Andy Mendlowitz MyCentralJersey.com
Division Notes
Red Division: Parity. Intrigue. Chaos. Hold on fans, if the first week is any indication it’s going to be some ride this spring. Look at the two-game series results: North Brunswick vs. South Plainfield – split. St. Joseph vs. Old Bridge – split. St. Joseph vs. Monroe – split. East Brunswick vs. South Brunswick – split. Nobody has gained an early edge and it just may be like that for the whole season.
Granted, it’s only a week in, but one thing is apparent: all seven teams have pitching depth. If your ace wins, great, Game 2 isn’t guaranteed. Strong arms especially come into play in the third game of the week. Take our No. 1 North Brunswick. The Raiders certified ace Zachary Konstantinovsky threw 6 1/3 shutout innings in their 2-0 win Tuesday over South Plainfield, which took Thursday’s finale. Saturday, junior Alejandro Jabar hurled six shutout innings in a complete-game 10-0 win over Monroe in the first game of the series.
Top 10 Entering Week 2
(Records through Monday, April 10)
1. North Brunswick (2-1) – preseason No. 1 – The Raiders opened with three totally different games – a 2-0 win over South Plainfield, an 11-2 loss to SP and a 10-0 win over Monroe. North Brunswick has the veteran pieces to not get frazzled no matter how the game develops.
2. St. Joseph (2-2) – preseason No. 2 – The Falcons could easily be 4-0 or 0-4. Yup, that’s the type of season this is looking like. Starting 2-2 seems about right. St. Joseph certainly has the pieces to get hot and go on a run. Catcher Mark Gialluisi (7-for-11) and OF Robbie Carvelli (7-for-13) have hit like leaders.
3. East Brunswick (3-1) – preseason No. 4 – Fans know that the Bears have the deep arms. But they’re also hitting with 21 runs over their last two games. East Brunswick will be very dangerous with that kind of complete output.
4. Monroe (1-2) – preseason No. 5 – On one hand, it doesn’t seem right to move a team up a spot after a 1-2 start. But early season rankings are sometimes like that and Monroe’s three games were against No. 1 and No. 2. The Falcons got a split with St. Joseph and lost to North Brunswick. Monroe’s veteran nucleus should lead the way as the newcomers develop.
5. South Brunswick (2-2) – preseason No. 6 – The varsity inexperienced Vikings showed guts in coming back to edge East Brunswick on opening day. Having an early split with the Bears is a good sign and junior 1B/P Ethan Fantel seems primed to have a great season.
6.Sayreville (4-1) – preseason not ranked – The Bombers certainly had proven hitters entering the season, but needed to replace their two workhorse pitchers. Looks like Sayreville will be just fine and be a contender in the White Division. The Bombers swept No. 3 Woodbridge and split with Middlesex, always a tough team. They also beat Piscataway, twice putting up double-digit runs.
7. Spotswood (4-0) – preseason No. 7 – No, not a bad start at all for the Chargers. Spotswood has outscored opponents 38-1, including gutting out a 2-1 win over Metuchen on opening day. The brothers Cumiskey, Casey and Carter, are a combined 16-for-28 with 11 RBI.
8. Old Bridge (3-1) – preseason No. 8 – The Knights needed some hitters to step up this season. Well, they scored 28 runs in their three wins. Splitting with No. 2 St. Joe’s is a great start and they have an anticipated series with North Brunswick on Thursday and Saturday.
9. South Plainfield (1-2) – preseason No. 9 – Fans know the Tigers are always going to be in the mix on the diamond. However, they did need to replace some key graduated seniors. Well, South Plainfield turned in a head-turning 11-2 win over No. 1 North Brunswick keyed by Dom Massaro’s four RBI in a split of the series. The Tigers lost to East Brunswick on Saturday and have a key week coming up with East Brunswick again and a series with South Brunswick.
10. Edison (3-1) – preseason No. 10 – Talking about powering up, the Eagles have absolutely crushed the ball and scored 56 runs over the first four games. Edison also got superb pitching (1 ER allowed in first three games). The Eagles, though, lost to Colonia 14-9 on Monday for a series split. Next up is an intriguing series with a hot Sayreville team.
Received consideration
Woodbridge (2-2): The Barrons were ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll. Maybe it’s not fair to drop Woodbridge out after it swept Colonia then lost twice to Sayreville. They’re certainly a quality team who’s going to contend in the White Division. However, I had to get Sayreville in and no Red Division team lost a series. So, Woodbridge was sort of the early odd team out with several chances to play their way back in.
Middlesex (4-1): The Blue Jays winning games? Now, that’s no surprise. The perennial Group 1 power, though, returned just one regular starer and two pitchers. Yeah, they’ll be just fine. Middlesex split with Sayreville, beat Princeton Day and swept JP Stevens for the hot start.
NJ baseball: GMC Top 10 after opening week (mycentraljersey.com)
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