Manasquan Named Week 6 Joe Leone’s Baseball Team of the Week | Shore Sports Insider
Week 6 Joe Leone’s Team of the Week:
Manasquan 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 6 recipient of the 2026 Joe Leone’s Baseball Team of the Week is Manasquan after chasing down Toms River South to win a share of the Shore Conference Class B South division championship. The division title is the first for the Warriors since they won the Class A Central public division title in 2019 and the first time Manasquan has won at least a share of first place in a division since 2016.
Manasquan began last week tied with Point Pleasant Boro for second place in the standings and needing to play a game-and-a-half better than Toms River South in Class B South games to pull into a first-place tie with the Indians. The Warriors did their part by sweeping a series from Brick, starting with a 6-0 win at home over the Green Dragons behind a two-hit shutout by Chase Kaplan in which the Lafayette commit struck out 12 and walked only one. Kaplan also went 2-for-3 with a double in the first inning that set up Manasquan’s first run, which senior Liam Opatosky drove in with a double of his own. Junior Ethan Even-Esh also roped an RBI double in the sixth inning to pile on in support of Kaplan.
Manasquan senior Chase Kaplan. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)
Two days later, Manasquan found itself in a a slugfest at Brick and while trying to hold off a comeback by the Green Dragons, they got their first piece of good news. Donovan Catholic beat Point Boro, 8-4, giving Manasquan a chance to finish ahead of the Panthers with another win over Brick, plus a win at Donovan Catholic the following Monday. The Warriors put up eight runs in the top of the first and held on to beat Brick 14-10, with Kaplan going 4-for-4 with a double, triple and five RBI. Connor Lalli, Jack Soltis, Matt Antonucci, Even-Ash and Opatosky each collected two hits, with Soltis hitting two doubles and Opatosky driving in two runs. The 14 runs scored were twice as much as Manasquan’s highest-scoring prior output of seven runs.
While the win over Brick was reason for celebration, the news out of Toms River drew a roar on the bus back to Manasquan. After Toms River South beat Central Regional on Monday, Central paid Toms River South Wednesday, beating the Indians, 5-2, to force a tie in the loss column at the top of the B South standings between Toms River South and Manasquan. The loss to Central was Toms River South’s final division game and to claim a share of the division title, Manasquan had to beat Donovan Catholic on Monday.
Before its chance at their first-place finish in 10 years, the Warriors took on Raritan and topped the 14 runs scored against Brick by beating the Rockets, 18-8, in five innings. Kaplan capped a huge week with a 2-for-4 game at the plate that included four runs scored and two RBI, giving him a 8-for-11 week in the batter’s box with two doubles, a triple and seven RBI. Opatosky, Soltis, Seamus Ahern, Mike Loffredo, Kellan Quinn also checked in with two hits apiece in the 14-hit attack vs. Raritan.
Manasquan senior Liam Opatosky. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)
Manasquan completed its climb to the top of the standings Monday with a 7-5 win at Donovan Catholic, with Kaplan pitching 5 2/3 innings before Opatosky capped a career day by recording the final four outs to earn the save and clinch the championship. Opatasky carried the freight at the plate by going 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI, with Kaplan putting up another strong hitting performance that included a double and a sacrifice fly in a 2-for-3 showing.
The Warriors’ move on Toms River South started with a sweep of the Indians in games played on April 17 and 20. Prior to that first game in Toms River, Manasquan was 3-3 in division play while Toms River South was 6-0. By the end of the two games — a 5-3 Manasquan win in Toms River and a 7-4 victory in Manasquan — the Warriors were 5-3 and Toms River South came back to the pack at 6-2.
The two wins over Toms River South helped the Warriors earn the No. 11 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament, one spot ahead of the division-rival Indians. Manasquan hosts No. 22 seed Lacey Wednesday in the opening round of the SCT.
On Tuesday, Shore Sports Insider visited practice to present Manasquan Head Coach Brenan Gordon 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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