There was no disputing who would be the top seed in the 2024 Somerset County Baseball Tournament. More interesting was who would be the second seed.
Bridgewater-Raritan got the No. 1 spot for the second straight year. The Panthers – who are 16-3 after a non-conference loss to Howell Monday afternoon – are followed by Immaculata (13-2) as the second seed, Ridge (12-7) third, and Watchung Hills (8-9) fourth.
The Panthers swept the season series from the Red Devils this season, winning 8-4 at home on April 11th, then again 6-2 last Tuesday in Basking Ridge, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Last season, as the top-seed, Bridgewater-Raritan was knocked out in the semifinals by 12th-seed Rutgers Prep, 4-3, en route to winning the championship. The Argonauts upset second-seed Ridge in the final, 1-0, to take their second county championship in school history.
The SCT opens with two first-round games Thursday at higher seeds. 14th-seed Bound Brook will travel to 11th-seed Pingry, while 13th-seed and defending champion Rutgers Prep will visit 12th-seed Gill St. Bernards.
The second round is Monday, May 13, with four games at higher seeds. The quarterfinals are Thursday, May 16, with the top four seeds getting into the action.
New this year is that the semifinals and finals will be played in the same week at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater. Previously, the semis and title game were played two weeks apart due to scheduling constraints at the home of the Somerset Patriots, but coaches decided to move the semis to the same week this year in order to have more regular season games in the ledger on which to base the seeding.
Last year’s tournament was seeded just two weeks into the season.
However, this year’s final is set for Thursday, May 23rd, the first day of the NJSIAA state tournament for public schools. That means if a public school reaches the final, it would likely have to be pushed back a day to the Friday, May 24th, rain date.
The state tournament game would likely take precedent, because it would affect days off for pitch counts for any team involved if the game were to be moved back a day.
Below is the 2024 Somerset County Tournament baseball bracket:
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