The South Plainfied baseball team with its Red Division championship plaque, awarded before Saturday’s GMC final against Old Bridge at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Old Bridge and South Plainfield – the two GMC Tournament finalists – along with Bridgewater-Raritan are expected to earn top seeds in the NJSIAA playoffs when the seedings are announced Monday.
Saturday was the cutoff date, with the top 16 power point results for all teams counting toward playoff qualification. And it appears 36 teams from the CJSR coverage area will qualify.
Here’s a section by section breakdown based on official NJ.com power point standings as of noon Saturday, when power points officially close, with projected first round matchups for all local teams qualifying:
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 4
Without a win in the GMC Tournament title game, defending sectional champion Old Bridge (18-7) might have ended up third, behind Manalapan and Jackson Memorial. But the Knights’ win over South Plainfield Saturday gave them 48 points, dropping an 18 from their score, netting them a gain of 30, and putting them in first by a single point over Manalapan (15-11), with a 516.5 to 515.5 point lead. If that holds, the Knights will get to defend their title as the top seed for the second straight year.
The rest of the standings show South Brunswick (13-12, 427) in fourth, directly above Monroe (12-9, 419.5). Next down the list is Sayreville (11-10, 396) in eighth, and after Hightstown (11-8, 379) ninth, it’s North Brunswick (9-11, 353), Hillsborough (9-13, 343) and East Brunswick (7-15, 338) one after the other. Montgomery (8-14, 326.5) checks in at No. 15.
Projected Local Matchups:
- (16) West Windsor-Plainsboro South at (1) Old Bridge
- (13) Freehold Township at (4) South Brunswick
- (12) East Brunswick at (5) Monroe
- (11) Hillsborough at (6) Howell
- (10) North Brunswick at (7) Marlboro
- (9) Hightstown at (8) Sayreville
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 3
With only two area teams in this section, it appears neither have made the playoffs. Somerville (10-14) looks to have finished just outside the top 16 at 10-14 with 337 power points. So unless there turns out to be a discrepancy, opt-out (doubtful) or a disqualification among the top 16, the Pioneers will be out, along with JFK (8-14, 307.5, 19th place).
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 2
It looks like three area teams will make the playoffs here, with one more right on the edge in case anyone else drops out or there are last minute changes to the current standings.
GMC Blue Division champion Spotswood (18-3-2, 519) checks in at No. 2, well behind first place Governor Livingston, which is having a great year at 20-4, with 555 points. The Chargers made last year’s sectional final, falling to Rumson-Fair Haven, which is only 8-12 this season, and currently in 14th behind South River at 10-11 with 353 points. Two spots behind Spotswood is Carteret (17-6), which looks to be the fourth seed, but is just two points behind Wall (16-4, 504).
East Brunswick Magnet (9-9, 272) appears just outside the top 16, two points behind 8-14 Holmdel with 274 points.
Projected Local Matchups:
- (15) Manasquan at (2) Spotswood
- (13) South River at (4) Carteret
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1
The top team here looks to be two-time defending champion Point Pleasant Beach (19-4, 463) by a mile over Shore (13-7, 397.5) and South Hunterdon (12-9, 378). Then there are two CJSR-area teams, GMC Gold Division Champion South Amboy (13-4, 358) and Middlesex (8-16, 352). The Blue Jays are young, but play a tough schedule in the GMC White and out of their division, leading to a high finish despite being eight games below the .500 mark.
After Riverside (11-8, 340) in sixth, Manville (10-8, 310) follows in seventh, then Henry Hudson (10-7, 291) and GMC Silver Division winner Dunellen (11-12, 275) just missing out on a first round home game in ninth. Further down, you’ll find Highland Park (8-9) in 14th place, and Somerset Tech expected to claim the last spot in 16th.
Projected Local Matchups:
- (16) Somerset Tech at (1) Point Pleasant Beach
- (14) Highland Park at (3) South Hunterdon
- (13) Keansburg at (4) South Amboy
- (12) New Egypt at (5) Middlesex
- (10) Palmyra at (7) Manville
- (9) Dunellen at (8) Henry Hudson
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 4
Somerset County Tournament semifinalist Bridgewater-Raritan is atop the pack by a good margin, and should get the top seed. The Panthers are 21-3, with more wins than anyone else in the section, and have 618 points, a comfortable margin over second-place Scotch Plains-Fanwood at 570. Third is Ridge (18-7, 538), which also will be playing Monday in the SCT semifinals at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater. After Westfield and Phillipsburg, there’s Woodbridge (17-8) in sixth with 509 points.
After two more out-of-area teams in Hunterdon Central and Woodbridge, there’s Edison (14-11, 430) in ninth, with Watchung Hills (13-12, 417.5) right behind them.
In 11th place is defending sectional champion Bayonne, which beat Bridgewater in last year’s sectional final. The Bees are four points ahead of the next CJSR-area team, of which there are four in a row: Piscataway (11-9, 342) is in 12th, followed by Perth Amboy (8-15, 338), JP Stevens (8-15, 338) and Franklin (8-12, 299.5).
Projected Local Matchups:
- (16) Union at (1) Bridgewater-Raritan
- (15) Franklin at (2) Scotch Plains-Fanwood
- (14) JP Stevens at (3) Ridge
- (13) Perth Amboy at (4) Westfield
- (12) Piscataway at (5) Phillipsburg
- (11) Bayonne at (6) Woodbridge
- (10) Watchung Hills at (7) Hunterdon Central
- (9) Edison at (8) Elizabeth
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 3
There are only three area teams in this section, and two have qualified with South Plainfield looking like they’ll get the top seed, despite the Tigers’ loss to Old Bridge in Saturday’s GMC Tournament final. They’re in first at 19-5-1 with 572.5 points, ahead of second-place Randolph (17-8, 565). In fifth is Colonia (17-5, 508). North Plainfield (5-19, 241) finished two spots out of the running.
Projected Local Matchups:
- (12) Millburn at (5) Colonia
- (16) Cliffside Park at (1) South Plainfield
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 2
The only area team here is Bernards, and the Mountaineers appear to be a seven-seed at 8-12-1 with 351.5 power points.
Projected Local Matchup:
- (10) Rutherford at (7) Bernards
NON-PUBLIC, SOUTH A
There are three CJSR-area teams in this section, and with only 12 teams, all will qualify if they want to. But with no school having fewer than six wins, we don’t anticipate any opt-outs. In that case, the top four-seeds in the 12-team field would have byes.
That said, Red Bank Catholic (16-7, 551) is the top-seed by a good margin over 15-7 St. Augustine (528), followed by CBA and Notre Dame. But Immaculata (14-6, 438) is just a half-point behind the Irish (12-10, 438.5), so any discrepancy could muddy whether the Spartans have to play in the first round Wednesday or get a bye.
Further down the list, Pingry (9-12, 303.5) is in ninth, followed by Camden Catholic (9-13, 274), then St. Joseph-Metuchen (6-18, 260.5). The Falcons went to the title game last year, falling to RBC, but have struggled this year with a young and inexperienced team.
Projected Local Matchups:
- (12) St. John Vianney at (5) Immaculata
- (11) St. Joseph-Metuchen at (6) Donovan Catholic
- (9) Pingry at (8) Paul VI
NON-PUBLIC, NORTH B
This one could be a little tricky to figure out from the bottom up. Any team that doesn’t opt-out would be in, with just 13 teams in the section. Wardlaw-Hartridge opted out last year at 1-14-1, and would be expected to do the same this year at just 0-11. But Timothy Christian tradtionally does not opt out. They are just 2-10 with 137 points, but played last year with a 5-12 record. Assuming they play, the top five teams in an 11-team field would get byes.
As of now, the standings have defending champion St. Mary-Rutherford in first at 18-7 with 473 points, followed by two CJSR-area teams: St. Thomas Aquinas (15-7, 445) in third, and Gill St. Bernard’s (10-11-1, 339.5) in third. After Montclair-Kimberley (8-16, 334.5), there’s Rutgers Prep (7-14, 303); the Argonauts lost at St. Mary in last year’s sectional final.
Projected Local Matchups:
- (11) Timothy Christian at (6) Morristown-Beard (first round), winner at (3) Gill St. Bernard’s (second round)
- (5) Rutgers Prep at (4) Montclair-Kimberley (second round)
- (10) Golda Och/(7) Hawthorne Christian winner at (2) St. Thomas Aquinas (second round)
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Since three of the four teams remaining in the Somerset County Tournament are public schools who would have state tournament games on Thursday, does that presumably mean that the Somerset County final will indeed be moved from Thursday night to Friday night?
Yes, that’s actually something we’ve talked about all season long during our broadcasts. That’s assuming no one gets a rare “bye” in the first round, which almost never happens in publics unless someone gets DQd after the seeding.