Welcome to the MyCentralJersey.com Readers’ Choice Baseball Player of the Week poll after the first full week of action.
Area teams include squads from the Greater Middlesex Conference, Skyland and area Union counties.
Please note that the votes don’t always show up immediately. There are lags for the votes to register and a winner isn’t declared until hours after the poll closes.
The poll closes Thursday at noon.
Anthony Bienvenue
East Brunswick Magnet
Junior
How’s this for a strong start on the mound — the righthander is 3-0 with an 0.82 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 17 innings for the undefeated Tigers (5-0). Oh, he also threw a no-hitter in the team’s opener on March 31.
Ben Faigin
Monroe
Sophomore
Faigin is off to a scorching start to his varsity career. The sophomore is hitting .409 (9-for-22) with a team-high six RBIs and a home run. His RBI single in the top of the 10th gave Monroe a 2-1 win against Edison on April 8. He also earned the victory with five innings of scoreless relief off a hit and three walks with nine strikeouts.
Ronnie Germinder
Scotch Plains-Fanwood
Sophomore
He went 3-for-6 with four RBIs in the Raiders’ 11-4 and 12-2 Union County Conference Watchung Division wins over Cranford and New Providence. He is 11-for-18 with 11 RBIs and four stolen bases for the Raiders (5-1).
Brody Griffith
Watchung Hills
Junior
The left fielder has hit safely in all five of Watchung Hills’ games – 9-for-13 – to help the Warriors get off to a 4-1 start. His three-run homer to left in the fourth inning Wednesday gave Watchung Hills a 5-3 lead in its 15-3 win over Franklin. He finished the game with five RBIs, two runs scored and two walks.
Nik Holot
Hunterdon Central
Sophomore
The left fielder — hitting No. 2 in the lineup — drove in four runs in Central’s sweep over North Hunterdon. He had two RBIs, a triple and run scored in the 3-2 win on Wednesday, then doubled with two more RBIs in Thursday’s 5-1 win. He’s 5-for-12 for the season. His two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh gave Central a 4-3 season-opening win over Hillsborough.
Lucas Liston
Ridge
Junior
He pitched a complete game, two-hitter as the Red Devils beat previously unbeaten Immaculata on Thursday, 8-0. Liston struck out nine, walked two and threw 97 pitches in his first varsity complete game.
Dominic Long
Middlesex
Sophomore
Long is becoming one of the GMC’s top two-way players. He’s hitting .476 (10-for-21) and has a 1.43 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings pitched for the 5-1 Blue Jays. In the two-game sweep over North Brunswick last week, he was 4-for-8 and drove in six runs while earning a win on the mound.
Bennie Sokolowski
North Plainfield
Junior
Here’s one way to get nominated as Player of the Week — throw a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts. The righthander was nearly perfect in a 1-0 win over Metuchen. He walked three batters and has not allowed an earned run in 11 innings this season.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: Vote: Player of the Week poll for Week 1
