Middletown South Wins 11th Straight and Advances to MCT Semifinals

By Ella Brockway - Shore Sports Network contributor

HOLMDEL - Middletown South took another step toward its first Monmouth County Tournament title since 2011 with a 10-1 quarterfinal win over host St. John Vianney on Saturday.

The Eagles (13-5), who now have an 11-game winning streak, were led by senior pitcher Zac deRocco, whose stellar performance held the Lancers to just two hits the entire game. The righthander pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts, and allowed only one unearned run off an error in the third inning to put the Eagles into the semifinals, where they will face Wall on Saturday.

“My mindset [going in] was just to keep throwing strikes,” said deRocco. “And even if I couldn’t, I knew that my teammates were going to have my back.”

DeRocco improved his record on the mound to 3-2, and moved up his strikeout total to 26 on the year. DeRocco was backed up by a solid showing from the Eagles' defense and a big day on the offensive end.

Juniors Johnny Zega and Ian Scheuer both had strong days, each with three hits, one stolen base, and one run scored. Zega, a shortstop who is among the Shore Conference leaders for home runs on the year with three, had an RBI double in the first to kick off the scoring for South, as well as a single in the third and another double in the seventh.

Scheuer, who also had a productive day at first base, had a double in the second, and two singles in the third and sixth, the former of which stretched the South lead to 4-1.

DeRocco silenced a St. John Vianney team that has been averaging almost six runs per game this season. Senior John Michael Broderick threw 6 ⅔ innings for the Lancers, giving up 11 hits and four runs.

Down three runs entering the third inning, St. John Vianney got on the board when junior Chris Cerniglia singled to left field and advanced to second on an error in the outfield. He later scored on a bunt by centerfielder Nick Gugliara. DeRocco then shut down the Lancers from there.

“After the third inning, I just tried to start pounding the zone,” said deRocco. “We had to keep them off balance with curveballs and fastballs.”

DeRocco only allowed two singles the rest of the way, while the Eagles blew the game open in the seventh. Zega and sophomore third baseman Ben Porpora produced back-to-back doubles to kick off a six-run inning. A walk by junior Austin Markmann and a single from junior Freddie Yahn loaded the bases for Scheuer, who was hit by Broderick’s first pitch to bring home a run.

Broderick was then replaced by junior pitcher Brandon DeKovics, who gave up four runs, two of which were unearned after an error in the outfield following a hit by Middletown South's David Mangarelli. After the big scoring inning for the Eagles, deRocco closed the game with back-to-back strikeouts.

After a rocky 0-4 start to the season, the Eagles have since come back with 13 wins in their past 14 games, including 11 in a row.

“[In the MCT semifinals], we just need to play our game,” deRocco said. “If we do that, then we can take it.”

The Eagles’ regular season continues with a big Class A North match-up on Monday against Christian Brothers Academy after losing 1-0 to the Colts in their first meeting. The Colts also advanced to the other half of the MCT semifinals, where they will face the winner of the Red Bank Catholic-Manalapan quarterfinal. St. John Vianney, the defending Non-Public A champion, will look to get back on track after four straight losses when it faces Raritan on the road on Monday in Class A Central.