Monroe, GMCT champ Old Bridge will play for a third time, with winner going to CJ4 title game

The Old Bridge and Monroe baseball teams already have played twice this season. And while the Knights won both, both were close.

The first meeting was an epic, ten-inning affair, won by Old Bridge when Michael Altman drove in Frank Papeo – long out of the game as the starting pitcher – drive in the game winning run in the bottom of the tenth at Fred Cole Field.

The second was a 4-1 Knights’ win back in Monroe.

They’ll meet for a third time Friday in Old Bridge in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. The Knights are the top-seed and defending champion, while Monroe is the fifth-seed.

First pitch is set for 5 pm, with pregame at 4:45 from Fred Cole Field. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action; click here to listen.

That April/May regular season series was one everyone had circled on their calendars to potentially decide the GMC’s Red Division. As it turned out, a sweep of Old Bridge the week before by South Plainfield took care of that, and the Tigers wound up winning the Red.

But in the state playoffs? Both Old Bridge and South Plainfield – who met in the GMC Finals, with the Knights taking the title – both got top seeds in different sections. And now, Old Bridge (20-8) is a win away from going to its second straight sectional title game, and having a chance to win back to back titles.

But hold the phone for a second. Monroe (15-9) is no slouch. The Falcons have won six straight games since a narrow, 2-1 first-round loss to North Brunswick in the GMC Tournament. They came back with a vengeance, beating Edison 12-1 in a regular season game, then topping Toms River South, Manasquan and Metuchen before earning wins over two GMC Red Division teams in the Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs – East Brunswick and South Brunswick – to get to the semis.

Justin Hascup (6-1, 1.99 ERA) is expected to get the start for Old Bridge, while Harrison Lollin (1-1, 1.67 ERA) will go for Monroe.

Hascup didn’t pitch in either game between the two this season; in fact, the senior has never faced Monroe in a three-year varsity career.

Lollin took the loss in the 4-1 defeat on May 2nd, allowing three earned runs on six hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking three. He did get the win last year in a 2-0 regular season victory over Old Bridge, and got the win in a 7-1 victory over the Knights on the road in 2022. In those two career appearances, he’s thrown 11 2/3 innings, allowing just five hits and one earned run, striking out 22 and walking just five.