This week in Middlesex County baseball - Player to Watch - Mark Tomei

This week in Middlesex County baseball

JOSH ROSENFELD, May 23, 2011 8:21 p.m.

PLAYER TO WATCH

After batting ninth last year on a South Plainfield team that featured a pair of All-Middlesex County underclassmen in sluggers in Brandon Downes and Stephen Petriello, Mark Tomei has been a terror at the leadoff spot this spring.

South Plainfield Junior Mark Tomei

(Photo Courtesey of Don Hunsinger)

The junior left fielder is batting .511 with 47 hits in 24 games, including 17 doubles, four triples and six home runs. He has 20 RBI and boasts a .554 on base percentage and .978 slugging for a 1.532 OPS.

South Plainfield (17-7) won twice Saturday. After eliminating J.P. Stevens, 8-3, in the quarterfinal round of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, it traipsed down to Toms River, where it trimmed Toms River South, No. 9 in The Star-Ledger Top 20 at the time, 3-2 in 10 innings. Tomei was 7-for-9 in the two contests with five doubles.

TEAM TO WATCH

Count St. Joseph (15-7) as another team that appears to be getting its act together at tournament time. The Metuchen school won four in a row, matching its longest winning streak of the season, heading into Monday’s showdown with No. 6 Pope John of Sparta.

Brandon Dolan (5-2 with four saves in 11 appearances), has been practically untouchable of late, yielding six hits and one run in 13 innings over his last two starts. Dolan has a 1.20 ERA with 73 strikeouts and 17 walks over 52 1/3 innings to anchor a staff with a 2.89 ERA.

Balance has been the key on offense with a lineup that boasts five .300 hitters and seven batters with double-digit RBI. Dom Forcella has gone 5-for-7 over the last two games to raise his team-leading batting average to .414, and he shares the team home run lead (four) with Matt Hratko and the RBI lead (15) with Kevin Mayce.

GAME TO WATCH

The last time Old Bridge (15-8) and South Brunswick (15-6) met, May 13, a share of the Greater Middlesex Conference-Red Division title was at stake. The stakes have risen for their next meeting. They will face off  Wednesday night at Myrtle Field in Metuchen in the quarterfinal round of the GMC Tournament.

The teams split their recent back-to-back meetings with Old Bridge’s 3-1 victory on May 12 giving it the edge in the divisional standings at the time of the tournament seeding meeting. As a result Old Bridge was seeded second while South Brunswick was seeded seventh.

South Brunswick’s 9-8 victory in eight innings the following day in Old Bridge enabled it to share the divisional title with St. Joseph while Old Bridge finished third.

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/8220638729783261899/this-week-in-middlesex-county-baseball/