It’s time for the GMC Tournament Final! Defending champ North Brunswick faces off with St. Joseph-Metuchen Sunday

When the first pitch is thrown in the GMC Tournament championship game Sunday afternoon at 1:00 at Ray Cipperly Field, one might be hard pressed to discern one team from the other, besides the fact one will be wearing white uniforms with blue and gold, while the other is wearing green, black and white.

Each team has a veritable ace on the mound, with the pitching matchup of Zack Konstantinovsky versus Jimmy Mulvaney.

Each team can hit. North Brunswick has knocked 19 homers while St. Joseph-Metuchen has hit 15. Each team’s leading hitter is getting a hit at least half the time they come to the plate: Omar Carreras batting .500 for the Raiders, Mark Gialluisi hitting .548 for the Falcons.

Oh, and they’re the same teams that played for the championship last year.

Sunday afternoon at 1:00 – with the title game moved a day later and an hour earlier due to rain in the Saturday forecast – top-seed and defending champion North Brunswick will play third-seed St. Joe’s for the GMC Tournament title in a game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, presented by Auto Lounge of Edison.

Click here to listen to the live broadcast!

Scroll through this story for the finals at-a-glance, interviews, links to our coverage of both teams, how they got here, team records and finals history, and other notes and stats.

GMC FINALS AT-A-GLANCE

Teams:
(1) North Brunswick (18-5, 8-4, GMC Red Champions, #14 in NJ)
(3) St. Joseph-Metuchen (18-8, 7-5 GMC Red, 3rd place, #19 in NJ)

Head Coaches:
North Brunswick: Mark Blevins, 6th season (92-69)
St. Joseph: Mike Murray, 7th season (129-73)

Starting Pitchers:
North Brunswick: Zack Konstantinovsky (6-0, 0.32 ERA)
St. Joseph: Jimmy Mulvaney (4-3, 1.85 ERA)

Date and Time: Sunday, May 21 – 1:00 pm
Location: Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School (Rues Lane, East Brunswick)
Listen On: Central Jersey Sports Radio, Pregame 12:30 pm (Click here to listen live!)
Announcers: Mike Pavlichko & Justin Sontupe

PREVIEW STORIES

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

North Brunswick:
First Round: bye
Second Round: def. (16) South River, 25-0
Quarterfinals: def. (9) Edison, 11-0
Semifinals: def. (4) Monroe, 2-1

St. Joseph:
First Round: bye
Second Round: def. (19) Metuchen, 12-2
Quarterfinals: def. (11) Spotswood, 7-0
Semifinals: def. (7) South Plainfield, 2-1

TEAM LEADERS:

North Brunswick:

Batting Average: Omar Carreras (.500), Zack Konstantinovsky (.470), Justin Batts (.467)
RBI: Omar Carreras (32), Zack Konstantinovsky (23), Yomar Carreras (17)
HR: Omar Carreras (8), Zack Konstantinovsky (6), Yomas Carreras (2)
Walks: Omar Carreras (20), Josh Rodriguez (10)
Stolen Bases: Zack Konstantinovsky (10), Omar Carreras (7)
Strikeouts (Pitcher): Zack Konstantinovsky (61), Alejandro Jabar (23), Kyle Anderson (15)
ERA (min 15 innings): Zack Konstantinovsky (0.32), Connor Levine (1.34)

St. Joseph:

Batting Average: Mark Gialluisi (.548), Robbie Carvelli (.393), Joseph Zammitti (.385)
RBI: Robbie Carvelli (27), Joseph Zammitti (21), Matthew Kosuda (20)
HR: Matthew Kosuda (5), Tyler Delvecchio (3), Mark Gialluisi, Robbie Carvelli (2)
Walks: Josaih Brown (17), Tyler Delvecchio (12), Joseph Zammitti (11)
Stoeln Bases: Mark Gialluisi (23), Robbie Carvelli (12)
Strikeouts (Pitcher): Jimmy Mulvaney (46), Benny Fonseca (26), Joseph Barca (24)
ERA (min 15 innings): Matthew Friedman (1.77), Jimmy Mulvaney (1.85)

Coverage of North Brunswick:

Coverage of St. Joseph:

FINALS HISTORY:

This will be the third meeting between the Falcons and Raiders in the GMC finals. St. Joe’s won the first in 2009, 6-0, claiming their seventh title in the event. North Brunswick won last year, upsetting top-seeded St. Joseph, 4-2, for their first-ever GMCT crown.

While the teams didn’t play each other in the regular season last year – when North Brunswick was in the GMC White Division and St. Joe’s in the Red, they played twice this year with the Raiders moving up to the Red Division for 2023.

North Brunswick swept both regular season matchups, taking a 6-1 decision at home on April 17th, then winning the rematch in Metuchen, 4-3, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Here are the finals histories for both teams:

North Brunswick (1-2):
2009: St. Joseph 6, North Brunswick 0
2010: South Brunswick 9, North Brunswick 2
2022: North Brunswick 4, St. Joseph 2

St. Joseph (7-2):
2004: St. Joseph 6, Carteret 0
2005: East Brunswick 8, St. Joseph 1
2006: St. Joseph 11, South Amboy 0
2008: St. Joseph 3, Old Bridge 2
2009: St. Joseph 6, North Brunswick 0
2014: St. Joseph 1, South Plainfield 0
2017: St. Joseph 1, Monroe 0
2021: St. Joseph 2, South Brunswick 0
2022: North Brunswick 4. St. Joseph 2

NOTES AND NUGGETS:

Is Zack a better hitter or pitcher? No one can dispute the talent of Zack Konstantinovsky on the mound. He’s headed to Rutgers to pitch for a reason. But the dude can hit. In fact, he’s hit more home runs the last two seasons (10) than he’s given up earned runs (9). Last year, he hit four home runs; he has six this year. Last year, he gave up seven earned runs all season; this year he’s allowed just two.

He’s going the distance, he’s going for speed: Everyone knows Zach can throw the speedball by you, make you look like a fool, boy, but he also has pitched five complete games this year in seven starts, which means he’s efficient. Four of those have gone the full seven innings, throwing 71, 73, 102 and 103 pitches. He also threw a complete five-inning game against South Brunswick on May second. Besides a one-inning relief appearance against Old Bridge, he threw 6 1/3 in a season-opening 2-0 win at South Plainfield, and was taken out after four innings of a 25-0 first-round GMC Tournament win over South River.

The Greater Brunswicks, Continued: A team with “Brunswick” in its name has been to four straight GMC Tournament finals, and five of the last seven. They’re all the surrounding Brunswicks from the Hub City, too. East Brunswick won the GMCT in 2016, while South Brunswick made it in 2019 and 2021, losing both – there was no high school baseball in 2020 due to COVID – and North Brunswick is in the finals for back-to-back years now, interestingly the second time it has happened. They also made it in back to back years in 2009 and 2010, losing to St. Joe’s in ’09, and South Brunswick in ’10.

And with the Raiders’ win last year, all three surrounding Brunswicks – North, South and East – can claim at least one title. North Brunswick won it last year, East Brunswick has won five (the very first in 1986, then again in 1991, 1997, 2005 and 2016), and South Brunswick won it in 2002 and 2010.

New Brunswick has never made the GMC Tournament finals.

Falcons soar past Eagles: This will be the tenth GMC Finals appearance for St. Joe’s of Metuchen, giving them more berths in the title tilt than any other GMC team. Edison is next with nine, East Brunswick has seven, and South Plainfield has made it five times, with North Brunswick making its fourth appearance, along with South Brunswick, JFK and Monroe. Four other teams have made three appearances: JP Stevens, Bishop Ahr (now St. Thomas Aquinas, but all those appearances came under their old moniker), Piscataway and Old Bridge. Madison Central, Cedar Ridge, Carteret, Spotswood, Sayreville have all made it twice. Of those 17 teams with multiple appearances, only JP Stevens and Sayreville have never won it all.

Can anyone match the Eagles? No one has won more GMC Tournament titles than Edison, which has eight, including 1990, four straight from 1992 to 1989, two more in 1998 and 1999, and another in 2001. But St. Joseph is right behind them with seven. East Brunswick has five, and no one else has more than two; South Brunswick and Old Bridge each claim two championships.

Shutouts win it: In nine prior GMC Tournament finals, St. Joseph has only allowed 13 runs. Eight came in their first loss, an 8-1 defeat at the hands of East Brunswick in 2005. And they gave up four last year in a 4-2 defeat to North Brunswick. In their seven wins, however, six have been shutouts, including a 2-0 victory over South Brunswick in 2021, their most recent win. One of those shutouts came in 2014, when they beat South Plainfield 1-0 on a bases loaded walk-off walk. The only team to score against the Falcons in the GMC Tournament and not win is Old Bridge, in a 3-2 loss in the 2008 title game.

Postponed? No problem: According to North Brunswick head coach Mark Blevins, the last two title games his program has been a part of have been postponed because of rain, and they’ve won both – against St. Joe’s. Last year’s GMC title game, which was supposed to be played on Saturday, May 28, was moved to Sunday, May 29, and North Brunswick beat the Falcons for the first title ever. But few may know the Raiders also won the JV tournament in 2021, which also was postponed due to rain. They beat St. Joseph in that one, as well.

Repeats? There’ve been a few: North Brunswick is looking to be the first repeat champion since St. Joseph won back-to-back tiles in 2008 and 2009. The Raiders were on the wrong end of the repeat in the 2009 final, which was their first ever appearance. (They made it the following year, too, and lost to South Brunswick.) last year was the first time the defending champions even qualified for the final the following year since those back-to-back wins in ’08 and ’09. All-time, since 1986, only nine teams have made the GMC finals the year after winning it. Those teams have gone 5-4.

Edison won in 1992, defended in 1993
Edison won in 1994, defended in 1994
Edison won in 1994, defended in 1995
Edison won in 1995, lost in 1996
East Brunswick won in 1997, lost in 1998
Edison won in 1998, defended in 1999
St. Joseph won in 2004, lost in 2005
St. Joseph won in 2008, won in 2009
St. Joseph won in 2021, lost in 2022
North Brunswick won in 2022, ????

Red Division continues to rule: A team from the top division in the GMC has won four of the last six finals, and it will be a Red Division team again this year, with both finalists hailing from the Red. East Brunswick won it in 2016, followed by St. Joe’s in 2017. Old Bridge won it all in 2019, while 2021 went to St. Joe’s again. The only breaks were in 2018 when South Plainfield won it out of the White, and North Brunswick’s win last year. But they’ve since moved up a division. In the current GMC divisional alignment, every Red and White team has won at least one title since the first tournament in 1986.

Lower seed, first time, long time: North Brunswick – the sixth seed last year – was the first lower seeded team to win the GMC Tournament since 108, when 14th-seed South Plainfield did it, beating 12-seed Perth Amboy 2-1 in 12 innings.

Top seed, top dog? The top-seed in the GMC Tournament has only made the finals four times in 12 seasons dating back to 2011. And they’re only 2-2 when they get there. The winners were Old Bridge in 2019 over South Brunswick, and St. Joe’s in 2017 over Monroe. But the Falcons lost last year to North Brunswick at the top seed, while Sayreville lost to Middlesex in 2012. The Raiders last year were the lowest seed (6) to knock off a No. 1 team in that time; the Blue Jays were the third-seed in 2012.

*North Brunswick with its 2022 GMC Tournament Championship trophy. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY

1986: East Brunswick 14, Madison Central 3
1987: Cedar Ridge 2, Colonia 1
1988: Carteret 4, JP Stevens 2 (11 innings)
1989: Madison Central 8, Cedar Ridge 7 (8 innings)
1990: Edison 9, South Plainfield 3
1991: East Brunswick 6, South Plainfield 5
1992: Edison 1, Bishop Ahr 0
1993: Edison 12, JFK 3
1994: Edison 10, Monroe 3
1995: Edison 5, Piscataway 3
1996: Bishop Ahr 4, Edison 3 (13 innings)
1997: East Brunswick 3, JFK 2
1998: Edison 2, East Brunswick 1
1999: Edison 7, Bishop Ahr 2
2000: Woodbridge 7, JFK 1
2001: Edison 4, Spotswood 1
2002: South Brunswick 4, Piscataway 2 (9 innings)
2003: Piscataway 9, East Brunswick 5
2004: St. Joseph 6, Carteret 0
2005: East Brunswick 8, St. Joseph 1
2006: St. Joseph 11, South Amboy 0
2007: Spotswood 7, JP Stevens 6
2008: St. Joseph 3, Old Bridge 2
2009: St. Joseph 6, North Brunswick 0
2010: South Brunswick 9, North Brunswick 2
2011: (2) Old Bridge 3, (4) South Plainfield 2
2012: (3) Middlesex 10, (1) Sayreville 4
2013: (7) JFK 4, (9) Monroe 2
2014: (4) St. Joseph 1, (6) South Plainfield 0 (walk-off bases loaded walk)
2015: (2) Monroe 1, (8) Sayreville 0 (8 innings)
2016: (2) East Brunswick 1, (9) JP Stevens 0
2017: (1) St. Joseph 1, (6) Monroe 0
2018: (14)South Plainfield 2, (12) Perth Amboy 1 (12 innings)
2019: (1) Old Bridge 2, (3) South Brunswick 1
2020: NO SEASON – COVID
2021: (2) St. Joseph 2, (5) South Brunswick 0
2022: (6) North Brunswick 4, (1) St. Joseph 2

MOST GMCT FINALS APPEARANCES:

St. Joseph – 10
Edison – 9
East Brunswick – 7
South Plainfield – 5
North Brunswick, South Brunswick, JFK, Monroe – 4
JP Stevens, Bishop Ahr, Piscataway, Old Bridge – 3
Madison Central, Cedar Ridge, Carteret, Spotswood, Sayreville – 2

GMC TOURNAMENT MULTIPLE WINNERS:

8-Edison
7-St. Joseph-Metuchen
5-East Brunswick
2-South Brunswick, Old Bridge

Cedar Ridge, Madison Central, Carteret, Bishop Ahr, Woodbridge, Piscataway, Spotswood, Middlesex, JFK, Monroe, South Plainfield (11 schools) have all won one title each.

TEAM RECORDS IN THE GMC TOURNAMENT FINALS (with most recent win):