Ridge starter Andrew Shawah pitches in the third inning against Pingry’s Alex Payne on April 29, 2022. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Three Central Jersey Sports Radio-area teams won their opening games on the first day of the NJSIAA state baseball tournament, while two got sent home.
Pingry moved on in Non-Public South A with a five-inning 11-1 win over 12th-seed Camden Catholic. The Big Blue threw out a runner at the plate in the top of the fifth that would have cut the lead to nine and extended the game. Alex Payne had a pair of doubles, and Liam Royster was 2-for-2 with a single, double, two runs scored and 3 RBI.
Now 23-2, the fifth-seeded Prep A Champions – who are ranked 9th in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten and have the area’s longest winning streak, at 14 in-a-row – will travel to Holmdel Friday to take on fourth-seed St. John Vianney (17-6-1), which had a first-round bye.
Also in that section, 9th-seed St. Thomas Aquinas was eliminated at 8-seed Notre Dame, also by an 11-1 score. The Trojans finish their season 15-8.
In the other half on the Non-Public South A bracket, 10th-seed Union Catholic at 7-seed Donovan Catholic was postponed until Wednesday at 2 pm due to the excessive heat Tuesday. That means second-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen – which also had a first-round bye – will have to wait another day to find out who they will play Friday in the quarterfinals.
In Non-Public North B, 5th-seed Immaculata blanked 12-seed Newark Academy in a 5-inning game, scoring four runs in the second and five in the third to put the game out of reach. A.J. Johnson homered and was 3-for-3, knocking in three runs for the Spartans (10-12), who now face 4-seed Morristown-Beard (13-8), which had a first-round bye. Wardlaw-Hartridge was a late scratch from the bracket after initially being the 13th-seed, with Mo-Beard as their first round opponent.
Sixth-seed Gill St. Bernard’s also picked up a mercy-rule win in walk-off fashion, defeating 11th-seed Mater Dei 13-3 at home, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth to end it. John DiGregorio had a monster game: 3-for-4 with a double and five runs batted in. The Knights (13-13) also worked out eight walks and stole eleven bases. Next up is third-seed Montclair-Kimberley (17-6), the Prep B Champion, on the road Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, 8th-seed Timothy Christian was ousted 10-0 by 9-seed Morris Catholic (8-15), which now will play Friday at top-seed Rutgers Prep (18-5), which had a first-round bye.
Here’s the upcoming schedule for all games involving CJSR-area teams:
WEDNESDAY
Central Jersey Group 4:
(9) East Brunswick at (8) Freehold Twp., 4 pm
(12) South Brunswick at (5) North Brunswick, 4 pm (at Community Park)
(13) Montgomery at (4) Northern Burlington, 3:30 pm
(11) Rancocas Valley at (6) Old Bridge, 4 pm
(10) Marlboro at (7) Monroe, 3 pm
Central Jersey Group 3:
(11) Red Bank Catholic at (6) Somerville, 4 pm (at Torpey Athletic Complex, Bridgewater)
(15) JFK at (2) Brick Memorial, 3 pm
Central Jersey Group 2:
(16) Carteret at (1) Rumson-Fair Haven, 4:30 pm
(12) Nottingham at (5) South River, 3:15 pm (at Grekoski Park)
(11) Manasquan at (6) Spotswood, 4 pm
(10) Bernards at (7) Metuchen, 4 pm
(15) East Brunswick Tech at (2) Wall, 4 pm
Central Jersey Group 1:
(16) Highland Park at (1) Middlesex, 4 pm
(9) Perth Amboy Tech at (8) Riverside, 4 pm
(12) Manville at (5) Shore, 2 pm
(13) Palmyra at (4) South Amboy, 4 pm (at Raritan Bay Waterfront Park)
(10) Burlington City at (7) Bound Brook, 4 pm (at Billain-Legion Park)
North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 4:
(9) Elizabeth at (8) Franklin, 1 pm
(13) Piscataway at (4) Watchung Hills, 3:45 pm
(14) Newark East Side at (3) Woodbridge, 4:30 pm
(10) JP Stevens at (7) Bridgewater-Raritan, 2:15 pm
(15) Plainfield at (2) Ridge, 4 pm
North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 3:
(12) South Plainfield at (5) Randolph, 4 pm
(10 Cliffside Park at (7) Colonia, 4 pm
(15) North Plainfield at (2) Ferris, 4 pm
North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 1:
(13) Dunellen at (4) Brearley, 4 pm
FRIDAY
Non-Public South A:
(5) Pingry at (4) St. John Vianney
(2) St. Joseph-Metuchen vs. (7) Donovan Catholic or (10) Union Catholic, 4 pm
Non-Public North B:
(9) Morris Catholic at (1) Rutgers Prep
(5) Immaculata at (4) Morristown-Beard
(6) Gill St. Bernard’s at (3) Montclair-Kimberley
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