a pair of games in the seventh-inning to Perth Amboy. South Brunswick’s other losses are 7-6 to Skyland Conference power Montgomery, a 1-0 upset to Edison and a 2-0 defeat to Robbinsville and ace Jordan Winston, a Oklahoma State University signee.
5. South Plainfield (10-4): The Tigers, who had a four-game winning streak snapped in a lost to West Morris, rebounded with a 6-4 comeback win over Middlesex against which it rallied for five runs in the fourth inning to erase a 4-1 deficit. The Tigers split White Division series with Colonia and North Brunswick, the latter of which rallied for three runs in the seventh for a walk-off victory. South Plainfield can keep alive its division title hopes by at least salvaging a split in a series with division-frontrunner Woodbridge on Monday and Tuesday.
6. Spotswood (14-2): The Chargers extended their winning streak to 12 games with a series sweep of South River that allowed them to take sole possession of first place in the Blue Division by one game over Middlesex. Spotswood and the Blue Jays square off in a series on Monday and Tuesday that will decide the division champion.
7. Middlesex (14-2): After rallying for five seventh-inning runs in a dramatic 8-7 walk-off victory over Sayreville, the Blue Jays had their five-game winning streak snapped with a 6-4 loss to South Plainfield, which outscored the Bombers 15-4 in a White Division series sweep. Middlesex scored twice in the sixth inning to break a 6-6 deadlock in an 8-6 victory over North Brunswick, which was outscored 13-5 in a series loss to Sayreville.
8. Sayreville (6-6): The Bombers entered a series with Woodbridge, which they swept, having dropped three of their last four games with each defeat by a single run. Sayreville remains in contention for the White Division title. Sayreville opened the year with a 2-3 record. The Bombers were outscored 25-4 in those three losses, but have obviously rebounded.
9. Monroe (7-5): After a lopsided loss to St. Joseph in early April, the Falcons have dropped four more games, all by a single run to perennial state power Steinert, Old Bridge, Spotswood and South Brunswick. Monroe has scored 33 runs in its last three victories. Monroe avenged a 3-2 loss to Old Bridge with a 7-0 win the following day.
10. Old Bridge (6-10): The Knights’ stock rose with an impressive 10-4 victory over East Brunswick and a 1-0 upset of St. Augustine, which The Star Ledger of Newark ranked No. 10 in the state at the time. Old Bridge, whose schedule has been nearly as difficult as that of St. Joseph, has lost four games by a single run.
ON THE BUBBLE
Metuchen (7-5): The Bulldogs, along with Gold Division-leading East Brunswick Tech, which remains the conference’s lone undefeated team, are the league’s hottest club. Metuchen has won seven in a row, a streak that commenced with a walk-off victory over previously undefeated Middlesex.
Perth Amboy (4-8): The Panthers made a huge statement, sweeping a series from South Brunswick, rallying for consecutive wins, both in the seventh inning. After opening the year with an eight-game losing streak, the Panthers, who have four one-run losses, have won four of their last five.
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/sports/high-school/baseball/2017/04/30/gmc-baseball-top-10-rankings-april-30/101129430/
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