Well-balanced, battle-tested Old Bridge set for GMC final – whenever it is – seeking second title in three seasons

Look for one particular star, one who rises far above the talent of everyone else on the ballclub, and you won’t find one on the Old Bridge baseball team.

And that’s perfectly fine with head coach Matt Donaghue.

He’s had teams like that in the past, and those have been fine, too. They won the GMC in 2024 and Central Jersey Group 4 in 2023, with ace pitchers like Justin Hascup J.T. Meyer, and Frank Papeo, all of whom had ERAs under two.

But this year’s team is a different story. Any pitcher could win on any given day, and though they’re hitting just .278 as a team there’s balance top to bottom, and every grade seems to be participating, too.

Sophomore Matt Chin leads the lineup, hitting .429, with junior Jared Volpe at .317, and senior Chris Crosta at .293. Balance.

Saturday afternoon – weather permitting, and right now it’s not looking good – the third-seeded Knights will play nine-seed Monroe in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship game.

It’s currently scheduled for 2 pm at Rutgers University’s Bainton Field on the Livingston Campus in Piscataway, but should it get postponed, the GMC will move the final to next Saturday, May 30, at noon at East Brunswick Magnet School’s Ray Cipperly Field. That was the original site until about a week ago, when the GMC worked out a deal to move the finals to Rutgers, at last for one year.

Whenever it is, you’ll be able to hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe on the call. You can listen at this link, or watch the game live on our YouTube channel.

Junior Brady Meyer is expected to get the start for Old Bridge, coming in at 3-1, with a 2.95 ERA. He got the start in the semifinals for the Knights, tossing 6 2/3 innings of six-hit ball, allowing two earned runs.

Old Bridge led 3-0 until the seventh, when Middlesex got three in the home half of the inning to send it to extras, only to see Old Bridge score six times in the top of the eighth to emerge with a 9-3 victory, and a ticket to the championship.

The Knights swept Monroe two games this year – getting a 9-5 home win April 23rd, and a 12-1 road win six days later. the first of those matchups was the one where Saturday’s starting pitchers met, and neither had particularly great starts.

Meyer went 3 2/3, but threw 75 pitches, allowing just three hits and one earned run, but he walked six and struck out four, while Ben Faigin of Monroe went 2 2/3 and allowed four hits, six runs, five earned, walking three and striking out four.

But if the way they both pitched in the semis is any indication – Faigin threw seven one-hit, shutout innings in a 1-0 semifinal win over five-seed South Plainfield last weekend – this one will look a little different.

Click below to hear from Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue on the GMC title game with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: