By The Numbers: A look back at the 2026 Somerset County Tournament Final, and a historic win for Lucas Sheehan

The 52nd annual Somerset County Tournament is in the books, and the trophy goes to second-seed Watchung Hills, which beat top-seed and defending champion Immaculata 1-0 to win its sixth title overall, tying the Warriors with Hillsborough for third-place all-time.

Here’s a closer look at some notes and nuggets following the 2026 SCT final.

Historic win for Sheehan: Watchung Hills head coach Joseph Tremarco had already used his No. 1 and most veteran pitcher, Robbie Centamore, in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals on Monday, in a 4-2 win over Ridge. Even with the finals delayed two days by thunderstorms in the forecast Wednesday – which came to fruition quickly, but with much wind and rain – the 109 pitches he threw kept him from being available Friday.

And during the week, at least in his comments to Central Jersey Sports Radio, Tremarco had not decided whether he’d got with junior Nick Minnetti (3-2, 3.82 ERA) or the younger Lucas Sheehan, a sophomore who was 5-2 at the time, but with an ERA of 5.96. But it’s more than about stats with veteran coaches like Tremarco. There’s also the feel, and the intangibles.

So, he went with Sheehan, and the decision worked to near-perfection.

Sheehan scattered three hits and went the distance in a complete-game, eight-inning effort, outdueling Wake Forest-bound Immaculata senior Ryan Auten, who allowed just six hits and one earned run, striking out 15 in 7 2/3 innings, only coming out at 111 pitches, as mandated by NJSIAA rule.

And with the win, Sheehan did something that hadn’t been done in nearly 30 years – earn a win as a sophomore in the Somerset County Tournament final.

Ironically, the last one to do it was Immaculata star Casey Cahill, who got the win in the 1998 final, a 3-2 win over Bridgewater-Raritan. He’d pick up another as a junior in 1999, in an 8-0 win over Hillsborough, and do it again in 2000, his senior year, in a 2-0 victory over Ridge. To this day, he remains the only pitcher to pick up wins in three Somerset County Tournament finals.

Nearly a win in every decade: With Watchung Hills winning its sixth Somerset County Tournament title, the Warriors have nearly won in every decade in which the tournament has been played, and in more decades – four – than any other team, along with Imaculata.

The inaugural game came in 1973, with Bridgewater-Raritan East edging Hillsborough, 1-0. Two years later, Watchung Hills took the 1975 title, beating Hillsborough 6-4.

In 1982 and 1983, the Warriors went back-to-back. First, they beat Bridgewater-Raritan West 15-0 – the first mercy-rule win in the SCT finals – then they came back and beat Hillsborough the following year, 2-0.

They also picked up a title in 1993, knocking off top-seed Immaculata 5-4, then had a 16-year drought until Watchung Hills beat Montgomery, 4-0 for the 2009 title.

The only decade they didn’t win a title in was the 2010s, though they made the finals twice in that span, losing in 2015 to Hillsborough and 2016 to Montgomery.

*Immaculata and Watchung Hills stand for the National Anthem before the 2026 Somerset County Tournament Final at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater on May 22, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

No school – not even Immaculata, with its 15 titles, an SCT record – has won in all six decades. The Spartans failed to even reach the finals from 1973 to 1979, making their first title game in 1981, but never winning one until 1991. Immaculata dominated the decade from 2000 to 2009, winning all but three titles in that span, with the only other winners being Watchung Hills, Hillsborough (won in the 1970s, 2000s, and 2010s) and Montgomery (won in the 2000s and 2010s).

Immaculata has won it in the last four decades, in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and the current decade.

Top Seed vs. Two-Seed Upsets? Each of the last two seasons, the top-seed has lost to the second seed int he SCT final. Immaculata did it last year, edging top-seed Ridge 3-0, before Watchung Hills turned the tables this year as the second-seed, beating the No. 1-seeded Spartans.

It’s also the third time in the last five SCT finals (since COVID) that the lower-seeded team won the championship.

1-0 Wins and Shutouts: The Watchung Hills win was just the fifth 1-0 win in the SCT finals, and only the third in the last 52 years. The first two title games were 1-0 affairs, with Bridgewater-Raritan East beating Hillsborough, 1-0, in the inaugural tournament in 1973, and Somerville defeating North Plainfield, 1-0, in the 1974 final.

Other 1-0 wins in the SCT finals include:

2004: (3) Immaculata over (1) Hillsborough
2023: (12) Rutgers Prep over (2) Ridge

The victory also was the 17th shutout in SCT finals history. Four of the last five have been decided via shutout, with the only exception being a 10-7 win for top-seed Bridgewater-Raritan over third-seed Ridge in 2024, the year the Panthers swept the division, SCT, North 2 Group 4, and state Group 4 championships en route to a 30-3 season, one of the most dominant in Somerset County in recent memory.