Andy Mendlowitz
MyCentralJersey.com
With the baseball season opening in full force this week, here is our first Greater Middlesex Conference Top 10 of the season.
The ranking will be posted Monday morning all season, which promises to have plenty of twists and turns.
There is already a big change from last spring – the GMC moved from five divisions to four. That means beefed-up pennant races. Among the notable changes are Edison and Woodbridge moving into the Red Division from the White; North Brunswick moving to the White from the Red and St. Thomas Aquinas moving up to the White Division.
GMC Preseason Top 10
(last season’s records in parenthesis)
1. Old Bridge (20-9): The Knights start where they ended last season – as No. 1. The defending GMC Tournament champs do graduate All-Area players in Frank Papeo (RHP-1B) and JT Meyer (RHP-CF) and other pieces such as pitcher Luke Hagen. However, a pair of All-GMC players return in ace Justin Hascup and leadoff hitter John Smith. There’s experience sprinkled throughout the lineup with talented newcomers ready. Plus, the winning attitude remains.
2. South Plainfield (22-6-1): The Tigers could make a case for the preseason top spot. The reigning Red Division champions ooze talent on the mound with hot bats and should overcome the loss of a half dozen stalwarts. Where do those South Plainfield arms come from? Ryan Balent, Mike Castagna and Kevin Penny are on the ace-level, while Dominic Massaro, Dan Kapsch and Nick Irizarry are All-GMC candidates.
3. Colonia (19-7): The Patriots just might have the top pitching staff in the GMC. They feature two certified aces in Cory Pascarella (56 1/3 IP, 0.37 ERA, 86 Ks) and Colin Kroner (49 IP, 2.20 ERA, 78 Ks). It’s a show when they toe the mound and Colonia has an excellent chance to win every time they’re pitching. The Patriots also have other nice arms with seasoned bats back looking to boost the offensive production from last season.
4. Edison (16-12): Remember last season when the Eagles entered with some mystery, featuring superstar, two-way senior Jaxon Appelman and a ton of youngsters. Well, the kids were all right as Edison had its second straight 16-win season and reached the GMCT semifinals. Now, eight players return with big-game seasoning. All signs point to another strong spring as Edison moves into the Red Division from the White. All-GMC Robert Roma (LHP-OF) and All-Division Anthony Calantoni (SS) are the early names to watch.
5. Spotswood (19-4-2): The Chargers spent every day over the past two seasons with at least a share of first place in the Blue Division. Now, they move into the White Division with a mostly veteran lineup boosted by 13 seniors. All-Division players Carter Cumiskey (.446, six HRs, 30 RBIs and carried a 1.80 ERA with 78 Ks on the mound), William Buchan (.375, 27 RBIs) and Ryan Orth (.322 batting average and 2.47 ERA) lead the way.
6. Monroe (16-10): The Central Group 4 champions have questions after graduating their three top pitchers who combined for 233 strikeouts and a 2.37 ERA in Zack Wallace, Lucas White, and Harrison Lollin. The Falcons also lost their top hitter Owen Judge (.324 AVG), who will miss the season after suffering an ACL tear. However, they added Georgia commit Andre Love (19 IP, 28 Ks, 2.95 ERA), who had a strong sophomore season for East Brunswick. Other pieces like Jake Lobue (.304 AVG, 19 stolen bases) provide an offensive foundation. Plus, Monroe always has good players just biding their time awaiting an opportunity.
7. Woodbridge (17-10): The Barrons are coming off a three-year stretch that included 64 wins, a GMC White Division title and two sectional runs. Now, they move into the Red Division and must replace nine seniors including ace Eddy Nunez and the program’s all-time hits leader Drew Lukachyk. Don’t quite call it a rebuild. The Barrons have a handful of nice pieces like senior Ryan Leach, who missed all of last season with an injury after he had an ace-like sophomore season, as well as All-Division infielder Xavier Diaz.
8. St. Thomas Aquinas (19-9): The Trojans had a magical run to capturing the North Non-Public B title, their first sectional crown in 19 years. While they graduated star pitcher/hitter Gavin Sansone, other big-game tested players are back. Louis Rizzolo and Nikash Patel give St. Thomas Aquinas a strong one-two punch in the rotation and are quality hitters.
9. Sayreville (12-13): The Bombers made an upset-fueled run to the GMCT semifinals last season. They return seven starters, including All-Area catcher Michael Robinson and fearless pitcher Thomas Schlaline. Sayreville looks to contend in the White Division.
10. St. Joseph (7-20): The Falcons had an uncharacteristic down year with a mostly underclassmen team getting used to the varsity level in a brutal schedule. Now, most of the roster is back and that much more seasoned as St. Joseph looks to pivot back to its winning ways. All-Red Division Bobby Christensen leads the way as legendary former Cranford coach Dennis McCaffery takes over as the Falcons skipper.
Other teams considered
North Brunswick (13-13): The Raiders have a quality program with talented players always in the pipeline. However, they return just one pitcher with varsity experience so they enter outside the Top 10 with their mystery. Timmy DeGaetano returns after hitting .351.
Middlesex (10-17): The Blue Jays return all of their starters and have a nice one-two punch on the mound with Chris Kozak (56 IP, 66 Ks, 4.00 ERA) and Dominic Long (40 IP, 39 Ks, 3.32 ERA).
Carteret (18-8): The Ramblers have momentum after winning last year’s GMC Invitational title and have three aces back in Nick Kee, Eric Thompson and Luis Hernandez.
NJ Baseball rankings: Greater Middlesex Conference preseason Top 10
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