Baseball – 2022 All-Shore Homepage
Shore Sports Network has released its 2022 Baseball All-Shore Team -- the centerpiece of the postseason awards following the completion of a memorable season of baseball at the Shore.
Over the last three months, we saw witnessed some major feats by both players and team.
A 28-year-old home-run record fell when Middletown South's Joe Stanzione crushed 15 homers and another player -- Ranney's A.J. Gracia -- hit 12 home runs to set himself up for a possible run at the career home run record next season. Gracia also stole a whopping 40 bases and finished first or second in the conference in every offensive category other than doubles (tied for third) and triples.
A trio of pitchers put on a season-long showcase of dominance, with Colts Neck left-hander Anthony Gubitosi posting an ERA under 0.50, Jackson Memorial left-hander Zach Crotchfelt leading the state in strikeouts and Middletown South junior Ben Schild mowing down some of the best lineups in the state start after start.
Not only did the Shore Conference claim three of the six NJSIAA Group championships, but the three teams that won championships each did so for the first time ever.
Ranney put it all together in June and completed a 26-5 season by winning a thrilling sectional final over Gloucester Catholic, then steamrolling Immaculata in the Non-Public B final to win its first state championship.
Group III champion Middletown North started the season 5-8 and was 9-10 at the Shore Conference Tournament cutoff, which prevented the Lions from participating in the SCT. From that point on, Middletown North did not lose. The Lions rattled off 12 straight wins to close out the season, capped by their first sectional championship since 1989, their first trip to a state final since 1983 and their first ever group title.
Howell was a contender for the No. 1 spot in the Shore Conference since starting the season 9-0 and after some bumps in the road, the Rebels got hot and finished the season with eight straight wins and their first ever Group IV championship despite losing their top two starting pitchers to injury in back-to-back games late in the postseason.
Point Pleasant Beach and Rumson-Fair Haven also made history in the state tournament. Point Beach defeated four-time defending sectional champion Middlesex in the Central Jersey Group I final to win the Garnet Gulls' first ever sectional championship as a program.
Rumson, meanwhile, was down to its last strike in three consecutive at-bats and somehow pulled off a miraculous, 4-3, win over Wall to win its first Central Jersey Group II championship since 2004.
Within the Shore Conference, Red Bank Catholic won its third straight Shore Conference Tournament championship to join Toms River South and Christian Brothers Academy as the only programs to win three consecutive SCT titles. Middletown South captured its first Monmouth County Tournament title since 2011 and Jackson Memorial won the Ocean County Tournament title for the first time since 2015.
Such a decorated season is worth another look, and you can get that by checking out Shore Sports Network's end-of-season content below.
2022 Shore Sports Network All-Shore Team
2022 Shore Sports Network Baseball Award Winners
Player of the Year: Cam Leiter, Central
Pitcher of the Year: Zach Crotchfelt, Jackson Memorial
Coach of the Year: Eric Johnson, Howell
2022 Shore Conference Baseball Coaches All-Division Teams
2022 Shore Sports Network Final Top 10
2022 Shore Conference Baseball by the Numbers
2022 Shore Conference Stat Leaders: Offense
2022 Shore Conference Stat Leaders: Pitching
2022 All-Shore Primer: Division-by-Division Stats
2022 Shore Conference Baseball Standings
Shore Sports Network would also like to thank our contributing photographers: Richard O'Donnell, Ray Richardson and Tom Smith. Please check out their galleries with the links below.
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