Top-seed Edison plays nearly perfect game in 10-0 win over Piscataway Magnet in GMC Tournament first round

Senior pitcher Connor Murphy struck out 14 of the 17 batters he faced, and sophomore Sam Kentos drove in four runs on two triples as top-seed Edison picked up a 10-0, five-inning home win over 17th-seed Piscataway Magnet Monday afternoon in the First Round of the GMC’s Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament, heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

After Murphy (now 5-1) struck out the side 1-2-3 in the top of the first, the Eagles got on the board with five runs in the home half of the inning, then added five more for insurance, which they would never need.

That’s because the Monmouth-bound Muprhy was lights out, and against a GMC Gold Division team that had won its first 18 games of the year and came into Monday’s affair at 20-1, the first 20-win team in the Greater Middlesex Confernece this season.

But likely, the Raiders had not seen someone who throws as hard, as quickly, and with such movement as Murphy.

After a three-up, three-down first, he struck out the first two batters in the second, walked Elvis Rodriguez, then got his sixth strikeout to end the inning. He got two Ks and a groundout to short in the third. In the fourth, he struck out the first two batters before giving up an infield hit to Colton Lyerly, but got another K to end the inning. And after a leadoff walk to Rodriguez in the fifth – the only Raider not to fan against Muprhy – he got three straight strikeouts to seal the mercy-rule win.

Meanwhile, Edison did a lot of damage at the plate, all with contact.

Robert Roma led off the first with a walk, and after a fly ball out in foul territory to right by Dom Innocenti, Ray Tavarez drove in Roma with an RBI single. Connor Murphy walked, and when Darren Tirado lined what looked like maybe an extra base hit to right field, Tavarez came in to score, but Murphy got caught in a rundown.

After a couple of back-and-forths, Murphy was tagged down the third base line, while Tirado advanced to third. But the home plate umpire ruled Murphy was safe after noticing that he had been tagged by an Edison player’s glove hand, but the ball was in the other hand. That made it 3-0 Edison, and they still weren’t done.

Damian Calandra knocked in Tirado with a double, and Kentos drove in Calandra with a triple before the last two hitters struck out, ending the first with Edison up 5-0.

In the second, Edison would bat around again – and then some. Roma led with a triple, Innocenti singled to drive him in, making it 6-0. Tavarez flew out to center for the first out, and Murphy reached on a fielder’s choice, erasing Innocenti, but moving Roma to third. Calandra walked to load the bases, setting up Kentos for his second triple of the afternoon, clearing the bases to give Edison a 9-0 lead. Tyler Shuck made it 10-0 with an RBI single.

That was all Edison got, and all they would need to improve to 15-5 on the season, advancing to Wednesday’s GMC Tournament quarterfinals back home again on their red turf, where they’ll play  nine-seed Monroe, a 9-2 winner at eight-seed Colonia Monday afternoon.

Piscataway Magnet drops to 20-2 on the season, but also is still alive in the NJTAC Group 1 and 2 Tournament, while still in the running for a top-seed in the state tournament in Central Jersey Group 1, narrowly trailing Middlesex entering Monday’s action.

The win also was a big one for Edison, power-points wise. They’ll get the maximum allowed by NJSIAA rule, 48 points, and net 40 after their loss to Columbia – worth 8 points – drops off. Depending how other teams fare Monday, that could put Edison back atop Central Jersey Group 4 after they were jumped and knocked into third by Old Bridge in the past week.

Click below for postgame reaction from Edison sophomore Sam Kentos, senior Connor Murphy, and head coach Vinnie Abene, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: