South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus had plenty of questions about his 2025 Tigers, but they’ve been answered, and now they’re a win away from a trip to a state final. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Back in March, we were taking a look at some of the top high school baseball teams in the area coming into 2025, and we talked with South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus.
The Tigers were coming off a 22-6-1 campaign where they earned the top-seed in the GMC Tournament as the Red Division champion. They made it to the finals, falling 6-5 to Old Bridge in one of the highest-scoring title games in years, and went to the North 2, Group 3 finals, falling in spectacular fashion to Randolph, after looking in control late.
That left a bad taste in the mouths of the returning players, who came into the season believing they had unfinished business. But before that, Gleichenhaus also was looking at answering some big question marks, both on the left side of the infield with third-baseman Jayden Alvarez and shortstop Zach Robinson graduating, and the departures of quality senior arms like Chase Donovan and Aldo Pigna.
Well, those questions were answered fairly quickly. They started with a home-and-home sweep of Edison, and later swept two games from Woodbridge, which still wound up finishing ahead of the Tigers and got the top-seed in the GMCT.
And yet, here they are, 18-10, and in the state Group 3 semifinals Monday as the North 2, Group 3 champions, where they will travel up to Rockaway to take on three-time North 1, Group 3 champion Morris Knolls (14-11) at 2:30 pm. Follow Dylan Allen on Twitter for updates, and postgame reaction and a game recap here afterwards.
As far as the lineup, Gleichenhaus says other than a few position shuffles, his opening day nine hasn’t changed, and his top pitchers Kevin Penny and Aiden McCarthy have been rock solid.
The two teams are very similar in a lot of the numbers. The Tigers are hitting .278 as a team, Morris Knolls .266 on the year. South Plainfield has a 3.05 team ERA, with 3.03 for the Golden Eagles.
One area in which the Tigers have well outdone their opponents: on the basepaths. Morris Plains has only 10 stolen bases on the year, while South Plainfield has swiped 100 even. The Tigers are notoriously aggressive when it comes to baserunning – any aspect of the game, really – and that could be a big difference when the two meet up Monday.
The winner moves on to Saturday’s Group 3 state final scheduled for 4 pm at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton against the winner of the other Group 3 semifinal between South champion Toms River East (20-6) and Central champ Northern Burlington (26-2).
Click below to hear South Plainfield coach Scott Gleichenhaus talk about the Tigers’ North 2, Group 3 championship, the season, and Monday’s Group 3 semifinal matchup with Morris Knolls:
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