Opening round of NJSIAA baseball tournament sees 18 of 33 area teams open with wins, move on to sectional quarterfinals

It was a better than .500 opening day of the NJSIAA state baseball tournament for teams in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area, as 18 of the 33 teams in action advanced to the quarterfinals, including 17 public schools, plus Immaculata – which had to play Camden Catholic a day early due to a conflict with the South Jersey school’s prom Wednesday night.

We’ve got a full roundup with all results, section by section, plus a look ahead to next round matchups.

Central Jersey Group 4: There were two double-digit seeds from the area pulling upsets here, as 11-seed Franklin won at East Brunswick, 2-1, while 12-seed Montgomery left New Brunswick with a 14-2 win over the Zebras. Other winners included second-seed Old Bridge, third-seed Edison and nine-seed Hillsborough, leaving at least one area team in each quarterfinal game. Click here for a full recap, including audio with Montgomery head coach Peter Mueller.

(1) Hunterdon Central def. (16) Malrboro, 2-0
(9) Hillsborough def. (8) Freehold Twp., 6-2
(12) Montgomery def. (5) New Brunswick, 14-2
(4) Hightstown def. (13) Princeton, 10-1
(3) Edison def. (14) Sayreville, 4-2
(11) Franklin def. (6) East Brunswick, 2-1
(10) Manalapan def. (7) Monroe, 2-0
(2) Old Bridge def. (15) North Brunswick, 13-0

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4: Top-seed Ridge and nine-seed Bridgewater-Raritan will for a third time this season, after both won opening round games on Tuesday. The Red Devils (18-5) got by 16-seed Plainfield 3-0, with four pitchers combining for a complete game no-hitter. Quinn Dashefsky and Matt Bober each had RBIs, while Lucas Grob scored another run on a wild pitch, and Ridge stole a total of eight bases. Meanwhile, the Panthers (7-17) scored five unanswered runs in the last four innings to erase a 2-0 first-inning deficit and beat Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 5-2. Ridge and Bridgewater met over a month ago in the regular season, with The Red Devils winning 12-0 on April 15th, but the Panthers winning 9-5 just two days later. The second-seeded Barrons also won, routing 15th-seed Piscataway, 11-1, at home in a six-inning no-hitter thrown by Ryan Leach, who struck out nine in the win. Six different players drive in runs; Xavier Diaz has two RBIs, while Leach went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI, and Michael Gurovich had both a double and a triple.

(1) Ridge def. (16) Plainfield, 3-0
(9) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (8) Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 5-2
(5) Phillipsburg def. (12) Newark East Side, 10-0
(4) Elizabeth def. (13) JP Stevens, 6-5
(3) Westfield def. (14) Barringer, 5-0
(11) Ferris def. (6) Watchung Hills, 3-1
(7) Columbia def. (10) Bayonne, 11-0
(2) Woodbridge def. (15) Piscataway, 11-1

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3: Top-seed Colonia won, along with third-seed South Plainfield and seventh-seed Somerville – all games that went to chalk – while 12-seed Carteret pulled off a good upset, taking out fifth-seed North Plainfield, 3-1. Each quarterfinal game Thursday will feature an area team. Click here for a full recap, including a conversation with Patriots’ head coach Mike Scialfo.

(1) Colonia def. (16) Lincoln, 16-0 (5 inn.)
(8) Middletown North def. (9) Summit, 4-2
(12) Carteret def. (5) North Plainfield, 3-1
(4) North Hunterdon def. (13) JFK, 7-0
(3) South Plainfield def. (14) Rahway, 15-0
(6) Cranford def. (11) Chatham, 11-0
(7) Somerville def. (10) Payne Tech, 3-1
(2) Millburn def. (15) Matawan, 2-0

Central Jersey Group 2: Nine-seed South River (16-8) got a monster game from James Zsorey – who was 2-for-4 with five runs batted in, two on a first-inning single, and the other three on a bases loaded double in the top of the fourth – in a 6-2 win over eight-seed East Brunswick Magnet (20-6). Zsorey also got the win, throwing six innings of four-hit ball, striking out four. Julius Rosado closed it, allowing two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh. Twelve-seed Spotswood (15-11), meanwhile, lost 4-1 at five-seed Raritan, which got all four runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Chargers got their run in the top of the sixth when Ryan Orth scored as the Rockets turned a double play.

(1) Governor Livingston def. (16) Pt. Pleasant Boro, 7-6
(9) South River def. (8) East Brunswick Magnet, 6-2
(5) Raritan def. (12) Spotswood, 4-1
(13) Cinnaminson def. (4) Ocean Twp., 4-0
(14) Bordentown def. (3) Delran, 13-0
(11) Allentown def. (6) Johnson, 6-4
(7) Manasquan def. (10) Rumson-Fair Haven, 6-3
(2) Robbinsville def. (15) Holmdel, 2-0

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2: Ten-seed Bernards (12-12) fell behind 2-0 to 7-seed Caldwell in the fourth, but got two back in the fifth and won in extra innings, 3-2. Sophomore Alex Fraunfelder’s line drive to left scored two runs on two separate errors on the play to tie the game at 2-2 in the fifth. In the top of the eighth, another sophomore, James Ferrante, advanced to third on a a passed ball, then scored on a throwing error on the Caldwell catcher. Casey Hocekele pitched the final three innings and got the win, allowing just one hit while striking out six.

(1) West Essex def. (16) Hillside, 10-0
(8) Lyndhurst def. (9) Parsippany, 3-2
(5) Rutherford def. (12) Becton, 7-1
(4) West Morris def. (13) Voorhees, 7-1
(3) Passaic Valley def. (14) Shabazz, 15-2
(11) Mendham def. (6) Hackettstown, 2-1
(10) Bernards def. (7) Caldwell, 3-2
(2) Madison def. (15) Parsippany Hills, 13-3

Central Jersey Group 1: Three of the seven teams from the CJSR coverage area won here Tuesday, including top-seed Middlesex (18-5), third-seed Metuchen and seven-seed South Amboy. The Blue Jays were 10-0 winners in five over visiting 16-seed Keyport, as Dom Parenti, Dylan Ianiero and Luke Jones each knocked in two runs, while Chris Kozak allowed just one hit and struck out six through the first three innings to get the win. The Bulldogs (17-9) also blew out a Bayshore opponent, winning 10-0 over 14-seed Keansburg in five. James Fenton, Matt Jelleme and Jon Nugent drove in two runs apiece as Lucas Malamung fanned eleven in a one-hitter. And the Governors (7-13) advanced with a 5-4 walkoff win over ten-seed Manville (11-11), in a marathon 13-inning affair. The Mustangs got two in the third and two in the fourth, then South Amboy tied got two in the bottom of the fourth and tied it at 4-4 with two more in the fifth. No one would score again until the bottom of the 13th, when the first three Governor hitters walked, and Diego Colon drove in the game-winner with a single. Vaugn Pelkey got the win, throwing eight innings of shutout ball in relief after Colon – who started the game – pitched the first five.

(1) Middlesex def. (16) Keyport, 10-0 (5 inn.)
(9) South Hunterdon def. (8) Dunellen, 13-3
(5) Florence def. 12 (New Egypt, 5-4)
(4) Shore def. (13) Piscataway Magnet, 11-1
(3) Metuchen def. (14) Keansburg, 10-0 (5 inn.)
(6) Delaware Valley def. (11) Somerset Tech, 12-2
(7) South Amboy def. (10) Manville, 5-4 (13 inn.)
(2) Pt. Pleasant Beach def. (15) Henry Hudson, 13-0

Non-Public South A: Fifth-seed Immaculata got a big day from Jayson Labrador, who was 3-for-3 with three runs batted in on three singles, while Luca Catanzarite, Colin Kassai, Owen Schilling and Jackson Lewis each had four runs batted in for the Spartans (17-7), who played a day earlier than the rest of the field. Ryan Auten – who threw a no-hitter against Franklin last Monday in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, allowed two unearned runs on five hits, striking out nine en route to the W. Immaculata will visit four-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen (15-6) – the newly crowned GMC champion – Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals.

WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE

Non-Public South A
(11) Pingry at (6) Union Catholic, 3 pm

Non-Public North B
(10) Hawthorne Christian at (7) Gill St. Bernard’s, 2 pm

THURSDAY SCHEDULE

Central Jersey Group 4 Quarterfinals
(9) Hillsborough at (1) Hunterdon Central
(12) Montgomery at (4) Hightstown
(11) Franklin at (3) Edison
(10) Manalapan at (2) Old Bridge

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Quarterfinals
(9) Bridgewater-Raritan at (1) Ridge
(5) Phillipsburg at (4) Elizabeth
(11) Ferris at (3) Westfield
(7) Columbia at (2) Woodbridge

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 Quarterfinals
(8) Middletown North at (1) Colonia
(12) Carteret at (4) North Hunterdon
(6) Cranford at (3) South Plainfield
(7) Somerville at (2) Millburn

Central Jersey Group 2 Quarterfinals
(9) South River at (1) Governor Livingston
(13) Cinnaminson at (5) Raritan
(14) Bordentown at (11) Allentown
(10) Rumson-Fair Haven at (2) Robbinsville

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 Quarterfinals
(8) Lyndhurst at (1) West Essex
(5) Rutherford at (4) West Morris
(11) Mendham at (3)Passaic Valley
(10) Bernards at (2) Madison

Central Jersey Group 1 Quarterfinals
(9) South Hunterdon at (1) Middlesex
(5) Florence at (4) Shore
(6) Delaware Valley at (3) Metuchen
(7) South Amboy at (2) Pt. Pleasant Beach