Baseball – VOTE: Ocean County Sports Medicine Week 7 Pitcher of the Week
Each week during the 2022 high school baseball season, Shore Sports Network will recognize the top pitchers in each Shore Conference division and give fans a chance to pick the overall winner of the Shore Sports Network Baseball Pitcher of the Week. The nominees include a Pitcher of the Week from each of the six Shore Conference divisions, plus two wild cards who are worthy of consideration as well.
Check out this week's group of nominees and vote for the one you think stands out in the poll at the bottom of the post. Voting will carry into Friday afternoon, with the polls closing at noon. The winner will receive a Player of the Week shirt courtesy of Ocean County Sports Medicine.
Class A North Pitcher of the Week
Ben Schild, Middletown South
For the second time in two years, Schild took the ball in a championship game and pitched Middletown South to a trophy. The junior right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings in Wednesday’s Monmouth County Tournament final, allowing one unearned run on five hits and three walks while striking out 11.
Class A North Honorable Mention: Lawrence Ellison, Marlboro; Mike Weinbel, Middletown North; Colin Reilly, CBA
Class A Central Pitcher of the Week
Rob Stock, Shore
Stock pitched a five-inning no-hitter with 13 strikeouts and two walks as Shore rolled to an 18-0 win over Mater Dei Prep.
Class A Central Honorable Mention: J.V. Lobifaro, Holmdel; Charlie Jones, Rumson-Fair Haven; John Goodes, Rumson-Fair Haven; Jackson Hinchcliffe, Rumson-Fair Haven; Alex Stanyek, Red Bank Catholic
Class A South Pitcher of the Week
Anthony Musso, Central
Pitching in one of the best hitter’s parks in the state, Musso quieted a potent Howell lineup and gave his lineup a chance to go off in a 19-2 rout for Central against the No. 2 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament and No. 1 ranked team in the Shore Sports Network Top 10 at the time. Musso gave up two runs on six hits and four walks with four strikeouts to earn the win.
Class A South Honorable Mention: Kyle Knowsley, Brick; Zach Crotchfelt, Jackson Memorial; Anthony Mehmet, Jackson Memorial; Brandon Safoschnik, Toms River East; Alex Valenti, Toms River East; Steven Miller, Southern; Brady Lesiak, Southern
Class B North Pitcher of the Week
Aiden Cody, St. John Vianney
The official stats will say that Cody pitched four innings against Colts Neck in the SCT round of 16 and then shut it down for the rest of the week. In reality, Cody allowed on earned run with five strikeouts and no walks in picking up the win at Colts Neck, then came back on two-days rest and threw four shutout innings at Rumson-Fair Haven in the next round. The game was called due to poor weather conditions and restarted the next day, taking Cody out of the running to pitch and wiping out those four scoreless frames.
Class B North Honorable Mention: Luca Marshall, Manasquan; Antonio Kurtz, St. John Vianney; Nick Ferraioli, St. John Vianney; Greyson Sandoz, Red Bank
Class B Central Pitcher of the Week
Marcello Mastroianni, Ranney
Mastroianni kept one of the Shore’s top lineups in check Saturday, when he pitched Ranney to a win over Middletown South. Mastroianni allowed one run on a home run to Shore leader Joe Stanzione and nothing else. The junior left-hander gave up three hits and two walks while striking out six in the Panthers win.
Class B Central Honorable Mention: James Larsen, Point Beach; Brandon Hendrickson, Henry Hudson
Class B South Pitcher of the Week
Bryson Kirby, Point Boro
Kirby gave up three runs in the first inning against Colonia on Saturday, then caught fire on the way to a career-high 15 strikeouts and a win in a 4-3, walk-off victory for Point Boro over the Colonials.
Class B South Honorable Mention: Shaun O’Keefe, Donovan Catholic; Jason Basillicata, Donovan Catholic; Mike Todaro, Lacey; P.J. Craig, Barnegat
Wild Cards
Brady Lesiak, Southern
Another pitcher who gets props for beating Middletown South on the road, Lesiak took a shutout into the seventh inning against the Eagles last week in the Shore Conference Tournament round of 16 and walked out with a win when teammate Stephen Stafford came in to record the final out of the game.
James Larsen, Point Beach
Point Beach wont three straight games against the three Toms River public school teams, completing the rare Toms River sweep – a big deal for any team in Ocean County, particularly a Group I school like Point Beach. Larsen is back in the Pitcher of the Week running for pitching the Garnet Gulls to a win over Toms River North and then coming in for the save in an extra-inning win at Toms River South four days later.
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