Jared Lauri – Central Jersey Sports Radio

It’s a theme repeated on high school baseball – and softball – fields throughout the country this Spring, right down to Rowland Park in South Brunswick.

That’s where the Vikings practiced Friday afternoon – just wrapping up before the skies opened up in Biblical proportions – as they get set for Sunday.

That’s when 5th-seeded South Brunswick will face 2nd-seed St. Joseph Metuchen in the GMC Tournament Finals, presented by Bellamy & Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Game time is at noon, with coverage beginning at 11:15 am; click here to listen live.

And it was there at Rowland Park where left fielder Jared Lauri talked Friday about just getting out and playing ball.

And how much fun he was having.

Plus, “a lot of us didn’t take it for granted,” said Lauri, referring to how his team felt about getting in the 2021 season after 2020 got wiped away by the coronavirus pandemic.

All the better that the Vikings are in the county championship game.

Not that 2021 has been without difficulty. South Brunswick was upset in the opening round of the Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs by Old Bridge, a Red Division foe they had beaten twice in the regular season.

Click below to hear South Brunswick Jared Lauri talk about the Vikings’ 2021 season and look ahead to Sunday’s GMC Tournament final:

South Brunswick had not beaten Middlesex in four meetings heading into Tuesdays quarterfinal matchup in the GMC Tournament.

Jared Lauri and Frankie Sanchez made sure the streak didn’t continue.

Down 1-0 after Middlesex starter Stephen Young led off the bottom of the first with a first pitch home run, South Brunswick exploded for four decisive runs in the top of the fourth inning, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, powered by Bellamy & Son Paving.

After back-to-back singles by Neel Telidevara and Frankie Sanchez, Pete Cortez tied the game with an RBI single.

Then Lauri launched a homer to left about 315 feet.

That gave the Vikings the runs they would need, but Sanchez kept the Blue Jays off balance the rest of the afternoon.

He struck out 12, tying a season best, and allowed only five hits in seven innings of work.

The 5th-seeded Vikings will go on to play 9th-seed North Brunswick Saturday in the semifinals. The Raiders topped 16th-seed JFK 8-2 in the other quarterfinal.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from South Brunswick’s win over Middlesex in the GMC Tournament quarterfinals: