There was a mix of chalk and some upsets in the second round of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Monday, as the top four seeds – North Brunswick, Old Bridge, St. Joseph-Metuchen and Monroe all won, but three other lower seeds also won.
The 12 seed, South Brunswick won, as did 11th-seed Spotswood and ninth-seed Edison.
Here are the game recaps from Monday’s action.
Scroll to the bottom of this story for Wednesday’s quarterfinal round matchups, with times and field locations.
(1) North Brunswick 25, (16) South River 0 (5 innings)
In the most lopsided game of the day, the Raiders scored early and often in the win, plating six runs in the first, eight in the second, and eleven in the third. North Brunswick head coach Mark Blevins emptied the bench, getting 16 different hitters in the game. Chris Rosario was 3-for-3 with two RBIs, while Justin Batts – struggling at the plate since returning after a mandatory 30-day sit out after transferring from Bergen Catholic – broke out with a 2-for-3 day and three runs batted in, while Yomar Carreras did the same. Fifteen players drove in runs for North Brunswick (12-5).
More importantly, it allowed ace starter Zack Konstantinovsky to breeze through a short outing, as he threw 71 pitches in four innings, allowing three hits and no runs, striking out eight. He would come back Saturday should North Brunswick reach the semifinals at East Brunswick Magnet school. South River (10-5) used five different pitchers in the loss.
The Raiders move on to Wednesday’s quarterfinals, where they will play 9th-seed Edison on Field One at North Brunswick’s Community Park at 7 pm.
(9) Edison 3, (8) East Brunswick 0
Of the top four teams in the GMC White Division, all of which were in action Monday, 9th-seed Edison was the only one to win. The Eagles (12-7) had lost four straight games coming into their game at 8th-seed East Brunswick, and one of those losses was to the Bears, just three days ago, mere hours after Edison learned they would play each other in their opening games of the county tournament. That was a 4-2 loss, but this was a 3-0 win for Edison.
Ace Jaxon Appelman made it through 6 2/3 innings, throwing 110 pitches in the game, not helped by six walks, but he only scattered three hits in the near-complete game shutout. Jordan Martins, Charlie Taub and Appelman each knocked in a run in the victory. The Bears fall to 7-10, and visit Spotswood in their annual Commanders’ Cup Trophy game at 4 pm.
(12) South Brunswick 5, (5) Sayreville 3
The Vikings (7-11) weren’t much better than Edison heading into the GMCT, having lost four straight before snapping the skid with a 6-3 win over Ewing out of Mercer County back on Friday. They kept the momentum going thanks to standout and High Point commit Joey Tuttoilmondo, who fanned a season-high 14 over 5 2/3 innings of work. He allowed just one run on five hits and never pitched without the lead, after the Vikings – who got a 2-for-4 night from Ryan Kessler, with a home run – scored three times in the top of the first to give Tuttoilmondo a little breathing room right from the get-go. Brian Culhane also homered and knocked in two runs. Sayreville – the GMC White Division Champ – fell to 12-6.
South Brunswick moves on to play 4th-seed Monroe in a 4 pm quarterfinal game on Field 2, a game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, driven by Auto Lounge of Edison, as part of a doubleheader, with Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino calling all the action. Click here to listen live.
(4) Monroe 7, (20) Piscataway 0
Harrison Lollin continued his outstanding junior season, as the Oregon commit pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout against the Piscataway (5-13). Lollin needed just 92 pitches to dispatch of the Chiefs, striking out 13 and walking none. It was his fifth game with double-figure strikeouts this season, his second-lowest pitch count, and fourth complete game of the season. Trevor Wallace scored three of the seven runs for Monroe (9-6), the fourth-place team in the stacked GMC Red. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Falcons.
(3) St. Joseph-Metuchen 12, (19) Metuchen 2 (5 innings)
In the “Battle of the Brainy Boro,” the St. Joseph bats did all the dirty work. One of the best top-to-bottom lineups ion the league, St. Joseph (12-7)got a 3-for-4 afternoon from Josiah Brown, who knocked in three runs, while Tyler Delvecchio also had 3 RBIs on a 2-for-3 night. Both hit home runs in the game. Robbie Carvellli and Bobby Christensen had 2 RBIs each. Starter Jimmy Mulvaney went the distance in the mercy-rule shortened game, needing just 85 pitches. He struck out seven, walked two, allowed five hits, and two earned runs. Metuchen dropped to 7-9.
The Falcons now take on Spotswood at 4 pm on Field 2 at Community Park on Wednesday.
(11) Spotswood 5, (6) Woodbridge 3
In one of the other big upsets of the night, Spotswood got 6 2/3 innings out of Seton Hall-bound senior Casey Cumiskey, who went 6 1/3 and struck out six, allowing just three earned runs on five hits against another one of the toughest top-to-bottom lineups in the GMC. The Chargers (14-4) got to Eddy Nunez for four runs in the fifth that turned out to be the difference. Click here for the full game story with postgame reaction.
(7) South Plainfield 6, (10) Middlesex 4
The sixth-place team in the brutal GMC Red Division makes it six division teams among the eight in the quarterfinals – along with Edison of the White and Spotswood of the Blue. South Plainfield (9-9) got back to the .500 mark and won its st third straight game, thanks almost singlehandedly to the bat of Jayden Alvarez, who had a 2-for-4 night with four runs batted in and a triple. Ashton Donovan also had an RBI from the Tigers, whose starter Aldo Pigna scattered four runs over six innings of work, striking out four to get the win, a big game in a big spot. Middlesex fell to 10-6 with the loss.
The Tigers move on to play second-seed Old Bridge on Field 2 at Community Park at 7 pm, in a game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, driven by Auto Lounge of Edison, as the second game of a doubleheader, with Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino calling all the action. Click here to listen live.
(2) Old Bridge 4, (15) Carteret 0
Old Bridge has now won three straight after losing three in a row, thanks in large part to an outstanding effort from Frank Papeo. The starter went the distance, needing just 86 pitches to get through seven innings, allowing three hits and one walk, striking out seven. The Knights got a run in the second, a run in the fourth, and added two more insurance runs in the sixth. The Ramblers threatened a couple of times, getting a pair of doubles in the game, and a runner on third with two outs in the third, but just couldn’t push anything across on Papeo.
GMC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
4 pm Games:
(3) St. Joseph-Metuchen vs. (11) Spotswood – Field 1
(4) Monroe vs. (12) South Brunswick – Field 2 (LIVE on CJSR)
7 pm Games:
(1) North Brunswick vs. (9) Edison – Field 1
(7) South Plainfield vs. (2) Old Bridge – Field 2 (LIVE on CJSR)
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