Baseball: The GMC Top 10, games to watch and storylines after Week 4
Forget the paper rankings, the results are determined on the diamond. There’s a huge shake up in the Top 10 after an eventful Week 4 of the season. That includes a new No. 1, six teams changing spots and two newcomers to the rankings.
More: Baseball April roundup: Results, analysis, links for GMC, Skyland and area Union County
Storylines from last week
Dunellen polishes the Silver: Dunellen lived up to the promise as one of the preseason favorites in the Silver Division by finishing 7-1 and clinching the pennant with last week’s sweep over Piscataway Magnet (3-4). Dunellen had split with Highland Park (6-2), but Perth Amboy Magnet (2-5) helped out by going 1-1 against the Owls last week. The Destroyers did their job by outscoring Piscataway Magnet by a 27-4 score with Jake Manna and Danny Watts throwing gems.
Woodbridge takes the White: Getting tabbed as the favorite is great, but you still have to do it on the field. Woodbridge did just that by finishing 9-1 in the White Division and clinching the pennant with a sweep over Edison last week. The offense has been terrific and pitchers like Drew Lukachyk, Shawn Kish and Billy Mansfield have stepped up to complement ace Eddy Nunez.
Games to Watch
Blue Division pennant race
Spotswood at J.F. Kennedy, 4 p.m., Monday
J.F. Kennedy/South River series – Tuesday at J.F. Kennedy, 4 p.m., Thursday at South River, 4 p.m.
Spotswood/St. Thomas Aquinas series – Tuesday at STA, 4 p.m., Thursday at Spotswood, 4:30 p.m.
Where will the Blue Division pennant fly? For suspense, it couldn’t have worked out better scheduling-wise. Spotswood and St. Thomas Aquinas are both 8-1 in the division and J.F. Kennedy is 7-2. South River (3-6 in division) looms as a spoiler with talented players.
Red Division pennant race
Monroe/Old Bridge series – Tuesday at Old Bridge, 4 p.m., Thursday at Monroe, 4 p.m.
South Plainfield/St. Joseph series – Tuesday at St. Joseph, 4 p.m., Thursday at South Plainfield, 4 p.m.
The Red Division pennant is up for grabs as South Plainfield — fueled by its sweep over Old Bridge last week — sits at 8-2 in the division. Monroe and Old Bridge are both at 7-3. St. Joseph (3-7) is in the spoiler role. Hold on, fans.
This week’s GMC Top 10
(records through Sat., April 27)
1. South Plainfield (11-3) — last week No. 4: This is how you get ranked No. 1 – beat the three teams in front of you. The Tigers jump to the top spot after a 5-0 week that included two wins over Old Bridge, a win over Woodbridge, a win over Monroe for the series split and a non-conference victory against Dayton. That’s a lot of pitching and timely hitting.
2. Woodbridge (12-2) – last week No. 3: The rankings shake up continues with Woodbridge moving up a spot. The Barrons swept Edison to clinch the White Division pennant. Their only losses were against South Plainfield and Middlesex (their lone White Division defeat).
3. Monroe (8-6) – last week No. 2: The Falcons had a 1-3 week but that win was a big one over St. Joseph, which seemed to be getting hot. That 6-4 victory keeps Monroe in the Red Division race with the upcoming series against Old Bridge on tap. The Falcons lost to Sayreville to end the week.
4. Old Bridge (10-5) – last week No. 1: Don’t worry Knights fans, there shouldn’t be much of a concern after Old Bridge finished the week 0-3 following a shutout over South Brunswick. They lost two games to South Plainfield, then fell to private school power Seton Hall Prep. It’s baseball. Old Bridge has the Monroe series with a game against Edison in between.
5. Edison (9-4) – last week No. 5: The Eagles topped Middlesex for the series sweep then lost twice to Woodbridge to finish at least tied for second in the White Division. That’s a big accomplishment for a young team that had several questions entering the season with many new starters and underclassmen in key roles.
6. Spotswood (12-1-1) – last week No. 6: They were bound to lose at some point. Baseball teams rarely go undefeated and the Chargers fell to J.F. Kennedy for their lone blemish. That sets up an exciting week that will decide the Blue Division pennant. On tap is the rematch against JFK on Monday and then the two-game series against St. Thomas Aquinas.
7. Colonia (7-4) – last week No. 9: The Patriots kept winning, stepping over any trap games last week. Colonia beat Sayreville to complete the series sweep and then went 2-0 against J.P. Stevens. Colonia outscored the three White Division opponents by a combined 30-2.
8. South Brunswick (6-8) – last week No. 10: This could have been a tumble week. Instead, the Vikings showed they’re a top four team in the Red Division. After a loss to Old Bridge, South Brunswick went 2-0 against St. Joseph winning by a combined 29-11. Next up is a division series against North Brunswick.
9. Sayreville (6-7) – last week not ranked: Sayreville’s win over Monroe puts the Bombers back into the rankings after starting at No. 7 in the preseason poll. Sayreville is tied with Middlesex for fourth in the White Division, but the Bombers went 2-0 against Middlesex, as well as Perth Amboy.
10. St. Thomas Aquinas (10-2) – last week not ranked: It’s time to give St. Thomas Aquinas and the Blue Division some recognition. The Trojans enter the Top 10 after inching their way to the top of the division with Spotswood. STA’s only losses were to J.F. Kennedy in the first week and 13-12 to non-conference Elizabeth last week.
Dropped out: No. 7 North Brunswick, No. 8 St. Joseph
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: GMC Top 10, games to watch and last week's storylines
