Runs will be at a premium when St. Joseph, Spotswood play Saturday for a trip to GMC Finals

Baseball Notebook
by Mike Pavlichko

Game Two of the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament semifinals might not see very many runs scored.

St. Joseph of Metuchen has scored just two in two tournament victories so far, and allowed none. Spotswood has scored seven, and only allowed one.

And with the two pitchers expected to take the mound Saturday afternoon, it would be even more certain: The Chargers’ Carter Cumiskey has allowed just three earned runs all year, in 47 innings pitched. The Falcons’ Richard Zangara has allowed seven in 42 2/3.

Saturday, fifth-seed St. Joe’s and 8th-seed Spotswood will play in the GMC Tournament semifinals at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick. It’s the second tilt in a doubleheader you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 2:30, following the noon opener between Middlesex and Edison.

Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel will call all the play-by-play; click here to listen.

Here’s a closer look at the first semifinal game of the day:

(5) St. Joseph-Metuchen (12-6) vs. (8) Spotswood (14-8)
2:30 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio (LISTEN LIVE)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
St. Joseph: Richard Zanagara (5-1, 1.15 ERA)
Spotswood: Carter Cumiskey (4-2, 0.45 ERA)

PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:

St. Joseph head coach Dennis McCaffery
Spotswood head coach Glenny Fredricks

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

St. Joseph: Just a single run got the job done in the first two GMCT wins for the Falcons. First, they beat 12-seed Sayreville 1-0 in eight innings back on Monday in the first round, behind a walk-off single by Walter Christian, who was 2-for-4 on the day. Richard Zangara – Saturday’s expected starter – got the win. Thursday, it took them nine innings to do the same to 13-seed Metuchen, a 1-0 win out at Diamond Nation in Flemington in the quarterfinals. Luke Palermo was the hero here, with a single to win the game.

Spotswood: The Chargers topped 9-seed Monroe, 3-1, in the first round back on Monday, getting all their runs in the first two innings. Carter Cumsikey got the win, and Will Buchan picked up the save. Thursday, in the quarters, it was Buchan coming through on the mound with five scoreless, one-hit innings of work en route to a 4-0 victory over 16-seed South River, which had gotten there by knocking off top-seed Woodbridge Monday in the first round, 1-0. Spotswood got to Rams’ starter Julius Rosado with a run in the first, and though they got three insurance runs, it was all they would need, as the defense bailed them out of some tough situations in the sixth and seventh.

TOP HITTERS:

St. Joseph: For the Falcons, they’re hitting .322 on the year, with senior JP Zayle topping the regulars at .429, and tied for the team-lead in RBIs with Luke Palermo, each with 19. Zayle also leads the team with eight doubles, and two home runs, while Palermo and Bobby Christensen each have homered as well. But in the GMCT, Joe’s is struggling, hitting just .214 (12-for-56) with two runs scored.

Spotswood: Not only has Seton Hall-bound Carter Cumiskey been tearing it up at the plate all year – hitting .440 with three home runs and a team-best 33 hits overall, he’s 5-for-5 in two GMCT games, with 2 RBIs, three singles and a double, along with a run scored. Behind him, Stpehen Henits is 2-for-3 in the GMCT, and as a team, they’re batting .313 in the tournament, almost 100 points higher than the Falcons, even if St. Joe’s is batting better overall on the year. Will Buchan is another standout pitcher who can swing with the best of them. He’s hitting a very nice .343 on the year, leading the team in RBIs with 18, seven doubles (tied with Cumiskey) and four of his team’s ten home runs.

LAST FINALS BERTH:

St. Joseph made the first three GMC Tournament finals after COVID – winning two – but missed last year. In 2023, they were the third-seed, and beat top-seed North Brunswick and Zack Konstantinovsky 1-0. They also won the 2021 title as the two-seed over five-seed South Brunswick, 2-0.  The Falcons are 8-2 overall in finals, tied for the most titles with Edison, and with the second best win percentage of any team with more than one title; the Eagles are first at 8-1.

Spotswood last made the finals in 2007, a magical season for the Chargers. They were the top-seed, and beat 11-seed JP Stevens 7-6. Not only was it their first – and only – GMC title, but they also became just the second GMC team to sweep a division, GMCT and overall State title (Group 2). That team is in the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame, as is the star pitcher from that team, Willie Beard.  Their only other appearance came in 2001, the 13-seed, when they lost to two-seed Edison 4-1, the Eagles last appearance in the finals.

PAST COVERAGE:

St. Joseph

Spotswood

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