BMHS, BTHS baseballs teams hope to make county tourney

Pitcher Justin Short can say his Brick Memorial High School baseball teammates nosed out a victory over Brick Township High School, 4-2, at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood on Sunday.

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uring an infield drill earlier this season,

Short had a grounder bounce into his nose that broke it and sidelined him for a week. He returned last week for one outing and was back on the mound Sunday to pitch a three-hitter over the distance for his first victory in four decisions. The senior righthander struck out five and walked three.

"He pitched his best game this season, although he has thrown well in some hard-luck losses," coach Rich Bishop said. "And he has come back from missing a week with a broken nose."

"Actually, when the ball hit me off a bad hop, it broke the cartilage," Short said. "I really wanted to play and maybe could've, but the doctor thought it was best for me to wait a week and I thought it's better to be sure."

Short used a fastball and a slider to subdue a Brick Township High School team that has come alive at the end of the season to advance to the Ocean County Tournament semifinals after posting a pair of victories Saturday over previously unbeaten Central Regional, 6-3, and Toms River East, 5-3, in eight innings.

"They're a good team and we weren't taking them lightly," said Short, after his team won the Mayor's Trophy for a third straight year. "I was definitely really focused, but it was a credit to the team that there were a lot of balls that should not have been caught that they got to."

"This was a great win for the kids," Bishop said. "We're 7-6 in conference play, and I'm really happy because it probably is the toughest conference in the state."

After losing at the cutoff to the NJSIAA Tournament to Monsignor Donovan High School, 11-0, to miss qualifying with an 8-10 record, the Mustangs moved back into contention for the Shore Conference Tournament on Sunday with the victory. They can play in the openinground games at the end of the week if they beat Pinelands Regional High School on May 11.

It would soothe the frustration of having missed the state tournament on a wild schedule that called for playing four games in three days, two of them victories over Brick Township.

It started on Friday when Brick Memorial traveled to Southern Regional High School and won, 8-2, as Tim Spaulding scattered six hits while Justin Gordon, who drove in four runs, and Andrew Nelson each hit home runs. Brian Staub had two hits for two RBIs.

Then, the team traveled to the Toms River North High School field to play rival Brick Township. The game was moved out of the township because none of the fields there were playable and Toms River North agreed to the game there.

"We desperately needed to get the games in to try to make the state tournament," Bishop said. "We can thank [Athletic Director] Bill Bruno for that one."

Gordon had two hits for two RBIs as Brick Memorial took a 6-1 lead against its crosstown rivals, and Anthony Gearity (4- 1) scattered nine hits over five innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Lou Raccuglia got the save. Brian Duckworth and Mike Rytelewski each drove in a run and had two hits, as did Jon DelValle.

That set up the do-or-die game against Monsignor Donovan.

"We played the night before and had to be back on the field for an 11 a.m. game," Bishop said. "We had nothing left."

But Brick Memorial regained some satisfaction on May 9, when the team scored twice in the first inning and snapped a 2-2 tie with runs in the fourth and fifth innings. DelValle walked, stole second and scored on a hit by Duckworth, who rode home on Gordon's hit. Staub broke the tie in the fourth inning with his RBI single.

Rytelewski drew praise from Bishop as a sophomore stepping in capably at the challenging shortstop position, while Nelson had filled in at first base for Jose Ramos, who may return this week from a dislocated elbow that sidelined him for nearly the entire season. Bishop also said that Jason Promisel "has improved tremendously" as the catcher and also commended the defense from his outfield anchored in center field by DelValle, with Brendan Melody in right field and Duckworth in left.

Brick Township High School, which came into last week's action with one victory, knocked off Pinelands Regional 5-4, in the opening round of the Ocean County Tournament. The team plays Toms River High School South on May 12 in one semifinal game and Jackson Memorial takes on Toms River North in the other.

Brick Memorial last year lost to Toms River South in the tournament finals.

The Green Dragons kept their bid alive by handing Central Regional High School its first loss in 15 games. Matt Coughlin yielded only one hit in five innings on the mound while Sean Henry and Matt Dornacker lashed run-scoring singles in the fifth inning when Brick Township snapped a 1-1 tie with three runs. Rich Zonin's double delivered the two deciding runs in the eighth inning against Toms River High School East.