Baseball: Lucas White throws a no-hitter to lift Monroe into the GMCT semifinals
NORTH BRUNSWICK – Lucas White is the kind of player who’s always smiling, always upbeat and positive. That helps make him an uplifting, pleasant teammate and a steady pitcher.
Wednesday, he gave the Monroe baseball fans much to smile about.
The junior right-hander threw a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts and allowed just a walk in the Falcons’ 1-0 win over South Brunswick in Wednesday’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
While the unfolding no-no was fun, the one-run elimination game added to the drama. South Brunswick’s Ethan Fantel was also dealing, getting out after out after Monroe manufactured a 1-0 lead in the first inning. He allowed the one run in six innings on five hits.
That meant White couldn’t get too wrapped up in the no-hitter. He noted that by the “fifth, sixth inning I knew I had one and I was like all right, just stay calm. Stay locked in. Stay focused. Don’t want to get too excited.”
That is, until the end, when he struck out the final batter and the Monroe celebration was on.
So, what was working well?
“Basically, I just used all my pitches,” White said. “Located well today. Outside strike was getting called a lot so I was throwing there, keeping the location. Slider was moving, working, keeping it tight and changeup to the lefties was really (good).”
In other words, everything.
What it means
The fourth-seeded Falcons (10-6) advanced to Saturday’s semifinals against top-seeded North Brunswick at East Brunswick Magnet School.
South Brunswick’s upset run fell just short. The 12th-seeded Vikings (7-12) topped fifth-seeded Sayreville 5-3 in Monday’s second round to reach the quarters.
Key plays
Credit Monroe right fielder Jake Lobue for a terrific diving catch on the warning track in the fourth inning to save an extra base hit, as well as to keep the no-hitter at North Brunswick Community Park.
Monroe’s defense has been sharp and center fielder Kyle McCauley made a great catch against Woodbridge last week. Lobue said, “We have good communication out there. So he knew that one was mine.”
He added, “I knew that Lucas had a really good pitching outing so I had to help him out there.”
White also had an impact at the plate. He singled in the first inning. Courtesy runner Zack Wallace reached third and scored on Larry Casey’s grounder to shortstop.
They said it
White on bouncing back after allowing six runs in 3 1/3 innings in a regular season game against Old Bridge on May 4, “It stayed in my mind for a couple days, but I knew I had this game – had a big game coming up. Just throw it away and think of this one.”
Monroe coach Sean Field said of White, who forms a deep rotation with ace Harrison Lollin and Zack Wallace, “We felt really good about putting him out there. He’s always been a stopper for us. He’s our No. 2, but really he could easily be the one on any staff in the county. We just felt good about putting him out there today and he did his job like he always does.”
Field on White’s personality, “He’s always relaxed. Sometimes I worry about him because I’m like, ‘why are you so happy all the time?’ But I guess it’s just a part of being a successful athlete – just having confidence in yourself. Honestly, he never gets too high or too low. He’s always kind of even-keeled and he’s always smiling. He’s a happy guy.”
Field on the team’s makeup, “We just have a great group of guys that really care about each other. They do a lot together. They go out to eat. They work out like right after practice. They do everything together. So they support each other and it’s a great group.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ baseball: Monroe topples South Brunswick in GMCT quarterfinals
