Jordan Snow of Somerville bats against Manville in the second round of the Somerset County Tournament on May 13, 2024 at Torpey Athletic Complex in Bridgewater. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
The quarterfinals of the Somerset County Tournament are set, as Somerville, Hillsborough, and Montgomery all advanced, while Rutgers Prep pulled off yet another upset to advance to Thursday.
Here’s a rundown of Monday’s action, with postgame reaction from all four winning head coaches.
(13) Rutgers Prep 3, (5) Franklin 2 (8 innings)
Rutgers Prep had a 2-0 lead going into the seventh, but allowed Franklin to tie the game, then came back to go ahead 3-2 on a seeing eye single in the top of the eighth, and reliever Evan Laub pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth to get the win.
Both starters, Quincy Bell for Franklin (7-10) and Peter Wheeler for the Argos, were dealing the entire game, and Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso wanted to see his guy finish the game, but he eventually brought in Laub out of the ‘pen, and he got the final two outs to keep the game going into extras.
For the Argonauts, who are now 7-11, you can make it six straight upset wins in the SCT going back to last year. Just 1-6 at the time of the 2023 seeding meeting, Prep got the 12 seed, and after beating 13-seed Watchung Hills in the opening round, pulled off four straight upsets – over 5-seed Franklin, 4-seed Somerville, top-seed Bridgewater-Raritan and 2-seed Ridge, 1-0 in the final – to win it all.
This year, they knocked off 12-seed Gill in the opening round Saturday, and on Monday upset Franklin for the second year in a row, after losing to them twice in the regular season.
Rutgers Prep will travel to 4-seed Watchung Hills (11-11) Thursday. The teams split their two regular season meetings, each winning on the road.
Click below to hear Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso talk about the win:
(7) Somerville 2, (10) Manville 0
The Pioneers’ (8-13) two runs were unearned, coming on an error by the Manville (10-6) third baseman in the bottom of the fifth inning. Somerville left a number of runners on base early in the game, but eventually broke through against Manville starter Brandon Shimp, who took the loss.
Dalton Carmon went the distance on a one-hitter for Somerville and was very efficient. He struck out four, walked one, and did it all with just 62 pitches to get the win.
It’s been a frustrating season for Somerville, playing up in the Delaware Division of the Skyland Conference this year, where they’re 0-9 against some top teams like Bridgewater-Raritan, Ridge and North Hunterdon.
Next up for the Pioneers is a trip to Flemington to take on second-seed Immaculata (13-4) at Diamond Nation.
Click below to hear Somerville head coach Chris Banos’ talk about the win:
(6) Hillsborough 2, (11) Pingry 1 (8 innings)
The Raiders won a tight game in dramatic fashion in the eighth inning on a throwing error to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Hillsborough got on the board first in the second inning, but Pingry tied it up when their ace pitcher Alex Payne hit a solo home run in the fifth. After four innings, head coach Matt Mosko went to the bullpen and brought in Max Romanok, who tossed four innings of two-hit, shutout relief.
And he wound up picking up the win when Hillsborough walked it off in the eighth. Jake Battagliese led off with a double, and the Raiders tried to small-ball themselves to a win with a bunt by Alex Reiling to move Battagliese to third. But the bunt was fielded by Neil Srinkath, who threw it away into the vast foul territory down the first base line, allowing Reiling to come home with the game-winning run.
Hillsborough now moves on the play at 3rd-seed Ridge Thursday afternoon at 4:00, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Click below to hear Hillsborough head coach Matt Mosko talk about the win:
(8) Montgomery 3, (9) Bernards 1
The Cougars snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 second-round win over visiting nine-seed Bernards. And they did it against Mountaineer ace Evan Hoeckele, picking up a run in the first on a double to centerfield by Monty starter Jack Donahue, a Seton Hall commit.
Donahue picked up a second RBI to help his cause – it turned out to be the eventual game-winning run – in the fifth, again with a double.
The win puts Montgomery into the quarterfinals, and they’ll visit top-seed Bridgewater-Raritan Thursday afternoon.
Click below to hear Montgomery head coach peter Mueller talk about the win:
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