Two weeks in, GMC baseball looks wide open

 

There was this feeling in the off-season and the preseason that there could be a shift at the top of the Greater Middlesex Conference, and so far that may be coming to fruition.

We’re only two weeks into the regular season – and, when you think about it, three weeks from the GMC Tournament seeding meeting – and it’s been fun to watch it all play out.

Let’s start in the GMC Red Division, which generally has supplied the top-seed in the tourney over the years. Heading into Saturday play, Monroe sits atop the division at 4-1, with all of their games divisional games so far. Same for second-place South Plainfield, which is 3-1, also all in divisional play.

That’s two new faces at the top for this season, where last year it was North Brunswick and St. Joseph battling it out. Old Bridge – which finished third last year but won the Central Jersey Group 4 title and went all the way to the state final in Hamilton – is tied for second with the Tigers at 3-1 in the division, 5-2 overall.

Even the Raiders, who are 2-2 overall – and in the Red – earned a split with Old Bridge this week, beating the Knights 6-2, then falling 6-3 in the rematch. The two met in last year’s CJ4 final.

St. Joseph may be struggling at 0-5 overall, sitting at the bottom of the division, but they had probably the biggest roster turnover in at least the Red if not the whole league, graduating a ton of seniors. And the ones who sat behind them that last two years are struggling to find their groove at the plate. They’ll come around, and when they do, could be one of those scary seeds in the middle of the bracket. But for now, the Falcons have only scored in three of their first five games, and have been outscored 32-5.

The last time Joe’s started 0-5 was in 1996, when they began the year 0-13, then snapped the skid with a win over JP Stevens – which had beaten them earlier in the streak.

Over in the GMC White, Woodbridge leads the pack. One of the most veteran teams in the league, it’s no surprise the Barrons are 5-0, all in divisional play. Similarly, Edison is improved, and behind them at 3-1, with Sayreville next at 2-3. We’ll get a good look at Edison when the Eagles host Middlesex (2-3, 1-3 GMC White) this coming Thursday at 4 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

No surprise in the Blue Division, either, where a solid Spotswood squad is 5-0, and has outscored its opponents 50-11 through the first two weeks of the season. The Chargers just beat a pretty good Piscataway team (3-2) by the score of 18-4 Thursday afternoon. To put that in perspective, and in football parlance, that’s a small Group 2 school beating a Group 5. There’s no fear in Spotswood, even if the Chiefs are a divisional opponent. JFK and St. Thomas Aquinas are behind Spotswood, both 3-1 overall, 2-1 in the Blue.

All this is to say, while it’s still early, the mold is being formed for the 2024 county tournament. It may be one of the most wide open in recent years, in terms of seeding, and the end result. That’s the feeling around the league when you talk to the coaches, and it looks like it’s bearing out, just two weeks in.

Two weeks in, GMC baseball looks wide open – Central Jersey Sports Radio (cjsportsradio.com)