Category: Baseball

by Mike Pavlichko

Developing Falcons look to finish strong as St. Joseph heads to South Plainfield on eve of GMC Tourney seeding meeting

Before the eventual legend Lou Urbano took over the St. Joseph-Metuchen baseball program in 1997, the Falcons had a tough year, going 3-15.

With plenty more games to go, St. Joseph – 3-14 this season – will likely finish with more wins than that. But it’s still been a difficult year in Metuchen.

To be fair, some dropoff from last year’s GMC Tournament championship team was to be expected. A number of key players – some of whom had been starting since high school baseball resumed after the COVID interruption – graduated, and for the up-and-comers, this was their opportunity, head coach Mike Murray told them.

Maybe some have been pushing too hard, maybe some weren’t ready. But Murray is confident this year’s experience will pay off, whether it’s later this year, or in 2025.

Still, the Falcons’ goal is to go hard down the wire, and that includes Thursday afternoon’s game at No. 2 South Plainfield, the presumptive top-seed in the GMC Tournament, which starts Saturday, and will be seeded Friday morning. Thursday’s game is scheduled for 4 pm, with pregame at 3:45 on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko has all the play-by-play; click here to listen.

St. Joseph played the Tigers tough in Metuchen on Tuesday. Both pitchers – Mike Castagna for South and Joseph Barca for the Falcons – pitched complete games. But South Plainfield scores two late runs to come out with a 4-2 win.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with St. Joseph-Metuchen head coach Mike Murray:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: No. 1 Bridgewater-Raritan 6, No. 7 Ridge 2

Frankie Verano had an two-RBI double to tie the game, and Kellen Komline cleared the bases with another in the sixth to help top-ranked Bridgewater-Raritan to a 6-2 Skyland Conference Delaware Division road win at No. 7 Ridge on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko call all the action from Basking Ridge as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 2 South Plainfield clinches share of GMC Red, and likely top GMCT seed, with 4-2 road win at St. Joseph-Metuchen

“I wouldn’t want anything more for these guys. I think they earned it.”

Who cares if the top-seed hasn’t won the GMC baseball tournament since 2019? South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus is thrilled for his Tigers.

Second-ranked South Plainfield picked up a 4-2 road win Tuesday over St. Joseph-Metuchen, a victory that clinches at least a share of the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division, and should give them the top-seed in the upcoming tourney, which will be seeded Friday and begins with the play-in round the next day.

Mike Castagna outdeuled the Falcons’ Joseph Barca in a battle of juniors who both went the distance Tuesday, with Castagna giving up just six hits and two earned runs, while striking out four. Dan Kapsch was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and two runs batted in.

The victory keeps South Plainfield (12-3, 9-2 in the GMC Red) a game ahead of Old Bridge (11-5, 8-3) after the Knights blanked Monroe 1-0 at home Tuesday afternoon. Even if South Plainfield dropped its division finale to Joe’s Thursday and Old Bridge finished off a sweep of Monroe, both would be 9-3 in the division, tied for first.’

But the Tigers’ sweep of the Knights last week would give South Plainfield the title outright.

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus talk about the Tigers’ win over St. Joseph, and clinching the Red Division title:

by Mike Pavlichko

Six unanswered runs give top-ranked Bridgewater 6-2 win at No. 7 Ridge, solidifying top-seed in upcoming Somerset County Tournament

Trailing 3-0 after three innings, the Bridgewater-Raritan bats weren’t exactly hitting lasers all over the field.

But two big extra base hits in key spots by Frankie Verano and Kellan Komline drove in five of the top-ranked Panthers six runs, who picked up a 6-2 win at No. 7 Ridge Tuesday afternoon, in a game heard of Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The win makes Bridgewater 14-1 on the season, 8-0 in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, and all but locks up the top-seed in the Somerset County Tournament in advance of Monday’s seeding meeting in Somerville.

Ridge scored the first two runs of the game, getting on the board in the first and third innings with a run each.

Nick Sellitti led off the game with a double, then a sac fly to center by Jake Dolan moved him to third, and Ezra Sadowsky knocked him in with an RBI single.

In the third, starting pitcher Andrew Reynolds helped his cause with a leadoff double. He moved to third on an infield hit from Sellitti, a hard hit ball to third that Bridgewater’s Joe Spirra knocked down, the best he could do. After a single by Jack Dolan loaded the bases, Sadowski drove in his second run of the game with a sac fly to center. But Nick Rossi grounded into a double play, limiting the damage for the Panthers.

Andrew Reynolds had been cruising for Ridge heading into the fifth inning, setting down ten BR batters in a row going back to the final out of the first. But the Panthers would tie it, getting a leadoff single by JR Rosado, then another by Kellan Komline. After a lineout to right by Michael Taylor, Frankie Verano – the hero Monday night against Cherokee in an extra inning win at Trenton Thunder Ballpark, but hitting just .117 coming into the game – ripped double to knot the game at two.

Though Reynolds escaped the inning with any more damage, the Panthers came back for more in the sixth.

Matthew Lehberger led off by reaching on an E-5. Matt Fattore singled, too, chasing Reynolds for Matt Faltas. The submarine righty walked Matt Cichocki to load the bases, then plunked Rosado on the first pitch, giving BR a 3-2 lead they would never relinquish.

That’s when Komline broke the game open with a bases clearing double on a 3-2 pitch to make it 6-2.

Taylor had come in from second base to get the last two outs of the fifth for starter Jack Lanum, and pitched two more full, shutout innings to get the win in relief, improving to 2-0. Reynolds took the loss to fall to 3-2.

Ridge falls to 10-6 on the year, 5-4 in Skyland Conference Delaware play, but with only two losses to Somerset County opponents – both coming to Bridgewater-Raritan.

Click below to hear postgame reaction – presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen – from Bridgewater-Raritan senior Frankie Verano, head coach Max Newill, and sophomore Kellan Komline:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 1 Bridgewater-Raritan faces stiff challenge at rejuvenated, No. 7 Ridge Tuesday

Timely hitting, solid pitching, great fielding.

Those three elements are key to any baseball team, and they’ve been present on a consistent basis for the Bridgewater-Raritan baseball team. Sitting at 13-1 and riding a five-game win streak since a loss to West Morris – their first of the season – Max Newill’s club is poised to get the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament when it’s all figured out next Monday night.

But the key word there is poised, and skids can happen at any time. Just see what happened to the top two teams in the GMC Red Division last week, with Old Bridge and Monroe each going 1-3, and South Plainfield passing both to earn the inside track to the top seed in the league tourney.

On Tuesday, when the Panthers play Ridge on the road, they’ll face a very different Red Devil team than they one they beat 8-4 on April 11th. That loss was Ridge’s fourth in their first five games. They have won nine of ten since.

Tuesday’s game starts at 3:45 pm, with pregame at 3:30 on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko will call all the play-by-play; click here to listen.

If you want to know how good the Panthers’ pitching has been, consider that Tuesday’s starter will be Jack Lanum. He’s 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA, which isn’t even the best on the team. The team ERA is 2.07, and they’ve only allowed more than three runs in a game three times, going 2-1 in those games. One of those came Monday, when the Panthers beat Cherokee 5-4 in ten innings at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.

And while the team is hitting under .300, their hits have come at the right time, like Monday, or early, to set the tone, as the Panthers did when they plated three runs in the first last Thursday against Hillsborough en route to an 8-1 road win.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Max Newill:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge has rebounded from rough start, challenges top-ranked Bridgewater-Raritan Tuesday

With a host of graduating seniors like Connor Byrne, Brendan Callanan, Aiden Stieglitz, Adam Meiner and others, making a third trip in as many years to the Somerset County Tournament Championship game wouldn’t be easy. And a 1-4 start could have had any other team packing it in.

But while the pitching was holding down the fort, the bats slowly, but surely, started to turn around. Ultimately, that has translated to the Red Devils winning nine of their next ten games, and after four weeks and a day of baseball, Ridge is 10-5, with the No. 7 ranking in the Week Four Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten.

Perfect time for a rematch between Ridge and top-ranked Bridgewater-Raritan, which doubled up the Red Devils, 8-4, back on April 11th.

The two will meet again Tuesday afternoon in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, as Mike Pavlichko brings you all the action live from Basking Ridge. Pregame is set for 3:30, with first pitch at 3:45 pm. Click here to listen.

As for the pitching, head coach Tom Blackwell will send out Andrew Reynolds for his third start of the year. He began the season in the bullpen after sitting out last year due to an arm injury. But he was a big part of “holding down the fort” earlier in the season.

He’s also been getting some big hits, when he’s not pitching, as have guys like corner infielders Zack Kucerka (1B) and Ben Larner (3B), while right fielder Ezra Sadowski continues to hit well. “He completely carried us offensively early in the season,” says Blackwell.

Click below to hear Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell talk about the Red Devils’ turnaround, and Tuesday’s matchup with top-ranked Bridgewater-Raritan:

by Mike Pavlichko

With GMCT baseball seeding Friday, how could the top seeds shake out? We take a look

The final week of the season could very well have a lot to say about who gets the top four seeds in the GMC Tournament when the committee meets to draw it all up this coming Friday.

Winning and losing streaks – which also affected this week’s Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten – have jumbled up at least a couple of division races in the Greater Middlesex Conference, most notably the Red.

That’s where a 5-0 week by South Plainfield included three wins over teams that started the week ahead of them in the division, but now are looking up at the in the standings. After a 6-1 win over eventual White Division winner Woodbridge on Monday, the Tigers took a 9-7 home win over then-second place Red Division foe Monroe Tuesday, then swept two games from division leader Old Bridge. They beat the Knights 6-3 on the road Thursday, then came back home and claimed a 5-1 victory.

All that leaves South Plainfield in first by a half-game at 8-2, while Monroe and Old Bridge are 7-3. South doesn’t need any help either, to win the division, if they can sweep a home-and-home from St. Joseph-Metuchen (3-13 overall, 2-6 in the Red). Meanwhile, Monroe and Old Bridge have a home-and-home this week with each other.

Even if the Tigers only take one game from Joe’s, and the Knights sweep Monroe, with both 9-3, South Plainfield has the tiebreaker. If Monroe were to sweep, and both they and the Tigers split, that could get interesting. Monroe and South each won a game against the other this year.

Either way, expect the Red champion to get the top overall seed. Woodbridge has been very good, too, but again, the Tigers won their crossover meeting Monday with the Barrons. And it would be a big jump for Spotswood – undefeated until last week – to get a crack at it either.

But there’s the next interesting scenario: the Blue Division should be decided this week as well. Spotswood and St. Thomas Aquinas are tied for first in the Blue. Both have three games left.

The Chargers play at JFK Monday, the team that handed them their first loss of the season Saturday morning. The Trojans host Piscataway, which they beat 5-4 over the weekend. Then, Spotswood and Aquinas face each other for a home-and-home, Tuesday in North Edison, Thursday at The Swamp.

A tie could get real interesting: both teams’ only GMC loss this year has come to Kennedy.

We think South Plainfield will wrap up the Red Division this week, as it’s unlikely they drop both to St. Joe’s. That would give them the No. 1 seed. So who comes after that?

The real question is: how many Red teams go before Woodbridge and Spotswood/St. Thomas? Old Bridge has been solid, so has Monroe, but they skidded last week, boyh going 1-3. If one sweeps the other, it’s a tough way to head into the seeding meeting.

With the GMCT playing the quarterfinals on at neutral sites (North Brunswick Community Park for the quarters, East Brunswick Magnet’s Ray Cipperly Field for the semis) the only “advantage” to a top four seed is getting to be the “home” team deep in the tournament, but that’s certainly a big plus.

Look, we know the Red Division is a very, very good one. Many in that division put it up against the best in the state. Argue it as you will, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see the top three Red teams get the top three seeds. But could the lesser of Monroe/Old Bridge after this week’s games get bumped to four? Or even five? What if they split?

Woodbridge could very well make a case for the three seed. Could Spotswood or Aquinas make the four? Wins against teams on the board (already seeded) be damned, it would be hard to see the Chargers go below South Brunswick, currently fourth in the Red, even if they sweep North Brunswick this week to get to .500 in the division; Spotswood beat the Vikings 8-7 a week ago in the Autism Awareness Classic.

All we can say is: There’s a lot of baseball to be played.

by Mike Pavlichko

Winning, losing streaks throw chaos into Week 4 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten

Other than Bridgewater-Raritan holding on to the top spot for a third straight week, chaos reigned in the Week 4 Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Rankings, with several top teams going on losing streaks, while win streaks buoyed others.

At No. 1 after a 3-0 week is Bridgewater-Raritan (12-1), which won three straight on the road, beating Somerville 7-0 on Tuesday, Hillsborough 8-1 on Thursday, and Ramapo 11-3 on Saturday. With a week to go before the Somerset County Tournament seeding meeting, the top-seed is the Panthers’ to lose at this point.

Climbing five spots this week is South Plainfield (11-3), which went a stunning 5-0 in the week gone by. The Tigers beat Woodbridge 6-1 on Monday, beat Monroe 9-7 Wednesday, then swept a pair from Old Bridge – winning 6-3 on the road Thursday and 5-1 at home Friday, before topping Dayton 8-4 on Saturday. The run now has South in first place and in the drivers’ seat in the GMC Red Division, with a shot at the tournament’s top seed on the line this week when they play a pair against St. Joseph-Metuchen.

Spotswood (12-1-1) climbs two places to third after a 3-1 week, suffering its first loss of the season. After opening with a home-and-home series sweep of South River – 13-0 on the road Tuesday and 3-2 at home Thursday – the Chargers split two games on Saturday, falling 4-1 to JFK in the morning, then winning 3-1 over Highlands in the Coaches vs. Cancer showcase down in Margate.

Woodbridge (12-2) is up one spot to sixth, also putting together a 3-1 week. The Barrons opened with a 6-1 home loss to South Plainfiled on Monday, but then came back with three straight victories: Wednesday 11-1 at Rahway, Thursday 7-0 at Edison, and Saturday at home 4-1 over Edison. Woodbridge clinched the GMC White Division.

Monroe dropped from third to sixth after a 1-3 week that left them 8-6 on the season. The Falcons lost 9-7 at South Plainfield on Tuesday, then dropped a non-area game at Robbinsville 3-2 Wednesday before snapping the skid with a 6-4 home win over St. Joseph-Metuchen on Friday. They then fell Saturday at home by an 11-5 score to Sayreville.

After two weeks out, Ridge (9-5) is back in the rankings after a strong 4-1 week. That included a win over North Hunterdon 2-0 on Tuesday, a 6-0 win at Randolph Wednesday, an 11-1 rout at Somerville on Thursday, and a loss at New Providence 3-2 on Saturday before the Red Devils bounced back with a 2-1 win over Union Catholic Sunday in the Thank You Classic.

At No. 8 is St. Thomas Aquinas (10-2), up two spots from the Trojans’ previous rank of No. 10. STA picked up wins Monday at home (8-3) and Wednesday (19-3) on the road against North Plainfield, sandwiched around a Tuesday noon-conference loss at Elizabeth, 13-12. They came back and beat Piscataway Friday, 5-4.

In ninth is Watchung Hills, which went 2-1 last week, including a win over then-No. 2 Immaculata, 11-5, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Though they would lose the next day, 8-0 to North Hunterdon, they rebounded with an 11-7 win at Rutgers Prep on Thursday.

And Immaculata falls to tenth after an 0-3 week. After the Tuesday loss to Watchung Hills, they dropped a 5-1 home game to Montgomery on Thursday, and were whitewashed 10-0 Saturday at Phillipsburg.

Below are the full Week 4 Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Several GMC, Somerset baseball teams in the running for top seeds in state tourney

At least a half dozen teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference and Somerset County appear to be in serious contention for top seeds in the NJSIAA state tournament, with the cutoff three weeks away.

Saturday, May 18 is the last day games can count toward power points. Traditional power points are used, with the highest 16 values before the cutoff counting toward the standings. Teams that reach 16 wins generally can make up less ground on opponents, since wins are generally worth much more than losses, and at that point, wins generally wins up replacing other wins, rather than low point total losses.

Here’s a section-by-section look at all the teams in contention in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area. Analysis is based on results reported to NJ.com as of 9:45 pm April 26th.

Central Jersey Group 4: There are eight teams in contention here, and all are pretty good bets to make the playoffs, with a lot of baseball yet to play. Old Bridge (10-4) currently occupies the top spot, with 263.5 points, well ahead of second-place Manalapan (8-5). And area teams are packed in tightly here, all the way down to a three-way tie for tenth. Monroe (70-5) is 67.5 points behind the Knights, sitting in third, with Manalapan (8-5, 219) in them. After Jackson Memorial (8-4, 189), there’s South Brunswick well into the mix at 5-8, with 178 points. And after Hightstown (7-3, 173), five of the next six teams are from the CJSR coverage area. Hillsborough (5-8, 166) is in seventh, and followed by neighboring Montgomery (5-7, 151.5) and Sayrveille (5-7, 144). In a three-way tie for tenth are Princeton (5-6, 143), North Brunswick (3-8, 143) and East Brunswick (3-10, 143). Only 35 points separates the 5th-place Vikings and the potentially 12th-place Bears. Expect much to change here over the next three weeks.

Central Jersey Group 3: No one is in line for a top-seed here, with JFK the only area team inside the top 16. Allentown (9-4) has a narrow lead over Lawrence (12-1, 265) for the top spot, with the Mustangs (7-3) tied with Colts Neck (7-5) for ninth, with 149 points. Somerville – at just 3-7 – is only 30 points out of a playoff spot, but a win or two would improve their fortunes immensely. It’s not too late for the Pioneers to turn things around.

Central Jersey Group 2: Governor Livingston leads the group at 11-2 with 287 points, and right behind them is unbeaten Spotswood at 11-01, with 211.5 points. For the next area team, it’s all the way down to 12th for Carteret (8-3, 146). Also in the top 16 is East Brunswick Magnet (5-4, 110), while other area teams on the outside of the bubble have a shot if they can make some hay over the next few weeks. South River sits in 18th at 4-7 (102 points), while Metuchen (2-9, 96) is only 14 points out in 19th, and even Piscataway Magnet (4-4, 64) could get in with a run.

Central Jersey Group 1: Defending champion Point Pleasant Beach (12-0, 261 points) leads the pack, while Middlesex (4-8, 169.5) – which lost at home to the Garnet Gulls in last year’s title game – is in second. After South Hunterdon (8-3, 166), South Amboy (8-0, 154) is in fourth. The Governors are one of just two unbeaten teams – along with Spotswood – left in the GMC or Somerset County. Dunellen (8-4, 131) is not far behind in fifth. After Shore (4-5, 125.5) and Henry Hudson (5-4, 114) is Highland Park (6-4, 112) in eighth, followed by Riverside (5-2, 110) and Manville (5-5, 95). All the way down to 17th place, Somerset Tech (2-5, 67) is well in the running, just seven points back of 16th-place Keansburg (2-5, 74).

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4: Defending sectional runner-up Bridgewater-Raritan (11-1, 325 points) is No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, and No. 1 in this section as well, leading second-place Westfield (10-1, 289) by a good margin, but the Blue Devils have a game in hand in the win column, so that distance may be closer than it appears in the Panthers’ sideview mirror. Woodbridge (11-2, 268) stands in third, and he next local team is down in sixth, with Ridge (8-4, 229.5) followed by Edison (9-3, 219) and Watchung Hills (7-5-1, 198 points) in eighth. Further down, you’ll find Perth Amboy 4-7, 149) in 12th, then Piscataway (6-5, 143), Franklin (6-4, 136.5) and JP Stevens (4-8, 126) right down the line.

North 2, Group 3: Just 20 points separate the top two teams here: first-place Randolph (11-3, 325.5) and second-place South Plainfield, (10-3, 305.5), which leads the GMC’s Red Division at the moment. The only other area team in contention here is Colonia. The Patriots are 6-4, with 197 points, and in ninth place.

North 2, Group 2: The only area team in this section is Bernards. The Mountaineers sit in 11th at 5-4-1, with 134 points.

Non-Public South A: Even with its second loss of the season – which came right after its first this week – Immaculata (9-2, 238) is ahead by 20 points for the top seed over St. Augustine (10-1, 218). The next area team down is St. Joseph-Metuchen. The Falcons are just 3-0, with 126 points, and a very inexperienced team. Pingry (2-7-1, 84) sits in 12th.

Non-Public North B: Anyone who doesn’t opt-out in this 13-team section will make it, but we’re not sure everyone in our area will want to play. St. Thomas Aquinas is in second at 9-2 with 166 points, 76 behind No. 1 St. Mary-Rutherford, the defending sectional champ who’s 9-4 with 243 points. In fifth is Gill St. Bernard’s (3-7-1, 103), followed by last year’s runner up here, Rutgers Prep (3-6, 97). Timothy Christian (0-7, 37) and Wardlaw-Hartridge (0-6, 28) could opt-out.

by Mike Pavlichko

Rosado’s 3-run blast, Lanum’s solid start power No. 1 Bridgewater-Raritan past Hillsborough

And the hits, literally, just keep on coming for the Bridgewater-Raritan baseball team.

The Panthers – No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten – got a three-run homer from JR Roasdao and four innings of five-hit, one-run ball from starter Jack Lanum to defeat Hillsborough on the road Thursday afternoon, sweeping the two-game, home-and-home season series from the rival Raiders.

The win is the third-straight for Bridgewater, since an 11-7 loss to West Morris spoiled their 8-0 start. The Panthers are now 11-1, 7-0 in the Skyland Conference’s Delaware Division, and clinched at least a share of the division title with the win. Hillsborough drops to 5-8, 4-2 in the Delaware.

The Panthers got on the board in the top of the first, small-balling three runs across. Devin Goldberg led off the game with an infield hit, and Matt Lehberger singled. After a double steal, Matt Fattore walked, but Goldberg scored on the wild pitch fourth ball, and Lehberger moved to third. Lerhberger scored on a ground-out by Matt Cichocki, and Fattore came in to score and make it 3-0 when he tried to steal third and the throw went into the outfield.

Hillsborough would get a run back in the second. Jason Willliams hit a one out double, then advanced to third on a passed ball. He scored on a JJ Lotierzzo grounder to second to make it 3-1 Bridgewater.

The game would hum along until the fifth, with ‘Boro starter Krish Patel still on the mound. Devin Goldberg led off with a fly ball to right field that was dropped. But after the two-base error, he was picked off second when Patel’s throw to second caught him in a rundown.

After Lehberger flied to left for the second out, the Panthers did some damage. Fattore got plunked, Cichocki walked, and then JP Rosado cranked a three-run homer over the left field wall to make it 6-1, chasing Patel from the game.

As Michael Taylor shut down the Raiders in relief for two innings, Bridgewater-Raritan added a run in the sixth on a sac fly to center that scored Frankie Verano, and an RBI double by Cichocki that drove in Lehberger, who’d reached second on a grounder to third when the throw sailed over the first baseman.

Corey Rible came on to close it out, pitching a 1-2-3 seventh for the Panthers, as the bullpen finished with three-innings of two-hit shutout ball.

Click below for postgame reaction from Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Max Newill, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: