Baseball – VOTE: Week 5 Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey Player and Pitcher of the Week

As the season marches toward full postseason mode, there is only one week left of divisional games before the Shore Conference Tournament and NJSIAA Tournament take over the local baseball landscape. Now that the Ocean County Tournament is underway, both counties now have some tournament games that count toward the Player and Pitcher of the Week nominations, which you can see below.

Vote for the player and pitcher you think had the best stretch from April 30 to May 6 and keep voting all the way through the deadline on Thursday night at 10 p.m.

Class A North Player of the Week

Anthony Galason, Colts Neck

The Cougars slipped to three games under .500 during the last week, but that was despite Galason’s best efforts. The senior outfielder went 7-for-11 with a triple and a home run, driving in four runs and scored seven over four games last week.

Class A North Pitcher of the Week

Nick Aiello, Freehold Boro

Aiello did damage on the mound and at the play in an April 30 win over Marlboro for the Colonials. He fired a three-hitter with one unearned run allowed, two walks and seven strikeouts and also went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI in a win.

A North Honorable Mention: Joe Escandon, CBA; Braedin Hunt, CBA; Jack Smith, Neptune; Giovanni Ciaccio, Manalapan; Ben Levine, Manalapan; Ramon Fontanes, Marlboro; Matt LaPoff, Marlboro; Phil Marcantonio, Freehold Boro; Anthony Galason, Colts Neck; Ryan Kurczeski, Freehold Twp.; Cristian Corcione, Freehold Twp.; Chris Goodman, Freehold Twp.

Class A Central Player of the Week

Gordon Forsyth, Rumson Fair-Haven

Over the course of four games, Forsyth put up numbers that would represent and All-Shore season in most years. The sophomore went 11-for-16 with four doubles, a home run and a whopping 17 RBI during the week, including 4-for-5 with a home run, double and nine RBI in an 18-17 win over Matawan on May 2.

Class A Central Pitcher of the Week

Dan VanMeerbeke, Raritan

The Rockets senior was a workhorse last week, throwing 13 2/3 innings during which he allowed three runs on eight hits. He worked 5 2/3 in a win over Shore on April 30 and worked all eight in an extra-inning, 2-1 loss to St. Rose on Saturday, with the winning run scoring on a wild pitch. After allowing a run in the first inning, VanMeerbeke threw six straight scoreless frames before St. Rose broke through. VanMeerbeke also went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI in a 9-2 win over St. John Vianney that clinched Raritan a share of the A Central title.

A Central Honorable Mention: Jake Tennant, Raritan; Zack Johnston, Raritan; D.J. Dekis, Raritan; Alex DiBona, Holmdel; Jay Kalieta, Matawan, Chris Gendi, Matawan; Jack Povey, Red Bank; Robby Smith, Rumson-Fair Haven; Andrew Schmid, Rumson-Fair Haven; Dan Harby, Rumson-Fair Haven; Alex Burnett, Rumson-Fair Haven; Logan Marter, St. John Vianney; Luciano Fabrizzi, St. John Vianney; Michael DiPede, St. John Vianney; Matt McCormack, St. John Vianney; Brendan Martin, St. John Vianney; James LaBruno, Shore; Christian Bauman, Shore

Class A South Player of the Week

Craig Larsen, Toms River North

It’s hard to be much better at the plate than Larsen was over four games last week. He went 9-for-12 with 14 RBI and eight of those nine hits went for extra-bases, including three home runs. Larsen’s big game came against Brick Memorial on May, when the senior shortstop went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double and eight RBI during a 21-4 Toms River North rout. Larsen also earned the win on the mound in that game.

Class A South Pitcher of the Week

Nick DeGennaro, Toms River East

After missing the first three weeks of the season while recovering from an appendectomy, DeGennaro eased his way back into the lineup and finally jumped in with both feet last week. The Stony Brook commit threw two complete games in his first two starts of the season last week, pitching a three-hitter in a win over Toms River South and a four-hitter in an Ocean County Tournament win over Point Boro. For the week, he allowed two runs on seven hits with five walks and 20 strikeouts over 14 innings.

A South Honorable Mention: Mike Sullivan, Brick Memorial; T.J. Rosace, Brick Memorial; Trevor Sherman, Brick Memorial; Chris Salsano, Brick; John Coppola, Brick; Tom Ruscitti, Central; Ryan Galati, Central; A.J. Smith, Central; Mike Dimino, Jackson Memorial; Nick Beetel, Jackson Memorial; Carmin Petosa, Jackson Memorial; Marcos Matias, Southern; Austin Pharo, Southern; A.J. Mandell, Southern; Matt Santos, Toms River East; Ahmir Cournier, Toms River East; Ryan Goodall, Toms River East; Aidan Meola, Toms River East; Justin Schaff, Toms River North; Brendan Mullins, Toms River North; Jared Bellissimo, Toms River North; T.J. Scuderi, Toms River South; Colin Mackle, Toms River South

Class B North Player of the Week

Anthony Guarino, Monmouth Regional

Although Monmouth opened the week by losing to St. Rose in the Monmouth County Tournament quarterfinals, the Falcons had a strong showing last week that included a 3-0 performance within the division. Guarino led the way, going 6-for-15 in four games with two doubles, a home run and eight RBI.

Class B North Pitcher of the Week

Trey Dombroski, Wall

Sincerest apologies to the rest of B North: it feels like time to recognize somebody other than Dombroski as pitcher of the week, but the junior left-hander is making it impossible. Last week, Dombroski pitched two shutouts, one a two-hit shutout against a Red Bank Catholic team that has been otherwise on fire and another a three-hit shutout of East Brunswick. Over the two games, Dombroski allowed five hits and one walk over 14 scoreless innings and struck out 12.

B North Honorable Mention: Tommy Antonucci, Manasquan; Will Hopkinson, Manasquan; James Harmstead, Manasquan; Jake Dillon, Middletown North; Brendan Doherty, Middletown North; Danny Frontera, Middletown North; James Horniacek, Long Branch; Andy Lenneper, Wall; Ryan Napolitano, Wall; Joe Sprake, Middletown South; Chris O’Connor; Justin Scotto, Monmouth; Dante Ciaramella, Monmouth; Charlie Kelly, Monmouth; Mark Butler, Ocean; Max Winters, Ocean; Kevin D’Auria, Ocean; David Glancy, Red Bank Catholic; Jack Scrivanic, Red Bank Catholic; Ryan O’Hara, Red Bank Catholic; Alex Gonzales, Red Bank Catholic; Chris Sparber, Red Bank Catholic

Class B Central Player of the Week

Riley Maypother, St. Rose

Maypother bookended the week with big performances in the Monmouth County Tournament, first going 4-for-4 with a leadoff home run and four runs scored in an 8-4 win over Monmouth, then going 1-for-2 with a run scored and eight strikeouts over the first three innings in a 2-1, extra-inning win over Raritan in the MCT semifinals on Saturday. In between, Maypother went 5-for-6 with two doubles and a triple in two division wins over Mater Dei and Keansburg, making him 10-for-12 with two doubles, a triple and a home run for the week.

Class B Central Pitcher of the Week

Greg Bender, Mater Dei Prep

Mater Dei stayed mathematically alive in pursuit of a share of the B Central title thanks to a 4-0 win over Keansburg. In that win, Bender pitched a three-hit shutout with five strikeouts and one walk and also went 1-for-2 at the plate. He capped the week by going 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 12-2 win over Ranney.

B Central Honorable Mention: Justin Young, Keyport; Mike Mohr, Henry Hudson; Zack Whitehead, Keyport; Colin Fernandez, Keyport; Brody Maypother, St. Rose; Will Gannon, St. Rose; Sam Sestito, St. Rose; Rian Rivera, Keansburg; Josh Yates, Point Beach; John Nista, Point Beach; Vincent Storino, Point Beach; Kenny MacPherson, Point Beach; Ethan Gavin, Ranney; Jacob Field, Ranney; Sean Turner, Mater Dei; Thomas Olausen, Mater Dei; Brandon Sansone, Mater Dei; Mario Bove, St. Rose

Class B South Player of the Week

Brandon Kinsman, Jackson Liberty

Kinsman was not a starter on opening day and has had to make the most of the occasional spot start, which he did last week, and then some. The sophomore homered in three consecutive games on three consecutive days against Lacey, Lakewood and Point Boro and finished the week 7-for-13 with two doubles, three homers, nine runs and 11 RBI for a Lions team that scored 79 runs in six games.

Class B South Pitcher of the Week

Sam Collins, Point Pleasant Boro

Collins pitched two complete games last week, winning one and taking a hard-luck loss in the other. He beat Pinelands o May 1 and came back on Sunday to allow only two runs in a 2-1 loss to Toms River East in the Ocean County Tournament quarterfinals. For the week, Collins allowed three runs on 15 hits while walking none and striking out 13 over 14 innings.

B South Honorable Mention: Rich Dordas, Jackson Liberty; Shane Hickey, Jackson Liberty; Alex Torres, Jackson Liberty; Anthony Diaz, Pinelands; Joey Ventresca, Pinelands; Trent Livolsi, Point Boro; Nick Guzzi, Point Boro; Evan Scala, Manchester; John Simonini, Manchester; James Johns, Manchester; Matt Scott, Barnegat; Nick Rapallo, Pinelands; Matt Morro, Donovan Catholic; Julian Zingler, Lakewood; Jorden Jurkiewicz, Lacey; Keith Apostolos, Lacey; Miles Feaster, Lacey