The Non-Public North B playoff section all of a sudden has a distinct Central Jersey flavor, as all three CJSR-area teams advanced to the sectional semifinals, with two upsets among the results.
Among them were 6th-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s knocking off third-seed Montclair-Kimberley – which had beaten Rutgers Prep last month to win the Prep B Tournament title – by a 7-4 score in West Orange, and a milder 5-4 upset as Immaculata won 9-6 at Morristown-Beard.
Coupled with top-seed Rutgers Prep’s 19-0 win in five innings over 9-seed Morris Catholic, and a 9-0 win for 2-seed St. Mary-Rutherford over 10-seed Hawthorne Christian, that sets up a guarantee that a Somerset County team will be in the finals next Friday.
The semifinals will feature Immaculata at Rutgers Prep next week, while Gill travels to Rutherford to play St. Mary. If the Knights win, it’ll be an all-Somerset County North B final, and a guarantee to get a local team in the Group Finals in two weeks at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton.
In South A, it was a split, as second-seed St. Joseph of Metuchen scored early and often in a 7-1 win over 10-seed Union Catholic. Mark Gialluisi knocked in three runs, while Tyler Delvecchio had two RBIs. However, 5th-seed Pingry lost a slugfest in Holmdel to 4-seed St. John Vianney, 13-11.
In the semis, the Falcons will play at home next Tuesday at 3:30 against 6-seed Christian Brothers Academy, which beat 3-seed Red Bank 3-1 Thursday.
The other game will have top-seed St. Augustine against Vianney. The Hermits beat 8-seed Notre Dame 4-3, earning head coach Mike Bylone his 300th career win.
There was one other CJSR-area game today, as Monroe and Howell played a day earlier than the rest of the Central Jersey Group 4 field. The 7th-seeded Falcons lost in Old Bridge to the 2nd-seeded Rebels, 5-4. Old Bridge, East Brunswick and North Brunswick remain alive in that section, and play tomorrow.
Scroll down for the upcoming schedule:
SATURDAY
Central Jersey Group 4:
(9) East Brunswick at (1) Middletown South, 2 pm
(5) North Brunswick at (4) Northern Burlington, 1:30
(6) Old Bridge at (3) Jackson Memorial, 3 pm
Central Jersey Group 3:
(8) Neptune at (1) Steinert
(13) Matawan at (5) Colts Neck
(6) Somerville at (3) Hamilton West, 12 pm
(15) JFK at (10) Middletown North
Central Jersey Group 2:
(9) Bordentown at (1) Rumson-Fair Haven
(12) Nottingham at (4) Voorhees
(11) Manasquan at (3) Governor Livingston
(7) Metuchen at (2) Wall, 11 am
Central Jersey Group 1:
(8) Riverside at (1) Middlesex, 10 am
(5) Shore at (4) South Amboy, 10 am (at South Amboy Waterfront Park)
(11) Florence at (3) New Egypt
(7) Bound Brook at (2) Pt. Pleasant Beach, 10 am
North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 4:
(9) Elizabeth at (1) Hunterdon Central
(5) Bayonne at (4) Watchung Hills, 3 pm
(6) Westfield at (3) Woodbridge, 2 pm
(7) Bridgewater-Raritan at (2) Ridge, 2 pm (on CJSR – click to listen)
North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 3:
(8) Nutley at (1) Millburn
(5) Randolph at (4) West Morris
(6) Mendham at (3) Cranford
(7) Colonia at (2) Ferris
TUESDAY
Non-Public South A Semifinals:
(4) St. John Vianney at (1) St. Augustine
(6) Christian Brothers Academy at (2) St. Joseph-Metuchen, 3:30 pm
Non-Public North B Semifinals:
(5) Immaculata at (1) Rutgers Prep
(6) Gill St. Bernard’s at (2) St. Mary-Rutherford, TBA