Group 4 Semifinal Preview: Bridgewater-Raritan seeks first trip to state title game when Livingston comes to town Wednesday

Bridgewater-Raritan carries the flag.

The Panthers are the lone remaining public school left from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area, and they’re just one win away from competing for the first time ever for a state title.

Wednesday afternoon, they’ll host Livingston in the Group 4 state semifinals, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, sponsored by Dr. Matthew Lanum of Softwave Tissue Regeneration Technologies. Game time is 4:00, with pregame starting at 3:40 pm, as Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel bring you all the play-by-play. Click here to listen.

Scroll through for a full preview, links to past coverage, interviews, stats, notes and more on Wednesday’s Group 4 semifinal.

GROUP 4 SEMIFINALS:

Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers

28-3 overall (school record for wins)
10-0, Skyland Conference Delaware Division champions
Somerset County Tournament champions
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 champions
#4 ranking in New Jersey

Livingston Lancers

22-7-1 overall
11-0-1, Super Essex Conference American Division Champions
Greater Newark Tournament Finalist
North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 champions

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 5, 2024 – 4 pm
Location: Bridgewater, NJ
Coverage: Live broadcast on Central Jersey Sports Radio (Click here to listen!)

Head Coaches:
Bridgewater-Raritan: Max Newill, 17th season (249-186)
Livingston: Mickey Ennis, 7th season (115-70-1)

Pitching Probables:
Bridgewater-Raritan: Kellan Komline (3-0, 0.56 ERA)
Livingston: Tyler Chen (3-0, 2.24 ERA)

Previews:

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Bridgewater-Raritan (#1 seed, North 2, Group 4):
First Round: def. (16) Union, 3-0
Quarterfinals: def. (9) Edison, 3-0
Semifinals: def. (4) Westfield, 10-0 (5 inn.) (RECAP)
Finals: def. (7) Hunterdon Central, 2-0 (RECAP)

Livingston (#3 seed, North 1, Group 1):
First Round: def. (14) Columbia, 3-2
Quarterfinals: def. (6) Passaic Tech, 8-4
Semifinals: def. (2) Hackensack, 11-4
Finals: def. (4) Montclair, 4-3

What’s next? 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 (18-10) and South champion Eastern (24-6), which was eliminated last year in the semis by Old Bridge.

PLAYOFF STAT LEADERS:

Bridgewater-Raritan:
Batting Average – Matthew Fattore, Matt Cichocki (.625), Devin Goldberg, JR Rosado (.333)
RBIs: Matthew Fattore (5), Matt Cichocki (3)
HR: None
Stolen Bases: Matt Cichkocki, Devin Goldberg (4), Matthew Fattore, Matthew Lehberger (3)
Strikeouts (Pitching): Jack Lanum (5), Kellan Komline (4)
ERA: 0 runs allowed in 4 games

Livingston:
Batting Average: Massimo DePaola (.667, 2-for-3), Julian Schultz (.545), Jason Becker (.500)
RBIs: John Marco Maiello (4), Massimo DePaola, Julian Schultz, Tyler Chen (3)
HR: None
Stolen Bases: Julian Schultz (2, only player with a SB)
Strikeouts (Pitching): Tyler Chen (11), Adam Goldberg, Max Peri (3)
ERA: Max Peri (2.33), Tyler Chen (3)

THE LOWDOWN:

Bridgewater-Raritan has been amazingly consistent all season long. At 28-3, their losses have come to West Morris, Lawrence and Howell. Since a 3-2 loss to the Rebels – on the road, on May 6 – they have won 12 straight, their longest winning streak of the season.

They’re not the biggest hitting team, but more often than not, they get the hits at the right time. And if the offense isn’t putting up big numbers – like the ten they scored in an SCT finals win over Ridge, or again later in the sectional semis against Westfield – it’s the pitching that keeps them in it long enough for the bats to get the job done.

They also tend to do all the little things right, and have been excellent defensively, all year long. JR Rosado is particularly valuable behind the plate, blocking pitches that might get by other catchers. And he quickly gets to anything that gets by.

Matthew Fattore is the team’s leading hitter, at .439 on the year, with a team-leading 32 runs batted in.Two others have driven in 20 or more, including Rosado (with 24) and Matthew Lehberger (with 20), both of whom are juniors.

On the mound, it’s truly been a team effort. Owen Crimmins has been outstanding – even tossing a no-hitter against Montgomery in an 11-0, five-inning win in the SCT quarterfinals – along with Jack Lanum and Michael Taylor, while closer Cory Rible – working strictly out of the bullpen – has been phenomenal; Bridgewater has won all 16 games he’s pitched in. Kellan Komline (4-0, 0.66 ERA, best on the team) gets the nod here in the semis.

Livingston is coming off its second sectional title in three years. In 2022, they won the North 1, Group 4 title, beating Passaic Tech in the championship game, but losing to eventual Group 4 runner-up Hunterdon Central in the state final.

With a 22-7-1 record, its the most wins they’ve had under seventh-year head coach Mickey Ennis, eclipsing the 21 wins they had in 2022 and 2018. It’s also the second fewest losses they’ve had under his tenure, going 21-4 in ’18.

Junior Julian Schultz is hitting .405 on the year, with 25 RBIs; both lead the team. They’re not a long ball team either, with four different players each hitting one home run.

The Lancers are coming off an emotional win over Montclair in the sectional title game. In their first home sectional final since the 1976, they won 4-3 on a walk-off single by Massimo DePaola, who has been particularly hot of late, despite a season .231 batting average. But hey, it’s all about playing your best baseball in the postseason, and he and the Lancers are doing just that.

Max Peri came back from arm trouble to throw a solid outing against Montclair, and Wednesday the ball will go to junior Tyler Chen, who has solid control: 21 Ks to just five walks all season. But Ennis likes to have his pitchers go with a little more rest. Chen will be going on four days’ rest, after going the distance and throwing a season-high 107 pitches against Hackensack in an 11-4 sectional semifinal win back on Friday.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Championship History…

Bridgewater-Raritan – in its current configuration – has never reached the state final. In 1971, the very first year New Jersey played to group champions in baseball, Bridgewater East made the state Group 3 final, and lost to West Orange. Bridgewater West made the Group 2 final in 1989, and beat Rutherford for the title.

Livingston, meanwhile, has won both state title games they’ve played in. In that 1976 season – when they walked off Belleville to win the North 1, Group 4 title – they won the state championship by defeating Bridgeton. They won it again in 1980, taking out Steinert in the title game.

Nothing but zeroes…

Bridgewater-Raritan has yet to give up a run in four state tournament games, outscoring the opposition 18-0, with ten of those runs coming against Westfield in the sectional semifinals back on Friday.

That’s zero runs in 26 innings pitched The pitching hasn’t been overpowering – just 17 strikeouts to nine walks, but the staff has pitched to contact, and the defense makes plays.

Common Opponents…

There’s only one team both have played this year, and that’s Ramapo. The Panthers were 11-3 winners over the Raiders on the road back on April 27th, just a week after Livingston lost to Ramapo 4-0 at North Brunswick Community Park in the Autism Awareness Challenge.

One other note: Livingston did play South Plainfield this year, one of the three public schools from the CJSR coverage area that made sectional finals. They lost to the Tigers 3-1 on May fourth, the day after South Plainfield was awarded the top-seed in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament.

Recent Meetings…

These two teams haven’t met since at least before 2008, the most recent year for which results are readily available online.

Group 4 Championship History…

Livingston has won two state titles, both in Group 4, while Bridgewater-Raritan is seeking its first since the East-West merger in 1992.

Hillsborough won the Group 4 title in 2005, the only Somerset County team to do so since group champions were first crowned in 1971.

Hunterdon Central – the team the Panthers beat in the North 2, Group 4 final to get here – is the most recent Skyland Conference team to win a group 4 championship. The Red Devils have won it five times, including 1987, 2008, 2009, 2016, and 2018. No other Skyland team has won more state titles.