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Pitchers need to pitch.
However, Matt Jelleme was coming off arm surgery before the 2024 season. So, the Metuchen coaches kept the lefthander on a pitch count and he mostly played outfield last spring, unable to showcase his stuff.
This year, he’s fully healthy and the junior displayed his potential in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over J.F. Kennedy to complete the Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division sweep on a cold and windy day.
More: Baseball preview index: Links to Courier News and Home News Tribune 2025 preseason package
More: Baseball: Vote for your pick for reader’s choice Player to Watch in Central Jersey
Jelleme went the distance striking out 16 hitters and allowing just two hits and three walks. Jon Nugent stroked the walk-off, one-out single in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded to score Ryan Alessi, who reached on a walk.
It’s early, but young Metuchen (2-0) – with just senior Michael Schwalje on the roster – gets a nice boost with the sweep. Consider this, the Bulldogs are 2-0 in the division. All of last season, they had three division wins.
Monay, Metuchen scored twice in the top of the seventh for the 4-3 road win over the Mustangs. Lucas Malamug and James Fenton combined for 12 strikeouts in the win allowing five hits.
Malamug had a 3.25 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings last season as a sophomore and could be forming a potent 1-2 punch with Jelleme on the mound.
Veteran skipper Leo Danik cautioned its just two games with two freshmen (Cooper Crawford and James Fenton) in the lineup, among its young players getting varsity seasoning.
Still, they’ve been getting timely hitting. Alessi, Sean Dereka and Joseph Tamburello each has three hits over the first two games and Jelleme and Nugent (3 RBIs) have two hits apiece.
The 6-foot Jelleme could be a difference maker. Danik noted that his fastball had a little bit of a hop to it Wednesday along with a good slider and curveball. The key, though, was getting ahead of hitters and that helped with his consistency.
“This season you could tell that if we could develop some consistency with his pitches, he would be a pretty good pitcher,” said Danik, adding he’s been working on that and spent time in the weight room. “So, so far so good. It’s only one outing but it looked pretty good today.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: Jelleme throws gem, Metuchen wins on walk-off
Continue reading...
However, Matt Jelleme was coming off arm surgery before the 2024 season. So, the Metuchen coaches kept the lefthander on a pitch count and he mostly played outfield last spring, unable to showcase his stuff.
This year, he’s fully healthy and the junior displayed his potential in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over J.F. Kennedy to complete the Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division sweep on a cold and windy day.
More: Baseball preview index: Links to Courier News and Home News Tribune 2025 preseason package
More: Baseball: Vote for your pick for reader’s choice Player to Watch in Central Jersey
Jelleme went the distance striking out 16 hitters and allowing just two hits and three walks. Jon Nugent stroked the walk-off, one-out single in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded to score Ryan Alessi, who reached on a walk.
It’s early, but young Metuchen (2-0) – with just senior Michael Schwalje on the roster – gets a nice boost with the sweep. Consider this, the Bulldogs are 2-0 in the division. All of last season, they had three division wins.
Monay, Metuchen scored twice in the top of the seventh for the 4-3 road win over the Mustangs. Lucas Malamug and James Fenton combined for 12 strikeouts in the win allowing five hits.
Malamug had a 3.25 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings last season as a sophomore and could be forming a potent 1-2 punch with Jelleme on the mound.
Veteran skipper Leo Danik cautioned its just two games with two freshmen (Cooper Crawford and James Fenton) in the lineup, among its young players getting varsity seasoning.
Still, they’ve been getting timely hitting. Alessi, Sean Dereka and Joseph Tamburello each has three hits over the first two games and Jelleme and Nugent (3 RBIs) have two hits apiece.
The 6-foot Jelleme could be a difference maker. Danik noted that his fastball had a little bit of a hop to it Wednesday along with a good slider and curveball. The key, though, was getting ahead of hitters and that helped with his consistency.
“This season you could tell that if we could develop some consistency with his pitches, he would be a pretty good pitcher,” said Danik, adding he’s been working on that and spent time in the weight room. “So, so far so good. It’s only one outing but it looked pretty good today.”
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This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: Jelleme throws gem, Metuchen wins on walk-off
Continue reading...
