Middlesex (15-4) led 5-0 at the end of the second inning before holding off South Plainfield (13-9), despite it scoring three runs in the fourth and one in the seventh.
Dominic Long pitched a complete game for Middlesex with nine hits, four earned runs, two walks, and five strikeouts.
Middlesex will face 11th-seeded Edison in the semifinals on Saturday.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
|
|
Middlesex (15-4) |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
|
South Plainfield (13-9) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
1 |
|
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
1B |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
HBP |
SB |
AVG |
SLG |
|
|
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.250 |
.750 |
|
|
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
4 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
.750 |
.750 |
|
|
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
.333 |
.333 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.667 |
.667 |
|
|
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.333 |
.667 |
|
|
Totals: |
29 |
4 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
.276 |
.379 |
|
PIT |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HB |
ERA |
|
|
Kevin Penny (LP) |
99 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
3.50 |
|
9 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
|
Totals: |
108 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
4 |
0 |
3.00 |
(10) Middlesex 5, (2) South Plainfield 4: The Blue Jays might be the hottest team in the GMC after their win over the Tigers. Middlesex is now on a nine-game winning streak, including their first two games in the GMCT. They scored first, and often in this one, and held off a late rally by South Plainfield.
Middlesex outlasts South Plainfield, pulls 5-4 upset in GMC Tournament quarterfinals
As the old adage in sports – and life – goes, “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
A good start certainly helps, however.
That is exactly what 10th-seeded Middlesex got, using a four-run second inning to take a lead it never relinquished to upset second-seeded South Plainfield 5-4 in the GMC Tournament quarterfinals at North Plainfield High School.
The Blue Jays also got a vintage performance from top pitcher Dominic Long, as he threw all seven innings and helped secure the win.
They got the scoring started to open the game in the first inning, with leadoff batter Dom Parenti reaching second base off an error in left field after a fly ball Parenti rocketed near the fence. A sacrifice bunt and another ground ball later, Parenti had scored on an RBI fielder’s choice from first baseman Owen Reynolds.
Long allowed two baserunners in the bottom half of the inning with a walk and a single with two outs, but got out of the frame clean.
Then the floodgates opened.
Middlesex ripped off four straight hits, followed by two consecutive walks from the bottom half of the lineup, scoring three runs before an out was even recorded. The Tigers prevented a run throwing home with the bases loaded on a ground ball to record the first out, but the Blue Jays added another the very next batter after the throw bounced to the plate and past the catcher.
Middlesex left the bases loaded after a lineout and groundout, but the damage had already been done.
Two more scoreless innings followed, before South Plainfield took its shot in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Similar to the Blue Jays’ scoring outburst, the Tigers kick-started their rally with production from the bottom of the order. Four consecutive batters smacked a hit before an out was recorded, and all of a sudden, South Plainfield had drawn to within two runs after an RBI groundout from leadoff batter Nick Irizarry.
The ensuing batter caught the courtesy runner for catcher Stephen Studlack, who had laced a double into the right-center gap to bring in a run, in a rundown to get a much-needed second out after a multitude of defensive errors from Middlesex. Dom Massaro flew out to right field to end the inning.
From there, it was a battle of defenses.
Long retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings – the first 1-2-3 inning for either team at that point – while South Plainfield pitcher Kevin Penny continued his strong stretch of pitching after the second. Standout reliever Jay Jimenez replaced Penny for the seventh inning, after the starter recorded six innings, allowing five runs (three earned) with five hits, two strikeouts, and seven walks.
Jimenez retired the side in order with two groundouts and a strikeout to give the Tigers one last chance in the bottom of the seventh, with the top of the order due up down 5-3.
Irizarry crushed a 1-1 fastball from Long, putting it in the right-center gap for a leadoff triple. Shortstop Dan Kapsch reached on an error, holding Irizarry at third to put runners on the corners with nobody out, and Massaro as the go-ahead run. He lined a single right in front of left fielder James Matula to score a run, putting runners at first and second down 5-4 and nobody out.
Aiden McCarthy nearly put one in the seats, but the ball harmlessly fell in the glove of centerfielder Chris Kozak for the first out.
South Plainfield left fielder Joe Stanzione stood in next, and lined a fastball towards right fielder Dylan Ianiero. It looked like it was about to drop in for another hit, but Ianiero squeezed the ball in his glove and, noticing Massaro had gotten off the bag, fired a laser to Reynolds at first base, doubling up the Tigers and ending the game to secure the upset.
Long finished his complete game, throwing seven innings with five strikeouts and three walks while allowing seven hits and four runs. He battled the Tigers – and a rising pitch count – to keep the tournament run alive.
The Blue Jays (15-4) will face off against 11th-seeded Edison in the semifinals, after the Eagles upset third-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas 9-1 in the opposite quarterfinal, on Saturday at East Brunswick Magnet High School in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Alec Crouthamel and Mike Pavlichko will be on the call.
South Plainfield drops to 13-9.
MyCentralJersey.com
No. 10 Middlesex 5, No. 2 South Plainfield 4: Dominic Long went the distance and Middlesex scored four times in the top of the second to take a 5-0 lead en route to the win.
South Plainfield (13-9) rallied with three runs in the bottom of the fourth and scored in the seventh but couldn’t force extra innings.
Long struck out five and allowed nine hits and two walks for the Blue Jays (15-4). Owen Reynolds drove in two runs and Dylan Ianiero, Sean Hughes and James Matula each added RBIs in the win.
NJ Baseball May roundup for GMC and area Skyland and Union teams
South Plainfield Comes Up Short
Baseball Recap: South Plainfield Tigers vs. Middlesex Bluejays
If South Plainfield was riding high fresh off their 11-0 takedown of Perth Amboy on Monday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Tigers fell just short of the Middlesex Bluejays by a score of 5-4 on Thursday. The Tigers were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Bluejays apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in May of 2023.
South Plainfield has also been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 13-9 record this season. As for Middlesex, the win (which was their eighth in a row) raised their record to 14-4.
Baseball Recap: South Plainfield Comes Up Short
TAPinto South Plainfield
South Plainfield Rally Falls Short in 5-4 Loss to Middlesex in GMC Tournament
By Guy Kipp
NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ -- South Plainfield became the latest higher-seeded baseball team to fall in the topsy turvy Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, as 10th-seeded Middlesex eliminated the second-seeded Tigers, 5-4, in the GMCT quarterfinals Thursday night at Krausche Field.
Middlesex had a 5-0 lead after two innings, but South Plainfield chipped away and had two runners on base when the last batter came up in the bottom of the seventh.
The remaining four seeds in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament are seeds 5, 8, 10 and 11. The No. 1 and No. 4 seeds fell in the round-of-16, and seeds 2 and 3 (St. Thomas Aquinas) were knocked out on Thursday.
But South Plainfield, after looking very much on the ropes after one-and-a-half innings, had an excellent chance to tie or win the game in the seventh inning. The Tigers sent the top of the order to bat in the seventh against right-hander Dominic Long, who pitched a complete game. Nick Irizarry led off with a triple to deep right-center field, then Dan Kapsch reached on an infield error with Irizarry holding third.
The next batter, Dom Massaro, who went 3-for-4, lined an RBI single to left, and now South Plainfield trailed, 5-4, with no one out, the tying and winning runs on base and the middle of the order coming up. Aiden McCarthy hit it on the screws but flied out to deep center field, and Middlesex center fielder Chris Kozak (the Bluejays' ace pitcher when Long isn't on the mound) fired a perfect one-hop strike to third base as Kapsch held second. Joe Stanzione followed with a line drive right at the right fielder, who made the catch and doubled the Tigers' runner off first base to end the game.
Senior left-hander Kevin Penny, South Plainfield's starting pitcher, survived a distressful second inning after Middlesex had scored an unearned run without a hit against him in the first. There were three hits, three walks, two errors and several borderline pitches that were called balls by a plate umpire with what could be classified as a "hitter-friendly strike zone" on Thursday. It all added up to a four-run inning.
"We just didn't make the plays behind him," South Plainfield coach Scott Gleichenhaus said of Penny, who allowed five hits and three earned runs in six innings, but walked seven. "We've relied on pitching and defense all year to carry us, scraping through, getting our timely hits, getting guys on base. With our pitching and the way we're capable of playing defense, we're in every game. That's why we've had success, and it just came apart on us early, from the first play of the game to that second inning when we were kicking the ball around, and that cost us. That ultimately cost us, because Kevin settled down."
Penny actually evaded worse trouble by getting the second and third outs with the bases loaded. After that, the lefty got off the ropes and threw four scoreless innings, giving his Tiger teammates a chance to get back in the game, which they did.
"Kevin is a gritty dude," Gleichenhaus said. "He battled, and it's just unfortunate, because he deserved better. Our catcher was coming back to the dugout telling us that balls were catching the plate (and being called balls). But I'm not allowed to call balls and strikes. But a game should never come down to what the umpires do. We should never put ourselves in those situations."
South Plainfield put together a three-run rally in the fourth inning, with the bottom half of the order getting things started. Chris Loniewski led off with a walk, and, with Loniewski in motion, Lorenzo Fuscoletti beat out a bunt as Loniewski went all the way to third. Fuscoletti stole second, then Ryan Balent delivered an RBI single with an infield hit to the right side. Balent finished 2-for-3.
No. 9 hitter Steve Studlack, a resolute presence behind the plate all season, but one who has had few at-bats since April, followed with a booming RBI double over the right fielder's head. Irizarry's groundout brought home another run and made it 5-3. But, on Kapsch's groundball to third base, South Plainfield's courtesy runner was tagged out in a 5-2-5 rundown for the second out, and Long escaped further trouble with a flyout for the third out.
Long, who last week beat highly-ranked Delbarton in a non-conference game, recovered to retire nine batters in a row before South Plainfield stirred up its threat in the bottom of the seventh.
Jayden Jimenez, South Plainfield's right-handed relief ace, came on to retire the Bluejays in order in the top of the seventh to set up South Plainfield for a potential last-chance rally.
Middlesex will play 11th-seeded Edison in one semifinal on Saturday. It'll be St. Joseph -- the highest seed remaining, at 5 -- against Spotswood in the other semi at East Brunswick Magnet.
"They are a solid ballclub. They are a perennial powerhouse in the GMC," Gleichenhaus said of Middlesex. "School size means nothing. They're battle-tested. They've beaten good teams all year long. He (first-year coach Blaze Iannetti) has those guys prepared. They bent a little bit, but they didn't break. They held it together."
South Plainfield will set its sights on getting ready for the NJSIAA North 2, Group 3 tournament that begins after Memorial Day. The Tigers loom as a legitimate contender in that section.
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