It’s county tournament time! A look at who could get the GMC’s top seed, plus the schedule for the upcoming Somerset County and GMC Championship and Invitational Tournaments

Planning to take in some county tournament high school baseball over the next couple of weeks? We’ve got you covered as you make your plans to traverse Middlesex and Somerset Counties to see one of the three tournaments featuring teams from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area.

Of course, there’s the Somerset County Tournament, which gets started first, this Friday. That morning, the Greater Middlesex Conference will seed its tournaments: the Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament and the Ray Cipperly Invitational. Of all the conference teams, the first 20 go into the championship bracket, with the remainder in the invitational.

The SCT has been seeded already, with Immaculata getting the No. 1 seed, and the rest of the top four – with all getting byes to the quarterfinals – going to Watchung Hills, Ridge, and Rutgers Prep.

When the GMC is seeded Friday, there are a few interesting story lines. Chief among them: who will get the top seed?

A Red Division team has been awarded the No. 1 seed in each of the last eight tournaments, with only one “repeat” – St. Joseph-Metuchen in 2022 and 2017.

Division champion Edison has been very good this year playing in the “top” GMC division, considering the league’s new focus on the promotion/relegation model, where division winners from the Blue and White (and sometimes Gold) move up the next year, and last place teams from the Red, White and Blue move down.

The Eagles are the GMC Red Division champs, but GMC White champion Middlesex will at the very least be in the conversation for a top seed, and very well could get it when all is said and done.

Here’s a look at how they compare:

Edison’s Resume:

• 14-5 overall, 11-3 in the GMC Red, 14-4 in overall conference play
• Red Division Champions (by 2 games over Old Bridge)
• Division Sweeps: Old Bridge (2nd place), South Plainfield (3rd), East Brunswick (7th), St. Joseph-Metuchen (8th)
• Division Splits: Woodbridge (4th), St. Thomas Aquinas (5th), Monroe (6th)
• Crossover Wins: North Brunswick (6th, Blue), JP Stevens (2nd, Blue), Spotswood (5th, White)
• Crossover Losses: Metuchen (2nd, White)
• Non-conference Games: Lost 10-4 to Columbia (Maplewood/South Orange) in Autism Awareness Challenge (10-7, from SEC))

Middlesex’s Resume:

• 17-2 overall, 13-1 in the GMC White, 15-1 in overall conference play
• White Division Champions (by 3 games over Metuchen)
• Division Sweeps: Metuchen (2nd), Colonia (3rd), Spotswood (5th), Sayreville, JFK (tied for 6th), Perth Amboy (8th)
• Division Splits: South Brunswick (4th)
• Crossover Wins: East Brunswick (7th, Red), St. Joseph-Metuchen (8th, Red)
• Crossover Losses: None
• Non-Conference Games: Beat Voorhees 11-2 in the Autism Awareness Challenge (3-13, from Skyland Conference); Won at Wood-Ridge 15-1 (14-7, from NJIC); Lost at Westfield 2-0 (9-9, from UCC)

Comparison:

• Middlesex has three more wins, and three fewer losses, with a .895 win percentage, while Edison has a .737 win percentage.
• Edison has three Division losses to Woodbridge, St. Thomas Aquinas and Monroe, all middle-of-the-pack GMC Red Division teams (four through six in the standings), while Middlesex has just one loss to fourth-place South Brunswick
• Edison has no out-of-conference wins, while Middlesex has two, with the win over Wood-Ridge coming over a 15-win ball club. Neither OOC loss (Edison to Columbia or Middlesex to Westfield) should be a factor.
• Edison can’t “play up,” being in the top GMC Division, and went 3-1 in crossovers. That lone loss came to Metuchen, a good apples-to-apples comparison with Middlesex, which swept two games from the Bulldogs in White Division play, with a 6-2 win and a 2-1 victory. The Eagles lost to the Bulldogs 6-5.
• While the Red Division has taken the No. 1 seed in the last eight tournaments, one “knock” on squads from other divisions has been that they “don’t play up.” But Middlesex did, and won both against GMC Red Division teams. They were 8-7 winners over St. Joseph-Metuchen at home on Monday, and beat East Brunswick on the road, 10-8, Wednesday afternoon.

The other interesting story line is Piscataway Magnet. Coming into the week, they were one of three teams in the entire state of New Jersey to be undefeated. All three – including Doane Academy and Northern Burlington in the BCSL – have taken a loss since then, but the Raiders of the GMC are still 18-1 (their first loss came in a crossover, playing “up” to the Blue, falling 6-4 to North Plainfield).

The general consensus is they have a good shot to make the Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament. To do that, they’d have to be one of the top 20 teams seeded Friday morning by the committee. With two tournaments, there’s no longer a guarantee that the four division winners get seeded in the main bracket, but the question is, what does Piscataway Magnet want?

Not that it matters. The committee will seed the teams from what it deems to be the best on down.

But it’s an interesting debate. They would likely have a better chance at winning the Invitational, but when a team gets hot – and they’ve been on fire all year – anything can happen.

This year, like many in recent years, could be a wide open tournament. And no Number One seed has won the GMC Championship tournament since before COVID. Old Bridge won it as the top-seed in 2019, and St. Joseph did the same in 2017.

But in 2021, top-seed Monroe took an early bow in the first round at the hands of JFK. Top-seed St. Joe’s lost in the 2022 finals, North Brunswick did the same in 2023, and South Plainfield did in 2024, while Woodbridge was knocked out in the first round by South River last season.

How good has Piscataway Magnet been? The six runs they gave up in the loss to North Plainfield is the most they’ve given up all year, and it only happened twice before, in an 8-6 season-opening win over Dunellen, and a 17-6 victory over East Brunswick Magnet in the Autism Awareness Challenge.

They’ve also pitched five shutouts on the year, and have allowed two or fewer runs in 13 of 19 games, while hitting .249 as a team and scoring 11.2 runs per game.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES:

Somerset County Tournament

• First Round: Friday, May 8 at higher seeds
• Second Round: Monday, May 11 at higher seeds
• Quarterfinals: Thursday, May 14 at higher seeds
• Semifinals: Monday, May 18 at TD Bank Park, 1 and 4 pm (LIVE on CJSR)
• Finals: Wednesday, May 20 at TD Bank Park, 6 pm (LIVE on CJSR)

GMC Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament

• Play-In Round: Saturday, May 9 at higher seeds
• First Round: Monday, May 11 at higher seeds
• Quarterfinals: Wednesday, May 13 at higher seeds
• Semifinals: Saturday, May 16 at East Brunswick Magnet, 12 and 2:30 pm (LIVE on CJSR)
• Finals: Saturday, May 23 at East Brunswick Magnet, 2 pm (LIVE on CJSR)

GMC Ray Cipperly Invitational Tournament

• First Round: Tuesday, May 12 at higher seeds
• Quarterfinals: Thursday, May 14 at higher seeds
• Semifinals: Monday, May 18 at higher seeds
• Finals: Friday, May 22 at Edison HS (LIVE on CJSR)