Two-seed Middlesex shuts down seven-seed St. Thomas Aquinas 3-0, advances to GMC semifinals for second straight year

If you’ve seen Middlesex win one baseball game, you’ve likely seen a hundred of them.

The Blue Jays (20-2, 13-1) have a formula, and execute it well. A gem from one of their “bulldog” aces. Innings where they feed off of each other’s at-bats and stack up runs. Some clutch pinch hitting. And of course, timely defensive plays.

Second-seeded Middlesex got all of that in its 3-0 win over seventh-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament quarterfinals, moving onto the semifinals for the second straight year.

While the Blue Jays didn’t pile on as many station-to-station innings as they’re used to, a three-run fourth inning was all they needed with senior pitcher Chris Kozak on the bump.

He went the distance, throwing a complete-game shutout in 89 pitches, allowing just three hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

But the win didn’t come without some adversity. With their backs against the wall, the Trojans (10-13, 6-8) managed to load the bases with a single, walk, and single with one out in the top of the sixth inning, and the go-ahead run at the plate in starting pitcher Nikash Patel. For the second straight at-bat, Patel came out ambush-style and mashed the first pitch, but it sailed foul over the fence, just barely early on the breaking ball.

Two pitches later, Patel took another opportunity at a ball he liked. He grounded it hard towards senior shortstop Marcus Lavornia. Lavornia took a dive to his right, came up with the ball in his glove, and flipped it to second baseman Anthony Melchiorre.

With the echoing “Get rid of it!” from his coaching staff in the home dugout, Melchiorre fired a laser to first baseman Luke Jones, just barely beating Patel to the spot.

Inning over. No runs scored.

Kozak retired the side in order in 11 pitches the very next inning to end it.

The matchup began as a pitcher’s duel with neither side able to gain an offensive edge. The first 12 batters of the game were retired in order through the first two innings, and each team recorded their first hits of the game in the third inning, but nobody scored.

The opening stretch offered some impressive outfield defense as well, with the wind blowing out to left field on a cool, breezy afternoon at Mountainview Park. That included some catches on the run by Blue Jays centerfielder Dominic Long, and a diving grab by St. Thomas Aquinas left fielder Louie Scaff to end the first inning.

After Kozak worked a nifty pickoff move to retire courtesy runner Junior Perez in the top of the fourth, Middlesex’s offense got going in the bottom half.

Jones started it off with a one-out single, advancing to second on a passed ball. Designated hitter Sean Hughes flew out to left field to record the second out, but the Blue Jays worked some two-out magic.

Long drew a six-pitch walk to put runners on first and second, prompting a pitching change, as the Trojans replaced Patel with freshman third baseman Justin Monterosso. He walked Middlesex third baseman Diego Marcano on four pitches to load the bases to start his outing. Then, with Kozak at the plate, Jones scored on a spiked wild pitch that bounced high in the air to score the game’s first run.

Kozak helped his own cause by re-loading the bases with a five-pitch walk. Second-year skipper Blaze Iannetti then went to pinch-hitting extraordinaire Dalton Michael in a crucial spot.

Michael came out first-pitch swinging, and he lined a fastball into the left-center gap to score Long and Marcano.

St. Thomas Aquinas made another pitching change, inserting junior Chris Gutauskas, who induced an inning-ending groundout to get out of the jam.

The three-run frame was all the Blue Jays needed to come away victorious.

The Trojans did put up a fight in the sixth, but Kozak regained his composure with an easy-looking seventh inning. He threw over 15 pitches in just two innings, trusting his defense and inducing soft contact. He earned the win in his shutout performance.

Patel was given the loss in 3.2 innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs, with three strikeouts and two walks. Gutauskas retired all seven batters he faced in relief.

Middlesex advances to the championship tournament semifinals for the second straight year after doing so last year as the ten-seed.

The Blue Jays will face off against third-seeded Old Bridge — who outlasted six-seeded Woodbridge 1-0 in eight innings Wednesday — on Saturday at East Brunswick Magnet High School. Middlesex is looking for its first GMC Championship appearance since it won the title back in 2012.

Click below for postgame reaction from Middlesex head coach Blaze Iannetti and seniors Chris Kozak and Marcus Lavornia, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: