North Brunswick’s potent lineup, Rutgers-bound ace aim for second straight GMC Tournament title

Last season, North Brunswick won its first-ever GMC Tournament crown, in just its third trip ever to the finals.

Back so soon?

Yup, here they are. The Raiders (18-5, 14-4 GMC Red champions) – this year, the top-seed in the tournament – will look to defend their title Sunday afternoon when they take on third-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen (18-8, 7-5).

Originally scheduled for 2 pm Saturday, rain in the forecast forced the GMC to move the game to Sunday at 1 pm, but stil at East Brunswick Magnet School’s Ray Cipperly Field, and you can hear every minute of the action on Central Jersey Sports Radio, driven by Auto Lounge of Edison.

Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the play-by-play, with pregame set for 12:30. Click here to listen.

North Brunswick brings back most of its potent lineup, which scored a 4-2 in last year’s final, including a two-run home run by Omar Carreras, who has hit six in this, his senior season.

For the Raiders, they’ll want to get to St. Joseph starter Jimmy Mulvaney early, and keep the Falcons off the board. But St. Joe’s has just as feared a lineup as North Brunswick does, led by senior leadoff hitter Mark Gialluisi, who’s batting .548 with team-bests of 12 doubles and 24 stolen bases.

Good thing North Brunswick has Rutgers-bound senior Zack Konstantinovsky on the mound. He’s 6-0, with a 0.32 ERA, 61 strikeouts and just six walks. Of the 17 hits he’s allowed all year, four came in the first inning of last week’s semifinals against Monroe. But he escaped the inning like Houdini, allowing just one run, and leaving the bases loaded before anyone knew what happened.

Meanwhile, North Brunswick is not chopped liver at the plate either. In addition to Omar, his brother Yomar – a junior – has hit eight home runs, and Zack Konstantinovsky also has six, with the team hitting 19 on the year. And Justin Batts – who grew up playing with many of the Raiders’ in youth ball – has come around after sitting 30 days following his transfer back home from Bergen Catholic. As a group, the Raiders are hitting .345 this season.