MCT & OCT Baseball Updates
Photo by Ray Rich Photography
Monmouth County
The top two seeds will meet in the finals Wednesday when #1 Ranney takes on 2nd seed Red Bank Catholic at Brookdale Community College (4pm). The Panthers, who are the top-ranked team in the state, used a bases-loaded wild pitch in the bottom of the 8th inning to edge Rumson-Fair Haven 4-3 Sunday in the semi-finals of the MCT. AJ Garcia’s home run had helped Ranney take a 3-0 lead before the Bulldogs rallied with single runs in the 5th, 6th, and 7th to send the game into extra innings.
The Panthers 11th straight win improves their record to 17-1 as they advance to the finals of the Monmouth County Tournament for the first time.
RBC earned its spot in the finals with a 3-0 shutout of CBA behind a combined two-hitter with winning pitcher Declan Leary going 5 1/3 innings before Steve Svenson got the final five outs. Clinging to a 1-0 lead the Caseys got some breathing room in the 6th when Matt Brunner singled in a pair of runs and that was it for the afternoon.
RBC will be aiming for its fourth MCT title on Wednesday while Ranney will seek its first county crown.
Ocean County
The Al Kunzman Ocean County Tournament got underway over the weekend with no upsets as all eight games were won by the higher seeds. 2nd seeded Donovan Catholic edged upset-minded 15th seed Barnegat 3-2 thanks to Ryan Butchko’s 3-run homer in a game which saw each team held to just three hits. In other first-round action:
(1) Jackson 11 (16) Pinelands 1
(8) Manchester 6 (9) TR East 1
(4) Southern 7 (13) Jackson Lib. 0
(5) Point Beach 4 (5) TR North 3
(3) Brick Mem. 16 (14) Brick 0
(6) Lacey 5 (11) TR South 2
(7) Central 9 (10) Point Boro 2
Tuesday’s quarterfinal schedule:
Manchester at Jackson Memorial (3:45)
Point Beach at Southern (3:45)
Lacey at Brick Memorial (3:45)
Central at Donovan Cath. (4pm)
The semifinals are scheduled for Friday with the championship on Tuesday, May 16 at Central Regional.
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