We said it last year, and we’ll say it again: Woodbridge baseball quietly put together one of its best years in program history in 2022, making a run to the North 2, Group 4 finals, and finishing the year 25-7.
To do similar this year won’t be quiet at all.
The ’22 version of Barrons’ baseball could hit up and down the lineup, even the underclassmen like Ty Kobylakiewicz (.364, 28 RBI, 3 HR), A.J. Bosch (.357, 12 RBI) and Drew Lukachyk (.351, 24 RBI). But they will miss Drew’s older brother Brett – who was tied with Kobylakiewicz for the team lead in run production – as well as Josh Vazquez at Matt Troche.
And the, there’s the pitching. Troche and Vazquez ate up almost 90 innings last season, with 80 strikeouts combined between them. And the Barrons will need more than Eddy Nunez to step up, although that’s where the whole thing starts. Nunez had a fantastic sophomore season, throwing a team-leading 62 2/3 innings and allowing just 45 hits and 19 earned runs. He had a 2.12 ERA and struck out a team-best 62 hitters.
Head coach Mike Monaco likes what he sees from his team in the preseason, but knows they will play in a competitive GMC White Division that’s been revamped. Gone are Spotswood, Metuchen, JFK and Piscataway to the Blue, while North Brunswick moves to the Red, but in come Perth Amboy, JP Stevens and Edison from the Red. Combined with Middlesex, Sayreville and Colonia, it’s a tough schedule in the division.
And the season gets underway with the rival Patriots right off the bat, with Woodbridge visiting Colonia for its season opener on Tuesday, April 4th, part of a home-and-home that sees the Patriots visit the Barrons two days later.
Woodbridge will make its lone regular season appearance on Central Jersey Sports Radio on Tuesday, May 2nd, at 7 pm, when the Barrons host Perth Amboy in the first of a two-game divisional series.
Click below for a full preview of the Woodbridge baseball season with head coach Mike Monaco: