Kyle Anderson – Central Jersey Sports Radio

BY ALEC CROUTHAMEL — After a dormant first few innings of their Greater Middlesex Conference quarterfinal game against Edison, the floodgates opened for North Brunswick.

An eight-run fourth put the game out of reach quickly, and the Raiders came out with an 11-0 win in five innings on their home field at North Brunswick Community Park, to put them in the GMCT semis for the third straight year.

Saturday at 2:30 pm, the top-seeded Raiders will face fourth-seed Monroe – which they swept two games in the regular season – at East Brunswick Magnet School’s Ray Cipperly Field, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, presented by Auto Lounge of Edison.

North Brunswick managed only two hits after three innings, but put up eight runs in the fourth in a variety of ways, including bunts, walks, hit-by-pitches, and even an error. They batted around in the inning, taking the pressure off of their pitching in a hurry.

Kyle Anderson threw all five innings for North Brunswick in shutout fashion, allowing only three hits and striking out two without an extra-base hit. He was also backed by some great defense, with a number of highlight-reel plays to prevent any damage on the scoreboard.

Edison’s Paul di Pasquale lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing the first two runs of the game before being taken out. Robert Roma pitched the remainder of the game for the Eagles, allowing 8 runs the rest of the way. Roma also provided a hit from the plate.

Rutgers-bound North Brunswick star Zack Konstantinovsky also contributed in many ways from the plate, with two hits, a sacrifice fly RBI, and even reaching on a hit-by-pitch to his right arm. Konstantinovsky will get the ball in Saturday’s semifinal matchup against Monroe, and the ace is eager to get on the mound.

North Brunswick (13-5) has dominated their first two games of the GMC Tournament, outscoring South River and Edison (12-8) by a combined 36-0 in just ten innings en route to the semis.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

North Brunswick starting pitcher Kyle Anderson

North Brunswick second baseman Zach Konstantinovsky

North Brunswick head coach Mark Blevins

Thursday afternoon’s 6-2 win for the North Brunswick Raiders on the road at South Brunswick was a big one in a number of ways.

Moving up to the GMC Red Division, it gave the Raiders at least a share of the division title in their first year playing with the “big boys” in the Greater Middlesex Conference. And by extension, it will wind up earning them the top seed in the GMC Tournament, which will be seeded Friday morning in East Brunswick.

In a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, the Raiders got a complete game out of Kyle Anderson, who threw seven innings and allowed seven hits and three runs, two of them earned. He got the win for North Brunswick (10-5, 8-4 GMC Red) while starter Ethan Fantel took the loss for the Vikings (5-11, 3-9 GMC Red).

South Brunswick scored in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead on North Brunswick. Ryan Kessler had an RBI double in the first, while Joey Sanchez knocked in another run in the second with a single.

But it didn’t deter Anderson on the mound, who only allowed one run on four hits the rest of the afternoon, which started overcast, but turned out sunny, much like the Raiders’ fortunes in the game.

North Brunswick cut it to 2-1 South in the third when Yomar Carreras led off with a double down the right field line and Zack Konstantinovsky drove him in with a single.

Then, after a scoreless fourth, the Raiders took the lead for good.

Carreras again led off, this time with a single. With Konstantinovsky at the plate, he took off a bit too soon, and Fantel had him picked off, but threw it away into foul territory, and Carreras scored all the way from first with the ball getting lost in the wide expanse of foul territory down the right field line.

Konstantinovsky ended up with a walk and Omar Carreras singled. After Justin Batts popped out, Chris Rosario singled to load the bases, and Frankie Garbolino gave North a lead they would never relinquish with a two-RBI single. Sammy Berardo knocked in another run with a ground-out, and the Raiders had a 5-2 lead through four-and-a-half.

South Brunswick would add another run in the fifth on a single by Brian Culhane, while Konstantinovsky – who finished with a single, two walks and two runs scored in four times at the plate – scored the sixth run on a Justin Batts hit to third that turned out to be an E5.

Click below for postgame interviews, sponsored by the SportsPlex at Metuchen: