Top-seeds Bridgewater-Raritan, South Plainfield will join Monroe in sectional finals Monday

Bridgewater-Raritan and South Plainfield – top seeds in their respective NJSIAA playoff sections – and Monroe all will play for sectional titles Monday afternoon, after winning their semifinal games on Monday.

The Somerset County Tournament champion Panthers will host seventh-seed Hunterdon Central Monday at four, while GMC Red Champion South Plainfield will host second-seed Randolph in a 2 pm game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Monroe – the fifth-seed in Central Jersey Group 4 – will play at third-seed Jackson Memorial Monday afternoon as well.

Tigers will play for first title since 2015…

South Plainfield (22-5-1) will be playing for a sectional title for the first time in nine years. In 2015, they went 24-8, falling in the quarterfinals of the GMC Tournament, but wound up winning the state Group 3 title. They beat Cranford 4-2 to win the North 2, Group 3 section, then topped Northern Burlington for the state Group 3 crown.

On Friday, they fell behind Colonia 1-0 in the second, but scored five unanswered runs to win 5-1, tying the game in the bottom of the second, then getting two more each in the fourth and sixth innings, while starter Mike Castagna gave up just six hits in a complete-game effort for the win.

Bridgewater-Raritan routs Westfield…

The Panthers just keep on rolling, beating 4th-0seed Westfield at home 10-0 in a five-inning mercy rule game in which they scored four runs each in the first and second and got their last two in the third. Mike Fattore knocked in four runs in the game, two each on a pair of doubles. Owen Crimmins gave up one hit and struck out three in the five-inning shutout for Bridgewater-Raritan, which improved to 27-3.

The Panthers – who dropped last year’s final in North 2, Group 4 to Bayonne – will get a shot at redemption against 7-seed Hunterdon Central, which was a 2-1 winner at Ridge Friday afternoon in the other semifinal. Andrew Reynolds and Ezra Sadowski combined to allow just three hits by the Red Devils, but Reynolds took the loss, giving up both runs. Ridge finishes its season 21-9, while Hunterdon Central is 16-10.

Monday’s final is scheduled for 4 pm in Bridgewater. The teams met twice this season, with Bridgewater taking both games, 7-0 in Flemington on April 16th, and 5-2 at home on May third.

Middlesex drops a close one at Point…

The fifth-seeded Blue Jays (10-17) lost in heartbreaking fashion at top-seed Point Pleasant Beach, which scored three in the seventh to walk off with a 4-3 semifinal victory in Central Jersey Group 1 play. The Garnet Gulls have beaten Middlesex the last two seasons in the CJ1 title game, with the Blue Jays beating them in the final the previous two years, 2021 and 2019. (There was no season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

FOR A FULL GAME RECAP OF MONROE’S WIN OVER OLD BRIDGE, WITH AUDIO, CLICK HERE.

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

Central Jersey Group 4
(5) Monroe def. (1) Old Bridge, 6-5 (GAME STORY)
(3) Jackson Memorial def. (2) Manalapan, 2-1

Central Jersey Group 1
(1) Pt. Pleasant Beach def. (5) Middlesex, 4-3

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4
(1) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (4) Westfield, 10-0
(7) Hunterdon Central def. (3) Ridge, 2-1

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3
(1) South Plainfield def. (5) Colonia, 5-1
(2) Randolph def. (3) North Hunterdon, 4-3

SATURDAY, JUNE 1

Non-Public North B Final
(5) Rutgers Prep at (2) St. Thomas Aquinas, 2 pm

MONDAY, JUNE 3

North 2, Group 3 Final
(2) Randolph at (1) South Plainfield, 2 pm (CJSR)

North 2, Group 4 Final
(7) Hunterdon Central at (1) Bridgewater-Raritan, 4 pm

Central Jersey Group 4 Final
(5) Monroe at (3) Jackson Memorial, TBA

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)