Three of the four Greater Middlesex Conference division races concluded last week with several non-conference and inter-division games on tap this week before the GMC Tournament starts in two weeks.
Woodbridge’s First to
First: We
spoke with a couple longtime GMC observers and neither one can remember this
ever happening —a team winning a division then moving up and capturing a
pennant the next season. Woodbridge captured the White Division in 2024 and got
promoted to the Red. Well, the Barrons added another notch on the banner by
clinching the Red Division last week. Woodbridge (11-3 in division) needed help
because while they were tied with South Plainfield (9-4) in the loss column,
the Tigers held the tiebreaker with a 2-0 sweep in the series. East Brunswick
played spoiler with the 6-5 win Thursday over South Plainfield.
GMC
Top 10
(Records through Saturday)
1. Woodbridge (12-3) – last
week No. 2: Let’s
see, the Barrons graduated their top hitter and three best pitchers from 2024,
as well as a veteran catcher —and was moving up to the Red Division. Rebuild
time? Think again. Woodbridge clinched the pennant last week and it just shows
that players should continue to keep working whether they’re a backup or junior
varsity player because their time will come. The Barrons received a boost by
the return of star pitcher/hitter Ryan Leach, who missed last season with a
knee injury.
2. South Plainfield (12-6)
– last week No. 1: The
Tigers controlled their destiny in the Red Division pennant race needing to win
their last three games for the title. They fell just short with a 6-5 loss to a
hot-hitting East Brunswick squad. Give South Plainfield credit, though, with a
nice two-year run in the division: the 2024 champs and a 2025 second place.
That’s hard to do.
3. St. Thomas Aquinas
(12-5) – last week No. 4: Take the “co” away. The Trojans entered the week
having clinched a share of the White Division title with Colonia, which needed
to beat Spotswood twice. Spotswood took the first game 3-2 on Tuesday giving
the title outright to STA. It’s an impressive notch on the banner after moving
up from the Blue Division. The Trojans stayed sharp with wins over No. 5 East
Brunswick and Camden Academy Charter, losing to St. Joseph.
4. Colonia (11-3) – last
week No. 3: Spotswood
snapped Colonia’s five-game win streak with Tuesday’s 3-2 win. While that
knocked the Patriots out of the White Division pennant race, they still had
plenty to play for in Thursday’s second game of the series. Both squads were
8-3 and the winner would take second place in the division. Colin Kroner went
the distance with six strikeouts in the 3-1 win as the Patriots placed second
two years in a row.
5. East Brunswick
(9-6) – last week No. 5: South Plainfield beat East Brunswick 16-3 on
Tuesday to snap a five-game winning stretch, in which the Bears scored 49 runs.
But wait é the Bears weren’t about to go into a spiral. East Brunswick came
back to beat South Plainfield 6-5 on Thursday, and then lost 13-11 to No. 3 St.
Thomas Aquinas on Friday. The bats are for real as EB clinched at least a share
of third place in the Red Division.
6. Old Bridge (9-8) – last
week No. 6: The
Knights got their first Red Division sweep with two wins over South Brunswick,
outscoring the Vikings 20-0 . Old Bridge had five two-game splits against
division opponents entering the week. Starters Justin Hascup and John Smith
threw a combined 11 1/3 shutout innings with 15 strikeouts to showcase the
Knights pitching.
7. St. Joseph (8-6) – last
week No. 7: The
Falcons started the week with a 5-0 loss to Edison but quickly turned around
with a 6-1 win over St. Thomas Aquinas and a 3-1 victory over Edison for the
series split behind strong outings from Joseph Barca and Richard Zangara. The
Falcons host South Plainfield on Wednesday. A win, and St. Joseph will finish
division play at 8-6 and clinch fourth place outright. A loss, and both St. Joe
and Old Bridge will end at 7-7 and tie for the fourth spot.
8. Spotswood (11-6) – last
week No. 8: While
the Chargers could make a case for landing a couple spots higher, the bottom
line is they’re playing good ball. Spotswood has won seven of its last eight
games, including a split with No. 4 Colonia last week and a win over No. 2
South Plainfield. The week was highlighted by the 3-2 win over Colonia as
freshman Tyrus Lazar got the walk-off hit in the eighth inning.
9. Monroe (7-9) – last week
No. 9: The
Falcons showed how dangerous they can be by earning a split against No. 1
Woodbridge last week with an 11-7 win in the first game of the series. Monroe
also topped Hamilton West 5-4 in 13 innings. Alex Marcus had a nice 7-for-17
week (.412). Monroe can certainly make a run in the GMC Tournament in two
weeks.
10. Middlesex (11-4) – last
week No. 10: The
Blue Jays swept Sayreville last week to finish 8-4 in the tough White Division
and sit in third place along with Spotswood — which has the tiebreaker with the
series sweep. It’s a nice bounce-back season for Middlesex, which doubled its
division win total from 2024. The Blue Jays have won five in a row and received
strong pitching from Chris Kozak and Dominic Long last week.
NJ Baseball ranking and notes: GMC Top 10 through May 3
No major changes in Week 5 Baseball Top Ten; Ridge holds at No. 1 heading into final week before SCT play
While past weeks have seen some great instability in the baseball rankings, things appear to be settling down, as all ten teams from last week remain in the Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, with the top six positions remaining the same.
Ridge (13-3) had a 3-1 week and remains No. 1. They beat Watchung Hills 7-3 on Monday, then split with Hunterdon Central, winning at home Tuesday 6-1, before falling 11-1 in Flemington Thursday. The Red Devils closed the week with a 2-0 win at Mendham on Friday. They are likely to earn the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament when the coaches gather Monday night.
Holding in second is Immaculata (9-4), which shares the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title with Ridge. The Spartans were 3-0 this past week, sweeping Hillsborough at home 9-5 on Tuesday, then on the road, 15-6 on Thursday, before blanking Sayreville back home Saturday, 2-0.
In third is South Plainfield (12-6), which went 2-2 this week. First, they split a Tuesday-Thursday series with East Brunswick, winning 16-3 on the road, then falling 6-5 at home. Friday, they blanked Sayreville at home, 1-0, before visiting Spotswood Saturday and coming back with an 8-4 defeat. The Tigers are second in the GMC Red to Woodbridge, but beat the Barrons twice head-to-head.
For that reason, Woodbridge (12-3) – the GMC Red Champions – remain in fourth. They lost 11-7 at Monroe Tuesday, but rebounded with a 4-0 home win over the Falcons on Thursday, before topping South Amboy at home Saturday, 12-2.
Steady in fifth is Colonia (11-3), which split two games this week against Spotswood. They lost on the road 3-2 Tuesday, then beat the Chargers at home 3-1 on Thursday.
Holding in sixth is Skyland Valley Division champion Rutgers Prep (10-4). They swept a Tuesday-Thursday series with Gill St. Bernard’s, starting with a 5-2 road win and capped with a 3-2 home victory.
Skyland Raritan Division winner Watchung Hills (9-5) moves up one spot on a 3-1 week. The Hustlin’ Warriors lost Monday at Ridge, 7-3 but came back and swept Montgomery with a 14-0 home win Tuesday, and a 9-3 win on the road Thursday. They also doubled-up Bridgewater-Raritan Saturday, 12-6.
St. Thomas Aquinas (12-5) drops one spot to No. 8 on a 2-2 week. They began with a 6-2 home loss to Brearley on Monday, then fell 6-1 at St. Joseph-Metuchen on Wednesday. But they came back with two wins, including Friday at East Brunswick, 13-11, and Saturday at home against Camden Academy Charter, 19-2.
Up one spot to ninth is Spotswood (11-6). The Chargers had a 2-1 week, beating Colonia Tuesday, 3-2, but losing there Thursday, 3-1. They came back and beat No. 3 South Plainfield, 8-4, on Saturday at The Swamp.
That drops East Brunswick (9-6) down to tenth. The bears beat Monroe 9-3 Monday, then split with South Plainfield, losing 16-3 at home Tuesday, but winning 6-5 on the road Thursday. They capped it with a 13-11 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.
