Things get interesting in Red Division race

BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff East Brunswick’s Chris Affinito voices his displeasure with the home plate umpire after being called out on strikes during the Bears’ 1-0 loss to St. Joseph’s on Tuesday in East Brunswick. When the St. Joseph Falcons traveled to East Brunswick on Tuesday to take on the Bears, it was more than just an important divisional match-up.

Though the Bears and Falcons are the two teams currently sitting atop the Greater Middlesex Conference’s Red Division — a loaded grouping which includes five of the top 10 ranked teams in the conference — they also entered Tuesday’s affair as No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, and looking to stake their claim as the GMC’s team to beat.

East Brunswick third baseman Joe Fischer makes the long throw to first base during the Bears’ loss to St. Joe’s on Tuesday. The result was a classic, playoff-like atmosphere that brought out the best of the two starting pitchers — Nick Meyers for EB and Chris Parenti for St. Joe’s.

In the end, it was Parenti who was just a little better, as the senior right-hander hurled a three-hitter, blanking the potent Bear offense for his third win of the season, a 1-0 shutout.

Meyers, meanwhile, allowed the single run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly, which followed a lead-off double and a sacrifice bunt. From there, the senior hurler shut the door on the Falcons, allowing only one runner to reach scoring position the rest of the way.

Meyers certainly pitched too well to lose, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out four. But on this day, he needed to be perfect, as Parenti proved to be St. Joe’s latest big-game pitcher to thrive on the spotlight.

With the win, St. Joe’s takes the early lead in the Red Division race — a title chase which is far from over.

Along with East Brunswick, who will get its rematch with the Falcons on May 6, the fourth-ranked Edison Eagles hope to stay in the mix, having entered the week at 5-3 overall, but 3-2 in the division, including a 12-11 win over St. Joseph’s earlier this year. Their hopes took a hit on Tuesday, however, with a 4-0 loss to Old Bridge. South Brunswick, who may have the GMC’s deepest pitching rotation, also appears to be a contender for the Red Division title, improving its divisional record to 3-2 (6-2 overall) with a 12-7 win over J.P. Stevens on Tuesday.

The Vikings will travel to Edison on Monday before making the trip to East Brunswick next Friday. Those two games, along with games with Piscataway today and Perth Amboy on Wednesday, should go a long way towards determining if the Vikings are indeed ready to make a run at the division.

That leaves the Old Bridge Knights, who have had to replace a number of voids left by graduation, but have done so admirably thus far, getting off to a 4-4 start (4-2 in the division).

First-year coach Ken Fischer, who replaced the legendary Fred Cole, has his team playing well early on, as evidenced by Tuesday’s win over Edison, where Anthony Angarano and Tommy Walsh combined to hurl the six-hit shutout.

The Knights dropped a 7-4 contest to East Brunswick on Monday, but have a chance to get right back in the Red Division mix over the next few days with a home-and-home series with St. Joseph’s today, in Metuchen, and Tuesday, in Old Bridge. In between, the Knights will play a non-conference game in Bayonne on Saturday.