Senior lefty Raiden Yost (3-2, 1.18 ERA) will get the ball against Florence for Middlesex in the Central Jersey Group 1 semifinal game.
The more things change, the more they stay the same for the Middlesex High School baseball team.
While the coronavirus pandemic cancelled the 2020 season, and the Blue Jays – like many – look a lot different in 2021 than they did in 2019, the results on the field have been pretty much the same.
The formula is this: a solid postseason, maybe a win in the GMC Tournament – where they end up facing much larger schools – and a deep run in the state tournament.
To wit: Middlesex was 103-35 in Justin Nastasi’s first five seasons as head coach. That includes 22 or more wins each of the last two seasons.
His Blue Jays have won four sectional titles and two Group 1 titles in that time. And while he’s 3-6 as a head coach in the GMC Tournament, his teams are a whopping 25-3 in the states, twice losing in the Group 1 final.
Tuesday, he will lead top-seed Middlesex (17-4) into the Central Jersey Group 1 semifinals against 12th-seed Florence (8-8) in a game that can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino calling the action.
First pitch is set for 4 pm. Pregame will start at 3:30 pm; you can listen for free by clicking here.
Don’t forget to check back here after the game for postgame reaction on cjsportsradio.com.
Click below to hear Middlesex head coach Justin Nastasi talk about the Blue Jays’ CJ1 semifinal game against Florence: