#image_title

One for the Money: RBC Wins 1-0 Marathon in Monmouth County Tournament

Matt Manley|April 26, 2026|Last Updated April 26, 2026

RED BANK — With his team needing only a run to end a 10-inning marathon game against Manalapan in the quarterfinal round of the Monmouth County Tournament, senior Jake Frankel would have served his team well to hit any ball to the right side of the field that was not a pop-up.

Frankel, though, does not see himself as the type to move the runner over. The Caseys’ designated hitter and clean-up hitter coming off a 30-RBI season in 2025, he was looking to end the game by driving in the first run of the morning-turned-afternoon at Count Basie Park and to hit the ball hard while doing it.

On a 2-2 pitch from Manalapan senior Peter Rispoli and with senior teammate and RBC catcher Aiden Funk on second base, Frankel scalded a line drive over the head of Braves senior second baseman Vin Matteis and into right field, scoring Funk with the winning run, ending the 10-inning struggle with a 1-0 RBC victory and sending the Caseys to the Monmouth County Tournament semifinal to continue their 2025 title defense.

Funk started the winning rally with a double down inside the third-base bag that rolled all the way into the corner, then waved off a courtesy runner to run for himself with Frankel striding to the plate.

Frankel fell behind 1-2, the laid off ball two. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, he delivered the best of both worlds: he gave his team the contact to the right side of the diamond and himself the hard contact that yielded the game-winning base hit. With the win, RBC is now 4-0 this season in games decided by one run.

“I’m always trying to hit something hard,” Frankel said. “I don’t go up to the plate just trying to poke something somewhere. I was trying to be the guy there. It’s what I do. I’m the designated hitter, so I hit.”

For 9 1/2 innings, four pitchers stifled the opposing lineups during a rubber match between the two Shore Conference Class A North foes. Saturday’s game resembled Red Bank Catholic’s 3-2 win over Manalapan on April 8 far more than it did Manalapan’s 17-2 rout of the Caseys on April 10. RBC’s regular-season win also ended on a walk-off at Count Basie Park, with senior Landon Laido ending the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh.

It would take more than seven innings on Saturday for one of the two teams to advance in the MCT semifinals, with Manalapan junior Jagger Golden and Red Bank Catholic senior Joe Mauro each taking the ball to start the game and posting zeroes for the duration of their respective starts. Golden carried a n0-hitter into the sixth inning before Funk broke up the bid with a single to center leading off the bottom of the sixth. Golden would turn the ball over to Rispoli after 115 pitches in 6 2/3 innings.

Mauro, meanwhile, matched scoreless innings with Golden through four innings and appeared poised to do so for a fifth until he grabbed at his lower back following a pitch to Manalapan designated hitter Rich Cammarata in the top of the fifth. The RBC right-hander was unable to continue due to lower-back discomfort and classmate Glen Popes took over with a 2-0 count on the batter and a runner on second base with one out in the top of the fifth. Popes walked Cammarate, induced a ground out to second base for the second out, then stranded runners on second and third by coaxing another ground ball to shortstop Drew Cannon for the final out of the frame.

“It was one of those games where no one could buy a hit, but the bench intensity was up the entire game,” Frankel said. “We just stayed in the game the whole time. Our pitcher got hurt and we had to go to Glen for five innings. We weren’t expecting that, but we made it work.”

Only two baserunners for each team reached third base before Funk scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th and the last of those led to the second of two standout defensive plays during the eighth inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Rispoli hit RBC junior first baseman Tyler Hager with two out and Hager stole second base with Cannon in the batter’s box. Cannon hit a ground ball off the end of the bat that spun to the right of Manalapan first baseman James Vitucci, allowing Cannon to beat Vitucci to the first-base bag. Vitucci abandoned his effort to win the race to first against Cannon and instead fired the ball to the plate in plenty of time for catcher Rob Cruz to tag Hager, who attempted to score from second on the play.

In the top of the eighth, RBC prevented Manalapan from advancing a runner to third with its best defensive play of the game. Junior P.J. Pape and Cammarata hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning and senior third baseman Rob DiStefano lifted a fly ball that sent RBC junior centerfielder Luke Lonczak back several steps. Lonczak made the catch and when Pape tagged up and bolted for third base, Lonczak threw a one-hop strike to the third-base bag, where Laido gloved it and dropped the tag on Pape to complete the double-play. Popes induced an inning-ending pop out to Cannon at shortstop to end the threat.

Lonczak was responsible for four putouts in extra innings alone and also made a diving catch in shallow centerfield to take a hit away from Cruz in the second inning.

“Since freshman year, I know I always have my defense behind me,” Popes said. “This is a great defensive team. Any time I’m out on the mound, I know I don’t have to strike anyone out. I just have to pound the strike zone and let these guys make the play behind me.”

Popes was making his second appearance on the mound in a span of five days, which limited the number of pitches he was eligible to throw. After throwing 84 in a win over Howell on Tuesday, Popes was eligible for 66 on Saturday and used up 62 of those in earning his fourth win of the season. The senior right-hander allowed two hits and no walks while striking out one in 5 2/3 innings.

Red Bank Catholic swept Ranney the week prior to last and Popes closed out a 13-8 win on the road, then pitched a complete game in a 2-1 win over the Panthers. After getting the save and a win in those wins over Ranney, Popes picked up two wins this week — one vs. Howell and one vs. Manalapan.

“I had a fever of like 101 (degrees) the day of the (first) Ranney game,” Popes said. “I didn’t have my spikes on at the start of that game, but the team needed me. That’s the way I see it: whatever my team needs, that’s what I’m going to do.”

After avenging the 17-2 loss to Manalapan, RBC will look to win a third straight game vs. Howell next Saturday after beating the Rebels twice this past week. First, however, RBC will play Christian Brothers Academy twice and Class B North division leader Rumson-Fair Haven on Friday. One win over CBA on either Monday or Wednesday would give the Caseys the outright Class A North championship.

 

Box Score

Red Bank Catholic 1, Manalapan 0 (10 Innings)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 R H E
Manalapan (8-6) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
RBC (9-2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 0

Pitching

Manalapan IP H R ER BB SO PC
Jagger Golden 6.2 3 0 0 4 7 115
Peter Rispoli (L, 2-2) 2.1 3 1 1 2 1 37
Red Bank Catholic IP H R ER BB SO PC
Joe Mauro 4.1 3 0 0 4 6 77
Glen Popes (W, 4-0) 5.2 2 0 0 0 1 62

Top Hitters

Manalapan Game Stats
P.J. Pape 1-3, 2 BB, SB
Rich Cammarata 2-4
Jayden Prokopenko 1-4, SB
Red Bank Catholic Game Stats
Aiden Funk 2-3, 2B, BB, R
Jake Frankel 1-4, BB, RBI
Luke Lonczak 1-4, BB, SB
Drew Cannon 1-3, BB, SB
Brayden Harmata 1-3, BB

 

Related Articles