Monmouth wins Sectional Title, SCT Championship Monday night

Monmouth Regional is the last local team standing in the NJSIAA Tournament and Toms River North and Jackson Liberty are set for a showdown for Shore Conference supremacy on Monday after an exciting week of tournament baseball.

Seventh-seeded Jackson Liberty is in its first Shore Conference Tournament final in program history and will face fifth-seeded Toms River North, which is back in the SCT final for the second straight year. The two square off at 8 p.m. at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood on Monday in a game that could decide the final No. 1 ranking in the Shore Conference for 2013.

Jackson Liberty has ridden the stellar pitching of junior righty Danny Serreino to the doorstep of history, as he has picked up wins over St. Rose, Red Bank Catholic and Christian Brothers Academy in the tournament. He allowed one run in six innings against CBA in the semifinals before senior Tyler Pallante got out of a first-and-third, no-out jam and closed out a 3-1 win.

The offense has been led by Jordan Mundell and Angel Garced, and has come up with timely hits to back up the pitching. The Class B South champions were routed in the first round of the Central Jersey Group III tournament by Lawrence, but have surged to within one win of their first SCT title. Serreino should get the ball again on Monday night with Pallante ready to go if needed.

The Lions will face a determined Toms River North team looking to finish the job and win its first SCT title since 2005 after getting shut out by Jackson Memorial ace Brandon Holup in last year’s championship game. The Mariners will have a strong claim to the final No. 1 ranking if they can add a Shore Conference title to their Ocean County Tournament crown.

Much like Jackson Liberty, Toms River North has also ridden an elite pitcher into the final as Duke recruit Karl Blum helped them vanquish Jackson Memorial 6-3 in the semifinals for their second tournament victory over the Jaguars this season. Blum allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings while also crushing a solo home run to help his cause in the victory at Count Basie Park in Red Bank. First baseman Anthony Ferlise was also 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored to power the win.

Blum threw on Thursday but certainly could come back on short rest for Monday night’s championship. There is no tomorrow for either team, as Toms River North was knocked out by eventual South Jersey Group IV champion Eastern in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. The Mariners also have Steve Slagmolen, Jordan Silvestri and Brett Hyers on hand if needed. Delaware recruit Ron Marinaccio has not pitched because of arm issues, but there is always the possibility he could make one final appearance.

On the state playoff front, Monmouth Regional became the only Shore Conference team to win a sectional title this season when the Falcons went on the road and beat Ewing 4-3 in Central Jersey Group II. Monmouth’s first sectional crown since 2005 was especially sweet for 30-year head coach Ted Jarmusz, who told his team before the tournament that he is retiring after the season. Jarmusz, who is fifth all time in Shore Conference history with 464 wins, celebrated the third sectional title of his tenure.

"In all honesty, when I told them I was done, I said they were the seniors I wanted to go out with because of the way they carried themselves and how hard they practice,'' Jarmusz said. "They are just all about baseball, and I think they proved that today."

Senior right-hander Brian Quinn led the way over Ewing with a complete-game five-hitter in the 90-degree heat in which he only allowed one earned run and overcame eight errors by his defense. He also hit an RBI single during a four-run fourth inning to help his own cause.

“We wanted to get this one more than anything for (Jarmusz),'' Quinn said. "It was the last chance to send him out with a championship."

Thanks to Quinn’s performance, Monmouth will have undefeated ace Tom Broyles (8-0) on the mound Tuesday when they take on Cinnaminson in the Group II semifinals at The College of New Jersey. The Falcons are trying to reach their first Group final since winning Group III in 2005 for the program’s only Group championship.

Three other Shore Conference teams reached sectional championship games before falling just short. Wall fell 4-3 in Central Jersey Group III to a Northern Burlington team that won its first sectional title in program history. Sophomore catcher Dan Wondrack went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the loss for Wall, which is a sophomore- and junior-laden team that returns nearly its entire lineup next season and should be right back in the hunt.

Brick Memorial’s impressive run to the Central Jersey Group IV final as the 14^th seed came to a heartbreaking end as the Mustangs nearly pulled off one more upset, falling 2-1 to ninth-seeded Hunterdon Central. Brick Memorial had the tying run on third with one out in the seventh but could not scratch across the run. The Mustangs received a strong pitching performance in defeat from junior Anthony Assante, who gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings, and Corey Zytko, who threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

The Mustangs lose ace Brian Cottrell and position standouts like Kyle Skoog, Ryan Melia and Mike Martone to graduation. Cottrell was brilliant in a 2-0 win over second-seeded Jackson Memorial in the semifinals with a complete-game four-hitter on 75 pitches to end Brick Memorial’s 13-game losing streak against the Jaguars. Despite losing him and the others, the future is still bright with Assante, star junior centerfielder Kyle Cala, shortstop Tyler Hobbs, junior outfielder Joe Pipher and the precocious young trio of Matt Cuppari, Nick Matteo and Brian Markoski all returning.

Shore Regional also made an unlikely run to the Central Jersey Group I championship game before falling 4-0 to top-seeded Middlesex. The Blue Devils started the season 1-10, but rallied to make a push to the sectional final thanks to the core of Matt Cosentino, Chris Vaccaro, Mike Blaney, T.J. Sempkowski, Andrew Schulz and James Kelly. Vaccaro threw a complete-game five-hitter in a 5-1 upset of second-seeded New Egypt in the semifinals, Cosentino and Kelly each had two hits, and Blaney smacked a solo homer.

Shore’s run came to an end at the hand of Middlesex’s ace, Rutgers recruit Tommy Marcinczyk, who threw a three-hit shutout for the Blue Jays. While Sempkowski, Blaney, Vaccaro and Ben Hess will all be lost to graduation, the Blue Devils return Cosentino, a George Washington University recruit, along with Schulz, Kelly and junior Nick Blaney as centerpieces to build around for next season.