GMC baseball roundup of May 24 state tournament games

EDITOR'S NOTE: Writeups of other games will be added as soon as those scores are reported, so please consider revisiting or refreshing this webpage. Thanks for following our GMC baseball coverage.

East Brunswick 10, Freehold Township 0: Mike Falco threw a five-inning perfect game with nine strikeouts and added two RBIs to lead third-seeded East Brunswick over eleventh-seeded Freehold Township (13-10) in the Central Group IV quarterfinals. The Bears (18-7) advanced to play in the semifinals on May 29 against second-seeded Manalapan, which beat No. 7 Middletown South 8-1 in the other quarterfinal. Falco, a senior right-hander headed for St. Joseph University, had a hit and also scored a run. The Bears scored four times in the bottom of the third, added a run in the fourth and broke it open with five runs in the fifth. Offensively, Kevin Schuster led the way with two doubles and three RBIs, while Brandon Rosenthal had two hits, scored a run and drove in a run. Additionally, David Bermudez (two runs), James Schuld and Diego Ceballos each had a hit and scored.

Old Bridge 11, Sayreville 1: Trailing 1-0, Old Bridge erupted for 11 runs in the top of the fourth inning as the fifth-seeded Knights stunned fourth-seeded Sayreville (14-11) in the Central Group IV quarterfinals. Old Bridge (12-16) plays top-seeded Hunterdon Central in the semifinal on May 29. Sonny Fauci, a junior right-hander, went five innings allowing three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. Matt Laconti had a hit and drove in three runs, while Matt Flores (run), Ryan Perez (two runs) and Kyle Perrine each hit two singles and had an RBI. Fauci joined the hit parade with a single and two RBIs, while Mike Oliva had a hit and RBI. Additionally, Ryan Bradley scored two runs with a hit and RBI and Danny Chiofalo had a hit and drove in a run.  

Metuchen 2, Delaware Valley 1: Jay Harry hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase a deficit and to give fourth-seeded Metuchen the win over fifth-seeded Delaware Valley (15-7) in the Central Group II quarterfinals. The Bulldogs (17-7) advanced to the semifinals on May 29 against top-seeded Governor Livingston, which beat ninth-seeded South Plainfield 11-2 in another quarterfinal. Delaware Valley took the 1-0 lead in the top of the third after Michael Chiarino hit a sac fly that scored  John Raymond, who had tripled. In the sixth, Metuchen's Mike Lapczynski led off with a single and Matt Volpe also singled in the inning. Both moved up on a wild pitch. Harry hit a two-strike pitch over the left fielder's head for the 2-1 lead. In the top of the seventh, the Terriers threatened by putting two runners on base, but Volpe induced a fly out to center to end the game. Volpe went the distance with eight strikeouts and allowed five hits and two walks for the victory. He was matched by Delaware Valley's Brett Godown, who struck out nine in six innings and gave up five hits and a walk. Kurt Talke had two hits for Delaware Valley 

Colonia 12, Ferris 2: Nick Nielson didn't allow an earned run in six innings with six strikeouts and added an RBI as fourth-seeded Colonia (19-7) advanced over fifth-seeded Ferris (17-8-1) in the North 2 Group III quarterfinals. Colonia will play in the semifinals on May 29 against top-seeded West Morris, which beat No. 8 Cranford 10-2 in another quarterfinal. Ferris led 2-0 after the first inning, but Colonia got a run back in the bottom of the first and took a 3-2 lead after the third. The Patriots broke open the contest with four runs in the fourth and five more in the sixth. Anthony Demeo went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and scored three runs and Jason Hilenski finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Each hitter stroked a double. Additionally, Frank Lehmann (run) and Anthony Palmisano (two runs) each had a hit and drove in a run. The Patriots had 10 hits as a team and each squad committed two errors. Chris Michael added a hit and scored two runs, while Tom Mitch hit a double and scored a run and Nick Scherb scored a run. On the mound, Nielson, a sophomore right-hander, allowed three hits and walked two.

Hunterdon Central 4, North Brunswick 1: Alex Degen struck out 14 and threw a four-hitter with two walks as top-seeded Hunterdon Central advanced over ninth-seeded North Brunswick in the Central Group IV quarterfinals. The Red Devils play fifth-seeded Old Bridge in the semifinals on May 29. North Brunswick took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. With one out, Caleb Rodriguez walked and Christian Petrillo moved him to third with a double. Andrew Tan brought the run in with a sac fly to right field on a 1-1 count. Hunterdon Central took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning. The Red Devils scored when Dave Cucci hit a sac fly to center that scored Pete Cosentino and on a bases loaded walk of Tyler Cassella that scored Pete Ciuffreda, who earlier got hit by a pitch. Hunterdon Central added a run in the third off an error for a 3-1 lead. In the sixth, Colin Mason hit a single that scored Dan Icaza for a 4-1 lead. For North Brunswick, Tan had two hits and Kelson Hopson added a hit.

Bayonne 8, Perth Amboy 0: Bayonne broke open a scoreless game with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and sealed it with four runs in the sixth in the North 2 Group IV quarterfinals. Perth Amboy, which will play in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final against South Plainfield on Saturday, got three hits. Bryan Valenzuela, Joseph Duran and Juan Nunez (double) each went 1-for-2. Each team had a runner thrown out at the plate as well. 

Shore 4, South Amboy 1: Michael Deusch had 15 strikeouts in six innings as seventh-seeded Shore Regional (9-11) scored four times in the top of the fifth to upset second-seeded South Amboy (16-4) in the Central Group I quarterfinals. The Governors' Kyle Gasiewski allowed three hits and four walks in 6 1/3 innings before reaching the pitch count limit and struck out six. All of Shore's runs were unearned as South Amboy committed four errors in the fifth inning. In the sixth, South Amboy's Kyle Gasiewski broke up Deusch's no-hit bid with a single. He scored on a sac fly from Zach Honimar. Deusch allowed one hit with three walks.