Falcons top Chargers, earn shot at GMCT title
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — The St. Joseph High School baseball team squashed any hopes the Spotswood Chargers had of surmounting a two-out rally in the final inning to earn a spot in the weekend’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Championship Game at Commerce Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater.

The title game gets under way Sunday at 7 p.m.

Spotswood stranded the tying runs in the seventh as Henry Gomez robbed John Dubockick of an extra-base hit chasing, down his liner to end the game and give the Falcons a 3-1 victory.

For the Falcons, it is their first appearance in the title game since 1968. Their opponent is the sixth-seeded Carteret Ramblers. The Ramblers disposed of the second-seeded Edison Eagles in the semifinals, 10-5. In the quarterfinals, Carteret sent third-seeded South Plainfield packing, 12-8. Carteret’s power-packed offense should make for an interesting championship game against the Falcon pitching staff. In its final inning against Edison, the Ramblers hit for the cycle in successive at bats.

Falcon ace Mike Bujalkowski struck out 10 Spotswood batters while walking three and allowing three hits. With the win, his record improved to 7-1. On the season, he has fanned 71 batters while walking just 16.

If Bujalkowski is unavailable for the title game, Santo Maertz can carry the load. The senior right-hander has tossed a no-hitter and a one-hitter this season.

"We haven’t thrown [Rob] Pietrocola or Gomez in a while," St. Joseph head coach Lou Urbano said. "We have gone with Santo and Bujalkowski, and it’s like throwing an ace out there every day. We never feel under-matched."

With a 10-2 record in the GMC Red Division, the Falcons needed just one win against J.P. Stevens earlier in the week to clinch a share of the title. With back-to-back victories, the team would capture sole possession of the Red Division title. The two teams were slated to meet on Monday and Tuesday.

"We are going after the Red Division title," Urbano said. "That comes first, and then we will focus on the tournament."

Unfortunately, for J.P. Stevens, they could be looking at Maertz followed by Bujalkowski in consecutive games.

Both have demonstrated the ability to stay ahead of the hitters, and each has a penchant for the strikeout.

"Bujalkowski is a very focused pitcher," Urbano said. "He trusts me and I trust him. He is easy to coach because he throws strikes."

Against Spotswood, Bujalkowski seemed to find himself in 0-2 counts all afternoon, and, as a result, he struck out eight of the first 10 batters he faced and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning.

"With the no-hitter, I obviously had a different perspective," Bujalkowski said. "I just kept putting it at the back of my mind. During the first couple innings I tried to take it pitch by pitch."

His "pitch by pitch" philosophy was obviously working as the Chargers struggled to make contact.

The Falcon offense was led by catcher James Capriglione’s RBI single in the fourth inning to put St. Joseph on the scoreboard. Bujalkowski helped his own cause on the mound with the game-winning hit in the fifth.

Bujalkowski’s two-RBI single scored Tom Sosnowski and Alex Vitale, and put the Falcons ahead 3-0. Both Sosnowski and Vitale reached base on Spotswood er­rors.

The Falcons ended Spotswood’s tour­nament run with Gomez’s running catch and will look to bring home the GMC tro­phy over the weekend. Like always, pitch­ing and defense will be the key ingredi­ents needed to get the job done.

"Carteret hit the heck out of the ball today," Urbano said. "That is a good hit­ting team."