Greater Middlesex Conference Top 10 rankings 4/7/2019
Following is a look at the Home News Tribune's Top 10 rankings following the Greater Middlesex Conference's opening week of action.
1. Middlesex (4-0): The defending Group I champions, who graduated 21 of 24 victories on the mound, concluded the opening week of action with an impressive 1.75 team ERA. Matt Holmes earned his first varsity win with Saturday’s complete-game shutout of Union, which the Star Ledger ranks No. 20 in the state. With six field position players back from a vaunted lineup that batted .340 a year ago, the Blue Jays are surprisingly slow out of the gate offensively, hitting at a .210 clip. Jarret May and Jared Zimbardo are both batting .333, while Jared Venutolo (.308) is the only other player hitting above .300.
2.South Plainfield (3-1): The defending Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament champions had a three-game winning streak snapped in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Edison. After opening the year with a series sweep of North Brunswick, South Plainfield pitchers extended their string of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to 11 in a 5-1 victory over three-time defending Red Division champion East Brunswick. Jordan Hamberg (.462) and Chris Shine (.417) have gone a combined 11-for-25 at the plate with four RBI and four runs scored. A Seton Hall University signee, Shine will make the start Monday against Edison, as the Tigers look to reclaim a share of first place in the White Division. Shine fanned 12 over six and a third shutout innings in South Plainfield’s season-opening win.
3. St. Joseph (1-2): After being one strike away from invoking the mercy rule, St. Joseph inexplicably squandered an 11-run lead and endured a 13-12 season-opening loss to Sayreville. The Falcons rebounded from that defeat with a 10-0 blanking of the Bombers, only to endure more heartbreak on Saturday, losing 2-1 to West Morris on a controversial call in the sixth. The contest pitted future Atlantic Coast Conference hurlers Connor Staine (Maryland signee) of West Morris against Adam Boucher (Duke commit).
4. Old Bridge (2-1): The Knights sandwiched shutouts around a 4-3 loss to South Brunswick. Sonny Fauci (St. John’s signee) outdueled Jacob Ciccone (Lafayette signee) in a 4-0 season-opening victory. Senior Joe Krause hurled the conference’s first no-hitter, fanning four and walking three in a 3-0 blanking of previously undefeated J.P. Stevens, which entered Saturday’s game on a three-game winning streak. Old Bridge, which has stolen seven bases, is manufacturing runs. Fauci has been inflicting damage at the plate, as well. He leads the team with a .625 average (5-for-8 with two doubles and four runs scored).
5. Monroe (3-0): After outscoring two-time defending Blue Division champion Spotswood and Princeton Day School 30-4, Monroe needed three runs in the home sixth to rally for a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over incumbent conference tournament finalist Perth Amboy. The Falcons boast a 1.27 team ERA and are batting .370.
6. Piscataway (3-1): After splitting a season-opening series with incumbent conference tournament finalist Perth Amboy, the Chiefs scored three runs in the sixth en route to an 8-4 win over Princeton and three runs in the sixth on the way to a 3-2 comeback win over South Brunswick and ace Jacob Ciccone (Lafayette signee). First-year head coach Nick McKee, who paid his dues at Piscataway Tech, where he went 9-67 over the past five seasons, inherited a veteran team that is loaded with talent. Jordin Martell paces the club with a .417 batting average, two doubles, a homer and six RBI. Jordan Brown is batting .364 with a triple and four runs scored. Jason Mahmood highlights a deep pitching staff with two wins on the mound.
7. South Brunswick (1-2): The Vikings split a season-opening series with Old Bridge, rebounding from a 4-0 loss with a 4-3 win in eight innings. For the second straight year, ace Jacob Ciccone (Lafayette signee) has received little run support. Old Bridge’s Sonny Fauci (St. John’s signee) outdueled him in the opener and he was the hard-luck loser in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Piscataway. Ciccone has fanned 14 batters in 10 innings.
8. Edison (3-0): The Eagles opened the year with three consecutive wins for the first time since 2011. After blanking J.F. Kennedy 6-0 in its opener and rallying for five runs in the seventh inning for a dramatic 9-8 comeback win over Belleville, Edison shocked everyone but itself with a 3-2 victory over South Plainfield and No. 2 starter Rob Gonzalez. The Eagles boast a 1.67 team ERA and pitchers have fanned more batters (17) than they’ve walked (12). Seemingly every regular has made a contribution.
9. Woodbridge (2-1): The Barrons opened the year with a 5-4 win in nine innings over crosstown rival Colonia and held on for Saturday’s 2-1 win over Sayreville and ace Christian Ace (Pace signee). Joe Muccilli has emerged as the staff ace, allowing two earned runs over 13 and a third innings for a 1.05 ERA. He’s also inflicted some damage with his bat as the team’s RBI leader.
10T. Perth Amboy (1-2): The incumbent conference tournament finalists split a season-opening series with Piscataway and lost a heartbreaker Saturday to Monroe, which scored three unearned runs in the sixth for a comeback victory.
10T. Metuchen (1-2): After rolling to an 11-1 win over incumbent Gold Division runnerup East Brunswick Tech, the Bulldogs lost a series to Middlesex, falling 5-4 in the finale.
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