Baseball – 2022 Shore Conference Tournament Championship Preview: Jackson Memorial vs. Red Bank Catholic
2022 Shore Conference Tournament Championship
Sunday, May 29, 2022
At ShoreTown Ballpark, Lakewood, 7 p.m.
No. 4 Red Bank Catholic vs. No. 7 Jackson Memorial
Teams at a Glance
Red Bank Catholic (19-8, 10-4 in Class A Central)
Head Coach: Buddy Hausmann, 14th season
SCT Championships: 3 (2011, 2019, 2021)
SCT Championship Appearances: 7 (1985, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021)
Road to the Final
Round of 16: The Caseys broke open a 4-2 game with eight runs in the bottom of the fourth and closed out a 12-2 win over No. 14 Marlboro in five innings. Alex Stanyek led the offense by going 3-for-4 with a double, home run and four RBI, while sophomore Declan Leary allowed two runs on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts over five innings on the mound. Sean Griggs also went 3-for-4 with two doubles and Frank Scrivanic was 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Quarterfinals: Stanyek gave up a solo home run to Jerry Winchester in the top of the second inning and did not allow another hit in pitching the Caseys to a 7-1 win over No. 5 Wall. Frank Scrivanic drove in three runs, including a two-run single in a six-run fifth inning that broke a 1-1 tie. Senior Jack Meyers also had a two-run double in the fifth.
Semifinals: Leary pitched a four-hit shutout in six innings and RBC routed top-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven, 10-0. The Caseys chased Wake-Forest-bound ace Charlie Jones after three innings, then finished off the Bulldogs by scoring in the bottom of the sixth to end the game. Frank Scrivanic went 3-for-4 with an RBI triple, while Matt Scrivanic, Stanyek and Matt Brunner each went 2-for-4, with Stanyek and Brunner each driving in two and Matt Scrivanic knocking in one.
Likely Starting Pitcher
Alex Stanyek, Jr., RHP (2-0, 0.72 ERA, 29.1 IP, 7 H, 14 BB, 46 K)
Available Pitchers (with available pitch count)
Declan Leary, So., RHP (110)
Steve Svenson, So., RHP (110)
Ashton Mejias, Sr., RHP (110)
Dom Mallamachi, Jr., RHP (110)
Dylan Passo, Fr., LHP (110)
Ryan Prior, Fr., RHP (97)
Ineligible Pitchers
None
Projected Lineup (Based on Recent Lineups)
Alex Stanyek, Jr., P/DH (.383, 7 2B, 4 HR, 25 R, 27 RBI, 8 SB)
Sean Griggs, So., 3B (.393, 9 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 29 R, 24 RBI, 7 SB)
Shane Andrus, Jr., C (.333, 3 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 17 R, 30 RBI, 7 SB)
Matt Scrivanic, Sr., SS (.274, 3 2B, 24 R, 14 RBI, 7 SB)
Frank Scrivanic, Jr., 1B (.323, 1 2B, 1 3B, 17 R, 11 RBI, 0 SB)
Jack Meyers, Sr., LF (.372, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 21 R, 11 RBI, 6 SB)
Nico Gonzalez, Sr., 2B (.306, 2 2B, 10 R, 11 RBI, 1 SB)
Dylan Passo, Fr., RF (.317, 3 2B, 2 3B, 21 R, 14 RBI, 5 SB)
Matt Brunner, So., CF (.357, 14 R, 11 RBI, 6 SB)
Shore Conference Tournament History
Red Bank Catholic is, officially, the two-time defending Shore Conference Tournament champion heading into Sunday’s championship game. The Caseys won the 2019 final, did not get a chance to defend said title in 2020 when the season was canceled during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, then won it again in 2021.
In both championship victories, RBC handed the ball to current Kansas City Royals prospect Shane Panzini, who pitched a shutout in both victories – the first over Manalapan during his sophomore season and the second coming against Middletown South as a senior.
Red Bank Catholic’s first ever Shore Conference Tournament title came in 2011 at the expense of Jackson Memorial, which the Caseys defeated, 2-1, to join the ranks of teams that have won the SCT. Sunday’s game will mark the eighth time Red Bank Catholic is playing in the SCT championship game, which trails only Christian Brothers Academy (10) and Toms River South (17) in the history of the tournament. It’s also the sixth time Red Bank Catholic is in the championship game since 2011 – the most of any Shore Conference program during that stretch.
Jackson Memorial (19-7, 11-3 in Class A South)
Head Coach: Pat George, second season
SCT Championships: 3 (1984, 2009, 2012)
SCT Championship Appearances: 5 (1984, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
Road to the Semifinals
First Round: Mike Arent and J.R. Osmond each hit a grand slam to lead a 13-run outburst and Zach McCabe fired five solid innings on the mound as the Jaguars beat No. 26 Pinelands, 13-3, in six innings.
Round of 16: Charlie Meglio (2-for-4) and Aidan O’Donnell (3-for-3) set the tone with early solo home runs off left-hander A.J. Gracia and Zach Crotchfelt gave up two runs on five hits and four walks with nine strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings as Jackson Memorial handled No. 10 Ranney, 9-2.
Quarterfinals: Tommy Kendrick drilled a grand slam off UCF commit Cam Leiter in the second inning and the Jaguars beat Central’s ace in an 8-3, rubber-match win over No. 15 Golden Eagles after splitting the regular-season series with them in Class A South play. Anthony Mehmet navigated through five innings and Sage Goeke pitched two scoreless to keep Central’s lineup at bay.
Semifinals: The Jaguars scored in each of the first four innings to build up a 7-0, which was too much for No. 22 Donovan Catholic to overcome against Crotchfelt in a 7-3 Jackson Memorial win. The Griffins did tag Crotchfelt for a pair of earned runs, but the left-hander finished with 13 strikeouts, three walks and just three hits allowed in six innings of work. He also went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI while junior Matt Koblos contributed a two-run double and junior catcher Aidan O’Donnell chipped in with an RBI double.
Likely Starting Pitcher
Zach Crotchfelt, Sr., LHP (8-1, 0.89 ERA, 55 IP, 23 H, 25 BB, 110 K)
Available Pitchers (with available pitch count)
Zach McCabe, Sr., LHP (73)
Trevin Rieger, Sr., RHP (110)
Anthony Mehmet, Jr., LHP (110)
Sage Goeke, Sr., RHP (110)
Charlie Meglio, Jr., RHP (110)
Andy Osmond, Jr., LHP (110)
Dean Daddio, Sr., RHP (110)
Devin Foderaro, Sr., RHP (110)
Ineligible Pitchers
None
Projected Lineup (Based on Recent Lineups)
Tommy Kendrick, Sr., RF (.297, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 29 R, 17 RBI, 5 SB)
Chris Cartnick, Sr., 2B (.308, 3 2B, 1 3B, 21 R, 7 RBI, 2 SB)
Charlie Meglio, Jr., SS (.425, 10 2B, 6 HR, 25 R, 29 RBI, 1 SB)
J.R. Osmond, Jr., 3B (.388, 6 2B, 2 HR, 20 R, 22 RBI, 1 SB)
Zach Crotchfelt, Sr., P (.369, 6 2B, 3 HR, 16 R, 22 RBI, 5 SB)
Aidan O’Donnell, Jr., C (.343, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 R, 18 RBI, 1 SB)
Andrew Patire, Sr., DH (.209, 2 2B, 7 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB)/Nick Izzo, So., 1B
Mike Arent, Jr., CF (.271, 3 2B, 3 HR, 13 R, 13 RBI, 1 SB)
Matt Koblos, Jr., LF (.310, 3 2B, 1 HR, 14 R, 20 RBI, 3 SB)
Shore Conference Tournament History
It has been a decade since Jackson Memorial has played in the Shore Conference Tournament championship game, with the 2012 Jaguars claiming the title with a victory over Toms River North. That game marked the fourth straight season Jackson Memorial reached the SCT final, which is one year shy of the record for most consecutive championship appearances, held by Toms River South from 1980 to 1984. Toms River South also reached four straight finals from 1996 to 1999.
The 2012 championship was a measure of redemption for the returnees from the prior year, who lost to Red Bank Catholic in the 2011 championship game – the only other time the Caseys and Jaguars have met in an SCT title game.
Although it has been 10 years since Jackson Memorial has played in an SCT final, the Jaguars have been an accomplished program during that SCT drought. They won the 2014 NJSIAA Group IV championship, the 2015 Ocean County Tournament championship, the 2018 South Jersey Group IV championship, and the group that would have been the 2020 team reached the overall championship game of the statewide Last Dance Word Series in the summer of 2020.
Jackson Memorial’s first Shore Conference Tournament championship came in 1984 and when the Jaguars won their second in 2009, they became the team with the longest gap between SCT championship seasons – a mark that still stands today.
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