Greater Middlesex Conference rankings for Week 6

Andy Mendlowitz MyCentralJersey.com

1. North Brunswick (16-5) –last week No. 1 – The Raiders have just about seen it all over the past three seasons. Remember in last year’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament when they won back-to-back games by scores of 14-13 and 1-0 in 12 innings. No, not much frazzles this group, the bulk of which were members of the 2022 GMCT champions and 2021 GMCT semifinal teams. So they didn’t panic after falling behind 1-0 in the first inning against Monroe and its ace Harrison Lollin in Saturday’s GMCT semifinals. North Brunswick simply stayed cool and prevailed 2-1 fueled by Omar Carreras’ two-run homer in the third inning. Zack Konstantinovsky retired 17 straight to end the game. North Brunswick is a complete team with a balanced lineup and have won 13 of its last 14 games and eight in a row. They topped Somerset County Tournament champions Rutgers Prep 12-6 last week. They’ll meet St. Joseph in a rematch of last year’s GMCT Saturday at 2 p.m. at East Brunswick Magnet School.

2. St. Joseph (16-7)– last week No. 4 – The hot team stayed hot. That’s the way you want to be playing come mid-May. The Falcons reached their third-straight GMCT final with a 7-0 win over Spotswood in the quarterfinals and a 2-1 win over South Plainfield in the semifinals. That set up a rematch with North Brunswick in Saturday’s final. St. Joseph has now won 12 of its last 13 and nine in a row. Leadoff hitter Mark Gialluisi, a catcher, sets the tone (44 hits, 8 BB, .537 BA) and it’s a pesky lineup throughout the order. No. 8 hitter Will Ramsay homered against Spotswood and No. 9 hitter Bobby Christensen had the presence to draw a bases loaded walk in the GMCT semis for the winning run in the sixth inning.

3. Monroe (11-8)– last week No. 3 – The pitching couldn’t have been much better. Monroe allowed two runs and six hits in its three GMCT games. Last Wednesday, Lucas White threw a no-hitter with one walk in the Falcons’ 1-0 win over South Brunswick in the quarterfinals. Monroe dropped the semifinal 2-1 to North Brunswick as Harrison Lollin gave up three hits in the wrong side of a pitching duel. The junior twirled a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts in the 7-0 second-round win over Piscataway. Zack Wallace gives Monroe three top starters and the Falcons should be a fun team to follow in the NJSIAA sectional playoffs. The pairings are released on Friday.

4. Old Bridge (15-8)– last week No. 2 – When two Red Division teams meet, you never know which way the runs will fall. The second-seeded Knights lost to seventh-seeded South Plainfield 11-4 in Wednesday’s quarterfinals after splitting in the regular season. The Knights then lost to non-conference Manalapan and scored an impressive win over White Division champion Sayreville on Monday. Old Bridge’s tough schedule – non-conference games included Millburn (21-2), Red Bank Catholic (18-4) and St. Augustine (15-6) – should help prepare them for the sectionals.

5. South Plainfield (12-12)– last week No. 7 – One can’t go by South Plainfield’s record. The Tigers always have a legit chance to win and have splits with our No. 1 North Brunswick, No. 2 St. Joseph and No. 4 Old Bridge. That’s why the seventh-seeded Tigers win over second-seeded Old Bridge in the GMCT quarterfinals wasn’t all that shocking. They almost got it done against St. Joseph in the semifinals, but the third-seeded Falcons rallied for the 2-1 win.

6. Spotswood (16-6)– last week No. 5 – The Chargers ran into a couple of tough Red Division teams last week, falling to St. Joseph in the GMCT quarterfinals and South Plainfield on Monday. But remember, Spotswood exceeded their No. 11 seed by reaching the final eight via an upset over sixth-seeded Woodbridge in the second round. Senior Casey Cumiskey became the program’s career hit leader by doubling in the second inning against South Plainfield to break Spotswood’s record of 135 career hits. It was also his 50th hit of the season, which surpassed the program’s single-season hit mark that he set last season.  

7.Sayreville (13-8) – last week No. 6 – While the Bombers are on a bit of a slide, their fans shouldn’t be all that concerned with the sectionals coming up. Sayreville continues to play good teams tight. Their current 2-7 stretch includes four games decided by three runs or less. Junior Jake Romanello is continuing his breakout season by hitting .492 (30-of-61).

8. Edison (13-9)– last week No. 8 – The Eagles, too, are on a down stretch with losses against quality teams. Edison has dropped six of their last eight with four of them by three runs or less. The Eagles’ bats came alive with an impressive 11-5 win over Somerset County Tournament champions Rutgers Prep on Monday.

9. Woodbridge (17-5) – last week No. 9 – The Barrons continue to pile up wins. Woodbridge has taken four straight following its loss to Spotswood in the GMCT second round on May 8. This month they’re 8-1 – the type of consistency a team strives for in the stretch run. The latest win was a 7-6 walk-off against Linden from the bat of Derek Anderson.

10. (tie) South Brunswick (9-12)– last week No. 10 – The Vikings came close, but couldn’t conquer Monroe in their third try this season. They fell 1-0 in the GMCT quarterfinals as Monroe’s Lucas White threw a no-hitter. What could you do, that’s baseball. Fans should be encouraged by the team’s improving play as of late. After a six-game slide, the Vikings are 4-1 from May 5 on.

East Brunswick (9-11)– last week No. 10 – The Bears have scored 27 runs in their last two wins. Dustin McGuinness, Jack Gerould and Ryan Schultz each drove in four runs apiece. East Brunswick hopes that kind of hitting stays contagious as they gain momentum for the sectionals.

(Records through Monday, May 15) 

NJ baseball: Greater Middlesex Conference Top 10 for Week 6 (mycentraljersey.com)