Post by Freehold Resident on Apr 20, 2007 9:09:25 GMT -5
How They Might Fare
BY DOUG McKENZIE
While the weather has been playing games with all of the local baseball teams, a handful of local squads have managed to jump out of the gates and play their way into their respective divisional races.
The Class B North race was expected to be a battle this spring, and the early results show that will likely be the case.
After entering the season with the highest of expectations, Ocean Township has struggled a bit early on with its consistency, but climbed back to the .500 mark on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Southern Regional. Senior Eric Hinkle gave the Spartans just what they needed - a dominant pitching performance (seven innings of one-hit ball) - while Keith Weincofsky's double knocked in Kyle Norman with the game-winning run in the top of the eighth inning. Norman got the win in relief, pitching a perfect bottom of the eighth.
It was a much-needed win for Ocean, who needs to keep pace with Monmouth Regional and Wall Township, both of whom are playing well with 4-1 starts.
Monmouth looks strong once again, as head coach Ted Jarmusz's squad knocked off Freehold, 14-4, on Saturday, as senior catcher Pat Gaughran and senior outfielder Cole DeAngelis knocked in four and five runs, respectively, to pace the attack.
Freehold Borough, at 2-2, is still a talented enough team to be a factor in this divisional race as well.
The Class A Central race is shaping up to be another dogfight, with Rumson-Fair Haven (4-0) and St. John Vianney getting the early edge. RFH is rolling behind their ace Ben Miller (3-0), with their latest win coming on Saturday over North Brunswick, 11-3. Senior Steve Giordano homered and doubled to lead the offensive attack.
The Lancers beat a feisty Red Bank Regional team, 2-1, on Saturday behind a strong pitching performance from senior Matt Wiley, to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Raritan, the preseason pick to claim the A Central title, is 2-3 thus far, having dropped a 5-4 contest to Manasquan on Saturday.
Red Bank Catholic was another team expected to battle for the A Central crown, but took a step back by falling to a surging Holmdel squad on Saturday. The Hornets got two home runs from senior Mike Renna to knock off the Caseys, improving to 3-1 early on. RBC fell to 4-2 on the year, but remains a team capable of competing for the division title after winning the crown last year.
Shore Regional has looked like the team to beat in the B Central race, as the Blue Devils improved to 4-0 with a 3-1 win over Keyport on Friday. The Blue Devils and Point Beach (5-2) are both playing well early on to assume the lead in this race.
On the softball diamond, Red Bank Catholic appears to have recovered nicely from their season-opening loss to St. John Vianney, as the Caseys have won four in a row since then, including a 10-0 blanking of Holmdel on Saturday. Today, RBC will be tested when they take on a very good Middletown North team in Middletown.
Middletown North Lions came into the week at 4-2, with their latest win coming Friday - a 16-0 thumping of Freehold Township.
Then, on Tuesday, RBC gets another shot at St. John Vianney (also 4-1), as the two rivals meet at Count Basie Park at 3:45 p.m.
In the highly competitive B North division, both Monmouth and Ocean Township are playing well early on, with the Falcons improving to 3-2 with a 7-5 win over Freehold Borough on Saturday, and the Spartans sporting a 3-1 mark following their 3-0 win over the Colonials the day before.
In Class B Central, Shore Regional (4-0) is setting the pace. Shore beat Keyport, 8-2, on Friday to improve to 4-0 on the young season, and faces St. Rose today before playing an important game with Mater Dei on Saturday in Middletown.
BY DOUG McKENZIE
While the weather has been playing games with all of the local baseball teams, a handful of local squads have managed to jump out of the gates and play their way into their respective divisional races.
The Class B North race was expected to be a battle this spring, and the early results show that will likely be the case.
After entering the season with the highest of expectations, Ocean Township has struggled a bit early on with its consistency, but climbed back to the .500 mark on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Southern Regional. Senior Eric Hinkle gave the Spartans just what they needed - a dominant pitching performance (seven innings of one-hit ball) - while Keith Weincofsky's double knocked in Kyle Norman with the game-winning run in the top of the eighth inning. Norman got the win in relief, pitching a perfect bottom of the eighth.
It was a much-needed win for Ocean, who needs to keep pace with Monmouth Regional and Wall Township, both of whom are playing well with 4-1 starts.
Monmouth looks strong once again, as head coach Ted Jarmusz's squad knocked off Freehold, 14-4, on Saturday, as senior catcher Pat Gaughran and senior outfielder Cole DeAngelis knocked in four and five runs, respectively, to pace the attack.
Freehold Borough, at 2-2, is still a talented enough team to be a factor in this divisional race as well.
The Class A Central race is shaping up to be another dogfight, with Rumson-Fair Haven (4-0) and St. John Vianney getting the early edge. RFH is rolling behind their ace Ben Miller (3-0), with their latest win coming on Saturday over North Brunswick, 11-3. Senior Steve Giordano homered and doubled to lead the offensive attack.
The Lancers beat a feisty Red Bank Regional team, 2-1, on Saturday behind a strong pitching performance from senior Matt Wiley, to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Raritan, the preseason pick to claim the A Central title, is 2-3 thus far, having dropped a 5-4 contest to Manasquan on Saturday.
Red Bank Catholic was another team expected to battle for the A Central crown, but took a step back by falling to a surging Holmdel squad on Saturday. The Hornets got two home runs from senior Mike Renna to knock off the Caseys, improving to 3-1 early on. RBC fell to 4-2 on the year, but remains a team capable of competing for the division title after winning the crown last year.
Shore Regional has looked like the team to beat in the B Central race, as the Blue Devils improved to 4-0 with a 3-1 win over Keyport on Friday. The Blue Devils and Point Beach (5-2) are both playing well early on to assume the lead in this race.
On the softball diamond, Red Bank Catholic appears to have recovered nicely from their season-opening loss to St. John Vianney, as the Caseys have won four in a row since then, including a 10-0 blanking of Holmdel on Saturday. Today, RBC will be tested when they take on a very good Middletown North team in Middletown.
Middletown North Lions came into the week at 4-2, with their latest win coming Friday - a 16-0 thumping of Freehold Township.
Then, on Tuesday, RBC gets another shot at St. John Vianney (also 4-1), as the two rivals meet at Count Basie Park at 3:45 p.m.
In the highly competitive B North division, both Monmouth and Ocean Township are playing well early on, with the Falcons improving to 3-2 with a 7-5 win over Freehold Borough on Saturday, and the Spartans sporting a 3-1 mark following their 3-0 win over the Colonials the day before.
In Class B Central, Shore Regional (4-0) is setting the pace. Shore beat Keyport, 8-2, on Friday to improve to 4-0 on the young season, and faces St. Rose today before playing an important game with Mater Dei on Saturday in Middletown.