Jersey Shore National Adult Baseball Association: Welcome

**GAME OF THE WEEK**

Monmouth County Thunder vs. Garden State Senators

A key early season match-up between the two teams that have pretty much ran the table since the beginning of the JSNABA. They both enter undefeated at 4-0 and neither team has yet to truly be tested in 2013. These two teams met a total of 9 times in 2012 and this is a rivalry that goes back as far as 2008 in the RVNABA. These guys split in all 3 regular season double headers last year with all six games going back and forth. The Senators outscored the Thunder in those 6 games 29-20. The Thunder edged the Senators for the division crown and as fate would have it they met in the JSNABA Final. The Senators took game 1 as Mctamney out dueled Frost and it seemed that the Senators were in complete control. The Thunder fought back with a sweep on Sunday to take home the crown. The Senators still have that bitter taste in their mouth and are back with vengenance on their minds. The Senators have looked nothing short of dominant in their first 4 games. Their one-two punch of Mctamney and Serrano has allowed just 9 (2.25 per game) runs while scoring 30 (7.5 per game) on their way to a 4-0 start. The Thunder has also dominated their way to 4-0 but in a more offensive highlight film. They have put up a romping 57 runs in 4 games (14.25 per game) and have hit 4 home runs while allowing 24 (6 per game). This is what makes the match-up so interesting. Can the dominant pitching of the Senators stop the high offensive output of the Thunder? And will the gritty pitching staff of the Thunder in Gerstein, Collins, and Franke step up as it did in 2012 and keep the Senators at bay? They say that pitching wins championship, But the Thunder won it in 2012. With that being said there is only one way to find out and this is Round 1 between the two heavyweights thus far in the JSNABA!

New Jersey Blackjacks vs. Kansas City Royals

These two teams battled for the final playoff spot until the final day in 2013. The blackjacks ultimately got in as the last seed by upending the Senators. These teams split in 6 meetings last year as they each earned a sweep at some point and split once. In those 6 meetings the Royals outscored the Blackjacks 38-29. The Blackjacks are revamped picking off some players from the Clippers and look to get only improve upon last season. The lost two to the Senators two weeks ago as shaky defense and some offensive rust seemed to play a toll. They will look to shake that off and rebound against the fiesty Royals. The Royals earned a split on opening day two nail-biters which were both settled by a run. Last week, a short porch seemed to doom them against a strong offensive bunch in the Thunder while their Ace (Anthony Dimarco) nursed a sore arm. His health could be pivotal to their success this season. They may be 1-3 but keep in mind this is a squad that started out 1-8 last season before finishing a strong 10-9 the rest of the way.

Monmouth County Twins vs. Edison Cubs

These two teams are already familiar with each other as they come from the same east division in the RVNABA. They met 4 times in 2012 with the Twins take 3 of 4 with a run margin of 32-13 in those game. The Cubs will look to change their fortunes in 2013. The Twins opened up with a splash in their JSNABA debut by pulling away from the Mariners in a 10-2 rout. They have a high powered offense and a solid pitching staff that boosted them to a 28-7 record in two RVNABA seasons. They will look to continue their regular season dominace in the JSNABA as they look to remain unbeaten when they take on the Cubs. Chris Morales' Cubs however will have something to say about that. They earned a split with the Royals in a highly contested opening week double header in which both games were decided by a run. They will look to solidify themselves by upending the Twins and show things are gonna be different in 2013 when these teams face off.

NJ Thunder vs. Point Pleasant Pirates

The new Thunder squad is still looking to start their season. They come over from the JSBL-AAA league lead by the father and son combo of the Amato's. They bring a young group over and are excited to get going after taking the first two weeks off and being rained out last week. The Pirates come back after being idle for two weeks. They are 0-2 but played well against a good Senator team as they dropped an 8-0 and 3-1 double header. They gave the Senators all they could handle in game 2 leaving the bases loaded as the games ended. This should an interesting match-up as the Thunder look to make a name for themselves in the JSNABA and show that theres more than just one Thunder team around while the Pirates try to get themselves back to .500 and show the Pirates are a force to be reckon with in 2013.

9 AM: Monmouth County Thunder (4-0) vs. Garden State Senators (4-0) @ Micheal J Tighe #3

9 AM: New Jersey Thunder (0-0) vs. Point Pleasant Pirates (0-2) @ Holmdel High School (JV)

9 AM: Monmouth County Twins (1-0) vs. Edison Cubs (1-1) @ Cross Farms Park #3

2:30 PM: Kansas City Royals vs. New Jersey Blackjacks (0-2) @ Holmdel High School (JV)

 As always all sets are double header and the second game will begin approximately 15 minutes after the first completes. We will have full previews as the week goes on as well as name our JSNABA Game of the Week on Thursday! Stay Tuned!

Only two nominees this week as the rain washed out the other three double headers scheduled this week. Its a rare occasion where there is 2 nominees with a HR let alone 2 HR but here we are as both players have made their case for Player of the Week!

1. Matt Ciccarelli (Monmouth County Thunder)

3-6, 2 HR's, 8 RBI's, 4 runs, and 4 walks.

2. Sean Foy (Kansas City Royals)

3-6, 2 HR's, 3 RBI's, 2 Runs

 The Winner will be announced on Wednesday Evening!

After a very rainy wet Saturday there was only one field left standing in the JSNABA. It wasn't easy but eventually the field was fixed and baseball was played in Madison Park. In game 1, the Thunder would send long time reliaable Mike Gerstein. He would be opposed by crafty lefty Anthony Silvia of the KC Royals. The royals would strike first with the first run of the game and through the first 4 innings it appeared to be on its way to a pitchers dual as the it stood at 2-2 heading in tho the bottom of the fifth. The Thunder would earn a couple walks and and an error before Matt Ciccarelli would hit Grand slam breaking open the game. Newcomer Pete Delleani would add a 3 run home run a couple batters later and the Thunder were on their way with a 12-2 lead. Gerstein would go one more strong inning before Nick Franke relieved. Tony Roegiers came in to pitch for the Royals to stop the bleeding and the Royals hit 2 HR of their own highlighted by one of Sean Foy's two blasts. But the Bats kept rolling. Ciccarelli would add another HR this one was a 2 run blast which propelled the Thunder to a 16-6 win.  In Game 2 it was Mike Collins vs. Anthony Dimarco in what was a classic dual on paper. However, Dimarco, Battling from a sore arm could never get rolling. He walked the only 5 batters he saw and had to be relieved by Joel Granja who could only weather the storm at this point. Jeremy Paster would hit a 2 HR for the Royals in the bottom of the 1st but they could never cut deep into the early deficit. The Thunder offense continued the onslaught highlighted by a 3 run HR Blast by Mike Collins who also earned the win in a 15-5 final. Next up for the Thunder will be rival Garden State Senators in a rematch of last years final while the Royals will take on the Blackjacks. Stay tuned for our two nominees of Player of the week in week 3!

9 AM: Monmouth County Thunder (2-0) vs. Kansas City Royals (1-1) @ Holmdel High  JV

 The Thunder and Royals will take the field at 9 am for a mothers day special of the JSNABA.  The complete preview of this game and the rest of the JSNABA week 3 matchups will follow in the next two days. Look below to see the rest of the schedule and don't forget to come support the JSNABA this week and to wish every mother a Happy Mothers Day!

9 AM: Somerset Mariners (0-3) vs. NJ Blackjacks (0-2) @ Cross Farms Park #3

9 AM: NJ Thunder (0-0) vs. Edison Cubs (1-1) @ Michael J Tighe #3

And the Week 2 winner is...

Bruce Monro (Monmouth County Thunder)
5-8, 2B, 3B, 4 Runs, 5 RBI's, and 2 SB

 A perennial MVP candidate, Bruce Monro is a 5 tool player for the Thunder and one of the centerpieces of their explosive offensive attack.  Congrats Bruce, your umps are on us this week!

Week 2 was a light week for the JSNABA as only 4 teams were in action. However, both games were competitive and could have gone either way showing some of the depth we are in store for in 2013! The Senators and Thunder would both eventually earn sweeps and both teams are unbeaten on the year. The recaps of each double header is below.

**GAME OF THE WEEK** 

Garden State Senators (2-0) vs. New Jersey Blackjacks (0-0) 10 AM Holmdel JV Field

The Garden State Senators will look to continue their regular season dominance. After a 22-7 finish in 2012 they are off to a 2-0 start early. They are lead by Mctamney and Serrano the best 1-2 punch around the JSNABA. The Blackjacks will be in action for the first time in 2013 after finishing 4th and squeezing into the playoffs in 2012 with a 10-17 mark. All though the Senators won their first 5 meetings with the Blackjacks last season, the Blackjacks shocked the Senators in the final week to propel themselves into the playoffs and ruin the Senator hopes of a divisional crown. They are lead by manager and Ace Tommy "Pickles" Coliacovo who has revamped his squad. With many new faces, the two that stick out are perennial NABA players Matt Lindower and Matt Wein. These guys were a member of the NJ Clippers in 2012 which finished in 3rd place in the JSNABA. Tommy hopes that with them and the other key additions it will bring his team the experience they need to get to that next level. They will be tested out of the gates and i'm sure manager Harry Yunek still has that bitter taste in his mouth from when the Blackjacks helped keep his boys from the divisional crown.

Monmouth County Thunder (0-0) vs. Somerset Mariners (0-1)

The Monmouth County Thunder coming off their first League title in franchise history will look to continue right where they left off in 2012. They bring back their core group of guys in reigning MVP Rich James, Big Hitters Bruce Monro and John Cherry,  the Speedy Doug Ford, and the reliable staff in Mike Gerstein and game 3 championship winner Nick Franke among others. They also welcome back after a year hiatus former ace Mike Collins and his last years teammate Steve Kingsley from the Clippers. They both will add depth to the Thunder pitching staff as they look to start their quest for a repeat. The Mariners are lead by Kevin Wright. They are a team that has been awhile for some time over in the old RVNABA (A) Division where they have a had number of successful seasons. Although they lost their JSNABA opener, they will be looking to turn some heads in week 2 by knocking off the defending champs.

 And the first ever JSNABA PoTW is...

Pedro Serrano(Garden State Senators) vs. Pirates: 4 for 7, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 4 RBI, 1 walk, 1 run scored + 7 IP, 8 Ks, 1 ER

Serrano tossed the JSNABA's first ever no hitter back in 2012 against the KC Royals and he now becomes our first PoTW winner, edging out Royals starter Anthony Di Marco. Congrats Pedro, and enjoy a week of free umpire fees!

Senators vs. Pirates

 The JSNABA runners up from 2012 picked up right where they left off earning a sweep of the revamp Point Pleasant Pirates. It was all Senators from the start of game 1 where the Senators scored early to take a 7-0 lead. Senator Ace and reigning Cy Yound award winner Mike Mctamney looked his usual self. He dominated for 7 innings scattering a few hits and not allowing the Pirates to get anything going offensively. Ricky Maldanodo came in and pitched 2 dominant innings closing the door for the Senators to take game 1 of the double header. Game 2 featured Mctamneys counter part in the dominant Senator 1-2 punch in Pedro Serrano. However, new Pirate Jason Franzblau made his presence felt as he went 5 strong innings keeping the Senators bats at bay. Matt Kardos added two shut out innings giving the Pirates a chance to overcome a small deficit in the late innings. The Pirates offense would threaten but lacked the big hit leaving 2 on in the sixth and three in the 7th and the Senators would prevail 3-1 to complete the sweep.  Pirate leaders Josh Caulfield and Ron Clayton lead the way with 3 hits apeice as the Pirates proved they will be a force to be reckon with giving the Senators all they could handle in week 1.

 Royals vs. Cubs

 The Cubs and Royals took home the cake for the LONGEST double header in JSNABA history as it last 6.5 hours. Luckily, both games were highely contested as they both were 1 run games. In game 1 it featured a pair of south paws as the Royals took the early lead 2-0. It would be a see-saw battle in game 1 before the Cubs won their debut in the JSNABA snubbing the Royals in 9-8 slugfest. Game 2 would be more of a pitchers dual. They took a 2-2 tie headed in the 6th before the Royals pushed across a run to take a 3-2 lead they would never relinquish. The game would finish there for the Royals to salvage a split on the day. If these games taught us anything it was 1.  Never count on a double header taking 5 hours and 2. The JSNABA playoff race should come down to the wire as neither team never could take a command. Don't count on this being the last battle between these guys!

 Twins vs. Mariners

Two new members of the JSNABA had to wait a little bit longer then they anticipated before finally getting the debut's started. There wasn't much room for error early on between Darren Griffiths Twins and Kevin Wrights Mariners as it was just 2-1 Twins after 5. The Twins finally started pulling away late in the game as they won their opener 10-2 to prove they will be a force to be reckon with in 2013. The Mariners showed they can play with anyone and will look to rebound next weekend against the defending Champs MC Thunder. Look for both of these teams to make big splashes in the JSNABA's second season.

The 2012 4-seed in the JSNABA, Blackjacks, will have a new look in the 2013 season. Manager Tommy 'Pickles' Colaiacovo has given his Blackjack roster a total facelift in the offseason in an attempt to become more competitive in 2013. The 2012 Blackjacks often struggled with availability but this 2013 squad looks committed and ready to go. Leading the charge of new Blackjacks are NABA veterans Matt Lindower and Matt Wein. This duo, along with a handful of others, bring a strong veteran presence to the 'Jacks that had been missing a year ago. Despite inconsistency the Blackjacks won 10 games and snuck into the playoffs by mere percentage points over the KC Royals. Pickles, who has been known to throw complete doubleheaders if he has to, will anchor the rotation as the Blackjacks look to find themselves playing post season baseball once again, come August. 

The Somerset Mariners will be moving from one New Jersey NABA league(RVNABA) to another(JSNABA) in 2013. Led by Kevin Wright, the Mariners have been together since the 2006 season and have won 46 games over the past 7 seasons with a handful of playoff appearances. They have averaged a 7-13 record in the RVNABA since 2006. Coming off a rough 2012 campiagn in which they went 1-20 and found themselves in the cellar of the RVNABA East Division, the Mariners look to bounce back strong in 2013 and compete for a playoff berth in their first JSNABA season through the combination of some key offseason additions and some old faces returning to the club. The Mariners will open up their 2013 season against former RVNABA foe the Monmouth Twins this Sunday afternoon, April 28th, at Holmdel High School. 

The Jersey Shore NABA's season season is set to kick off in just 18 days and all teams around the league are raring and ready to go! The JSNABA has 5 of their 6 inaugural teams returning for the 2013 season; the KC Royals, NJ Blackjacks, Point Pleasant Pirates(formerly known as the NJ Vipers), the runner-up Garden State Senators, and inaugural season champions the Monmouth County Thunder. There is also some new blood joining the ranks. Moving over from the RVNABA are the Monmouth Twins, Somerset Mariners, and Edison Cubs. Along with these three new teams are the resident young guns, the NJ Thunder. The JSNABA is excited about this 50% growth rate in the league from year 1 to 2 and looks for the 2013 season to be extremely competitive. As team practices and scrimmages begin winding down be sure to check back in at www.jerseyshorenaba.com for 2013 team previews leading up to the season opener on April 28th! See everybody on Opening Day!!!