St. Joseph-Metuchen and Spotswood play in the GMC Tournament quarterfinals at North Brunswick Community Park on May 10, 2023. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)
Everyone knows what kind of scrappy team Spotswood can be, but St. third-seed Joseph-Metuchen made sure the 11th-seeded Chargers didn’t get a chance to pick at them with their trademark small ball.
The Falcons defeated Spotswood 7-0 Wednesday in the GMC Tournament quarterfinals presented by Auto Lounge of Edison to advance to Saturday’s semifinals, against either 7-seed South Plainfield or 2-seed Old Bridge.
St. Joe’s (14-7) was powered by two big innings, scoring six of its seven runs in the second and fifth innings.
In the first, leadoff hitter Mark Gialluisi singled up the middle, then proceeded to steal second and third. The throw by Spotswood to third was off-target, and it allowed Gialluisi to score.
William Ramsay followed it up in the next inning with a two-run home run off Spotswood’s Carter Cumiskey.
In the fifth, Matthew Kosuda hit a long blast to left for a three-run home run that extended the Falcons’ lead, and forced Cumiskey out of the game.
For Spotswood (15-5), it was a game of missed opportunities. The Chargers left 13 men on base, twice leaving the bases loaded. For a team that thrives on making contact and getting action on the basepaths, they worked their game plan well but couldn’t convert where it counted the most.
On the pitching side, Matthew Friedman gave St. Joe’s three solid innings, working in and out of trouble but keeping the Chargers off the scoreboard. Mike Dasilva and Bryan Rios combined to strike out seven Spotswood hitters in their four combined innings of relief.
Cumiskey was solid aside from the long ball, and Jackson Walsh struck out three of the five hitters he faced.
Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: