Free Twp./Monmouth U’s Brad Brach Called up to Padres

Former Freehold Township/Monmouth University standout Brad Brach, a reliever, realized a dream late on Tuesday night when he was called up to the San Diego Padres from Class AAA Tucson (Ariz.). Brach beat the odds as he was a 42nd-round pick of the Padres out of Monmouth in 2008. He is flying to Los Angeles from Tacoma (Wash.) to join the Padres in their series against the Dodgers, which continues on Wednesday night.

Brach has excelled as the top closer in San Diego’s system. Between AA and AAA this season, Brach was 3-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 67 appearances and 94 strikeouts over 71 2/3 innings with 34 saves, one of the top totals in the minors. Brach is one of two members of his family in professional baseball, as his younger brother, Brett, also a pitcher, was drafted the Indians in the 10th round in 2009.

Brach becomes the second former Shore Conference player to reach the big leagues this season, joining former Toms River South/Rutgers star Todd Frazier, who has played 27 games at third base thus far for the Cincinnati Reds.

Mark McCoy to Pitch in Area Code Games on ESPN3 on Tuesday/Brick Trio Commits

Barnegat senior lefty Mark McCoy, a Wake Forest recruit, will be pitching for the New York Yankees team in the prestigious

Barnegat's Mark McCoy pictured in last week's East Coast Pro Showcase. (Photo courtesy of Dan McCoy).

Area Code Games on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The eight-team event, which features some of the top high school talent in the nation, will be shown live on ESPN3.com on Tuesday. McCoy will start the game for the Yankees team at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif., when they take on the Texas Rangers team that features top talent from Texas and Louisiana. (Click here for more).

Last week, McCoy pitched in the East Coast Pro Showcase on Aug. 3 in Lakeland, Fla. He tossed three scoreless innings, striking out four, walking none and allowing three hits against a team of all-stars from the Carolinas.

In other news, the talented Brick trio of recent graduates Tim Carney, Sean Henry and Nick Vitale have all set their college destinations, according to head coach Jason Groschel. Carney, the All Shore Media Player of the Year and a third baseman/pitcher, is headed to Temple, Vitale, an outfielder, is headed to Kean University and Henry, a shortstop, will play at St. Peter’s, according to Groschel.

Brick Memorial wins reg. season American Legion Title/McCoy in Area Code Games

Posted by Scott Stump (follow on Twitter at @Scott_Stump)

Barnegat senior pitcher Mark McCoy, a Wake Forest recruit, has been selected to play for the New York Yankees’ team featuring some of the top talent in the Northeast at the upcoming Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., from Aug. 5-10. The eight-team event features some of the top talent in the nation and has produced more than 500 major league players in its history. Click here for more.

It should be a whirlwind month for McCoy, who also will replace Tulane recruit Nick SanGiacomo as Barnegat’s new starting quarterback, so he will roll right from California into Barnegat’s preseason camp.

Also, while Brick Memorial lost twice in last week’s American Legion state playoffs to end its postseason hopes, but not after having a historic regular season for its program. Here is a report from information provided by head coach Evan Rizzitello.

Brick Memorial Baseball completed the regular season of the American Legion Summer League undefeated (9-0) and it is the first time in program history that they are Ocean County American Legion champs.  It marked the third time that Brick Memorial has advanced to the American Legion State playoffs.

“I am very proud of our boys and their accomplishments so far this summer,” Rizzitello said. “The way they have all stepped up and contributed when needed shows a lot of character.  I would like to thank the Brick Post 348 for giving us the opportunity to play summer legion ball.”

On July 11th, the Mustangs defeated second-place Manchester 6-3 to clinch the the Ocean County title.  In that game Brian Cottrell threw 6 innings, scattering 6 hits with 6K and 2BB and 1HBP to earn the win as well as picking up three hits. Kyle Skoog pitched the 7th getting 2K to record the save.  Ryan Melia had 2 hits and 4 RBI, including a big 2 run double in the first inning.  Zach Santos was 2 for 4 with 2RS and an RBI while Mike O’Neill was 1 for 2 with an RBI and BB.

We had four upcoming seniors participate in the 2011 Ocean County American Legion All-Star game at First Energy Park:   Mike O’Neill, Zach Santos, Kevin Corris, and Spencer Cohen, who earned National League MVP honors by going 2-3 3B  2RBI  SB. Rizzitello was the head coach for the National League team that was defeated, 7-6, by the American League team coached by Rich Zingaro of Manchester.  Brick Memorial assistant coaches Ryan Graham and Tim Brennan were also apart of the coaching staff in the All-Star game.

Kevin James Steps Down at Rumson

Posted by Scott Stump

After 10 seasons as Rumson’s head baseball coach in which he brought the program to new heights, Kevin James said he has stepped down to spend more time with his family.

James, who has three young daughters, was named the Class A Central Coach of the Year by his peers this season after helping the Bulldogs recover from a 2-7 start to earn a share of the A Central public title. In 2008, he led the Bulldogs to their first and only Shore Conference Tournament final appearance in school history, where they lost to perennial power Toms River South. They also won a division title that season. James also led the Bulldogs to the Central Jersey Group II title in 2004.

 

ASM All-Conference Teams

The 2011 All Shore Media All-Shore Conference teams have been posted along with Coach of the Year, Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year.

Click here for links to all of the postseason accolades.

Carpenter Cup Begins Today for Jersey Shore

The Jersey Shore Carpenter Cup team will begin the defense of its title from last season today at 4 p.m. at Ashburn Field in FDR Park in Philadelphia against Delaware North.

Jersey Shore is 32-13 all-time in Carpenter Cup play since first playing in the 16-team tournament of all-star teams from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware in 1992. It is coming off its third Carpenter Cup title in history and first since 2002. Jersey Shore will try to become just the second team in the tournament’s 26-year history to win back-to-back titles and the first since Olympic Colonial did it in 1991-92. The tournament is single-elimination.

Click here for the roster and a link to the full schedule.

DeSclafani, Monmouth U’s Terry Picked in MLB Draft/Manalapan Group 4 Final Set

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E-mail: stump@allshoremedia.com

Congrats to former Colts Neck star pitcher Anthony DeSclafani, a University of Florida reliever who was drafted for the second time in his career when the Toronto Blue Jays picked him in the sixth round on Tuesday, the 199th overall pick.

The junior right-hander is 5-3 with three saves and a 4.36 ERA for the Gators, who have advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals, where they will face Mississippi State starting on Friday in a best-of-three series to try to continue their run to the College World Series.

DeSclafani was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 22nd round out of Colts Neck in 2008 but chose to attend Florida. He is part of a school-record haul of 11 MLB draft picks for the Gators this year. Click here for the full story.

Also, Monmouth University’s record-setting infielder, Ryan Terry, was taken in the 21st round by the Tampa Bay Rays as the 660th overall pick. Click here for a full story on Terry.

Finally, Manalapan’s Group IV final game is now set for Saturday at 2 p.m. at Ken Frank Stadium Toms River South against Westfield. The Braves are playing in their first Group final in program history.

The rest of the baseball schedule for the day is as follows:

At Toms River North
Group II: West Essex vs. Gov. Livingston, 11 a.m.
Non-Public B: Newark Academy vs. Gloucester Catholic, 2 p.m.

At Toms River East
Group I: Waldwick vs. Audubon, 11 a.m.
Group III: Paramus vs. Seneca, 2 p.m.

At Toms River South
Non-Public A: Pope John XXIII vs. St. Augustine, 11 a.m.
Group IV: Manalapan vs. Westfield, 2 p.m.

Championship Week

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E-mail: stump@allshoremedia.com

We have entered the final week of the 2011 baseball season, with five teams still playing for championships, starting with tonight’s Shore Conference Tournament championship game at 8 p.m. at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood between Red Bank Catholic and Jackson Memorial.

RBC is trying to regroup after losses in the Monmouth County Tournament final against Middletown South  and a 15-3 wipeout at the hands of St. Augustine in the state sectional semifinals. The Caseys can still cap a season in which they have set several school records by winning their first SCT title in program history.

Meanwhile, Jackson Memorial will be playing for two championships in two days. The Jaguars are seeking their second SCT title in the last three seasons after having won it in 2009 by beating Christian Brothers Academy. This is their third straight final appearance.

A day later, the Jaguars will try to win their first Ocean County Tournament title since  1972 when they take on Brick in the OCT final at 7:30 p.m. at Toms River East. Brick is in a similar spot to RBC in that only a week ago, it was still in play for five championships, but an 8-6 loss to Jackson Memorial in the SCT semifinals and a 7-1 loss to Middletown South in the Central Jersey Group III title have left the Green Dragons with one last shot at a championship from their best season since 1980.

Also on Tuesday, the Group semifinals will be held, as Middletown South and Manalapan are the last two Shore Conference teams standing in the state playoffs. Middletown South will play South Jersey champion Seneca and possibly face Vanderbilt-bound ace and potentially high MLB draft pick Kevin Comer at 4 p.m. at Rutgers in the Group III semifinals. Seneca could possibly try to hold Comer back to see if it can save him for the Group III final, so we’ll see. Junior lefty Howie Brey will get the ball for the Eagles (19-8). The winner will play the Millburn-Paramus winner in the Group III final on Saturday at one of the Toms River schools. The Eagles last made a Group III final in 1999 but have never won it.

Manalapan has made it further in the state tournament than it has ever gone after winning its first Central Jersey Group IV title in school history. The Braves face South Jersey champ Millville, which beat Toms River South on its way to the sectional title, at 4 p.m. at The College of New Jersey in the Group IV semifinals. Senior lefty Jake Winston will most likely get the start. The winner takes on the winner of the Westfield-Morris Knolls semifinal on Saturday in the Group IV championship game at one of the Toms River schools.

Manalapan-RBC MCT Semifinal Moved up to Thursday

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The showdown between Red Bank Catholic and Manalapan in the Monmouth County Tournament semifinals has been moved up to tomorrow at 3:45 at Manalapan. It was originally scheduled for Saturday after having been postponed from yesterday because of a conflict with the state tournament. Both teams enter Wednesday’s Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals on 20-game winning streaks.

Todd Frazier to Make MLB Debut With Reds Tonight/NJSIAA Tournament Preview

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Former Toms River South and Rutgers star Todd Frazier will realize his dream tonight as he is expected to make his Major League Baseball debut after being called up for the Cincinnati Reds for tonight’s game at the Philadelphia Phillies, according to a tweet by his agents.  The 25-year-old Frazier is an outfielder who is considered one of the Reds’ top prospects. Playing at Triple-A Louisville this year, Frazier had a line of .294/.368/.581 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 43 games.

He joins Manalapan grad David DeJesus, an outfielder with the Oakland A’s and another former Rutgers star, as the only other former Shore player currently in the big leagues. He also becomes the second member of his family to reach the major leagues, as his older brother, Jeff, was called up to the Detroit Tigers for a short stint in July of 2010 and is currently in the Washington Nationals minor-league system. Jeff is also a former Toms River South and Rutgers star.

Todd was the 34th overall pick in the MLB Draft in 2007 and has spent four years working his way up the Reds’ system while playing first base, third base, shortstop and outfield. He most likely will see time in left field for the Reds, who are in first place in the NL Central. At Toms River South, he was a shortstop before moving on to become the Big East Player of the Year at Rutgers in 2007. He was drafted out of high school by the Rockies but elected to go to Rutgers before being selected by the Reds after his junior year.

Also, if you didn’t see it, click here for a preview of the Shore Conference’s chances in the NJSIAA Tournament, which starts today.