Greater Middlesex Conference baseball rankings for Week 2

 

Andy Mendlowitz
MyCentralJersey.com

Top 10

1. Old Bridge (7-1)– last week No. 8 – In a season of close games in the Red Division, the Knights have just found ways to win. Enter the huge two-game sweep over North Brunswick last week. The Knights scored five runs in the top of the seventh to win Game 1 by 6-5. Then, Kyle McSorley’s double in the bottom of the eighth gave the Knights a 3-2 win. The Knights followed that up with a 5-2 win over East Brunswick on Monday. Justin Hascup, Justin Meyer and Frank Papeo are developing into one of the best staffs in the area. The jump from No. 8 to No. 1 is well warranted.

2. North Brunswick (4-4)– last week No. 1 – The Raiders followed that tough series with Old Bridge with a clutch 6-1 win over St. Joseph on Monday. Zack Konstantinovsky couldn’t have had a better game. The Rutgers-bound star hit two home runs and struck out 12 in going the distance. The series was set to continue Tuesday. The Raiders fall a spot to No. 2 and their CV includes two-game splits with Old Bridge and Monroe.

3. St. Joseph (3-3)– last week No. 2 – The Falcons beat state-ranked Gloucester Catholic last Wednesday before dropping the game against North Brunswick to snap a three-game win streak. St. Joseph remains up high in the rankings with splits against Old Bridge and Monroe. The talent’s certainly there for a strong finish.

4. East Brunswick (4-4)– last week No. 3 – The Bears traded walk-off victories with Monroe last week and that just about sums up their season, in which any game is up for grabs. East Brunswick has also split their two games with South Brunswick and South Plainfield, and dropped the first game against Old Bridge on Monday. They were slated to play again Tuesday. Those quality wins and losses keeps EB in the Top 5.

5. Monroe (3-4)– last week No. 4 – See above. The Falcons are hanging tough in the Red Division and took the key Game 1 against South Brunswick behind Harrison Lollin’s gem – a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts.  Monroe is 2-3 in one-run games. As coach Sean Field noted after the 5-4 walk-off win over East Brunswick on Friday, they could be one of the best teams or near the bottom. Now, they have confidence with two-straight victories.

6. South Brunswick (3-4)– last week No. 5 – I hate to write it a third time, but … See Above. Just look at the Vikings’ roller coaster-type week in which all three games could have went either way. South Brunswick edged South Plainfield 2-0 behind ace Joey Tuttoilmondo’s gem (11 Ks, 1 H, 1 BB). The Vikings then lost 16-13 to South Plainfield in eight innings before dropping the 3-0 game to Monroe on Monday. Game 2 against Monroe was set for Tuesday before a meeting with Old Bridge on Thursday.

7. Spotswood (8-0)– last week No. 7 – The Chargers are certainly making a case for a potential jump in the rankings. Spotswood has outscored opponents 83-13 with four shutouts. Casey Cumiskey leads the explosive hitters and stingy pitching staff.

8. Sayreville (5-3) – last week No. 6 – The Bombers ran into two hot-hitting teams in their latest games and fell 12-2 to Edison and to J.F. Kennedy by the same score. That just happens in baseball sometimes. Sayreville has series sweep over Woodbridge and splits with Edison and Middlesex, squads in the top half of the White Division. That’s a good body of work.

9. South Plainfield (4-3)– last week No. 9 – Win a game. Lose a game. That was the order for the Tigers in the early going until a 13-4 non-conference win over Somerville on Monday to get past .500. As long as they’re getting Red Division splits, though, South Plainfield will be just fine. They have splits with East Brunswick, North Brunswick and South Brunswick. Junior Jayden Alvarez and freshman Dom Massaro are having breakout seasons at the plate.

10. Edison (5-2)– last week No. 10 – The Eagles are in the thick of a tight race for the White Division pennant. That’s why erupting for the 12-2 win over Sayreville to grasp the series split was clutch. Paul DiCarlo led the way with a 4-for-4 day with three RBI and is having a strong season on the mound.

(Records through Monday, April 17. The week for the rankings go from Tuesday to Monday)

NJ baseball: GMC Top 10 for Week 2 (mycentraljersey.com)