Monroe jumps on rollercoaster

By David Gurney, Sports Writer
   Oh, how quickly things can change.
   The Monroe Township High School baseball team experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in a span of less than 24 hours.
   In a duel with Colonia for the Greater Middlesex Conference’s White Division crown last Friday, the Falcons stormed out to a 7-0 lead and didn’t look back in a decisive, 12-6, romp on Friday to leapfrog into first place.
   But it was short-lived.
   The next day against North Brunswick, the Falcons could only muster three hits in an 8-1 defeat, dropping them behind Colonia once again in the division race.
   Monroe is 10-4 in the division and 12-4 overall, while Colonia is 9-3-1 in the division with a game against Perth Amboy to determine the division title. A win clinches it for Colonia, a loss clinches it for Monroe.
   Monroe won a White Division championship back in 2006.
   ”Saturday we had a chance to clinch it and we just came out flat,” head coach Greg Beyer said. “You wonder how that could happen, but we had a big win against Colonia on Friday, a nine-game winning streak and…sometimes you end up playing a stinker at some point and we picked a bad time. It’s tough playing four games in five days, but North Brunswick had to do that as well. We just didn’t hit.”
   In the loss, North Brunswick jumped on starting pitcher Len Bergen early and scored five runs in the first three innings. Monroe tacked on one in the third, but could do no more damage against pitcher Jacob Baron.
   Despite the loss, the Falcons gained a No. 5 seed for the upcoming GMC tournament, earning byes through two preliminary rounds into the first round.
   Most likely, the Falcons will play the winner of No. 12 Woodbridge and No. 21 New Brunswick at home on Saturday.
   ”Getting the five seed is one of the highest seeds we’ve gotten,” Beyer said. “We got the four seed two years ago, but it’s an honor to be seeded this high. Our first round game will be tough, either Woodbridge, who we barely beat 10-9, or New Brunswick.”
   The plus for the Falcons will be getting a chance to rest up the arms and bats. The downside, they’ll be thrown immediately into the fire against a tough team.
   Woodbridge has been competitive in the Red Division this year, scoring upsets over several teams, and they played Monroe close earlier this year.
   ”The thing is, all the seeds getting byes are going to have tough first games,” Beyer said. “There are some teams seeded below eight that are very good. There are a lot of dangerous teams. It’s basically a two-pitcher tournament, so you may have teams that aren’t that great, but might have two decent arms that make runs. We don’t have an easy draw, but no one does.”
   A lot of the Falcons’ success can be attributed to the table-setter, freshman outfielder Nick Dini, who is hitting .347 this season and has scored 16 runs.
   None of this has been a surprise to Beyer.
   ”I had Dini when he was a little kid in camp,” Beyer said. “My middle school coaches said that he could play, but I was very reluctant to bring a freshman in and play him right away. It’s a heck of a jump going from middle school ball to varsity. I still remember the first at-bat in his first scrimmage. I led him off, and he had a real quality at bat. He got down a couple of strikes and worked a walk. Ever since then, he’s been a gamer.”
   NOTE: Monroe defeated Trenton Catholic on Monday, 19-1, at Waterfront Park in Trenton. Marc Magliaro had a double, triple and five RBI.