Red Bank Named Week 1 Joe Leone’s Baseball Team of the Week | Shore Sports Insider
Week 1 Joe Leone’s Team of the Week: Red Bank Baseball
Shore Sports Insider is proud to partner with Joe Leone’s this spring to present our weekly Joe Leone’s Baseball Team of the Week Award, recognizing standout Shore Conference programs for their accomplishments on the field
We are also thrilled to welcome Joe Leone’s Italian Specialties as our title sponsor, providing a generous $250 gift card each week to celebrate the winning team.
The Week 1 recipient of the 2026 Joe Leone’s Baseball Team of the Week is Red Bank after a week in which the Bucs went 3-0 after sweeping Shore and defeating Mahwah.
Red Bank defeated Shore on opening day, 8-4, as Casey Lillis put Red Bank on top with a first-inning, RBI double, Sean Keatts scattered eight hits over five strong innings and the Bucs broke out with a five-run fourth inning.
Shore starter Ryan Barham gave himself a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the top of the first but Red Bank struck back for two runs, first on an RBI ground out by Chris Doody, followed by Lillis’s go-ahead double.
Joe Henry extended the lead to 3-1 with an RBI single in the second and plated the first run of the fourth with an RBI ground out to make it 4-2. Doody followed with a two-run double for a 6-2 lead and Matt Huss extended it to 7-2 with an RBI single. Lillis capped the scoring with a ground ball RBI, which turned into an error that allowed him to reach.
Jack Monahan finished off the final two innings and overcame three Red Bank errors in the seventh — including a catcher’s interference — to close out the win.
In the second matchup, Red Bank won 7-2 as Matt Huss ripped RBI doubles in both the first and fourth innings and winning pitcher Casey Lillis drove in runs in both the first and third.
Huss drove in the first run of the game with an RBI double, followed by an RBI single by Lillis to stake Red Bank to an early 2-0 lead. Shore catcher Riley Smaltini came through with a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the first to tie the game.
Lillis broke the tie with an RBI ground out in the third and Huss roped a two-run double to make it 7-2 in the top of the fourth. Earlier in the fourth, Joe Henry knocked in a pair of runs with a single, as the Bucs built up a five-run cushion for Lillis on the mound.
In the 3-2 win against Mahway, Chris Doody hit a go-ahead RBI single in Red Bank’s two-run fifth inning and the Bucs rallied from a two-run deficit to beat the Thunderbirds.
Red Bank tied the game on the batter prior to Doody’s single, with Jack Forsyth scoring on an error after he tripled with one out. Joe Henry was credited with the tying RBI on his misplayed ground ball that scored Forsyth.
Mahwah struck first on a two-run home run by Ryan Hawken in the top of the third inning. The Bucs inched a run closer in the bottom of the third, when Jake Senkelski singled and scored on a two-out error.
On Tuesday, Shore Sports Insider visited practice to present Red Bank Regional’s Head Coach Nick Tucker and the team with a $250 Joe Leone’s Italian Specialties Gift Card, courtesy of our partners at Joe Leone’s, for a well-earned team meal.
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