The Shore Daily, 4/7/15
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Solid wins by Raritan, Matawan and Shore Regional baseball highlighted Monday's action along with Middletown North moving to 3-0 after winning seven games all of last season.
Tuesday's morning baseball action also has produced some scores with early division title race implications as Point Beach routed defending champion St. Rose 11-0 in five innings in Class B Central, while Barnegat handed Manchester its first loss with a 2-0 win in Class B South. Also, No. 3 Toms River North remained unbeaten by handing No. 7 Toms River South its first loss, 9-2, in Class A South thanks to a brilliant game by Brett Hyers, who threw a complete game on only 59 pitches, while Brandon Fischer went 4-for-4 with three RBI, and Ryan Larsen slugged a three-run homer.
Here are the top 10 performers from Monday's action along with some extra baseball notes.
1. Anthony Hirujo, Jr., P, Matawan
Hirujo's first varsity start was a memorable one as he only allowed one run on eight hits over six innings with no walks and a pair of strikeouts to lead Matawan to a 2-1 takedown of No. 6 Wall, the defending division champion, in Class B North.
2. Mike Kelleher, Sr., P, Raritan
Kelleher struck out nine and scattered eight hits in a complete game to power an 8-3 victory over No. 8 Manasquan in Class A Central. Jon Rodriguez, Ryan Ruziecki and Bo Bentley each chipped in with two hits and a combined five RBI, and Mason Sheehan belted a solo homer as the Rockets zoomed to a 7-0 lead and did not look back.
3. Travis Carroll, Sr., P, Long Branch
Carroll got the Green Wave into the win column by tossing a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out eight, in a 6-0 victory over Red Bank in Class B North. He also went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI at the plate to improve Long Branch to 1-2 for the season.
4. Evan Lepkoski, Sr., A, Middletown South
Lepkoski helped lead the Eagles, who are only in their second season of varsity play, to a thrilling 9-8 nondivisional win over Shore Regional. He had four goals, including the game-tying goal with 50 seconds left in the game to set things up for Zach Nanney's game-winner five seconds later.
5. Devin McLaughlin, Jr., P, Shore Regional
McLaughlin allowed only one earned run in six hits in a complete-game victory, striking out four, to pick up his first varsity win in an 8-2 victory over Rumson-Fair Haven in Class A Central. He also had a pair of hits and two runs scored in the win.
6. Ryan Bedle, Jr., G, Point Boro
Bedle led a strong defensive effort as the Panthers, who are in their first season as a varsity program, beat Long Branch, 4-1, to pick up their first victory in program history.
7. John Moschella, Sr., 1B, CBA
Moschella has been on fire to start the season, bringing his strong play back from the Colts' trip to Florida to go 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and five RBI in a 9-4 win over Freehold Township in CBA's Class A North opener.
8. Andrew Nardi, Sr., P, Marlboro
The Radford-bound Mustangs' ace allowed one earned run in a complete-game five-hitter that powered a 3-2 victory over Freehold Boro in Class A North and improved the No. 9 Mustangs to 3-0.
9. Matt Schroepfer, Sr., G, Freehold Township
Schroepfer made six saves as the Patriots slowed down the Jackson Memorial attack in an 8-2 nondivisional win over the Jaguars.
10. (tie) Joe Ruth, Jr., C, Mater Dei Prep; Kyle Capo, Jr., 3B, Middletown North
Ruth pounded out three hits in three at-bats, with a double and four RBI, to lead the way in a 16-8 win over Keansburg in Class B Central. Capo went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI to help lead a 10-5 win over Howell that improved the Lions to 3-0.
Notes: Middletown North is one of the early surprise teams in Class A North with their 3-0 start on the heels of a seven-win season. Under new head coach Justin Nathanson, an offense that has struggled to score against the quality pitching in the division has come alive thus far. Freshman Tyler Ras has been a good addition at the plate and on the mound to a team that only returned four starters, led by Capo.
St. John Vianney has kept up the momentum from last year's finish as the Non-Public A champs and No. 1 team in the state despite rolling out an almost entirely new lineup because of graduation. The Lancers picked up a 10-5 win over Holmdel on Monday, led by junior Victor Jamandron, who went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases.
So far it looks like the Class B North race is going to be a tight one, as Red Bank Catholic has a one-run, extra-inning win over Matawan, which picked up a one-run win over defending champion Wall on Monday. Those three teams should be right in the thick of it along with Colts Neck, which has looked sharp so far on the mound and at the plate. The No. 4 Cougars rolled to a 10-4 nondivisional win over St. Rose on Monday to remain unbeaten.
More on Tuesday:
- Toms River South grad Todd Frazier led the Reds to an Opening Day-victory with a clutch home run late in the game.
- Freehold Township grad Brad Brach and the Orioles beat Manalapan grad David DeJesus and the Rays in the opener. Brach and DeJesus faced off in the game.
- Pitcher for St. Joe's-Metuchen threw a no-hitter against Piscataway on Monday.
- Former Giants cornerback Will Allen has been charged with allegedly running a Ponzi scheme that racked up $31 million.
- Leave it to the Miami Marlins to have a rain delay even though they have a retractable roof.
- Baylor may have a 410-pound starting tight end this fall.
- How do you put a price on the lost years of someone's life when they've been wrongfully convicted?
On tap for today: Most of today's action is wrapped up because it was in the morning, so here are the scoreboards. As for tonight, Manasquan grad Michaela Mabrey and Notre Dame will face off against UConn for the NCAA title at 8:30 on ESPN.
I'll end with One Shining Moment and Todd Frazier's winning bomb for the Reds from last night.
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