State Playoff Preview: Top-seeds Old Bridge, Middlesex among 19 area teams opening state tourney play in Central Jersey sections

Hard to believe, but it’s already state tournament time in high school baseball.

The county tournaments are (mostly) done – with the GMC still to be decided this coming Saturday after rain throughout Memorial Day weekend – and everyone is set to begin sectional play in the NJSIAA tournament.

Today, we continue a look at each and every matchup involving Central Jersey Sports Radio teams with the 19 qualifiers in three Central Jersey sections, Groups 1, 2 and 4. You can catch our Non-Public preview, which dropped Sunday, here. Previews for North Jersey, Section 2, Groups 2, 3 and 4 will drop on Tuesday.

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 4:

(16) East Brunswick (7-15) at (1) Old Bridge (18-8), 5 pm Wednesday: Throw out the records; no game is an easy one when it’s a pair of GMC Red Division teams going at it, as they are in this one. While the Bears were just 5-9 in the division this year, these two teams split a pair, with Old Bridge winning the opener of their two-game set, 11-10 on April 14th, but the Bears coming back for a 10-4 win on April 27th. But since then, Old Bridge – which was just 6-7 after that loss, has reeled off 12 wins in its last 13 games, and ten straight since a 9-0 loss to Immaculata on May 2. And East Brunswick has been going the opposite direction during that span. Prior to an 8-5 win at Hamilton West Friday, the Bears had lost eight in a row. The Knights have made deep runs here the last few years, falling to Hillsborough in the title game last year, to Monroe in the semis in 2024, and winning the title in 2023, going all the way to the state Group 4 final, eventually falling to Ridgewood. It’ll be interesting to watch who gets the start here, and – if they win – in Friday’s quarterfinals, with the GMC title game against Monroe looming Saturday afternoon.

(9) South Brunswick (12-11) at (8) Freehold Twp (13-12), 4 pm Wednesday: The Vikings are having a solid bounceback year under first-year but veteran head coach Lou Urbano, and will play the Patriots in the first round for the second time in three years; they beat Freehold Twp. 1-0 in 2024. Senior Collin Perna has been solid all year, 7-3 with a 1.69 ERA and 65 strikeouts on the season, while he also leads the team on offense, hitting .485 with 14 RBIs and a home run. Junior Jack Whitlock also is tearing rhe cover off the ball, hitting .451. The Patriots are a lighter-hitting team, batting just .238 as a group, but they’ve only scored 15 fewer runs (130 to 115) than the Vikings. There are no common opponents between the two this season.

(12) Montgomery (9-17) at (5) Monroe (13-13), 4 pm Wednesday: This will be the first meeting between the teams since 2017, and with only two since 2011, the teams split them. So there’s not much recent history to look at here. The Falcons started hot (4-0), then had a few rough patches during the season, but with three wins in the GMC Championship Tournament, they’ve won five of their last six – and still have the final this Friday. Much like Old Bridge, it’ll be interesting to see who Monroe throws here, and who they save for Saturday, if anyone. Top starter Ben Faigin – a Rutgers commit – also is the leading Falcon hitter, at .507 with 17 RBIs and two of the team’s three home runs. The Cougars come in on a six-game skid, with their last win coming via an 11-4 score over Gill St. Bernard’s in the SCT’s second round on May 11. As the lower seed and underdog, they are more likely to go with their best pitcher in this one, most likely senior Jake Hayes, who’s 4-3 with a 3.08 ERA.

(13) Sayreville (11-14) at (4) Hightstown (16-7), 4 pm Wednesday: These two have only played once int he last 15 years: two seasons ago, when the Bombers beat Hightstown, 4-3, in the opening round of the playoffs. Sayreville has lost two straight coming in, dropping an 8-4 decision at Woodbridge back on Wednesday, and taking a 9-8 loss at Old Bridge Friday on the Knights’ senior night, while the Rams have dropped two of their last three. Sayreville will have to deal with a potent lineup hitting .337 on the year, almost 100 points higher than the Bombers, who are led by junior Will Lukie hitting .333, the only player with more than ten at bats hitting over the .300 mark. Meanwhile, Hightstown junior Brian Drews is hitting .421 with 20 RBI, while senior Dylan Stables is hitting .405 with a team-best 28 runs batted in. The question is, will the Rams throw their best arm – senior Anthony Benitez at 6-2, with a 0.68 ERA – or hold him for the quarterfinals to line him up for a possible finals appearance?

(10) Hillsborough (11-10) at (7) Jackson (10-15), POSTPONED to 2 pm Thursday: The Jaguars are the higher seed here, but are five games under .500. In fact, they were just 6-15 two weeks ago, winning three straight before the cutoff to make a run in the standings in Central 4, and have won four straight overall. The Raiders, meanwhile, have won five of their last six, and two straight following a quarterfinal exit in the Somerset County Tournament at the hands of Ridge. This being the first year of the merged Jackson Twp. High School, the two have never met as currently constituted, but Hillsborough lost to Jackson Memorial in the CJ4 quarters in 2015. The Raiders are led offensively by Elijah Dawes (.393, 17 RBI) and Gavin Glazewski (.315, 12 RBI). Matt Mosko has a few options to start this one as Hillsborough looks to defend its sectional title from a year ago. The last team to repeat was Hunterdon Central, winning three straight from 2016 through 2018. Jackson has three players hitting close to .400 on the year, but they’ve allowed more runs than ‘Boro, which plays in a tremendously difficult division – the Skyland Delaware – where runs are a plenty, so much so that last-place Bridgewater-Raritan has scored more runs than anyone else in the group.

(15) Franklin (7-11) at (2) Edison (19-7), 4 pm Wednesday: The only meeting between these two in the last 15 years came last season, a 4-2 Edison win in the CJ4 quarterfinals, with Dom Innocenti getting the win in relief of Connor Muprhy. And while Murphy has been outstanding all year long, Innocenti has not pitched since April 23rd, and Roma – who had not thrown more than 44 pitches or three innings in a game since the season opener on March 31 – got shelled for three hits (a single and two doubles), allowing two earned runs in facing just four batters in what turned out to be a 9-1 loss in the GMC Tournament quarterfinals to Monroe, which will play for the championship this weekend. Can Roma – who has been banged up – go again? Or will the Eagles have to rely on Murphy in Game One and piece it together with the rest of the staff in the quarterfinals – or vice versa, considering Edison should be a heavy favorite? Though hitting a respectable .288, our of Edison’s seven losses, three have been shutouts, and they only scored one run in a fourth. So, regardless who pitches the opener, the bats will need to take care of their end of the bargain, too. The Warriors, meanwhile, have lost four of their last five, the only win in that stretch an 11-6 victory last Saturday over Pingry. They have a team ERA a shade over five, but also are a better-hitting team than Edison, at .325, led by freshman Mason Bonds (.426, 17 RBI, 1 HR) and junior Dyland Roche (.423, 8 RBI, 1 HR).

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 2:

(9) Spotswood (14-12) at (8) Allentown (18-8), 4 pm Wednesday: It’s been an up-and-down season for the Chargers, who started the season 0-4, then had a four-game win streak in mid-April. But they head into the state tournament as winners of five of their last six games, the only defeat coming in the first round of the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament, a 3-0 loss to Metuchen. Here, they get Allentown, which has won 12 of its last 14 since a three-game losing streak in the middle of April. The Chargers are led offensively by senior Gavin romeo, hitting .324 with 14 runs batted in, but overall, Spotswood his hitting just .233, while the Redbirds are hitting .312 and have a solid pitching staff with a 2.52 earned run average, and four on the staff who’ve thrown at least 20 innings with an ERA under three. This is quite the challenge for Spotswood in an 8/9 game.

(11) Robbinsville (17-7) at (6) South River (17-9), 4 pm Wednesday: These two haven’t met in at least the last 15 years, so there’s no recent history between the clubs. The Rams stumbled a little after a first round loss to Middlesex, 12-2, in the GMC Tournament, dropping their next three straight to South Brunswick, Spotswood and Sayreville, before beating Monmouth last Thursday in a tune-up, 8-4. But overall, they’ve been good, and it’s a new season. Mike Lepore, Jr., has two solid starters he can go with here – and in the quarters, if they get there – in Julien Borusovic (5-4, 2.21 ERA) and Hunter Krainski (5-2, 2.55 ERA). And the two are among the team’s best hitters, too, with Burusevic hitting .397 with 24 RBIs and Krainski .403 with 26 RBIs and 2 HR. The Ravens are hitting about .50 points better as a team, .333, led by senior Tyler Bunnell (.456, 21 RBI), who is committed to Pitt, and also the all-time leading scorer in boys’ basketball history at Robbinsville.

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1:

(16) Highland Park (5-16) at (1) Middlesex (20-4), 4 pm Wednesday: While we don’t pick games, this one should go to the Blue Jays, who have been tremendous all year, and are the defending Group 1 state champions, with a ton of players back, most importantly their two ace starters, Dominic Long and Chris Kozak. Whoever second-year head coach Blaze Iannetti goes with, just take your pick: They are a combined 12-2, with Long pitching to a 1.87 ERA and Kozak to a 1.13 ERA. Inf act, of the six pitchers who have seen action this year, none has an ERA over 2.94 (sophomore Devin Jackson, in 16 2/3 innings pitched over six appearances). They’re hitting .303 as a team, and do all the small things right. The Owls, meanwhile, have lost eleven of their last dozen games, and six straight overall, which include three shutouts, and a pair of 5-1 losses.

(12) Manville (0-13) at (5) Shore (17-8), 4 pm Wednesday: The Blue Devils are always one of those really tough, battle-tested Shore Conference teams, but they have bookended their season so far with losses. They started 0-4 and have lost three straight heading into the states, which makes them 17-1 in the stretch in between. Shore has won the last three in the series, but those were in 2018, 2021 and 2022 and have little bearing here. The Mustangs also have lost three straight coming in, to Morris Tech, at Lenape Valley and at JP Stevens. Seniors Brandon Shimp and Josh D’Ambrosio each pace the offense, hitting .338, but the lineup is a bit top-heavy, batting .260 overall, though Shore isn’t much higher, at .288 on the season. Manville, however, has scored more runs, and in fewer games. Shore has a slight edge in the pitching department overall, though Manville has two – Shimp and fellow senior Evan Canica – who’ve thrown well over 40 innings, and have ERAs of 1.04 and 1.84, respectively. If the bats can take care of business, the Mustangs might be primed to pull an upset.

(13) Somerset Tech (11-9) at (4) Metuchen (18-7), 4 pm Wednesday: This may very well be their first meeting ever, but at least since 2011; Tech only joined the GMC in the last few years. The Bulldogs are the second-place team in the White Division, but come in off a loss to Gold Division champion Piscataway Magnet, which is having a program season for the ages at 23-3. And Metuchen hung in with South Plainfield in a 7-6 loss in the GMC Tournament quarterfinals; the Bulldogs have wins in 14 of their last 17 games after starting the year 4-4. With three solid pitchers in Matt Jelleme and Lucas Malamung (seniors) and sophomore James Fenton, Metuchen has the arms for a run, and his hitting .313 as a team as well, led by Jelleme at .429, with 14 RBIs and one home run, while Fenton has hit four, and is batting .383 with 23 RBI. Tech is hitting .300 as a team, and would likely throw their best, junior Nate White (2-1, 1.89 ERA).

(14) South Amboy (9-10) at (3) Point Pleasant Beach (14-6), 4 pm Wednesday: The Garnet Gulls – a finalist last year after wining three straight from 2022 to 2024 – have won the last two meetings with the Governors, the most recent coming last year, a 12-2 decision in the CJ1 quarterfinals. After starting 2-0, and winning five straight in mid-April, Amboy has only gone 2-8 in its last ten games, including two straight overall, an 11-5 loss at eventual GMC Invitational champ Piscataway in the quarterfinals, and 10-0 at Colonia in a regular season game two Fridays ago; the Guvs haven’t played since that May 15th contest. With a team ERA of nearly six, can the bats compensate? They have some big hitters, including Robert Senape (.459, 21 RBI), Micah Nemeth (.455, 23 RBI) – both juniors – and senior Joseph Foreman (.424, 19 RBI). The Gulls have only used five pitchers all year, but they have two starters – Tommy Conroy and Thomas Slobiski – with ERAs under two.

(11) Florence (5-14) at (6) Dunellen (18-7), 4 pm Wednesday: The Destroyers are coming off a 3-0 loss to Piscataway in last Friday’s Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final, but had won five of six heading into that matchup, including a four-hour marathon in the semis, 22-17 over Perth Amboy. And in those five games, they scored 64 runs. But their last two losses have been via shutout. But here’s a stat for you: they’re averaging six walks a game while also hitting .341 on the season, led by Juan Luis Rodriguez, hitting .429 with 18 RBI and a triple, while senior Michael Dow is batting .400 with 20 runs batted in and a triple. The Flashes, meanwhile, have won three of their last four, and were just 2-13 ten days before the cutoff. Dunellen has the tools to get this one done.

(15) Henry Hudson (8-10) at (2) Piscataway Magnet (23-3), 4 pm Wednesday: These two teams have played three times since COVID, with the Admirals taking a 2022 decision, but the Raiders winning in 2023 and a matchup earlier this season, 9-1, on April 11th. Magnet started the year 18-0 before a 6-4 loss to North Plainfield, and just won the NJTAC Tournament for tech schools in Groups 1 and 2 on Friday, beating Morris Tech 23-3. The Raiders are hitting .343 as a team, led by Colton Lyerly (.429, 23 RBI, 2 triples) and Kyle Malchiodi (.417m 32 RBI, 2 HR). Those two are also their two top starters, and whoever gets the nod here is probably irrelevant; the Raiders should win this one.