Tournament Time

The baseball teams from Brick and Jackson Memorial are the last two Ocean County teams still playing and yesterday they met in the semifinals of the Shore Conference Tournament. Depending on where you live you might have heard thunder and saw lightning late in the afternoon and that was certainly the case at Larry D’Zio Field in Jackson. The game was stopped by the umpires three times for safety reasons and finally postponed in the bottom of the 3rd inning. In a game that featured five home runs the visiting Green Dragons led 6-4 but when they get together again today in Jackson they’ll start from the beginning like yesterday never happened. The winner will face Red Bank Catholic in the Shore Conference Finals Monday night at FirstEnergy Park as the Caseys knocked off top-seeded Manalapan 7-5.

Not only will Brick and Jackson face one another again today but they are to play in the finals of the Ocean County Tournament with that game to be played sometime next week. The Green Dragons, who have had a tremendous spring under coach Jason Groschel, host Middletown South Friday in the Central Jersey Group 3 Championship game as they look for their first sectional title since 1980.
Led by Tim Carney, Nick Vitale and Sean Henry, Brick has won 16 in-a-row.

There is no question that Scott Goodale has turned around the wrestling fortunes at Rutgers University in his four seasons as head coach. The former Jackson Memorial wrestler and head coach was rewarded for those efforts Wednesday when he received a new 5-year contract to lead the Scarlet Knights program. Since coming to Rutgers, Goodale has raised awareness and interest, drawn bigger crowds and managed to recruit many of the state’s top wrestlers. Rutgers finished 9th in the nation this past season and sent 8 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.
Goodale lives in Toms River with his wife Lisa and two children.

The Southern Regional High School Boys Volleyball team has never lost a state tournament game at home and if they streak continues the Rams will claim the NJSIAA South Jersey Tournament title. After rolling past Eastern in last night’s semifinals all that stands in Southern’s path to a championship is a date tomorrow with Cherry Hill East in Manahawkin. The Rams have reached the 30-win mark for a fifth straight season.

The Beachwood Soccer Club will hold registration for the fall season this Saturday and Sunday from 9:30-11am at the soccer complex on Berkeley Avenue. For details visit www.beachwoodsoccer.com