BELMAR – A week after reaching the Monmouth County Tournament final for the first time since 2008 when they won it all, sixth-seeded St. Rose was upset by 27th-seed Keansburg, 6-4, in the first round of the 2018 Shore Conference Tournament.
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The stunning loss sent shock waves throughout the Shore Conference after the Purple Roses pulled off three upset wins in the MCT to reach the final. Their four-game run to the final included wins against fifth-seeded Manalapan, fourth-seeded Monmouth and ninth-seeded Raritan before losing, 5-1, to sixth-seeded Red Bank Catholic in the final.
In the MCT final, the Caseys jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings off starting pitcher Sammy Sestito, who tossed a no-hitter in last season’s opener. St. Rose cut the lead to 4-1 on a Patrick Ferrante groundout that scored second baseman Evan Peeke. But the Caseys answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth and St. Rose was unable to break through on winning and starting pitcher Blaise Panzini the rest of the way.
In their loss to Keansburg (11-8), the Titans scored two unearned runs in the top of the first inning off starting pitcher Sestito on a two-out error and tacked on another two runs in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead that St. Rose was never able to overcome.
St. Rose pulled to within 4-3, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third on a two-run double by Brody Maypother and an RBI single by Sestito but Titans starting pitcher Liam Meyer held them to one additional run through six innings while the Titans added two runs, including an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Paul Eckleberry came in to shut the door on St. Rose in the bottom of the seventh to pick up a save. 
The Purple Roses will now set their sights on the state playoffs where they were given the third seed in the NJSIAA Non-Public South B bracket and will host No. 14 seed Wildwood Catholic in the first round scheduled for May 24.
A year ago in the NJSIAA Non-Public South B tournament, St. Rose was seeded No. 2 and reached the final after getting two shutout wins against No. 7 Trenton Catholic and No. 6 Rutgers Prep in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Current seniors Riley Maypother – Brody’s twin brother – and Wil Gannon combined to toss a three-hit shutout in the win against Rutgers Prep to vault them into the final versus top-seeded Gloucester Catholic in a game they eventually lost, 9-4. Gloucester Catholic went on to beat Newark Academy, 15-5, to claim the overall Non-Public B championship. 
Five starters from that team are key contributors to this year’s, including the Maypother twins, Gannon, Sestito and John Crowley. St. Rose (17-6, 12-2) finished the regular season tied with Point Beach (13-7, 12-2) atop the Class B Central for a share of the division crown. The two teams split the season series with St. Rose taking the first game, 9-6, and the Garnett Gulls topping the Purple Roses, 6-1, on Apr. 23.
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