Division races heat up despite cold weather
Local baseball, softball teams in the mix early on
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

Though the weather has certainly slowed the start of the spring sports season, it has done little to dull the title hopes of local baseball and softball teams.

A little less than a month into the spring season, the majority of the local teams are off to solid starts, and have played their way, thus far, into the mix of their divisional title chases.

And with the warm weather expected to arrive this weekend, the next few weeks should help separate the contenders from the pretenders.

Old Bridge, Sayreville, Spotswood and Monroe look strong on baseball diamond

The GMC Red Division is an unforgiving place to be if you're a baseball team not quite ready to compete. With five of the top 10 teams in the Conference battling it out for one division title, there is very little margin for error.

Thus far, there have been few surprises in the best of the GMC's divisions, as both the South Brunswick Vikings and St. Joseph Falcons have raced out to fast starts, with Old Bridge looming as a team capable of playing its way into the mix as well.

South Brunswick entered the week at 5-0, having won a handful of tight games in the first few weeks of the season. The defending division champs entered the season with a dangerous, experienced lineup, but few veteran pitchers. The Vikings expected to peak late in the season. That could spell trouble for the rest of the GMC.

St. Joe's is 6-2 following a 6-5 win over Roselle Catholic on Saturday. The Falcons entered the season with different concerns from the Vikings' - a deep, established pitching staff, with a number of question marks in their lineup. St. Joseph, which has been to the GMC Tournament final the past three years, has to be encouraged with its quick start.

Old Bridge dropped a tough 3-2 contest to Wall Township, one of the Shore Conference's better teams, on Saturday. With the loss, the Knights fell to 3-3 on the year, but are very much a dangerous team.

Head coach Ken Fischer's squad returns its entire outfield from a year ago, and has already found some strong newcomers to fill the voids left by graduation. And most importantly, Old Bridge can rely on junior Mike Augliera, one of the very best hurlers in the conference, to serve as the ace of a pitching staff that should keep the Knights in the race.

East Brunswick remains a bit of a question mark. With the Bears only getting in two games thus far (they're 1-1), it's difficult to say at this point if they have improved from last year's 9-13-1 team.

However, with a number of players back after getting their feet wet last season, head coach Tom Hockenjos has reason to expect more of his squad this season, despite losing his top three hitters to graduation.

The rest of the Red Division is floundering a bit early on, including Edison (2-3), Piscataway (3-3), J.P Stevens (0-4) and Woodbridge (0-4). Of those teams, Piscataway looms as the most dangerous, with plenty of talented players filtered throughout the lineup, but a relatively young pitching staff.

Monroe and Sayreville have emerged as the front-runners in the GMC White Division early on.

Monroe beat Perth Amboy, 4-1, on Friday to improve to 5-1 on the season, as senior Chris Cirlincione pitched a gem to earn the win. The Falcons graduated a lot of offense from last year, but return enough bats to complement what is likely the division's top pitching staff. Along with Cirlincione, who transferred back to Monroe after spending a year in Florida, the Falcons have Lenny Bergen, Matt Kalback and Ryan Cushman to throw at people, giving them a deep staff that should make them a contender late in the season.

Sayreville, meanwhile, is 5-0, after thumping Colonia, 15-1, on Friday. The Bombers are the most experienced team in the division, since they returned all of their pitchers from a year ago, as well as most of their lineup from an 11-11 team.

With shortstop Bobby Woods, Nick Ruszala and Ed Goldman leading the way offensively, Sayreville has a lot of pop in the line-up, and when coupled with their deep pitching, the Bombers look every bit like a contender this season.

Among the other contenders in the White Division are improving Perth Amboy (3-2) and an experienced Carteret team (4-2), although at this point, it looks like a two-team race this spring.

In the GMC Blue Division, it looks more like a three-team race so far. With Middlesex racing out to a 4-0 start, and JFK-Iselin playing well at 3-2, the Spotswood Chargers have their work cut out for them if they hope to repeat as division champs.

Thus far, head coach Glenn Fredricks' team has looked sharp, improving to 3-1 with an 8-6 win over a good Point Boro team on Saturday. The Chargers have arguably the top pitcher in the GMC in senior Willie Beard, as well as three of the conference's top hitters in Rutgers-bound senior Michael Hohman, senior John Michael Berner and senior Anthony Addone.

In truth, the Charger lineup is littered with big sticks, as Spotswood figures to score a lot of runs this spring. That should be music to Beard's ears, as well as Hohman, who is a solid No. 2 starter. Beard has already shown he's ready to carry the team, hurling a perfect game against Metuchen on April 7.

While winning another Blue Division title is the immediate goal for Spotswood, they have every reason to believe there could be more hardware in their future this spring.

Bishop Ahr (2-1) and South River (3-3) are a couple of squads that could give teams problems in the Blue Division as well this spring. The Rams are particularly dangerous when senior Dom DeCorso is on the hill.

Knights, Bears, Bombers, Falcons and Chargers among GMC's best softball teams

The Old Bridge Knights girls softball team looks like the team to beat in the Red Division. Though they were one of four division teams ranked in the GMC's top 10 when the week began, the Knights are the only undefeated team, having improved to 5-0 with an 11-1 pasting of Piscataway on Friday.

With sophomore Maureen O'Kane looking solid thus far on the hill, the Knights have every reason to believe they are in the midst of a big season. Offensively, freshman outfielder Amy Layton has been a pleasant surprise, anchoring the bottom half of a lineup already bolstered by the presence of Angela D'Amico, Krystal Diaz and Jamie Moy. If the Knights can continue to find the offense necessary to complement O'Kane's improving pitching, Old Bridge could indeed be collecting a division title by season's end.

East Brunswick and Edison appear to be the hurdles facing Old Bridge at this point. While the Eagles have gotten off to a respectable 3-2 start, including a 7-1 loss to perennial power Hunterdon Central on Saturday, East Brunswick is also 3-2 following a 3-0 loss to another power, Bridgewater-Raritan, over the weekend.

With Amanda Singer deservedly getting her shot to be the Bears' ace following the graduation of Gina Pensavalle, East Brunswick has the luxury of a dominant pitcher to lead their charge this spring. Singer was brilliant when given the chance last year, and has the stuff to shut down the best of lineups.

The question for the Bears will be on offense, where they struggled to manufacture runs, at times, during last year's 11-11 campaign. Should they find ways to score runs, East Brunswick is sure to be a threat to make a run at the division.

Edison has the opposite concerns.

The Eagles have a dominant lineup, led by Alyssa Giuliano and Stephanie Shields, but some questionable pitching. They remain a threat, however.

J.P. Stevens was expected to be a force in the Red Division as well, but a 1-3 start has left the Hawks reeling early on. Woodbridge is another team with the pieces to be a strong team, but will need to prove they can shut opposing teams down in a big spot. The Barrons are 3-2 thus far.

The race in the White Division is more wide open. With Monroe, Colonia and South Plainfield all getting off to 4-1 starts, JFK holding a 6-2 mark, and a solid Sayreville team playing to a 2-2 ledger early on, the White Division is again proving to be the best division in the GMC.

South Plainfield is the top-ranked team in the conference, and for good reason. The Tigers have the GMC's best lineup, with five returning players who hit over .340 last year, and a stud pitcher in senior Jen Little, who had 21 wins and 12 shutouts a year ago. This is as deep and balanced a team as any squad in central New Jersey.

If anyone can hang with the Tigers, it will likely be Monroe. The Falcons have a strong lineup, led by senior catcher Mai'Lee Paselio and junior shortstop Lindsey Curran, while junior pitcher Carly Keane has looked strong early on after enduring an injury-plagued season a year ago.

Overall, Monroe returns seven starters, and should they find some balance to their offense, should be among the very best teams in the GMC the rest of the way.

Colonia lost a ton of talent to graduation, but will go as far as junior pitcher Adrian Rastocny can carry them. She was good enough to lead them to a GMCT crown a year ago, and will once again be the key to their season.

JFK is in a similar spot, with returning GMC Player of the Year Allison Greaney holding the keys for the Mustangs this season. Greaney is the team's pitcher and its top offensive player, and with most of the team's starters back, JFK is very much a threat to claim both White Division and GMCT crowns.

Sayreville made the move to the White Division after winning a Red Division title a year ago, and will be severely tested throughout the season. The Bombers have Amanda Olender back in the circle, which gives them a chance to win every time out. Add to the mix a stacked lineup headed by Olender and Stephanie Zrebiec, and the Bombers should quickly prove they belong in the GMC's top division.

The Spotswood Chargers, at 7-1 thus far, have launched to the top of the Blue Division standings. While defending champion Bishop Ahr, ranked third in the GMC, remains the biggest hurdle for the Chargers this season, Spotswood's performance early on gives every indication that they are capable of making a run at the crown.

Sophomore pitcher Maggie McSpadden has been brilliant thus far, perhaps spurred on by the arrival of heralded freshman Ashley Harper. With the two of them in her arsenal, head coach Stefanie Bromberg will certainly have the pitching she needs over the course of the season.

Offensively, the Chargers are better than advertised, led by sophomore catcher Sara DiMeglio, who thus far has been nothing short of dominant with a bat in her hand. Senior shortstop Allison Raychel is another quality bat that should help anchor the lineup the rest of the way. That leaves the defense, where Spotswood struggled at times last year.

Should they tighten up their defense, Spotswood will challenge the Trojans for the division crown.