Greater Middlesex Conference rankings for Week 5

 

Andy Mendlowitz

MyCentralJersey.com

Top 10

1. North Brunswick (12-5) –last week No. 2 – The Raiders came through and return to our top spot. North Brunswick won a dramatic Red Division pennant race by topping South Brunswick by scores of 10-0 and 6-3 in the final divisional series last week. If North Brunswick split the series, then four teams would have finished at 7-5. Instead, North Brunswick went to 8-4 and will get another notch on the banner. The Raiders, though, won’t fully celebrate just yet as they look to defend their GMC Tournament title as the top seed. After a 25-0 win over No. 16 South River in the second round, next up is ninth-seeded Edison in Wednesday’s quarters.   

2. Old Bridge (14-6)– last week No. 1 – In a season of parity madness, all the Red Division teams could reasonably hope for was having a chance entering the final week. Old Bridge did just that and split a two-game series with Monroe as each team finished 7-5. The Knights do have a sweep over No. 1 North Brunswick and that helped them garner the No. 2 seed in the GMCT. Old Bridge opened with a 4-0 win over No. 15 Carteret and play seventh-seeded South Plainfield in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. They split in the regular season setting up what looks to be a fun game.

3. Monroe (9-6)– last week No. 3 – Monroe entered the season with one of the GMC’s best pitchers in Harrison Lollin, but had questions with eight seniors having graduated. The Falcons maneuvered through the Red Division to essentially tie for second place with a 7-5 division mark. Zack Wallace emerged as another top arm for Monroe and Aidan Lane (.412 BA) has stepped up at the plate. Monroe earned the No. 4 seed in the GMCT and opened with a 7-0 win over 20th-seeded Piscataway in the second round. Next up is 12th-seeded South Brunswick in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.  

4. St. Joseph (12-7)– last week No. 4 – You just knew that St. Joseph would be a player in the Red Division despite a slow start. The Falcons were 2-4 in the division early on, but finished at 7-5 and are now red-hot. St. Joseph have won eight of its last nine games, including the 12-2 win over 19th-seeded Metuchen in the GMCT second round. They meet 11th-seeded Spotswood in the quarterfinals. One could argue that St. Joe’s should be No. 3 in this ranking. After all, the Falcons earned the No. 3 seed in the GMCT. Still, they split with our No. 3 Monroe in the regular season and both teams split with No. 2 Old Bridge and were swept by No. 1 North Brunswick. So, we’ll keep the order the way it is and see how it plays out.    

5. Spotswood (14-4)– last week No. 7 – It’s time that Spotswood cracked our Top 5. The Chargers are just a good team and they showed it with Monday’s 5-3 win over sixth-seeded Woodbridge in the GMCT second round. The 11th-seeded Chargers meet third-seeded St. Joseph in Wednesday’s quarters. Spotswood’s Casey and Carter Cumiskey lead the way, but the Chargers are a complete, pesky squad that just find ways to win.

6.Sayreville (12-6) – last week No. 6 – The Bombers had a terrific comeback season, going from last place in the White Division to winning the division pennant. Sayreville secured the title with a sweep over J.P. Stevens last week and earned the fifth seed in the GMCT. However, the Bombers were upset against 12th-seeded South Brunswick in Monday’s second round.

7. South Plainfield (9-9)– last week No. 9 – The Tigers reloaded after graduating key seniors and tussled with everyone in the Red Division in going 5-7. That includes splits with No. 1 North Brunswick, No. 2 Old Bridge and No. 4 St. Joseph. The seventh-seeded Tigers are still alive in the GMCT with a 6-4 win over 10th-seeded Middlesex in the second round. They meet Old Bridge again in Wednesday’s quarterfinals for Round 3.

8. Edison (12-7)– last week No. 10 – The Eagles are just one of those teams that always seem to be a tough draw. Ninth-seeded Edison got by eighth-seeded East Brunswick 3-0 in Monday’s GMCT second round behind ace Jaxon Appelman. But the Eagles are a deep team with heavy hitters such as Appelman, Jackson Ferrer, Jordan Martins and impact freshman Robert Roma. Senior pitcher Paul di Pasquale, also a top batter, has excelled on the mound. Edison looks to keep its upsets going with a meeting against top-seeded North Brunswick in Wednesday’s quarters.   

9. Woodbridge (13-5) – last week No. 8 – Look, upsets happen. The sixth-seeded Barrons ran into a hot pitcher in Casey Cumiskey and lost to 11th-seeded Spotswood 5-3 in Monday’s GMCT second round. Woodbridge finished second in the White Division and will retool when the NJSIAA playoffs get underway in a couple weeks. Woodbridge reached the North 2 Group 4 finals last season.

10. (tie) South Brunswick (7-11)– not ranked – When Joey Tuttoilmondo is pitching, South Brunswick always has a chance to win. The 12th-seeded Vikings upset fifth-seeded Sayreville 5-3 behind the senior’s 14-strikeout effort in 5 2/3 innings in Monday’s second round GMCT game. The ace allowed one run and Anthony Servedio finished up the win. Give South Brunswick credit – the mostly young team has stepped up after graduating 11 seniors from last season. Tuttoilmondo and slugger Ethan Fantel have led the way, but the Vikings have also gotten key contributions from the newcomers. They split with Old Bridge and East Brunswick in the regular season. Next up, they meet fourth-seeded Monroe in the quarterfinals.   

East Brunswick (7-10)– last week No. 5 – The Bears were in the Red Division mix and finished at 5-7 with splits against No. 1 North Brunswick and No. 2 Old Bridge. That’s enough to keep them in the Top 10 despite losing to ninth-seeded Edison 3-0 in Monday’s second round game as the No. 8 seed. They have the talent to make another run in the sectional playoffs. Last season, East Brunswick reached the Central Group 4 title game.

(Records through Monday, May 7) 

NJ baseball: Greater Middlesex Conference Top 10 for Week 5 (mycentraljersey.com)