Tag: Chris Kozak

Middlesex pitcher Chris Kozak (12) throws a pitch.

May 13, 2026 by Alec Crouthamel

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:

May 4, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Kozak logs 200th career K as No. 2 Middlesex “steals” one at “home” from St. Joseph-Metuchen in 8-7 walkoff victory

Where to begin?

We could start at the beginning, when the first of multiple Middlesex errors in the field led, in part, to the second-ranked Blue Jays trailing 3-0 before ever stepping to the plate Thursday afternoon at Mountainview Park in Middlesex.

Or, we could talk about Middlesex chipping away with a run in the fourth, and a run in the fifth to cut a three-run deficit to two, sandwiched around senior Chris Kozak picking up the 200th strikeout of his four-year varsity career, ending the top of the fifth and stranding a Falcon on first.

What about St. Joe’s seemingly pulling away, breaking the game open in the sixth, scoring four runs on one hit, a hit batter, and four errors – including two on one play – to take a 7-2 lead?

Or the five runs Middlesex got in their half of the sixth to tie the game at seven, on just three hits and three walks?

In the end, it came down to the bottom of the seventh. With pinch-runner Lucas Blanco on third and Diego Marcano on second, with two outs after a sacrifice bunt by Nomar Almonte moved them over, and Kozak popped out to first, Daniel Ianiero came to the plate.

He took ball one, and Marcano got way off the bag at second. His decoy worked, drawing a throw from St. Joe’s catcher A.J. Huber. Blanco took off from third, beat the throw home, and sent Middlesex off with its 16th win of the year against just two losses.

Playing up and beating a Red Division team – albeit one now 5-13 – is what the committee will look at when the GMC seeds its county tournament this Friday. That, coupled with Edison’s 6-5 loss at Metuchen Monday – Edison is in the Red, Metuchen in the White with Middlesex – could give the Blue Jays an even stronger argument that they should be the No. 1 seed in the Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament.

Middlesex has one loss in the conference, to South Brunswick, while the Eagles’ league losses have come to Monroe, Woodbridge, St. Thomas Aquinas and now Metuchen. Still, Edison is the GMC Red Champion at 10-3, and there’s something to be said for that as well.

Friday could get interesting.

Joe’s got on the board first in this one, and it all started with leadoff hitter Nick Yacykewych, whose ground ball on a 3-1 pitch stayed in the infield, but the throw from third baseman Diego Marcano sailed into foul territory. He came home on single by Luke Palermo, who then got caught stealing, but the decoy allowed Davis Labno to score from third. Logan Ring doubled to drive in another run, and the Jays were down 3-0.

*Middlesex senior Chris Kozak pitches against St. Joseph-Metuchen at Mountainview Park in Middlesex on May 4, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

They got on the board with a run in the third, when Daniel Ianiero walked, moved to second on a bad pickoff move, then scored on a single by Marcus Lavornia. They got another in the fourth, when Marcano led off with a double, and a Kozak bunt led to a throwing error by third baseman Owen Krulikowski, allowing Marcano to score, making it 3-2 Joe’s.

And things were relatively calm until the sixth inning, when the Falcons exploded for four runs. Palermo singled to lead it off. Luke Baranauskas reached on a dropped throw to first. Ring laid down a bunt and reached on an error, the second in the inning, scoring Palermo to make it 4-2. After Walter Christian walked to load the bases and AJ Huber struck out, Yacykewich got plunked on ball four to make it 5-2, driving in Baranauskas.

Then, when things seemingly couldn’t get any worse, Labno hit a ball to short that Marcus Lavornia booted. By the time he recovered, after Christian had scored, Lavornia threw home as Krulikowski was headed to the plate, but it sailed to the backstop. Now, the Jays were down 7-2.

But they weren’t done.

Luke Jones led off the sixth with an infield hit to short. Marcano singled and Almonte walked to load the bases with nobody out. After Kozak struck out, Daniel Ianiero walked in a run to cut the deficit to four. Lavornia did the same to make it 7-4. Almonte scored on a wild pitch to Dylan Ianiero, who then flew out to center, but the runner on third didn’t tag, leaving the bases loaded, down 7-5.

Then, Long hit a line drive ground ball to second that went off John Boyke’s glove and into right field, plating Daniel Ianiero and Lavornia, tying the game at seven. But Sean Hughes ended the inning with a little blooper to short.

Middlesex head coach Blaze Iannetti brought in Dalton Michael to pitch, but pulled him after a leadoff walk. Long came in from center to pitch, and got a pop up into foul territory, a K, and a fly out to right, with the final out coming as John Boyke was just 90 feet from home, advancing with a stolen base and wild pitch.

Then, Middlesex won it in the bottom of the inning on a daring decoy play Iannetti said he didn’t really want to show just yet. But when you need a win – and they got it – all bets are off, the bag of tricks has to be opened.

Long got the win in relief for the Jays, improving to 6-0 on the season, allowing just one base runner in his one inning of work. Labno, who also only worked the seventh, took the loss for St. Joseph.

Click below to watch Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with seniors Lucas Blanco and Chris Kozak, along with head coach Blaze Iannetti.

June 9, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Jays, in a pinch! Dalton Michael’s walkoff conjures spirit of ’21 championship team as Middlesex drops Schalick, 4-3, in extras

With apologies to the great Mel Allen: Well, how about that?

Down 3-1 through two-and-a-half innings to Schalick at home in the Group 1 semifinals, Middlesex scored three unanswered runs – two in the bottom of the third to tie it and one in the eighth to win it – as they advanced to Saturday’s NJSIAA State Group 1 final with a 4-3, eight-inning win at Mountainview Park, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio Monday afternoon.

The hero was Dalton Michael, who pinch hit for Sean Hughes with Marcus Lavornia on second, following a double. On a 2-2 pitch – Michael rocketed a single to left field. Lavornia made the turn and headed home. The throw from Evan Sepers in left sailed over the catcher, Lavornia stepped on home, and chaos ensued.

Click here to listen to Dalton Michael’s pinch-hit single to give Middlesex a 4-3 win in 8 innings over Schalick in the Group 1 semifinals.

It was eerily similar to 2021, when Middlesex – also trailing by two – won in the state semis on a walk off grand slam by Bobby Ulmer, Jr. And that year, the Blue Jays would go on to win the Group 1 title on another walk off, in 13 innings against New Providence.

Middlesex (22-5) got on the board first, in the bottom of the first, when Dom Parenti led off with a solo home run, his second of the year, and just the third of the season for the Blue Jays.

But Schalick (25-3) got three in the top of the third off starter Chris Kozak, who had only faced one above the minimum, seven batters, through the first two innings. With two out and a man on first, Ricky Watt singled to put two on, Evan Sepers doubled to score one, and starting pitcher Jamari Whitley doubled to plate two, giving the Cougars a 3-1 lead.

But the Jays got two back in the bottom of the inning. Dylan Ianiero walked to lead off the inning, and after a strikeout, Owen Reynolds singled. After a fly out, Marcus Lavornia reached on a ground ball misplayed at second, then Sean Hughes scored Ianiero with a single to cut it to 3-2. The game was tied with Kozak at the plate, when Reynolds came home on a wild pitch.

Neither team got much going the rest of the way, and both starters came out with the game tied.

Middlesex had just two baserunners since the third as the Blue Jays headeed into the bottom of the eighth, after Dominic Long came in from centerfield to pitch for Kozak, and got two Ks sandwiched around a walk to strand two.

Owen Reynolds struck out, and Luke Jones flied out to left. But Marcus Lavornia doubled, and it would have brought up Hughes, who already had an RBI single, probably all they would have needed at that point. But head coach Blaze Ianneti put in junior Dalton Michael, a regular pinch-hitter.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Long (11-1) got the win in relief for Middlesex, while the loss went to Schalick reliever Lucas D’Agostino (4-2).

Next up, Middlesex will face Midland Park – the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 champ, which blanked North 2 champion Brearley 4-0 at home Monday – in the state Group 1 championship game at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton. Game time is scheduled for 1 pm.

Click below for postgame reaction, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Middlesex pinch hitter Dalton Michael and starting pitcher Chris Kozak

Middlesex head coach Blaze Iannetti

May 12, 2025May 12, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Middlesex wins pitchers’ duel, tops Colonia 3-1 behind solid Kozak in GMC 1st Round

Knowing that Middlesex beat Colonia this year 2-0 and Colonia got ’em back with a 1-0 win, the conventional wisdom was that their third meeting – this time in the GMC Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament’s first round would be a good one, and it was.

The tenth-seeded Blue Jays topped the seventh-seeded Patriots on the road in the rubber match, 3-1, Monday afternoon at Colonia High School. The deciding runs came in the sixth inning of a 1-1 game.

Leadoff hitter Dom Parenti started the inning with a walk, and Dylan Ianiero followed with a single to center that bounced off Nick Minue’s glove and went behind him. With the left fielder backing up the play on one side, the ball bounded away from him, and by the time he got to it, Parenti had scored and Ianiero was on third with a triple. A single by Own Reynolds knocked him in to make it 3-2.

Middlesex starter Chris Kozak went the distance, allowing a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth, but getting the next six hitters out in order to close the game. He scattered five hits, walked one and struck out five in improving to 3-3 on the year. Kozak took the loss in the 1-0 regular season defeat to Colonia.

The Patriots (14-4) got on the board In the bottom of the first. Picture Corey pascarella singled, and moved up to second on a sac bunt by Dylan Chiers, then advanced to third on a fly ball to center by Colin Kroner, and came home on a wild pitch to Matt Fasulo.

Middlesex (14-4) tied it at one in the third. With one out, Dom Parenti reached on an infield hit. Then Dylan Ianiero singled to right, which sent Parenti to third. On the throw in, Ianiero tried for two, and as the ball was fumbled after the tag, Parenti used the decoy to come home and even the score.

The Blue Jays now move on to Wednesday’s GMCT quarterfinals against second-seed South Plainfield, which easily dispatched of 15th-seed Perth Amboy 11-0 Monday afternoon. Game times and field assignments for the quarters – which are set for North Brunswick Community Park at with two games at 4 and two games at 7 pm – will be determined by the GMC after Monday’s games are finished.

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

April 29, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Kozak shines for Middlesex as Blue Jays “walk off” Sayreville 10-0 for fourth straight win

The recipe for the Middlesex baseball team this season has been good hitting and solid pitching.

They got both Tuesday afternoon in a 10-0 Greater Middlesex Conference White Division home win over Sayreville, heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Chris Kozak threw six scoreless innings, scattering four hits and striking out seven, walking just one – only his second base on balls issued in 33 innings pitched this season. He picked up his second win of the year against three losses.

Meanwhile, Middlesex scored early and often, then walked it off with four in the bottom of the sixth to activate the ten-run rule.

The Blue Jays sent eight to the plate in the bottom of the first en route to a 3-0 lead. Dom Parenti led off with a walk, and Dylan Ianiero hit one back to the pitcher to move Parenti to second. After an Owen Reynolds flyout to left, Dominic Long scored him with a single, moving to second when the throw to the plate was in the dirt and went to the backstop. Then there was a Luke Jones walk, and another from Marcus Lavornia to load the bases, before Sean Hughes made it 3-0 with a ground rule double to center field.

In the second, Middlesex sent seven to the plate. Parenti drew a one-out walk, Ianiero singled and Reynolds drove in one with a double. Long did the same with a single, and Jones drove in the third run of the inning with another single, making it 6-0.

That was all for Sayreville starter Logan Kaufman, who was 3-0 with a 1.20 ERA coming in, and just four earned runs allowed all season in 23 1/3 innings entering the game. He took the loss, going just two innings, allowing seven runs on six hits with three walks and one K.

Bryan Girodano came in and threw the next three innings for the Bombers, keeping them in the game and the Jays off the scoreboard. He scattered four hits, walked one and struck out one.

But Middlesex got to Tyler Yan in the sixth. With one out, he walked Long. And after Jones grounded to Yan – who won a foot race to the bag for the second out, he walked Lavornia and Hughes. That’s when Kozak made his excellent day at the mound an even better day at the plate.

He laced a shot to centerfield that Sayreville’s Jimmy Kehoe dove for and missed, allowing the ball to go almost all the way to the outfield wall. By the time left fielder Andrew Provenza got to it and got the ball in, Kozak might have had an in-the-park home run, but he was held at third and settled for a three-RBI triple to make it 9-0.

The finishing touch came from left fielder James Matula, who singled home Kozak with the tenth run, ending the game.