After another exciting season, here is our final GMC Baseball Top 10 for the 2021 season.
Top 10
1. St. Joseph (18-11)
No debate.
The Falcons claimed the top spot after winning the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament and outscoring opponents 23-4 in the four postseason games. Junior righthander Andrew Goldan emerged as the ace and sophomores Tyler Delvecchio (1B), Robbie Carvelli (OF) and Mark Gialluisi (C) earned All-Red Division titles. In the regular season, St. Joseph shared the division title with Monroe.
2. South Brunswick (14-10)
The Vikings put together a fantastic GMCT run, reaching the final as the No. 5 seed. South Brunswick, though, was a contender all spring. They split with Monroe and lost three games against St. Joseph by scores of 3-0, 2-1 and 2-0. Frankie Sanchez and Joey Tuttoilmondo was as good a pitching duo as anywhere in the area.
3. South Plainfield (20-5-1)
Other teams can make a case for this spot, but South Plainfield's body of work is impressive. The Tigers went 12-1-1 in capturing the White Division title. While they lost to Edison in the GMCT quarterfinals, the Tigers won the regular season series. Brandon Shine, Vincent Esposito and Nick Loniewski earned All-Division honors.
4. Monroe (14-7)
Monroe earned the top seed in the GMCT after being co-Red Division champs with St. Joseph. The Falcons, though, were upset by No. 16 J.F. Kennedy in the first round. That lost doesn't erase what Monroe accomplished this spring, including splitting with St. Joseph and South Brunswick.
5. Middlesex (22-4)
Those memories will last forever. Middlesex had a magical postseason run with three-straight walk-off wins to capture the Central Group 1 and Group 1 championships. Few will ever forget Bobby Ulmer's walk-off grand slam to give the Blue Jays a 7-5 win over Woodstown in the Group 1 semifinals before an enthusiastic home crowd. Middlesex, which won the Blue Division, has a claim to be ranked higher, but losses to South Plainfield and South Brunswick lands them at No. 5.
6. North Brunswick (17-0-1)
After a slow 2-4 start against tough teams, the Raiders got rolling, playing itself into the White Division race. In a memorable series against South Plainfield, the Raiders took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning, only to have it start pouring and the game was declared a tie. The next day, North Brunswick handed South Plainfield its only division loss. The Raiders reached the GMCT semifinals, fueled by All-Conference pitcher Zack Konstantinovsky.
7. Edison (16-8)
The Eagles completed another strong season, finishing second in the White Division race and reaching the GMCT semifinals. The GMC coaches Player of the Year Walker Zampella and first baseman Sal Della Fave put fear into opponents with their power bats.
8. Spotswood (20-7)
The Chargers were once again contenders in the Blue Division and had two exciting wins over rival East Brunswick, including a first-round victory in the GMCT. Ty Lewandowski and Casey Cumiskey earned All-Conference honors for their stellar play.
9. East Brunswick (11-11)
After an 0-4 start, the Bears got going and became a tough game for everybody. In fact, East Brunswick split games with No. 1 St. Joseph, No. 2 South Brunswick and No. 4 Monroe.
10. (TIE) Metuchen (15-6)
The Bulldogs were the only Blue Division team to beat Group 1 champs Middlesex with a split in the regular season series. Metuchen also split with Spotswood and entered the GMCT as the No. 8 seed.
Woodbridge (14-9)
The Barrons impressively swept North Brunswick early in the season and was one of four White Division teams that finished with a winning record. After starting 0-2, Woodbridge had a scorching stretch where it won nine of 10 games.
Final Home News Tribune GMC Baseball Top 10 (mycentraljersey.com)
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