Bridgewater-Raritan players hoist their North 2, Group 4 trophy after beating Hunterdon Central 2-0 in Bridgewater on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)
The Bridgewater-Raritan baseball team already has had a record-setting year. They’ve won 28 games so far, more than any other team in program history.
But there’s still more to go.
Three trophies will be added to the display case outside the Vaughn Stapleton Gymnasium when the infield dust settles: for winning the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, for winning the Somerset County Tournament, and for winning the NJSIAA’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 playoff section.
Next? They want one for a state championship.
But to get opportunity to play for one, the Panthers (28-3) will have to get by one more opponent. Wednesday afternoon, they’ll host the Livingston Lancers – who are 22-7-1 and won the North 1 title over Montclair in walkoff fashion Monday – in the state Group 4 semifinals. Game time is 4:00, and Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live play-by-play of the contest with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Pregame is at 3:40 pm; click here to listen.
The winner will play Saturday at 7 pm at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton in the state Group 4 final, against the winner of Wednesday’s other Group 4 semi between Central champion Jackson Memorial and South champion Eastern, which was eliminated last year in the semis by Old Bridge.
The Panthers continue to be a consistent ball club. They have been a state-ranked team much of the year, currently at No. 4, while they are ranked No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten, a perch they are unlikely to get knocked from regardless of the outcome Wednesday.
But the Panthers aren’t resting on their laurels. Last year, they were the top-seed in the county tournament, and got knocked out in the semifinals by eventual champion and 12-seed Rutgers Prep. they were the second-seed in North 2, Group 4, but lost in the finals to Bayonne.
The Panthers came back hungry, and so far, all they have done is eat, eat, eat.
Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Max Newill talk about the Panthers’ and Wednesday’s Group 4 semifinal game against Livingston:
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