South Plainfield 3, South Brunswick 2

Dan Kapsch singled in the bottom of the seventh scoring Alex Pigna, courtesy runner for catcher Steven Studlack who drew a two-out walk as the Tigers secured the clutch GMC Red Division win.

The Tigers (10-4 overall, 8-3 in division) remains in the pennant race. Jayden Jimenez earned the win by throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings with a strikeout. Mike Castagna allowed two runs (1 ER) in 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts.

Nick Irizarry was 2-for-3 with an RBI (run, 2 SBs) and Dom Massaro went 2-for-3 (run, SB, HBP).

Alex Katona went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Vikings (2-11) and Peyton Lynch singled with an RBI. John Koch delivered a quality start by allowing three runs in 6 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts.

NJ Baseball April roundup for GMC and area Skyland and Union teams

South Plainfield Batting

	AB	R	H	RBI	1B	2B	3B	HR	BB	HBP	SB	AVG	SLG
Dom Massaro	3	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	.667	.667
Dan Kapsch	4	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250	.250
Nick Irizarry	3	1	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	.667	.667
Kevin Penny	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	.000	.000
Dylan Oller	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Aiden McCarthy	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	.500	.500
Ryan Balent	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Chris Loniewski	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Steve Studlack	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000
Lorenzo Fuscoletti	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Dave Butrico	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Totals:	24	3	6	2	6	0	0	0	3	1	4	.250	.250

South Plainfield Pitching

	PIT	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HB	ERA
Mike Castagna	91	5.2	4	2	1	1	4	1	1.24
Jayden Jimenez (WP)	18	1.1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Totals:	109	7	5	2	1	1	5	1	1.00

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
South Brunswick (2-11)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	0
South Plainfield (10-4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	2

WP: Jayden Jimenez
LP: John Koch

Four Straight Home Victories for South Plainfield

Baseball Recap: South Plainfield Tigers vs. South Brunswick Vikings

While South Plainfield's win against South Brunswick wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Tigers sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 victory over the Vikings on Saturday. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Vikings recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.

Michael Castagna tossed a big game, pitching 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five).

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Nick Irizarry, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged two or more in each of the last three games he's played.

South Plainfield's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-4. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 2.25 runs across that stretch. As for South Brunswick, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-12.

We've got plenty of inter-league action coming up soon. South Plainfield is set to challenge their familiar foe East Brunswick at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, South Brunswick will face off against rival Old Bridge at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Baseball Recap: Four Straight Home Victories for South Plainfield

TAPinto South Plainfield

South Plainfield Beats South Brunswick, 3-2, on Kapsch's Walk-Off Hit

By Guy Kipp
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ -- In the midst of a difficult season, South Brunswick turned in perhaps its best performance of the spring, but its upset bid was dashed when Dan Kapsch's RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning gave South Plainfield a 3-2 baseball victory over the Vikings on Saturday.
With left-hander John Koch turning in a strong six-inning performance on the mound, South Brunswick (2-11) had erased an early 2-0 deficit with runs in the fifth and sixth innings to tie it, 2-2.
But, in the bottom of the seventh, after Koch got the first two batters out, he walked Steve Studlack with his 109th and final pitch of the day. South Brunswick's relief pitcher hit Dom Massaro with a pitch, moving Alex Pigna -- courtesy running for catcher Studlack -- into scoring position and bringing up Kapsch, the No. 2 batter in the Tigers' order.
Kapsch lined a 1-2 pitch into the gap in left-center field, enabling Pigna to score easily with the tiebreaking run that gave South Plainfield another close victory and kept the Tigers' chances alive for a share of the Red Division title in the Greater Middlesex Conference.
"It was a change-up, I think. I just went down and got it, hit it in the gap and did my job," Kapsch said of his walk-off hit. "I felt like I was hitting the ball hard (earlier in the game), but I grounded out twice. I felt good all day, but I just felt like I was getting a little on top of the ball. On that last one, I made sure to stay through it."
South Plainfield (10-4) had taken a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Nick Irizarry, who had singled, scored on a passed ball with two outs. Irizarry also figured in the Tigers' second run.
In the bottom of the third, Dom Massaro led off with a single to center. He stole second base, took third on Kapsch's groundout, then scored when Irizarry singled up the middle for a 2-0 lead.
But, for most of the unsettled early afternoon, Koch and South Plainfield right-hander Mike Castagna were dueling each other and the sporadic downpours. Koch pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowed five hits, two earned runs, struck out nine and walked three. Castagna went 5 2/3 innings, allowed five hits and two runs (one earned), walked one and struck out five.
South Brunswick got its first run in the fifth inning after Julian Williams reached on an error. He reached third on a sacrifice bunt by James Angermeier lll, then Alex Katona put down a squeeze bunt that went for a single and Williams came in to score on the play. Katona stole second, but was stranded there.
The Vikings tied it, 2-2, in the top of the sixth on Peyton Lynch's sacrifice fly. Bretton Lynch had led off with a double to left and advanced to third on Jack Whitlock's groundout. Peyton Lynch's fly to left was deep enough to plate his brother, Bretton. South Brunswick had a chance to take the lead in the same inning, as Tyler Szakacs cracked a triple to deep center field, but South Plainfield reliever Jayden Jimenez got the third out on a groundball back to the box.
"We wanted to save pitching, and save our closer, Jay," Kapsch said of the motivation to avoid going into extra innings on Saturday. "We've got another big week coming up against other division teams. We've got to win out. Mike pitched great today. Both of his runs were on shaky plays. He pitched well, he's been pitching well all year in big spots when we needed him."
Jimenez, who got the win, pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowed one hit and struck out one.
South Plainfield completed a two-game sweep of South Brunswick, but this one wasn't easy. The Tigers have won five games this season by two runs or less. They have three division games left, and are in second place in the Red Division with an 8-3 divisional record. First-place Woodbridge is 12-2 in the division.
"I feel like we're one of the best teams in the conference -- I think, the best team in the conference," Kapsch said. "I think when we're on, our lineup all could hit, we've been here before. We've got a few guys who have been here two or three years already, and I think we're the most all-around team in the GMC."
Katona was 2-for-3 for South Brunswick. Massaro and Irizarry each went 2-for-3 for South Plainfield.
Baseball: South Plainfield Beats South Brunswick, 3-2, on Kapsch's Walk-Off Hit | South Brunswick, NJ News TAPinto | TAPinto