Top seeds Old Bridge, South Plainfield, Bridgewater-Raritan advance along with four others from CJSR area

Defending Central Jersey Group 4 champion Old Bridge joined two other top seeds from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area – South Plainfield and Bridgewater-Raritan – in advancing to sectional semifinal play in the NJSIAA state tournament Wednesday afternoon.

Monroe, Colonia, Middlesex and Ridge also advanced, while South Brunswick, Sayreville, Carteret, South Amboy and Edison were eliminated.

Below are recaps of Wednesday’s games, including audio with all seven winning head coaches.  Scroll down further for all results and upcoming schedules in sections where CJSR-area teams remain.

Central Jersey Group 4

The top-seeded Knights – who went all the way to the state Group 4 final a year ago – were 4-0 winners at home over eight-seed Sayreville (12-13) behind a solid start of 5 1/3 innings from Frank Papeo.  Old Bridge scored twice in the first and twice more in the fifth.  Akhil Penkala and Papeo each knocked in runs while Chris Crosta was 2-for-3.  Justin Hascup closed the game out in relief.

The Knights (20-8) now move on to host 5th-seed Monroe in Friday’s semifinal at Fred Cole Field.  Central Jersey Sports Radio will carry the game live with coverage starting at 3:45 and first pitch at 4 pm.  Click here to listen.

Meanwhile, the Falcons (15-9) were 3-0 shutout winners at 4th-seed South Brunswick (14-13) Wednesday afternoon.  They got all their runs late, one each in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.  Zack Wallace went the distance, scattering six hits and two walks over seven innings, striking out nine in the victory.

Central Jersey Group 2:

Fourth-seed Carteret ended its season at 18-8 with a 7-2 home home loss to 15-seed Bordentown Wednesday. The Scotties got a run in each of the first two innings, then put up a five-spot in the fourth before the Ramblers got a run each in the sixth and seventh. Justin Santana and Joniel Martinez knocked in the two Carteret runs.

Central Jersey Group 1:

Fifth-seed Middlesex (10-16) picked up a road win Wednesday at fourth-seed South Amboy (14-5), blowing out the Governors 14-4 in a full, seven-inning game. The Blue Jays scored twice in the first and two more in the third before South Amboy tied it in the bottom of the inning. But they wouldn’t score again, as Middlesex exploded for seven runs in the top of the fourth and never looked back. Owen Reynolds, Luke Jones and Dominic Long each knocked three runs, while Chris Kozak threw 6 2/3 innings for the win, coming out before he went over the daily 110-pitch count limit.

The Blue Jays will visit top-seed and two-time defending champions Point Pleasant Beach (22-4) in Friday’s semifinals. The Blue Jays and Garnet Gulls have met in each of the last four CJ1 title games, with Point Beach winning the last two, and Middlesex winning the first two of those, in 2019 and 2021. (There was no high school baseball in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4:

All top-seed Bridgewater-Raritan (26-3) really needed was the one run they got in the first inning. But they got two more in the third and blanked 9th-seed Edison (16-12) by a score of 3-0, beating Jaxon Appelman, who struck out ten but gave up all earned runs in defeat. Matt Cichocki drove in the first run, then he and JR Rosado each drove in the two in the third, while the Panthers stole eight bases in the game. Kellan Komline got the win for the Somerset County Tournament champs, who will host fourth-seed Westfield (19-6) Friday in the sectional semis.

Meanwhile, third-seed Ridge dethroned defending champion and 11th-seed Bayonne – which beat Bridgewater in last year’s North 2, Group 4 final – with a 7-1 home victory Wednesday. The Red Devils (21-8) got a run in the first before the Bees tied it in the second, but Ridge scored six unanswered after that, with four in the third and two in the fourth. Kieran Callnan and Nick Sellitti each had a pair of RBIs as five different players knocked in runs. Ben Larner pitched a complete game – four hits, one unearned run, three strikeouts for the Red Devils, who will host 7th-seed Hunterdon Central (15-10) in the semis on Friday.

If both Bridgewater-Raritan and Ridge win their semifinal games, they would meet Monday in the finals at Bridgewater, in a rematch of last week’s Somerset County Tournament final, which the Panthers won, 10-7.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3:

It’ll be a GMC crossover matchup in the semifinals, with top-seed South Plainfield out of the Red Division taking on fifth-seed Colonia out of the White.

The Tigers (21-5-1) took a 6-2 decision from 8-seed Cranford Wednesday, as Zack Robinson had a monster game, 2-for-3 with three runs batted in on a double and a triple. Starting pitcher Kevin Penny held things down ouot on the mount, throwing 5 1/3, scattering five hits and allowing two earned runs, while striking out six.

As for the fifth-seeded Patriots, they continued their red hot play and beat fourth-seed West Morris on the road, 3-0. Starter Cory Pascarella struck out 12, walked just two, and scattered four hits in a complete game effort for Colonia (19-6). The first run scored on a throwing error on a sac bunt, then Colin Kroner and Jake Harvatt and drove in the second and third runs, all in the top of the third.

Below are results from all sections in which Central Jersey Sports Radio teams remain alive, followed by the complete upcoming schedule:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29

Central Jersey Group 4
(1) Old Bridge def. (8) Sayreville, 4-0
(5) Monroe def. (4) South Brunswick, 3-0
(3) Jackson Memorial def. (6) Howell, 7-4
(2) Manalapan def. (7) Marlboro, 7-6

Central Jersey Group 2
(5) Bordentown def. (4) Carteret, 7-2

Central Jersey Group 1
(1) Pt. Pleasant Beach def. (8) Henry Hudson, 15-2
(5) Middlesex def. (4) South Amboy, 14-4
(11) Florence def. (3) South Hunterdon, 1-0
(2) Shore def. (10) Palmyra, 13-1

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4
(1) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (9) Edison, 3-0
(4) Westfield def. (5) Phillipsburg at, 2-1
(3) Ridge def. (11) Bayonne at, 7-1
(7) Hunterdon Central def. (2) Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 9-3

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3
(1) South Plainfield, def (8) Cranford, 6-2
(5) Colonia def. (4) West Morris, 3-0
(3) North Hunterdon def. (6) Summit, 1-0
(2) Randolph def. (7) Mendham, 3-2

THURSDAY, MAY 30

Non-Public North B
(5) Rutgers Prep at (1) St. Mary-Rutherford
(3) Gill St. Bernard’s at (2) St. Thomas Aquinas

Non-Public South A
(5) Immaculata at (1) Red Bank Catholic
(3) Christian Brothers Academy at (2) St. Augustine

FRIDAY, MAY 31

Central Jersey Group 4
(5) Monroe at (1) Old Bridge, 5 pm (Listen LIVE on CJSR)
(3) Jackson Memorial at (2) Manalapan

Central Jersey Group 1
(5) Middlesex at (1) Pt. Pleasant Beach, 4 pm
(11) Florence at (2) Shore

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4
(4) Westfield at (1) Bridgewater-Raritan, TBA
(7) Hunterdon Central at (3) Ridge, 4 pm

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3
(5) Colonia at (1) South Plainfield, 2 pm
(3) North Hunterdon at (2) Randolph

SATURDAY, JUNE 1
Non-Public Sectional Finals (at higher seeds)

MONDAY, JUNE 3
Public Sectional Finals (at higher seeds)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5
Public Group Semifinals (North 2 and South teams host

THURSDAY, JUNE 6
Non-Public State Finals (at Veterans’ Park, Hamilton)

SATURDAY, JUNE 8
Public State Finals (at Veterans’ Park, Hamilton)