Zach Konstantinovsky of North Brunswick bats against South Brunswick in a GMC Red Division game on May 4, 2023 at Rowland Park in South Brunswick. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
The first Apple Macintosh computer came out. Beverly Hills Cop and Ghostbusters were the big movies. A pound of bacon cost less than two dollars.
And North Brunswick Township High School won a state sectional championship in baseball.
That was 39 years ago, and Friday, the Raiders have a chance to win their first once since.
It may be hard to fathom that they haven’t even had the opportunity since then, but here they are, the two-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, playing for a title, for the first time since winning back to back titles in 1983 and 1984.
In the way is the top seed, Old Bridge (19-8), which beat North Brunswick (21-6) twice this regular season, the second time in ten innings, after a nearly hour-long lightning delay.
The Raiders have one of the top lineups in the GMC, with four starters hitting well over .400, including Justin Batts, a third baseman who recently transferred back home after three years at Bergen Catholic, to play with the friends he made playing youth ball in town. They’ve also hit a staggering 22 home runs on the year.
And North Brunswick is coming off an emotional win, 4-3 over Monroe in the semifinals back on Tuesday. Zack Konstantinovsky not only got the win on the mound, but hit a game-tying two-run home run in the fifth inning, and won it with a walk-off solo shot in the seventh.
Click below to hear North Brunswick head coach Mark Blevins talk about the Raiders’ and their quest for a championship:
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