Falcons sitting atop the competitive Red Division

Top-ranked St. Joe’s team facing a busy week

BY SHAWN LAYTON

Staff Writer

METUCHEN — The St. Joseph High School baseball team improved its record to 9-2 with an 11-1 mercy-rule victory over Woodbridge this weekend.

With the win, their eighth in a row, the Falcons rest atop the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division with a record of 8-1 in division play. The Falcons hoped to avenge an early-season loss to Old Bridge when the Knights came to town yesterday.

In the disposal of Woodbridge, senior left-hander Rob Pietrocola went five innings to record his first win of the season. Pietrocola allowed one run on five hits and one walk while striking out four. Tom Sosnowski came in to pitch the sixth with a seven-run lead and struck out the side. After the Falcons added three more runs in the bottom half of the sixth, the game was called.

For Pietrocola, the perfect spring day was just what he needed to be effective on the mound.

"In my first start against Old Bridge it was raining, and there were puddles all over the place," he said. "My arm felt better, and I tend to pitch better in nice weather."

Pietrocola also enjoyed a successful day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of singles. The NJIT-bound slugger scored twice and drove in one.

"We usually bat Rob fourth," St. Joseph head coach Lou Urbano said. "He had been struggling a bit, we dropped him down, and he had a nice day. He led the team last year with a .440 average, and it was nice to see him get out of his slump."

Junior centerfielder Alex Vitale reached base in all four of his plate appearances. Vitale was 3-for-3 with a walk. He finished the afternoon with three RBIs, two stolen bases and scored twice.

"I was looking fastball right away," Vitale said. "Most of the time I got it and was able to hit it."

For Vitale, it was his second consecutive three-hit game. Against Piscataway, he was 3-for-4 with a double in the Falcons’ 16-5 victory Friday.

In addition to shutting down the Woodbridge offense in the sixth, Sosnowski was effective at the plate with a pair of singles and two RBIs.

The Falcons will look to protect their lead in the Red Division this week as they are scheduled to play five games in six days. In addition to the Old Bridge rematch, the Falcons will host J.P. Stevens tomorrow, East Brunswick Saturday and Carteret Sunday. Weekday games are slated for 3:45 p.m. and the Saturday contest gets under way at 2 p.m.

"The team is looking forward to playing Old Bridge again," Urbano said. "We were up 8-1 in the first game against them and ended up losing 9-8."

Urbano’s team is off to a tremendous start, thanks in part to the pitching rotation comprised of the team’s four seniors. Sharing mound time with Pietrocola and Sosnowski are Santo Maertz and the team’s ace, Mike Bujalkowski.

"All four seniors pitch and they have been phenomenal," Urbano said. "The team ERA is 1.50, and if they continue to pitch well, we could be tough to beat in the tournament."

After going 11-11 last season and having the majority of the lineup graduated, this year’s team is loaded with juniors.

"Aside from Harry Douglas, none of the juniors played varsity ball last year," Urbano said. "They are good players, but they needed some time to get more relaxed. With the adjustment we are getting better productivity out of them."

The Falcons should certainly be a tough team to beat as the GMC Tournament nears. Maertz is coming off a dazzling week in which he no-hit East Brunswick and pitched a one-hitter against Woodbridge.

"Our pitching has been solid and our defense has been solid," Urbano said. "We have been fortunate enough to get some timely hitting, but our team hitting could improve. We are not always going to get 10 or 15 hits in a game, so we have to run the bases well and be aggressive."