Eagles beat Marlboro in extras, 5-2

It took extra innings but, Middletown South secured their 3rd win with a 5-2 win over Marlboro in nine innings.

Senior Pat Magnotta started on the hill for the Eagles and pitched a gem. He was out there for six and one third innings, allowed only two unearned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six.

Marlboro got on the board early with one in the bottom of the first, and held that slim margin for three innings. Then, in the fourth, South tied the game on an RBI groundout by senior Will Schnoor. The Eagles got a 2-1 lead when junior Eric Mate drove a run home in the top of the sixth.

Magnotta got the first out of the seventh inning, but then walked a batter. Coach Steve Antonucci lifted Magnotta for senior Brian Dudzinski.

The tying run scored on an infield error, but Dudzinski got out of the inning with out further damage and the score tied at 2-2.

Neither teams scored in their half of the eighth inning but the Eagles were ready to take control of the game in the top of the ninth.

After the first out was recorded, junior Kevin Skirka walked and two batters later Mike Guarnieri singled to put runners on first and second with two outs. Junior Jay Levy doubled in a run, and Eric Mate followed with a two run single, expanding the lead to 5-2.

Dudzinski earned the win after he shut down the Mustangs in the bottom of the ninth. He pitched two and two thirds innings, allowed no hits, no runs and struck out four. Jack Provine also went three for four with a run scored to contribute to the win that improves the Eagles record to 3-12. Marlboro falls to 3-9.

JV
The Junior Varsity team improved to 9-3 with a 10-0 win over the Marlboro Mustangs. Ben Hammand pitched magnificently, going six shutout innings. The Eagles put up a six spot in the top of the seventh on two three run homeruns, one by Eric Hogan, his second of the year, and the other by Craig Sweeney. Sweeney had another RBI earler in the game, making his total four. Hogan drove in three, Mark Spoleti two and Jim Geant one.

CBA Sweeps Season Series Versus South

Christian Brothers Academy mercied Middletown South in six innings, 16-5, to
improve their record to 7-3.

The Eagles sped out to a 3-0 lead on the Colts. Miles Santos hit a run scoring
triple and scored on an overthrow to third.

CBA, number four in the ShoreConferenceSports.com’s Top Ten, came back and
scored five runs in the top of the second. The Colts scored two runs in the top
of the fourth, and after South got a run back in the bottom half of the inning,
the score was 7-4.

With a four run lead going into the top of the sixth, CBA put up an eight spot
to take a 16-4 lead. South scored a run before making their final out and ending
the game at 16-5.

Seniors Marc Sansevere and A.J. Szatkowski had great days at the plate for the
Colts, going 3-4 and 2-3, respectively.

The Colts got their seventh win on the strength of sixteen runs on fifteen hits.
South managed five runs and seven hits, but made six errors to drop their record
to 2-10. 

JV
The JV Eagles completed their own series sweep, beating CBA for the second time
this season, 5-3. Ken Patterson pitched six innings and allowed only one run and
struck out nine. Tim Ens pitched for the second straight game and closed out the
win. Kevin Slavin deposited a 2-0 pitch over the right field wall in the second
inning to put the Eagles on the board. Chris Bunge and Mike Hermann also had good
days at the plate.

Howell score 10 in 7th to shock Eagles

The Howell Rebels came back from a 17-8 deficit with 10 runs in the bottom of the 7th to stun A-North rival Middletown South, 18-17.

The teams were tied at 3 after each team batted in the first inning, and the Eagles scored 2 in the second and one in the third to take a three run lead.

The Rebels put up a run in the third to cut the lead to 6-4. But then the Eagles put up a 5 spot in the top of the fourth to extend the lead 7.

Howell battled back again with four in the fourth, making the score 11-8. The Eagles extended the lead to three with a run in the fifth.

South jumped out with 5 runs in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 17-8. Senior starter Brian Dudzinski came back out in the seventh, but gave up four runs. Three of them came off the bat Joe Locascio on a three run shot over the left field fence.

Junior Tyler Black then came on in relief, surrendering two hits and hitting a batter to load the bases. Sophomore Mike Farrell then came in to pitch with no one out and the bases loaded.

A walk, a single, and a run scoring ground out made the score 17-15. Howell tied the score after an infield single and a double to right field. Senior Steve Burgher then came on with runners on second and third with one out. The Eagles immediately intentionally walked Locascio, who was 3-5 with two homeruns.

South played for the double play, and got it. But an error allowed Howell’s winning run to score to end the game.

Brian Dudzinski started for the Eagles and pitched 6 plus innings, giving up 12 runs, 7 earned, with seven strikeouts throwing over 125 pitches. Junior Jay Levy had his second good game in a row, going 4-5 with three runs batted in.

Howell’s record improves to 3-6 while South’s drops to 3-9.

JV
THe JV Eagles defeated Howell 9-5. Check back later for details.

Eagles Win with Big Offensive Day

Another huge offensive outburst by the Middletown South Eagles gave them a 19-9 victory in an A-North matchup against the 7-2 Manalapan Braves.

The Eagles put up a run in the second, two more in the third, and another one in the fourth to take a four run lead.

When South came up in the top of the fifth, they were ready to try and blow the game open. They added six runs on two homeruns by sophomore Mike Farrell, and senior Mike Guarnieri. It was Farrell’s fourth homerun of the year, leading the Shore Conference.

Manalapan would not let the Eagles mercy them on their home field though, scoring five runs in the bottom of the fifth and knocking senior starter Pat Magnotta out of the game.

Magnotta pitched a solid game to pick up the win, going four and two thirds, surrendering five earned on seven hits and striking out seven.

Middletown South came back with seven more runs in the top of the sixth, but the Braves were determined not to be mercied, scoring four in the sixth.

Senior Will Schnoor, who came on to relieve Magnotta, rebounded well from a rough outing against Marlboro his last time out. Pitching two and a third, he allowed three earned runs on three hits and had three strikeouts.

The Eagles finished off their offensive explosion with two in the top of the seventh, and Schnoor shut down Manalapan in the bottom half to send the Eagles home with their second win of the year.

South got production throughout the lineup versus the Braves with junior leadoff man Jack Provine going 5-6 with four runs batted in. Junior Eric Dunn, hitting second drove in three while going 3-5 and junior Jay Levy supplied some offense from the bottom half of the lineup with a 4-5 day at the plate.
Middletown South will look to use this week to improve their 2-8 record with five games in the next five days.

Junior Varsity
The JV Eagles overcame a seven run deficit to prevent their second straight loss and improve their record to 6-3. Ryan Johnston had solid start, as South was winning when he left the game. But the Braves scored 8 runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 12-5 lead. That's when the Eagles started their comeback. The bases were loaded with no one out when Eric Hogan walked to the plate and brought South back into the game with one swing of the bat. A grand slam to left center field brought the Eagles to within 3. Down by three in the seventh, key hits by Craig Sweeney, David George, Kevin Slavin, and Tyler Cottrell contributed to South putting up a seven spot and taking a 16-12 advantage. Tim Ens picked up the win with three innings of shutout ball in relief.

Eagles fall to Manalapan despite strong outing by Dudzinski

Manalapan’s Mark Holmes out dueled Middletown South’s Brian Dudzinski in a classic pitcher’s duel. The Braves earned their 5^th win of the season by a score of 2-1.

Holmes pitched a complete game for the Braves, allowing only the 1 run.

Dudzinski also went the distance, striking out eleven while surrendering two runs, one earned.

JV
The JV Eagles won 5-0 against the Braves to extend their winning streak to 5. Ken Paterson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, where it was broken up by a single into right field. Mike Hermann, Jon Altino and Kevin Slavin all had big days at the plate.

Middletown South earned their first win, 19-0, over Keansburg in the Monmouth County Tournament because of a huge offensive outburst and 7 RBI’s by sophomore Mike Farrell.

After losing a regular season game to Colts Neck 13-2 early this afternoon, the Eagles came out swinging in the first inning and never looked back.

Mike Farrell hit a three run homerun to right centerfield with one out in the first to put the first runs on the board. South then put up 6 more runs on RBI singles by Steve Burgher, Mike Guarnieri, and a two run double by Craig Sweeney. Two more runs came in on an error by the third basemen and a wild pitch.

Farrell again came up with two runners on and hit another three run homerun to right field. After a RBI double by Burgher the scoring was finally complete. In the end, 18 batters came to the plate, and 13 runs were scored, six of them coming off of Farrell’s bat.

Brian Dudzinski started and pitched two hitless innings, and was relieved by Tyler Black. Black held the Titans scoreless for the final three frames.

The Eagles added six more runs in the second inning with RBI’s from Farrell, Erik Mate, and Mike Guarnieri to make the score 19-0.

At the end of the day, Farrell was 3-3 with two homeruns, and seven runs batted innings. It is the Eagles first win of the season and they advance to play Wall in the next round of the MCT.

Marlboro comes back in 7th to beat Eagles

Varsity
The Marlboro Mustangs put up a four spot in the top of the 7th inning to steal one from Middletown South, 4-1.

Senior Brian Dudzinski pitched the first six innings, shutting Marlboro down. He allowed no runs and struck out eight.

The Eagles took a 1-0 lead going into the 7th, with Will Schnoor in to close it out.

A combination of timely hits and key errors gave the Mustangs a 4-1 lead. The Eagles could not mount a comeback and fell by that score.


Junior Varsity
The JV Eagles jumped a game over .500 with their 6-1 victory over the Marlboro Mustangs. Ryan Johnston pitched four innings, allowing just the one run in the first inning, and picked up the win. Tim Ens relieved him and pitched three shutout innings. Tyler Cottrell, Kevin Slavin, Jon Altino and Darin Alcolea all contributed offensively to give the Eagles a 3-2 record, the record they will submit for their JV tournament seed.

Eagles fall to Freehold Township 2-1

Freehold Township used small ball to win a A-North game against Middletown South, squeaking out a 2-1 victory.

The Patriots scored their two runs with a sacrifice fly and a successful squeeze bunt. Girver made those two runs stand up. He pitched a complete game, allowing only one run.

That one run came on a pinch hit single by junior Jack Provine in his first at bat of the season after coming off a hand injury suffered in the preseason.

Nigel Combs pitched well for the Eagles. He threw five innings and also allowed only one earned run, but still took the loss.

Senior Mike Guarnieri and sophomore Mike Farrell added two hits each for the Eagles, who drop to 0-4. The Patriots climb over .500, with a record of 3-2.

CBA holds off Eagle Comeback in A-North Matchup

The Christian Brothers Academy Colts, number one in ShoreConferenceSports.com’s Top Ten, held off a late charge by the Eagles of Middletown South to take home their second win of the young season.

CBA scored a run in the bottom of the first, but junior Miles Santos, who transferred from CBA this off-season, smacked a homerun over the wall to lead off the top of the second. That evened the score at one apiece.

The Colts came back and scored three in the second on a homerun of their own by junior Steve McSherry. CBA added two more runs in the fourth inning off of senior Brian Dudzinski. Dudzinski gave up six runs, three earned, over five innings. He also added an impressive 11 strikeouts.

Junior Tyler Balck surrendered three more runs in the sixth inning, and CBA took a 9-1 lead into the final frame.

The Eagles did not go away quietly though. South came back to score five runs in the seventh, including a solo shot by junior Eric Dunn. CBA was able to hold on though, and improve their record to 2-0. The Eagles drop to 0-3 on the season with three conference games later this week.


Junior Varsity

The Eagles JV team defeated the Colts 11-5 to improve their record to 1-2. Freshman Evan Mitchell pitched a strong game in the first start of his high school career. Tim Ens struck out 5 in relief and Ryan Johnston came on to pick up a huge strike out, with the bases loaded and the lead only two runs. Mitchell earned the win and Johnston the save. Mike Hermann, Kevin Slavin and Jon Altino all picked up timely hits to help secure the victory.

Freshmen

The Freshmen team dropped their game to CBA by a score of 7-5. Eagles highlights include Scott Bruno's home run to deep left center field.

Lancers comback to beat Eagles

The Saint John Vianney Lancers overcame an 8-1 deficit to defeat the Middletown South Eagles by a score of 11-8 in a nondivisional game on Saturday.

Senior pitcher Paul Bacigalupi picked up the victory to improve to 2-0, despite giving up eight runs in five innings. Senior outfielder Chris Lewnes went 2-for-5 for St. John Vianney. The Lancers were trailing 8-1 going into the 5th inning, but they put up a 10 spot off of senior Pat Magnotta, junior Nigel Combs, and junior Chris Kamna.

Magnotta took the loss for South, giving up seven runs, four earned, in 4 2/3 innings. Freshman Craig Sweeney hit the first home run of his varsity career in only his second game, a three-run shot. Junior Miles Santos added a two-run homer later in the game. Junior Jay Levy went 2-for-4 out of the leadoff spot while senior Will Schnoor went 1-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.

The Lancers improve their early season record to 2-1, while South drops to 0-2.

South loses opening Day Match Up versus North

The 2007 baseball season in Middletown started off with a match up of cross town
rivals in Middletown South and Middletown North. North secured their first
victory of the season by a 5-1 margin.

North senior Kevin Engelbrecht sent the Eagles down in order in the top of the
first and then the Lions bats jumped on South’s senior starter Pat Magnotta for
2 runs in the bottom of the inning.

Sophomore outfielder Mike Farrell came right back to lead of the top of the
second with a homerun. To cut North’s lead in half. But from then on, it was
Engelbrecht’s day.

Engelbrecht pitched a complete game allowing only one other hit and keeping the
Eagles bats at bay.

Magnotta pitched four and two-thirds innings, scattering 6 hits. But, the 4
walks he surrendered helped the Lions score their five runs. All but one player
in the North starting lineup had a hit in the game.

Middletown South will look to even their record Saturday against St. John
Vianney, while North will take on Marlboro Wednesday to try to add to their 1-0
record.