Falcons fall in pitching duel between aces at state tournament

RED BANK – Pitching and defense – major elements to the success of Saint Joseph High School’s baseball team this season – were used against the Falcons in key moments by Red Bank Catholic to earn a 4-1 victory in the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association South Jersey Non-Public A final June 3.

On May 22, the Falcons won the seven-team Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Red Division championship by beating North Brunswick 2-0. The GMC title was the eighth in school history, tying it with Edison High for the most in the conference’s history.

As the No. 2 seed in the NJSIAA Non-Public A South Jersey group and No. 12-ranked team in the state, Saint Joe’s earned a bye into the quarterfinal round, where it defeated Paul VI 8-4 and Notre Dame 11-3 in the semifinals.

The Falcons finished with a 21-10 overall record after starting 0-2. They outscored opponents 199-100, an average of 6.4 runs scored per game and 3.2 allowed.

Head coach Mike Murray Jr. said he was disappointed in the loss to Red Bank Catholic, the No. 1-ranked team in the state, because the Falcons were playing at their best and tournaments such as Non-Public A playoffs are difficult to reach.

“We were playing a great team at home and we knew it was going to take pretty much a perfect game to beat them,” said Murray, who has guided the Falcons to four GMC titles and two berths in the state tournament in seven seasons at Saint Joe’s.

“The game shifted when they tied it, then their center fielder makes an incredible play. We could have started that inning building a little bit.

“But we were 4-6 [after 10 games],” he continued. “We were not playing great. We had some pitchers coming off injuries, but we won 15 of our last 17 games. I am proud of how our guys competed and won the county title. I would have loved to have had a different outcome today, but it was a good job by them [RBC].”

Against Red Bank Catholic, Saint Joseph had a promising start against starter Alex Stanyek. In the first inning, senior centerfielder Robbie Carvelli doubled and scored on a two-out single by junior leftfielder Matthew Kosuda to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

However, although Stanyek threw more than 50 pitches in the first two innings, he allowed only two singles and two walks before being relieved with one out in the seventh. He finished with nine strikeouts.

In the sixth inning, with the score 1-1, Red Bank Catholic centerfielder Matt Brunner made two plays that had a significant impact. In the top of the inning, he made a running catch on a hard-hit ball hit by the Falcons’ first batter, Josiah Brown. In the bottom of the inning, Brunner’s sacrifice fly gave Red Bank a 3-1 lead.

Saint Joseph’s starting pitcher, senior Jimmy Mulvaney, who led the team’s pitching staff with a 1.52 earned run average, was nearly as stingy as Stanyek. In 6-2/3 innings, he also allowed three hits, struck out four and walked one. None of Red Bank’s runs were earned.

“He [Mulvaney] threw incredibly well in big games and against big teams this season,” Murray said.

Senior catcher Mark Gialluisi, who had 54 hits in 111 at-bats this season (.486 batting average), finished as St. Joe’s all-time hit leader with 126, Murray said. Carvelli (107) is second all-time in hits. The previous record was 104 by Jon Sot (2019).

Mulvaney, who plans to study at Fairfield University (Conn.) in the fall and play for its baseball team, said he was not surprised at the Falcons’ success this season.

“The only thing we lost [to graduation] was two pitchers and I believed in myself and others [teammates] did and that is what got us this far. I think we proved some people wrong,” he said.