Shore Sports Insider Week 3 Baseball Top 10, April 21

Shore Sports Insider Week 3 Baseball Top 10

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With the Monmouth County Tournament underway and the Ocean County Tournament set to start at the end of the coming week, the Shore Conference baseball season is ramping up. Division title races are taking shape as well and a few of those races could reach their climaxes before April is over.

By the end of this week, the Shore Conference Tournament field will also become worth examining. This year’s format is different than in past years: the top 24 teams by power points, plus any division champions from outside the top 24, will make up the field. Once the qualifying teams are determined they will then be seeded by a committee. Starting next week, Shore Sports Insider will begin forecasting the SCT field.

1. Christian Brothers Academy (8-0, 5-0) Last Week: 1

The season was already going well for the Colts and now their two key cogs that started the season injured – second baseman Jayden Matejicka and right-handed pitcher Dylan Iwanyk – are back. CBA is adding players at the perfect time, with Red Bank Catholic on the schedule this week, followed by a quarterfinal date with Raritan in the Monmouth County Tournament.

2. Red Bank Catholic (6-2, 5-2) Last Week: 3

Ryan Prior is pitching as well as he ever has while taking over the clear-cut role as Red Bank Catholic’s ace. Despite that, RBC is just 1-2 with the Virginia commit on the mound and in Prior’s last two starts, that has been a function of the Caseys’ scoring – or lack thereof. RBC scored two runs during Prior’s six innings of a 4-2 loss to Ranney and put up only one in a 2-1 loss to Middletown South. The Caseys rebounded with an 8-6 win at home vs. Middletown South and will take their shot at the No. 1 ranking this week vs. CBA.

3. Ranney (5-3, 4-3) Last Week: 2

The Panthers’ stay at No. 2 ended after one week courtesy of RBC, which hammered Ranney, 18-3, in the second meeting between the two teams. The path to the No. 1 ranking is still right in front of Ranney, however, as the Panthers could very well have to beat both CBA and Red Bank Catholic to win the Monmouth County Tournament. After beating Red Bank in the MCT first round on Saturday, the Panthers await their next opponent, which will be either Middletown North or St. Rose

4. Middletown South (5-2, 5-2) Last Week: 8

It has only been seven games, but Middletown South has shown a knack for winning one-run games. Three of those seven games played by Middletown South have been decided by one run and the Eagles have one them all. They are also 1-1 in games decided by two runs and in last week’s 8-6 loss to RBC, the Eagles cut an 8-2 deficit to 8-6 before coming up a couple of runs short. With losses to No. 1 CBA and No. 2 Red Bank Catholic, Middletown South has yet to have anything resembling a slip-up – hence the top ranking among Shore public schools.

5. Toms River East (6-2, 5-2) Last Week: 6

The Raiders return to the top five of the rankings after a spirited come-from-behind win over Brick Memorial on Thursday and now have wins over Jackson Memorial and Brick Memorial in Class A South play. There is a long way to go in deciding the Class A South champion, but the Raiders took a significant step by beating Brick Memorial on the road, setting up a chance for Toms River East to sweep the Mustangs this week.

6. Brick Memorial (6-3, 5-1) Last Week: Not ranked

After a couple of weeks out of the rankings, Brick Memorial returns on the heels of defeating crosstown rival Brick via 10-run rule on Saturday. The Mustangs’ offense has been impressive at just under 10 runs per game for the season and their top pitchers have been solid, but late-inning concessions have been Brick Memorial’s undoing in losses to Toms River East, Central and CBA. If Brick Memorial can knock off Toms River East to open the week, the Mustangs have a strong case to be the No. 1 seed in the Ocean County Tournament and might be in the best position to win the Class A South title.

7. Colts Neck (5-2, 5-1) Last Week: 5

After a red-hot start swinging the bats, the Cougars hit an offensive slump last week. Colts Neck scored 44 runs during its 5-0 start, then scored just one run in two games last week – losses to Monmouth Regional and Steinert. The Monmouth loss came with the Falcons pitching ace Collin Denton, so even with a defeat at the hands of an unranked team with a losing record, the Cougars don’t fall far. The Class B North race, however, is now back up for grabs.

8. Point Pleasant Beach (7-1, 5-0) Last Week: 4

One nightmare inning ended Point Beach’s dream start to the season, with Toms River South turning a one-run lead into a 10-run rout in a 14-4 win over the Garnet Gulls. Point Beach bounced back nicely with a home run over Central and that game is far more important than a non-divisional road loss. The Garnet Gulls will try to complete the sweep of Central and gain a significant edge in the Class B South divisional race, as well as an argument for the No. 1 seed in the OCT.

9. Brick (5-2, 4-0) Last Week: Not ranked

Despite a 14-4 loss to Brick Memorial on Saturday, the Green Dragons debut in the top 10 after picking up a statement victory over Jackson Memorial on Thursday of last week. Brick’s lone losses this season are to Point Beach and Brick Memorial, so in games against some of Ocean County’s best, the Green Dragons have proven to be formidable. They also nearly slipped up vs. New Egypt before rallying for a walk-off win and finishing off a Class C South title is now the priority for Brick after going through a pair of big non-divisional tests last week.

10. Jackson Memorial (5-5, 5-2) Last Week: 9

The Jaguars cling to the last spot in the top 10 after dropping back to .500 with a loss to Brick to end the week. On the positive side, last week also included a split with Toms River East, which keeps the Jaguars in the running for a division championship in what has been a hyper-competitive Class A South. Southern has picked off both Toms River East and Wall and Jackson Memorial already owns a sweep of the Rams, so if the Jaguars can rebound from the loss to end last week by beating Donovan Catholic and Brick Memorial, a Class A South championship is within reach.

Dropped Out

Middletown North (3-4, 1-4) Last Week: 7 – A loss to Marlboro and two one-sided losses to CBA knock the Lions out of the top 10 for the time being.

Central (8-2, 3-2) Last Week: 10 – Jackson Memorial has played the better schedule, but Central’s record and a win over Brick Memorial have the Golden Eagles right on the heels of every team in the back half of the top 10.

The Next 10

Manasquan (7-2, 5-1) – An impressive win over Rumson in the MCT led by emerging sophomore right-hander Logan Cleveland keeps Manasquan near the top of the Top 10 waiting list.

Ocean (7-1, 2-1) – Since getting shutout by Monmouth in game two of the season, Ocean has recalibrated and won six in a row heading into a return to Shore Conference action following a successful trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Raritan (7-2, 6-1) – Raritan’s six-game winning streak ended Saturday with a 5-4 loss to Ocean, but the Rockets showed their resolve by beating Wall in the MCT first round in the second game of their Saturday double-header.

Wall (3-5, 2-4) – Since climbing back to .500, Wall has dropped decisions to both Southern and Raritan. A win over Jackson Memorial and opportunities this week vs. Toms River East keep the Crimson Knights in the picture.

Rumson-Fair Haven (5-5, 4-4) – Seniors Max Mazzucca, D.J. Ylagan, Owen O’Toole, Nick Margulies and Parker Shenman have been the leaders for an otherwise young roster that has been competitive so far.

Monmouth (3-5, 3-3) – Losses to St. Rose and Raritan were disappointing follow-ups to upsetting Colts Neck to start the week, but the Falcons will get a chance to reset with Denton on the mound to start this week.

Manalapan (3-5, 1-4) – A 1-5 start was unsettling, but the Braves return home from Florida two games closer to .500 and with a pair of close losses to Middletown South to learn from.

Freehold Township (6-1, 5-1) – The Patriots rallied to beat Freehold Boro and swept the Colonials in two close games, then turned in an impressive all-around effort in beating Howell, 12-2, last week.

Point Pleasant Boro (3-5, 3-4) – A win over Manasquan last week keeps the Panthers on the list of teams to monitor heading into the tail-end of divisional play.

Toms River North (3-4, 3-4) – The Mariners opened plenty of eyes with a hard-fought win over Central, which was the first loss of the season for the Golden Eagles.