JFK unseats Vikes

Defending baseball champs fall in first GMCT game

By: James McKeever
   The 2002 Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Tournament turned into a storybook experience for South Brunswick.
   This season’s tournament appearance reads more like a short story, with a nightmare ending for the Vikings.
   South Brunswick’s run as GMCT defending champion was over before it really got started as the Vikings lost to J.F. Kennedy 11-4 in the round of 16 on Monday at home.
   The Vikings were seeded No. 6 and received byes through the first two rounds. J.F. Kennedy, the No. 12seed, defeated East Brunswick Tech 9-0 before eliminating the Vikings.
   "We have to tip our hat to J.F. Kennedy," said South Brunswick coach Leo Danik. "They came here and were up for the game and outplayed us."
   The loss was South Brunswick’s fourth in five games after winning six in a row.
   J.F. Kennedy pitcher Joel Rodriguez held South Brunswick’s offense to one run in six innings before giving up three in the seventh. Rodriguez gave up eight hits and one walk and struck out seven.
   Bryan Sock lost for the first time after starting the season 5-0. He ran into trouble in the first inning. Rodriguez connected for a two-out, three-run home run for a 3-0 JFK lead.
   Kevin Markussen added a solo home run in the third to push the Vikings’ deficit to 5-0.
   The Vikings got on the board in the fifth when Joe Clemente belted his fifth home run of the season. That made it 5-1. Kennedy put the game out of reach with a four-run sixth inning to finish Sock’s day.
   The senior right-hander gave up nine hits and six earned runs in his only bad start (out of seven) all season. Sock’s ERA jumped to 1.64. Patrick Keenan finished and surrendered Jamie Flecha’s two-run home run in the seventh.
   "Bryan is 5-1 and had an 0.85 ERA before the game," Danik said. "He’s had an outstanding season and every game he pitched was a big game for us. It’s just a tough break. It’s just unfortunate this start came during the time it did.
   "There are a bunch of guys (in the GMC) who can shut down any other team on a given day and Rodriguez did that to us."
   The Vikings did bounce back on Tuesday with a 5-3win over The Hun School in Princeton on Travis Smart’s six-hitter. That pushed their record to 11-6-1.
   South Brunswick awaits its opponent in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV Tournament. Seeds will be released this weekend and the Vikings will most likely play in the opening round on Monday.
   Danik was working the phones in search of a game for Thursday (today). If that happens he’ll probably give the team an off day Friday before getting back to practice on Saturday.
   The coach hopes that Tuesday’s win at Hun, in which sophomore Travis Smart tossed a six-hitter, enabled the Vikings to put the GMCT loss behind them.
   "They were a little down but they bounced back," Danik said. "These kids just want to play baseball. I don’t think anything that’s happened is from lack of effort. These kids always play hard. We just lacked execution, physically as well as mentally."
   The Vikings still may have a lot of baseball left to play. Danik hopes so.
   "We’re stressing the positives. We’re still playing in the state tournament. We’re 11-6-1. A lot of teams would die for a record like that."