The day after: Who will CJSR’s three area sectional champions play in next week’s NJSIAA semifinals as they go for a state title?

With three teams from the Central Jersey Sports Radio listening area winning sectional championships on Thursday, now the attention turns to the Group Round of the state tournament.

There are four teams remaining in the state in each group, just 16 public schools remaining in the entire state, and three are from our area.

Hillsborough rallies late to shock Old Bridge, 13-6, in CJ4 title game for program’s first title since 2012, third in school history. It was a wild comeback, as the Raiders trailed 6-3 after taking a 6-3 lead through the first two innings. But they scored ten over the next three – including four in the sixth and five more in the seventh to secure the win.

Middlesex won its 15th sectional title, beating Point Pleasant Beach, 7-1, to win Central Jersey Group 1. The Blue Jays’ last four titles all have come over Point Beach, including wins in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Dominick Long tossed a complete game two-hitter, allowing one unearned run while striking out four.

And South Plainfield rebounded from last year’s loss in the North 2, Group 3 final to Randolph with a 5-4 win over Colonia. The Tigers pieced together five runs across four different innings to take a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh, and narrowly escaped, as the Patriots scored four in their final at bat, but could get no closer.

So who do they play next, and when? The state semifinals are Monday, with Central and North 1 champions hosting their South and North 2 counterparts. (The NJSIAA alternates hosts each year.)

Here’s a closer look:

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 4:

Hillsborough will get South Jersey Group 4 champion Cherokee, and these guys are no joke. The Chiefs are 25-3 on the season, and were 9-1 in the Olympic Conference’s American Division. They reeled off 20 straight wins to start the season, before falling in the semifinals of the 51st Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic. They then dropped a second, 2-1 to Eastern, the same team they beat in the the SJ4 final on Thursday, 5-4. (They also won an earlier regular season meeting 11-1). They lost one more game to Delran right before the state tournament began, 4-2, but now have won four straight, of course.

They have a Rutgers commit in Henry Radbill, who is 8-0 with a 1.04 ERA, giving up just seven earned runs all year in 10 appearances and 47 innings pitched. He’s a dominant strikeout pitcher, with 89 Ks and just 18 walks allowed all season, and since he threw Tuesday in an 11-1 semifinal win over Kingsway – striking out 12 and allowing just two hits – he’s likely to get the ball in Hillsborough on Monday. The Chiefs are ranked No. 9 in the state this week by NJ.com.

Who’s on the other side? The other semifinal will feature North 1 winner Passaic Tech (24-6) hosting North 2 winner Westfield (19-6), which came back twice to beat Ridge, 9-6, Thursday in the North 2, Group 4 final. The Blue Devils were the third-seed in their section, PCTI was the two-seed in theirs.

NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 3:

South Plainfield will have to travel up to North Jersey to take on Morris Knolls. The Golden Eagles are 14-11, 6-6 in the NJAC American Division, finishing third in a tightly-packed group of teams after first place Delbarton at 11-1 in the division. Late bloomers, they were just 6-11 heading into a game at Montclair on May 10th, won that game, and the next seven after that, coming into Monday’s meeting with the Tigers on an eight game winning streak.

They were the sixth-seed in the section, and upset top-seed Ramapo 5-4 Thursday to win the North 1, Group 3 trophy , erasing a 4-0 deficit after one with two in the third and three in the fourth. Dylan Fitzsimmons hit a two-run homer in the third and finished 2-for-3 with three runs batted in, driving in the third with a bases loaded walk in the fourth. If the rotation sticks, South Plainfield will see Dean Kaletcher on the mound Monday. He went Tuesday in the sectional semis, a 5-3 win over Old Tappan in which he went the distance, struck out seven, and allowed three earned runs.

Who’s on the other side? We’ve got Central champion Northern Burlington (26-2) here against South winner Toms River East (20-6). The Greyhounds were the top-seed in their section, and won the title, 2-1, over Brick Memorial, while the Raiders out of Ocean County were the 2-seed and beat six-seed and crosstown rival Toms River South, 6-1 in the final. It was East’s first title in 19 years. Notable: Lucas Melton robbed South of a grand slam in the sixth with a leap several feet over the fence in right field.

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1:

Middlesex will face South Jersey Group 1 champion Schalick (21-1), which was the second-seed and knocked off top-seed Audubon in the sectional title game, 4-3, on Thursday. All the runs came early in this one, with the Cougars falling behind early, 1-0, then getting three in the second and one more in the third. Though Audubon scored twice in the bottom half to make it 4-3, that’s all they would muster the rest of the way, with reliever Lucas D’Agostino getting out of a major jam for starter and senior ace Luke Pokrovsky in the seventh. Schalick – which hails from Salem County – won its first title since 1992, a year in which they also beat Audubon for the title. They had been to the finals in 2019 and 2021 as well.

Middlesex is likely to see Jamari Whitley, who pitched against Woodstown in an 8-0 semifinal win Tuesday. He went six innings and gave up two hits, no runs, striking out eleven in that game. Schalick won its first ten games of the season before falling 10-4 to Haddonfield in the first round of the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic, and also lost later in the season to Pennsville. They’ve won five straight since, including their four NJSIAA Tournament games.

Who’s on the other side? North 1 champion Midland Park (20-8-1) will host North 2 champion Brearley (15-9). The Panthers were the second seed in North 1, Group 1 and beat fourth-seed Wallkill Valley for the title, 1-0. Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded Bears in North 2, Group 1, beat second-seed Verona in the sectional championship via an 8-0 shutout.