Carteret, Immaculata win on walk-offs, six area teams among winners as states get underway; Pingry loss under protest to NJSIAA

Six teams from the CJSR coverage area won opening round state playoff games Wednesday, four of them public schools that moved their Thursday games up to avoid potentially bad weather.

Immaculata, Timothy Christian, Ridge, Monroe, Carteret and Middlesex all won first-round games, while a loss by Pingry is under protest by head coach Anthony Feltre to the NJSIAA.

The ninth-seeded Big Blue lost 13-4 at 8th-seed Paul VI Wednesday afternoon in Non-Public South A play, but Feltre says there was an issue with what he believes was an illegal substitution in the fifth inning, with his team leading 4-2 at the time.

Feltre says a relief pitcher came in for Paul VI’s starter in the top of the fourth. With no DH, the starting pitcher re-entered the game to bat in the bottom of the fourth, then the reliever illegally came back in to pitch for the top of the fifth.

Feltre says the “umpire agreed it was illegal, but since it was under protest, allowed the pitcher to stay in, which should not have happened.”

Feltre says he informed his Athletic Director, and that of Paul VI, and says the home plate umpire told him he would reach out as well to NJSIAA Chief Operating Office Tony Maselli, who is in charge of baseball for the state athletic association.

The next round for non-publics is not until Tuesday, and the winner of that game would be on the road that day to face top-seed Red Bank Catholic.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Pingry was trailing 4-2 at the time of the substitution in question. Pingry was leading 4-2 at the time.

Carteret rallies twice…

The fourth-seed Ramblers trailed 4-0 after the top of the first, and and came back to win 5-4 over 13th-seed South River, with Rams’ ace Julius Rosado on the mound.

They rallied to get two off him in the bottom of the first, then got two in the bottom of the seventh off reliever James Zsorey. Carteret freshman Luis Hernandez came up to bat with two on, and down to his final strike drove in both runners with a rocket of a triple to tie the game.

Then, in the ninth, Carteret had more magic up its sleeve. Senior Justin Santana got a double, Hernandez walked, then senior James Rodriguez hit a single to win it, 5-4.

Carteret (18-7) will be at home Wednesday against the winner of tomorrow’s first round game between 12-seed Johnson and fifth-seed Bordentown.

Immaculata walks it off…

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

With two on and two out, down a run in the seventh inning, Jayden Capindica hit a shallow fly ball to left field that should have been the third out. With the left fielder, shortstop and third baseman all converging, the ball dropped in, bounded away from the left fielder, allowing two runs to score, giving the fifth-seeded Spartans a wild, 5-4 win over 12-seed St. John Vianney in Non-Public South A first round action.

Immaculata pitching only allowed one hit in the game, with the Spartans again having some issues defensively.

Regardless of how it happened, the win moves Immaculata (16-7) into the sectional quarterfinals Tuesday at seed Notre Dame (12-11), which edged out the Spartans by a half a power point for the fourth-seed and a first round bye.

Read on for Wednesday results from other sections.

Central Jersey Group 4: Fifth-seed Monroe blanked 12-seed East Brunswick Wednesday, 4-0 at home behind a complete-game three-hitter from Zack Wallace, who struck out 13 Bears, and walked only one. The Falcons (14-9) will have to wait to see who they face in the quarterfinals next Wednesday. They’ll play the winner of tomorrow’s game between fourth-seed South Brunswick and 13-seed Freehold Township.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4: Third-seed Ridge advanced, cruising past 14-seed JP Stevens at home. The Red Devils are now 20-7, the second 20-game winner in Somerset County, and will host a quarterfinal game next Wednesday against the winner of tomorrow’s opening round game between 6th-seed Woodbridge and 11-seed and defending champion Bayonne. In a five-inning ten-run rule game, Ridge got six in the second, four in the third and three more in the fourth. The Red Devils have now scored ten or more runs in four of their last five games, and will play Bridgewater-Raritan Friday night for the Somerset County Tournament championship at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater. You can hear the 6 pm game right here on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Perth Amboy, the 13-seed, was blanked on the road by fourth-seed Westfield, 10-0.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2: Seventh-seed Bernards was knocked out of the state tournament with a 6-4 loss at 10-seed Rutherford on Wednesday afternoon.1

Non-Public South A: While Immaculata won, and Pingry lost – at least for now – 11th-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen also lost a 13-3 game down at sixth-seed Donovan Catholic. With seven-seed Union Catholic a 10-9 home winner over 10-seed Camden Catholic, should all the results hold, here are the matchups for next Tuesday’s sectional quarterfinals:

• (8) Paul VI at (1) Red Bank Catholic
• (5) Immaculata at (4) Notre Dame
• (6) Donovan Catholic at (3) Christian Brothers Academy
  (7) Union Catholic at (2) St. Augustine

Non-Public North B: It wasn’t a walk-off, but 10th-seed Timothy Christian pulled one out with two in the top of the seventh, then shut down seventh-seed Hawthorne Christian in the bottom of the inning for a thrilling 6-5 win. Starting pitcher Josh Thiero went the distance, allowing six hist and just two unearned runs, striking out six to get the victory. The Tigers (4-11) will visit second-seed St. Thomas Aquinas (16-8) in an all-GMC quarterfinal matchup next Tuesday.

With eight-seed Morris Catholic a 4-1 winner over nine-seed Roselle Catholic Wednesday, here are the quarterfinal matchups for next Tuesday:

• (8) Morris Catholic at (1) St. Mary-Rutherford
• (5) Rutgers Prep at (4) Montclair-Kimberley (both had first-round byes)
• (10) Timothy Christian at (2) St. Thomas Aquinas
• (6) Morristown-Beard at (3) Gill St. Bernards