The 2023 GMC Tournament Championship Game once again lived up to its billing.

It was the pitcher’s duel everybody had hoped for, with each team’s ace going – St. Joseph of Metuchen’s Jimmy Mulvaney and North Brunswick’s Zack Konstantinovsky, who may – still, after the loss – be the best pitcher in the state of New Jersey.

It was a 2-0 win for the third-seeded Falcons, who turned the tables on the Raiders. Last year, Joe’s was the defending champ and top-seed, and North Brunswick took the title with a 4-2 win. This year, North was the defending champ and top seed, and lost by two runs.

But there are many more storylines than that.

Eagles and Falcons…

Let’s start with St. Joe’s entering hallowed ground: they have now tied Edison for most GMC Tournament wins since the league began play in 1986, with eight each. That record stood for a while, as Edison had a powerhouse program in the 1990s, with stellar pitchers in their own right, like Brian Appelman and Bobby Brownlie.

The Eagles – under Jim Muldowney – won their first title in 1990, then won four straight years from 1992 to 1995, and after a two-year break, won three of the next four, in 1998 and 1999, then again in 2001.

Meanwhile, St. Joe’s did not win its first title until three seasons after that run, in 2004, when they blanked Carteret 6-0. They then made the finals four of the next five years, winning three of them, in 2006, 2008 and 2009. They didn’t return again until 2014, winning it that year and in 2017 to give them their sixth crown. In 2021, the first year after COVID shut down baseball, the Falcons won again, lost last year, and won again this year for their eighth.

Under head coach Mike Murray, St. Joseph has now won three GMC Tournament titles in four trips over his seven seasons in Metuchen.

Interestingly, with the Falcons now 8-2 all-time in GMC finals, seven of those wins have come via shutout. And all three wins have come by a combined 5-0 score.

Close games have lived up to the hype…

The GMC Tournament hasn’t seen a final decided by more than two runs since1012, when third-seed Middlesex knocked off top-seed Sayreville 10-4. The 2013 game was decided by two runs – 7-seed JFK over 9-seed Monroe, 4-2 – and then the next six games right up to COVID were decided by one run, with finals in 2015 and 2018 going to extra innings.

Since baseball resumed after the pandemic, all three GMC finals have been decided by two runs. St. Joe’s beat South Brunswick 2-0 in 2021, North Brunswick beat St. Joe’s last year 4-2, and this year, they beat the Raiders 2-0.

Defending champs don’t always defend…

All-time, since 1986, only ten teams have made the GMC finals the year after winning it, with Edison doing it five times, and going 4-1 as defending champs. Overall, though, the record is 5-5, and just 1-4 if your nickname is not the Eagles.

• Edison won in 1992, defended in 1993
• Edison won in 1994, defended in 1994
• Edison won in 1994, defended in 1995
• Edison won in 1995, lost in 1996
• East Brunswick won in 1997, lost in 1998
• Edison won in 1998, defended in 1999
• St. Joseph won in 2004, lost in 2005
• St. Joseph won in 2008, defended in 2009
• St. Joseph won in 2021, lost in 2022
• North Brunswick won in 2022, lost in 2023

Pitchers continue to dominate GMC Final Four and more…

The 2021 GMC Tournament final four – semifinals and finals – set a record for the fewest runs and fewest hits ever in the history of the tournament.

The 2023 tournament matched it, if only in terms of runs scored.

Let’s start with the semifinals, which saw a pair of two-run games: St. Joseph over South Plainfield and North Brunswick over Monroe, both by 2-1 scores. That matched the record set in 2021 of a total of six runs between the two games, which saw South Brunswick beat North Brunswick 2-0, and St. Joe’s beat Edison 3-1.

That year, St. Joseph blanked South Brunswick in the final 2-0, as Andrew Goldan bested Joey Tuttoilmondo, to make it just eight runs across the three games. This year’s final was also 2-0, matching the all-time low for the semis and finals of eight combined runs in the three games.

It wasn’t the same for hits, though. The three games in 2021 totaled just 14 hits, but the Raiders and Falcons combined for 12 in the championship game alone. The two semis this year saw 19 combined on their own, for a total of 33 hits.

Top seed is no guarantee…

Start with the fact that since 2011 – in the last 12 tournaments now – the top seed has reached the championship game less than half the time, with just five championship game berths. With the loss by North Brunswick, the No. 1 seed is just 2-3 when reaching the GMC Finals in that timespan.

Streak ended…

The win by St. Joseph snaps a four-game skid against North Brunswick, that included three regular season’s loss and last year’s title game defeat. The last win for the Falcons over the Raiders before that had come on April 23, 2019.

Zack can go on Thursday…

One of the storylines to the GMC Tournament final being moved – for a second straight year – from Saturday to Sunday due to inclement weather was the fact that it could have thrown a monkey wrench into North Brunswick’s state tournament pitching plans.

St. Joseph didn’t have the same issue because in a 12-team field in Non-Public South B, the second-seeded Falcons got a bye through to Friday, where they’ll play the winner of 10-seed Immaculata and 7-seed Paul VI of Haddonfield.

But for North Brunswick, Zack Konstantinovsky – Sunday’s starting pitcher – could not have thrown Monday anyway when the second-seeded Raiders open up play in Central Jersey Group 4 at home against 15th-seed Long Branch, due to NJSIAA pitch count rules. However, he could have gone Thursday – if the Raiders make it to the second round – since, no matter how many pitches he threw, he would have had the mandatory four-days rest, and his pitch count would reset. A maximum of 150 pitches are allowed over five calendar days.

But with the final on Sunday, Thursday would be the fifth day.

North Brunswick head coach Mark Blevins told Central Jersey Sports Radio on Thursday he was going with Zack as long as he could Sunday, and he indeed pitched a complete game.

But according to his pitch count as posted by the team, he only threw 90 pitches. Had he thrown 91, he’d be unavailable for Thursday, but now he is.

So, the question is, after Blevins goes with likely starter Kyle Anderson – the Raiders’ No. 2 behind Konstantinovsky – does he bring Zack back on three days’ rest Thursday? He would get a maximum 60 pitches, and unofficially, he threw his 60th pitch to the third hitter – with two outs – in the fifth inning Sunday.

Or does Blevins go with No. 3 starter Alejandro Jabar, who is more than capable?

The trick is: what comes next? If North Brunswick throws Jabar, that puts Zack in a potential sectional semifinal, and makes him unable to pitch in a possible sectional title game, which could very well be at top-seed Old Bridge, which swept the Raiders this year, 6-1 and 3-2. And he only threw one inning of relief in one of those games, the eighth inning of a 3-2, ten inning loss. He allowed no hits, no runs and struck out two.

We say throw what he can and hope he gets you deep into Thursday, let the bullpen finish it off, and have him free and clear for a potential sectional final. Why save those 60 pitches? Well, maybe because he hasn’t gone on three days’ rest all year. Tough call to make.

Of note: if the Raiders get by Long Branch, it’ll be an all GMC-quarterfinal. They’d play the winner of 10-seed South Brunswick and 7-seed Sayreville Thursday at home.

Speaking of Zack…

Though numbers online show Konstantinovsky gave up one earned run in the game, it clearly should be two. The first was no question, a solo home run off the bat of Tyler Delvecchio that was really all St. Joseph wound up needing yesterday. The second was an RBI single by Will Ramsay in the top of the seventh that came with two outs.

But it developed like this: After a one-out single by Joseph Zammitti – who was pinch-run for by Jaden Jamison – Bobby Christensen laid down a bunt to move him over. It was punched to the left of the mound, to Zack’s right, the opposite way of his momentum on his follow-through. He got tried to turn, first getting twisted around, then slipping on the soft grass.

Click below to listen to the play as it happened:

But the point of this story is not the play – in which it truly should have been scored a hit, as no one touched the ball and Zach could not field it (if a second baseman trips on a ground ball and it goes between fielders into the outfield, it’s a hit, not a physical error with the ball) – it’s the earned run, the second of the game.

It was Zack’s first game allowing two earned runs since last year’s GMC Tournament final against St. Joseph, which the Raiders won 4-2. The last time he allowed more than one earned run in a loss came in North Brunswick’s final game of 2021, a 4-3 loss in Flemington to Hunterdon Central in the Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals.

GMC TOURNAMENT FINALS HISTORY:

• 1986:  East Brunswick 14, Madison Central 3
• 1987:  Cedar Ridge 2,  Colonia 1
• 1988:  Carteret 4, JP Stevens 2 (11 innings)
• 1989:  Madison Central 8, Cedar Ridge 7 (8 innings)
• 1990:  Edison 9, South Plainfield 3
• 1991:  East Brunswick 6, South Plainfield 5
• 1992:  Edison 1, Bishop Ahr 0
• 1993:  Edison 12, JFK 3
• 1994:  Edison 10, Monroe 3
• 1995:  Edison 5, Piscataway 3
• 1996:  Bishop Ahr 4, Edison 3 (13 innings)
• 1997:  East Brunswick 3, JFK 2
• 1998:  Edison 2, East Brunswick 1
• 1999:  Edison 7, Bishop Ahr 2
• 2000:  Woodbridge 7, JFK 1
• 2001:  Edison 4, Spotswood 1
• 2002:  South Brunswick 4, Piscataway 2 (9 innings)
• 2003:  Piscataway 9, East Brunswick 5
• 2004:  St. Joseph 6, Carteret 0
• 2005:  East Brunswick 8, St. Joseph 1
• 2006:  St. Joseph 11, South Amboy 0
• 2007:  Spotswood 7, JP Stevens 6
• 2008:  St. Joseph 3, Old Bridge 2
• 2009:  St. Joseph 6, North Brunswick 0
• 2010:  South Brunswick 9, North Brunswick 2
• 2011:  (2) Old Bridge 3, (4) South Plainfield 2
• 2012:  (3) Middlesex 10, (1) Sayreville 4
• 2013:  (7) JFK 4, (9) Monroe 2
• 2014:  (4) St. Joseph 1, (6) South Plainfield 0 (walk-off bases loaded walk)
• 2015:  (2) Monroe 1, (8) Sayreville 0 (8 innings)
• 2016:  (2) East Brunswick 1, (9) JP Stevens 0
• 2017:  (1) St. Joseph 1, (6) Monroe 0
• 2018:  (14)South Plainfield 2, (12) Perth Amboy 1 (12 innings)
• 2019:  (1) Old Bridge 2, (3) South Brunswick 1
• 2020:  NO SEASON – COVID
• 2021:  (2) St. Joseph 2, (5) South Brunswick 0
• 2022:  (6) North Brunswick 4, (1) St. Joseph 2
• 2023:  (3) St. Joseph 2, (1) North Brunswick 0

MOST GMCT FINALS APPEARANCES:

1. St. Joseph – 10
2. Edison – 9
3. East Brunswick – 7
4. South Plainfield – 5
5. North Brunswick, South Brunswick, JFK, Monroe – 4
6. JP Stevens, Bishop Ahr, Piscataway, Old Bridge – 3
7. Madison Central, Cedar Ridge, Carteret, Spotswood, Sayreville – 2

GMC TOURNAMENT MULTIPLE WINNERS:

• 8-Edison, St. Joseph-Metuchen
• 5-East Brunswick
• 2-South Brunswick, Old Bridge

Cedar Ridge, Madison Central, Carteret, Bishop Ahr, Woodbridge, Piscataway, Spotswood, Middlesex, JFK, Monroe, South Plainfield (11 schools) have all won one title each. 

TEAM RECORDS IN THE GMC TOURNAMENT FINALS (with most recent win):

• East Brunswick 5-2 (2016)
• Bishop Ahr 1-2 (1996)
• Carteret 1-1 (1998)
• *Cedar Ridge 1-1 (1987)
• Colonia 0-1
• Edison 8-1 (2001)
• JFK 1-3 (2013)
• JP Stevens 0-3
• *Madison Central 1-1 (1989)
• Middlesex 1-0 (2012)
• Monroe 1-3 (2015)
• North Brunswick 1-3 (2022)
• Old Bridge 2-1 (2019)
• Perth Amboy 0-1
• Piscataway 1-2 (2003)
• Sayreville 0-2
• South Amboy 0-1
• South Brunswick 2-2 (2010)
• South Plainfield 1-4 (2018)   
• Spotswood 1-1 (2007)
• St. Joseph 8-2 (2023)
• Woodbridge 1-0 (2000)

*Cedar Ridge and Madison Central merged to form Old Bridge HS in 1994.

TEAMS THAT HAVE NEVER REACHED THE GMC FINALS, by current Division:

• Red Division:  none
• White Division:  none
• Blue Division:  Metuchen, South River
• Gold Division:  New Brunswick, East Brunswick Tech, Somerset Tech, Timothy Christian
• Silver Division:  Dunellen, Highland Park, Perth Amboy Tech, Wardlaw-Hartridge, Piscataway Tech, Calvary Christian

Third-seed St. Joseph of Metuchen won its eighth GMC Tournament championship and second in the last three years with a 2-0 victory over top-seed and defending champion North Brunswick on Sunday, May 21 at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick.

Scroll through our photo gallery of images from the game, as taken by Mike Pavlichko:

When the first pitch is thrown in the GMC Tournament championship game Sunday afternoon at 1:00 at Ray Cipperly Field, one might be hard pressed to discern one team from the other, besides the fact one will be wearing white uniforms with blue and gold, while the other is wearing green, black and white.

Each team has a veritable ace on the mound, with the pitching matchup of Zack Konstantinovsky versus Jimmy Mulvaney.

Each team can hit. North Brunswick has knocked 19 homers while St. Joseph-Metuchen has hit 15. Each team’s leading hitter is getting a hit at least half the time they come to the plate: Omar Carreras batting .500 for the Raiders, Mark Gialluisi hitting .548 for the Falcons.

Oh, and they’re the same teams that played for the championship last year.

Sunday afternoon at 1:00 – with the title game moved a day later and an hour earlier due to rain in the Saturday forecast – top-seed and defending champion North Brunswick will play third-seed St. Joe’s for the GMC Tournament title in a game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, presented by Auto Lounge of Edison.

Click here to listen to the live broadcast!

Scroll through this story for the finals at-a-glance, interviews, links to our coverage of both teams, how they got here, team records and finals history, and other notes and stats.

GMC FINALS AT-A-GLANCE

Teams:
(1) North Brunswick (18-5, 8-4, GMC Red Champions, #14 in NJ)
(3) St. Joseph-Metuchen (18-8, 7-5 GMC Red, 3rd place, #19 in NJ)

Head Coaches:
North Brunswick: Mark Blevins, 6th season (92-69)
St. Joseph: Mike Murray, 7th season (129-73)

Starting Pitchers:
North Brunswick: Zack Konstantinovsky (6-0, 0.32 ERA)
St. Joseph: Jimmy Mulvaney (4-3, 1.85 ERA)

Date and Time: Sunday, May 21 – 1:00 pm
Location: Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School (Rues Lane, East Brunswick)
Listen On: Central Jersey Sports Radio, Pregame 12:30 pm (Click here to listen live!)
Announcers: Mike Pavlichko & Justin Sontupe

PREVIEW STORIES

• North Brunswick’s potent lineup, Rutgers-bound ace aim for second straight GMC Tournament title
• Konstantinovsky relaxed, but laser-focused heading into GMC Tournament title tilt

• St. Joseph hopes to keep hot bats, pitching going for GMC finals as Falcons look to dethrone North Brunswick
• Giallusi leads high-octane St. Joseph offense into GMCT final against defending champ North Brunswick

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

North Brunswick:
First Round: bye
Second Round: def. (16) South River, 25-0
Quarterfinals: def. (9) Edison, 11-0
Semifinals: def. (4) Monroe, 2-1

St. Joseph:
First Round: bye
Second Round: def. (19) Metuchen, 12-2
Quarterfinals: def. (11) Spotswood, 7-0
Semifinals: def. (7) South Plainfield, 2-1

TEAM LEADERS:

North Brunswick:

• Batting Average: Omar Carreras (.500), Zack Konstantinovsky (.470), Justin Batts (.467)
• RBI: Omar Carreras (32), Zack Konstantinovsky (23), Yomar Carreras (17)
• HR: Omar Carreras (8), Zack Konstantinovsky (6), Yomas Carreras (2)
• Walks: Omar Carreras (20), Josh Rodriguez (10)
• Stolen Bases: Zack Konstantinovsky (10), Omar Carreras (7)
• Strikeouts (Pitcher): Zack Konstantinovsky (61), Alejandro Jabar (23), Kyle Anderson (15)
• ERA (min 15 innings): Zack Konstantinovsky (0.32), Connor Levine (1.34)

St. Joseph:

• Batting Average: Mark Gialluisi (.548), Robbie Carvelli (.393), Joseph Zammitti (.385)
• RBI: Robbie Carvelli (27), Joseph Zammitti (21), Matthew Kosuda (20)
• HR: Matthew Kosuda (5), Tyler Delvecchio (3), Mark Gialluisi, Robbie Carvelli (2)
• Walks: Josaih Brown (17), Tyler Delvecchio (12), Joseph Zammitti (11)
• Stoeln Bases: Mark Gialluisi (23), Robbie Carvelli (12)
• Strikeouts (Pitcher): Jimmy Mulvaney (46), Benny Fonseca (26), Joseph Barca (24)
• ERA (min 15 innings): Matthew Friedman (1.77), Jimmy Mulvaney (1.85)

Coverage of North Brunswick:

• Carreras HR, dominant Konstantinovsky put defending GMCT champ North Brunswick back in the finals
• INSTANT REPLAY: GMC Tournament Semifinals – (1) North Brunswick 2, (4) Monroe (1)
• Back in the semifinals, back to their ace for North Brunswick in GMC Tournament
• Another rout for North Brunswick, as Raiders reach GMCT semifinals in dominating fashion
• INSTANT REPLAY: #5 North Brunswick 6, South Brunswick 3
• North Brunswick clinches share of first-ever GMC Red title, top-seed in upcoming GMC Tournament, with 6-3 win at South Brunswick
• No. 5 North Brunswick controls its own destiny in GMC Red race, visiting South Brunswick in final game before county seeding
• INSTANT REPLAY: No. 8 North Brunswick 4, No. 7 St. Joseph-Metuchen 3
• No. 8 North Brunswick topples No. 7 St. Joe’s to earn home-and-home Red Division sweep
• North Brunswick looks to finish off sweep of St. Joseph as Raiders rebound from skid
• Old Bridge puts some early distance between themselves and rest of GMC Red field with extra-inning, lightning-delayed win over North Brunswick
• Defending GMCT champ North Brunswick approaching ’23 with ease, not worried about outside expectations
• 2022 Central Jersey Sports Radio Baseball Player of the Year: North Brunswick’s Zack Konstantinovsky
• VIDEO: Watch the final out as North Brunswick wins its first-ever GMC Tournament title
• INSTANT REPLAY-2022 GMCT Finals (6) North Brunswick 4, (1) St. Joseph-Metuchen 2
• GMCT Postgame: North Brunswick’s Kyle Tarabokia, Zack Konstantinovsky and Mark Blevins on the Raiders’ first-ever GMC title
• A 10! North Brunswick wins first ever GMC title as Konstantinovsky fans 10 en route to 4-2 win over defending champ St. Joe’s

Coverage of St. Joseph:

• St. Joseph rallies for two late runs to get by South Plainfield 2-1, earning third straight trip to GMCT title game
• INSTANT REPLAY: GMC Tournament Semifinals – (3) St. Joseph 2, (7) South Plainfield 1
• Mulvaney takes the mantle for St. Joe’s from Goldan, Szak, others before him
• St. Joseph’s bats held down the fort while the pitching found its groove
• St. Joseph-Metuchen blanks Spotswood 7-0 to move on the GMCT quarterfinals
• INSTANT REPLAY: No. 8 North Brunswick 4, No. 7 St. Joseph-Metuchen 3
• St. Joseph-Metuchen will rely on new top pitchers, heavy-hitting senior lineup in ’23

FINALS HISTORY:

This will be the third meeting between the Falcons and Raiders in the GMC finals. St. Joe’s won the first in 2009, 6-0, claiming their seventh title in the event. North Brunswick won last year, upsetting top-seeded St. Joseph, 4-2, for their first-ever GMCT crown.

While the teams didn’t play each other in the regular season last year – when North Brunswick was in the GMC White Division and St. Joe’s in the Red, they played twice this year with the Raiders moving up to the Red Division for 2023.

North Brunswick swept both regular season matchups, taking a 6-1 decision at home on April 17th, then winning the rematch in Metuchen, 4-3, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Here are the finals histories for both teams:

North Brunswick (1-2):
2009:  St. Joseph 6, North Brunswick 0
2010:  South Brunswick 9, North Brunswick 2
2022:  North Brunswick 4, St. Joseph 2

St. Joseph (7-2):
2004:  St. Joseph 6, Carteret 0
2005:  East Brunswick 8, St. Joseph 1
2006:  St. Joseph 11, South Amboy 0
2008:  St. Joseph 3, Old Bridge 2
2009:  St. Joseph 6, North Brunswick 0
2014:  St. Joseph 1, South Plainfield 0
2017:  St. Joseph 1, Monroe 0
2021:  St. Joseph 2, South Brunswick 0
2022:  North Brunswick 4. St. Joseph 2

NOTES AND NUGGETS:

Is Zack a better hitter or pitcher? No one can dispute the talent of Zack Konstantinovsky on the mound. He’s headed to Rutgers to pitch for a reason. But the dude can hit. In fact, he’s hit more home runs the last two seasons (10) than he’s given up earned runs (9). Last year, he hit four home runs; he has six this year. Last year, he gave up seven earned runs all season; this year he’s allowed just two.

He’s going the distance, he’s going for speed: Everyone knows Zach can throw the speedball by you, make you look like a fool, boy, but he also has pitched five complete games this year in seven starts, which means he’s efficient. Four of those have gone the full seven innings, throwing 71, 73, 102 and 103 pitches. He also threw a complete five-inning game against South Brunswick on May second. Besides a one-inning relief appearance against Old Bridge, he threw 6 1/3 in a season-opening 2-0 win at South Plainfield, and was taken out after four innings of a 25-0 first-round GMC Tournament win over South River.

The Greater Brunswicks, Continued: A team with “Brunswick” in its name has been to four straight GMC Tournament finals, and five of the last seven. They’re all the surrounding Brunswicks from the Hub City, too. East Brunswick won the GMCT in 2016, while South Brunswick made it in 2019 and 2021, losing both – there was no high school baseball in 2020 due to COVID – and North Brunswick is in the finals for back-to-back years now, interestingly the second time it has happened. They also made it in back to back years in 2009 and 2010, losing to St. Joe’s in ’09, and South Brunswick in ’10.

And with the Raiders’ win last year, all three surrounding Brunswicks – North, South and East – can claim at least one title. North Brunswick won it last year, East Brunswick has won five (the very first in 1986, then again in 1991, 1997, 2005 and 2016), and South Brunswick won it in 2002 and 2010.

New Brunswick has never made the GMC Tournament finals.

Falcons soar past Eagles: This will be the tenth GMC Finals appearance for St. Joe’s of Metuchen, giving them more berths in the title tilt than any other GMC team. Edison is next with nine, East Brunswick has seven, and South Plainfield has made it five times, with North Brunswick making its fourth appearance, along with South Brunswick, JFK and Monroe. Four other teams have made three appearances: JP Stevens, Bishop Ahr (now St. Thomas Aquinas, but all those appearances came under their old moniker), Piscataway and Old Bridge. Madison Central, Cedar Ridge, Carteret, Spotswood, Sayreville have all made it twice. Of those 17 teams with multiple appearances, only JP Stevens and Sayreville have never won it all.

Can anyone match the Eagles? No one has won more GMC Tournament titles than Edison, which has eight, including 1990, four straight from 1992 to 1989, two more in 1998 and 1999, and another in 2001. But St. Joseph is right behind them with seven. East Brunswick has five, and no one else has more than two; South Brunswick and Old Bridge each claim two championships.

Shutouts win it: In nine prior GMC Tournament finals, St. Joseph has only allowed 13 runs. Eight came in their first loss, an 8-1 defeat at the hands of East Brunswick in 2005. And they gave up four last year in a 4-2 defeat to North Brunswick. In their seven wins, however, six have been shutouts, including a 2-0 victory over South Brunswick in 2021, their most recent win. One of those shutouts came in 2014, when they beat South Plainfield 1-0 on a bases loaded walk-off walk. The only team to score against the Falcons in the GMC Tournament and not win is Old Bridge, in a 3-2 loss in the 2008 title game.

Postponed? No problem: According to North Brunswick head coach Mark Blevins, the last two title games his program has been a part of have been postponed because of rain, and they’ve won both – against St. Joe’s. Last year’s GMC title game, which was supposed to be played on Saturday, May 28, was moved to Sunday, May 29, and North Brunswick beat the Falcons for the first title ever. But few may know the Raiders also won the JV tournament in 2021, which also was postponed due to rain. They beat St. Joseph in that one, as well.

Repeats? There’ve been a few: North Brunswick is looking to be the first repeat champion since St. Joseph won back-to-back tiles in 2008 and 2009. The Raiders were on the wrong end of the repeat in the 2009 final, which was their first ever appearance. (They made it the following year, too, and lost to South Brunswick.) last year was the first time the defending champions even qualified for the final the following year since those back-to-back wins in ’08 and ’09. All-time, since 1986, only nine teams have made the GMC finals the year after winning it. Those teams have gone 5-4.

• Edison won in 1992, defended in 1993
• Edison won in 1994, defended in 1994
• Edison won in 1994, defended in 1995
• Edison won in 1995, lost in 1996
• East Brunswick won in 1997, lost in 1998
• Edison won in 1998, defended in 1999
• St. Joseph won in 2004, lost in 2005
• St. Joseph won in 2008, won in 2009
• St. Joseph won in 2021, lost in 2022
• North Brunswick won in 2022, ????

Red Division continues to rule: A team from the top division in the GMC has won four of the last six finals, and it will be a Red Division team again this year, with both finalists hailing from the Red. East Brunswick won it in 2016, followed by St. Joe’s in 2017. Old Bridge won it all in 2019, while 2021 went to St. Joe’s again. The only breaks were in 2018 when South Plainfield won it out of the White, and North Brunswick’s win last year. But they’ve since moved up a division. In the current GMC divisional alignment, every Red and White team has won at least one title since the first tournament in 1986.

Lower seed, first time, long time: North Brunswick – the sixth seed last year – was the first lower seeded team to win the GMC Tournament since 108, when 14th-seed South Plainfield did it, beating 12-seed Perth Amboy 2-1 in 12 innings.

Top seed, top dog? The top-seed in the GMC Tournament has only made the finals four times in 12 seasons dating back to 2011. And they’re only 2-2 when they get there. The winners were Old Bridge in 2019 over South Brunswick, and St. Joe’s in 2017 over Monroe. But the Falcons lost last year to North Brunswick at the top seed, while Sayreville lost to Middlesex in 2012. The Raiders last year were the lowest seed (6) to knock off a No. 1 team in that time; the Blue Jays were the third-seed in 2012.

GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• 1986:  East Brunswick 14, Madison Central 3
• 1987:  Cedar Ridge 2,  Colonia 1
• 1988:  Carteret 4, JP Stevens 2 (11 innings)
• 1989:  Madison Central 8, Cedar Ridge 7 (8 innings)
• 1990:  Edison 9, South Plainfield 3
• 1991:  East Brunswick 6, South Plainfield 5
• 1992:  Edison 1, Bishop Ahr 0
• 1993:  Edison 12, JFK 3
• 1994:  Edison 10, Monroe 3
• 1995:  Edison 5, Piscataway 3
• 1996:  Bishop Ahr 4, Edison 3 (13 innings)
• 1997:  East Brunswick 3, JFK 2
• 1998:  Edison 2, East Brunswick 1
• 1999:  Edison 7, Bishop Ahr 2
• 2000:  Woodbridge 7, JFK 1
• 2001:  Edison 4, Spotswood 1
• 2002:  South Brunswick 4, Piscataway 2 (9 innings)
• 2003:  Piscataway 9, East Brunswick 5
• 2004:  St. Joseph 6, Carteret 0
• 2005:  East Brunswick 8, St. Joseph 1
• 2006:  St. Joseph 11, South Amboy 0
• 2007:  Spotswood 7, JP Stevens 6
• 2008:  St. Joseph 3, Old Bridge 2
• 2009:  St. Joseph 6, North Brunswick 0
• 2010:  South Brunswick 9, North Brunswick 2
• 2011:  (2) Old Bridge 3, (4) South Plainfield 2
• 2012:  (3) Middlesex 10, (1) Sayreville 4
• 2013:  (7) JFK 4, (9) Monroe 2
• 2014:  (4) St. Joseph 1, (6) South Plainfield 0 (walk-off bases loaded walk)
• 2015:  (2) Monroe 1, (8) Sayreville 0 (8 innings)
• 2016:  (2) East Brunswick 1, (9) JP Stevens 0
• 2017:  (1) St. Joseph 1, (6) Monroe 0
• 2018:  (14)South Plainfield 2, (12) Perth Amboy 1 (12 innings)
• 2019:  (1) Old Bridge 2, (3) South Brunswick 1
• 2020:  NO SEASON – COVID
• 2021:  (2) St. Joseph 2, (5) South Brunswick 0
• 2022:  (6) North Brunswick 4, (1) St. Joseph 2

MOST GMCT FINALS APPEARANCES:

1. St. Joseph – 10
2. Edison – 9
3. East Brunswick – 7
4. South Plainfield – 5
5. North Brunswick, South Brunswick, JFK, Monroe – 4
6. JP Stevens, Bishop Ahr, Piscataway, Old Bridge – 3
7. Madison Central, Cedar Ridge, Carteret, Spotswood, Sayreville – 2

GMC TOURNAMENT MULTIPLE WINNERS:

• 8-Edison
• 7-St. Joseph-Metuchen
• 5-East Brunswick
• 2-South Brunswick, Old Bridge

Cedar Ridge, Madison Central, Carteret, Bishop Ahr, Woodbridge, Piscataway, Spotswood, Middlesex, JFK, Monroe, South Plainfield (11 schools) have all won one title each. 

TEAM RECORDS IN THE GMC TOURNAMENT FINALS (with most recent win):

• East Brunswick 5-2 (2016)
• Bishop Ahr 1-2 (1996)
• Carteret 1-1 (1998)
• *Cedar Ridge 1-1 (1987)
• Colonia 0-1
• Edison 8-1 (2001)
• JFK 1-3 (2013)
• JP Stevens 0-3
• *Madison Central 1-1 (1989)
• Middlesex 1-0 (2012)
• Monroe 1-3 (2015)
• North Brunswick 1-2 (2022)
• Old Bridge 2-1 (2019)
• Perth Amboy 0-1
• Piscataway 1-2 (2003)
• Sayreville 0-2
• South Amboy 0-1
• South Brunswick 2-2 (2010)
• South Plainfield 1-4 (2018)   
• Spotswood 1-1 (2007)
• St. Joseph 7-2 (2021)
• Woodbridge 1-0 (2000)