Category: Baseball

by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills “steals” walk-off, 7-6 win over Bridgewater-Raritan to sweep two-game set

Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, you haven’t.

Way back in the first inning of Watchung Hills’ Skyland Conference Delaware Division home game against Bridgewater-Raritan Thursday – heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – first baseman Max Payne did something he may never, ever do again.

He broke his bat – a metal bat – on what turned out to be an infield hit to the left side. Has anyone ever seen that happen? Probably not.

But he was outdone by how the Hustlin’ Warriors finished off the game.

After taking a 6-5 lead with five runs in the bottom of the fourth, the Panthers rallied in the top of the seventh to tie the game at six, forcing Hills to bat in the bottom of the seventh with the score 6-6.

Payne flied out to center, and Landon Pudlak popped up a foul ball to the first baseman. But with two out, Brody Griffith singled, and Brady Simo reached on a hard liner to third that was scored an infield hit. With a 3-1 count, centerfielder Chris Dorsi took a strike, as Griffith made a move toward third. That prompted a pickoff throw from catcher Michael Lobosco.

By now, Griffith was well on his way to third, but the throw couldn’t be handled at the bag by Connor Price, and it sailed to the fence, bringing Griffith home with the winning run, giving Watchung Hills (3-1) a 7-6 victory and a two-game sweep of BR following a 9-1 road win Tuesday.

The Warriors got on the board in the bottom of the first taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Pudlak, but Bridgewater got five in their half of the second on five hits. They did it with a two-RBI double by DH Stephen Pikulin with the bases loaded, then a three-run homer to left by Josh Moore – the first of his varsity career – during one of the few moments in the game when a steady wind died down. All five runs came with one out.

The Warriors got those five back in the fourth, taking a 6-5 lead, sending nine men to the plate in the inning. They loaded the bases when Brady Simo got hit by a pitch, Dorsi reached on an infield hit, and Sam Hunsinger got plunked as well. Stef DiGeronimo walked to drive in a run, making it 5-2 Panthers, and that was it for Bridgewater starter Kevin Kelly.

Gavin Butch relieved him, and went 3-2 on the next two batters before striking both out. But Payne cut the deficit to two with a hard liner to short that was ruled an infield hit, Pudlack drove in two with a line drive single to right to make it 5-5, and Payne scored on a wild pitch with Griffith at the plate to make it 6-5 Watchung Hills.

Jack Braswell, in his first pitching appearance of the season for Bridgewater-Raritan (1-3), took the loss, while the win went to the Warriors’ Lucas Sheehan, who also made his first appearance of the year, despite giving up the tying run in the top of the seventh.

Click below for postgame reaction from Alec Crouthamel with Watchung Hills head coach Joe Tremarco, pitcher Nick minettio and second baseman Landon Pudlak, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Alec Crouthamel

Watchung Hills looks for midweek sweep, 3-1 start in battle against Bridgewater-Raritan

As the ground continues to thaw — and the wind continues to whip, as it did Tuesday — Watchung Hills’ offense has stayed hot, on the way to a 2-1 start.

The Warriors have scored 22 runs in three games, an average of just over seven per contest. And they’ll take their solid play back home for a Thursday matchup against Bridgewater-Raritan. They already faced the Panthers once, a 9-1 victory on Tuesday, and are looking for the sweep as the season starts to get fully in swing.

Watchung Hills eagerly awaits the finale of the two-game home-and-home set. That’s a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with first pitch at 4 pm and pregame at 3:40, with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen.

The hitting and pitching stood out on Tuesday, as a classic pitcher’s duel between top arms Kellan Komline (BR) and Robbie Centamore (WH) set up a 2-1 game after four innings. But from there, both outings went in different directions.

Komline left the game after picking up two outs in the fifth, but the Warriors were already in full swing. They tacked on seven unanswered runs to end the game, as Centamore went six strong innings with 12 strikeouts.

Watchung Hills returns a key core of veterans after graduating a few of their top hitters from last year’s team. But it’s not like the new elder statesmen are filling new roles. This veteran group has seen a lot of varsity experience from a young age, and have developed under 13th-year head coach Joe Tremarco.

Centamore helps get everyone going both on the mound and at the plate. Stef DeGeronimo and Landon Pudlak — a junior and senior, respectively — continue their reign in the Warriors’ middle infield and are off to solid starts once again. Centamore and fellow senior Jacob Jaconski each pace the team with five hits in the early goings, and the lineup has produced at a high level, no matter who steps into the batter’s box.

On the pitching side, Watchung Hills is looking to a few veterans to fill out the rotation as an important secondary pitcher, including senior Isaac Russell. Centamore has thrown the lion’s share of innings so far, but won’t get the ball next after his stellar outing on Tuesday. In the bullpen, junior Caden Dias has emerged as a weapon out of the bullpen with three scoreless innings in the Warriors’ two wins so far.

As the sun continues to shine later, and the afternoons heat up, Watchung Hills looks to stay hot with its third win in four games to start the campaign.

Click below to hear Alec Crouthamel talk with Watchung Hills head coach Joe Tremarco about the first week of the season, and Thursday’s game against Bridgewater-Raritan:


by Mike Pavlichko

Bridgewater-Raritan still figuring things out as Panthers head up to Watchung Hills seeking series split

A look at the score from Tuesday’s 9-1 loss to Watchung Hills doesn’t quite tell the whole story of how that game went down.

It was a 2-1 game until Bridgewater-Raritan got dinked and dunked to the tune of four runs by the Warriors, and it ended up being a 9-1 final.

Maybe a more experienced team wins that game later in the season. Maybe without early-season pitch limits set by coaches so they don’t burn out arms in April, Kellan Komline goes a little longer.

They’re not excuses, but the reality of the situation. Then again, all you can do is get back on the horse, and try, try again.

That’s what the Panthers will do on Thursday afternoon when they travel up to Warren Township for the finale of the two-game home-and-home set against Watchung Hills. That’s a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with first pitch at 4 pm and pregame at 3:40, with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen.

Komline is one of the biggest returning veterans. He’s 1-1 on the season, and has struck out 14, walking eight, while allowing five earned runs, seven total.

He and catcher and fellow senior Michael Lobosco are the only two full-time returning starters from last season. Lobosco hit .295 last year with eleven runs batted in. Komline threw 41 innings, with a 0.68 ERA, while hitting .272 at the plate, playing centerfield when he wasn’t on the mound.

And yet, this season’s top two hitters – yes, it’s early still – are freshmen. There’s Nick Spirra, who’s likely to start at second base Thursday, hitting .417 with a team-best five RBIs, while leadoff hitter Andrew Schmeider – a rightfielder with a “physicality you don’t see much in a freshman,” according to head coach Max Newill, it 4-for-8 on the year with three runs batted in, and already a team-high six walks.

That’s just what you want for a leadoff hitter. Now – with just five regulars hitting better than .200 – the Panthers hope that hitting truly is contagious, and will work its way down through the rest of the lineup.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Bridgewter-Raritan head coach Max Newill about the first week of the season, and Thursday’s game against Watchung Hills:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: East Brunswick Magnet 17, New Brunswick 10

Despite jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, East Brunswick Magnet had to rally late, scoring 12 runs combined in the fifth and sixth innings to beat New Brunswick, 17-10, and sweep a two-game series from the Zebras in GMC Blue Division action.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart call all the play-by-play live from Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School in East Brunswick on April 7, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

Slugfest with with a little something for everyone ends in 17-10 victory for East Brunswick Magnet over New Brunswick, sweeping season series

On a bright, sunny, but turning blustery cold day in the shadows of the dying Brunswick Square Mall and its big blue water tower, East Brunswick Magnet completed a two-game series sweep of New Brunswick Tuesday, with a 17-10 home in in GMC Gold Division action heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

That was the main story, but this one? Well, it had all the components of the wildest game you’ve ever seen.

There were multiple dropped balls on a day with 15-to-20 mile per hour winds, and a stark sun still fairly low in the sky as is typical of early April. New Brunswick arrived just ten minutes before the scheduled first pitch, which officially was thrown at 4:23 pm. There was a 4-6-3 double play where the second baseman booted the ball, but right to the shortstop who was standing on the bag to get to first out. And ground balls died a quick death on the choppy early-season infield grass – which sprouts right up after Spring rain.

Oh, and there were a combined 27 runs scored between the two teams in a game which, had it gone on much longer, might have been called due to darkness. By the time Dariel Rodriguez struck out swinging to end the ballgame at 7:22 pm, the sun had already been below the tree line on the other side of Summerhill Road for a good five to ten minutes.

And yet, this one could have been over early.

East Brunswick Magnet, coming off a 17-4 win Monday in New Brunswick – where they led 13-0 heading to the bottom of the fifth before the Zebras forced a sixth-inning with a grand slam by Jose Abreu, only to fall 17-4 in six – picked up right where it left off less than 24 hours prior, scoring four runs off New Brunswick starter Jacob Henderson.

The Zebras – whose lineup is half freshman coming off a season where they beat the Tigers in the GMC Invitational title game – could have folded then. They could have sulked and packed it in, turning the page to Wednesday’s game against neighboring North Brunswick.

But they didn’t. They came back with three in the second to cut the deficit to one. Then, after Magnet added a run in the third, tied the game 5-5 with two runs in the fourth. And they seemed to blow it open with four runs in the top of the fifth to go ahead 9-5.

But that’s when East Brunswick Magnet had enough, and did all the damage they needed to. They sent eleven men to the plate in the fifth, and scored seven runs to take a 12-9 lead. Then did the same in the sixth scoring five runs to take a 17-9 lead.

Highlights for the Tigers? Starting pitcher Joshua Carreras – though the sophomore didn’t get the win – pitched four inning, allowing just three hits, five runs – but only two earned – and struck out seven. But he had an even better day at the plate, scoring twice, and hitting a bases-clearing three-RBI triple in the fifth to give his team the lead, for good.

There was also second-baseman Braeden Cullen, who had a double and an RBI in the first innings, scored three times, and had an RBI sac fly to center in the decisive fifth inning.

And all nine positions in the batting order scored; the only starter not to cross the plate was catcher Andrew Teleposky, and only because he had a courtesy runner. But he still reached base five times.

In the end, the win went to Jack Clements in relief, who pitched two and two-thirds innings, gave up one hit, one unearned run, and struck out seven; it was his first victory of the season. Misael Dura took the loss for New Brunswick, allowing seven runs in just an inning-and-a-third, but wasn’t helped by the defense behind him; only four of those runs were earned.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart with East Brunswick Magnet head coach Sean Radu and sophomore pitcher Joshua Carreras, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Nick Hart

After nabbing first win, East Brunswick Magnet looks to build momentum and solidify lineup against New Brunswick

After a 20-6 record last season and a trip to the GMC’s Ray Cipperly Invitational Final, East Brunswick Magnet expected to start off 2026 on a tear. Not only did the Tigers have the taste of success on their tongues, but they also returned a majority of their roster, graduating just four seniors. 

Despite this, East Brunswick Magnet dropped its first two games of the season to red-hot Carteret (5-0), a one-run loss to open the season and a six-run defeat to follow. Charlie Misura pitched a complete game for the Tigers in the opening loss, giving up just four hits and one walk, as the bats fell just short of securing a victory. 

Fortunately for East Brunswick Magnet, the offense would come to life in Game Three of the young campaign, hanging 17 runs on New Brunswick Monday afternoon en route to a 17-4 road victory. Five different players recorded multiple hits for the Tigers, highlighted by a four-hit, three RBI day from Joshua Carreras. 

The rematch comes less than 24 hours after Monday’s final out, at 4 pm Tuesday at Racy Cipperly Field, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart have the call, with pregame starting at 3:45. Click here to listen.

The all-around offensive outpouring Monday was a welcome sight for the Tigers, who are still trying to solidify a starting lineup early this year.

Through three games this season, head coach Sean Radu has seen a slew of different combinations in the infield, as well as three different players recording a start in right field. 

With all the uncertainty surrounding the lineup and expectations for this season, one thing has become evident to coach Radu: new leaders must step up and lead the squad. 

Two of the bigger losses the Tigers suffered impacted both the lineup and the rotation, with Tommy O’Neill and Nomar Carreras graduating. 

O’Neill touted an impressive .370 batting average to go along with an equally impressive 1.40 ERA in his senior season. Carreras, on the other hand, hit .392 while pitching 36.1 innings, striking out 62 batters in the process. 

Click below to hear East Brunswick Magnet head coach Sean Radu talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart about the 2026 season so far, and going for the series sweep Tuesday afternoon against New Brunswick:

by Mike Pavlichko

Young New Brunswick squad still learning the game as Zebras head to East Brunswick Magnet seeking first win, series split

Knowing you have a young team coming back that graduated a slew of seniors, it’s not always going to be smooth sailing.

But New Brunswick baseball head coach Nico Vargas is playing the long game, teaching the kids, instilling a sense of doing things the right way, with the assumption – often correct – that the wins will come.

It’s happened before.

The Zebras won four combined games in 2021 and 2022, then went 1-12 under Gino Maribella in 2023.

Enter Vargas, and New Brunswick added six more wins in Vargas’ first season, 2024, then went 15-3 last year en route to winning the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Tournament over East Brunswick Magnet.

The two rematched Monday, with the Tigers picking up a lopsided win, 17-4, and will play the second of the home-and-home Tuesday afternoon at 4 pm in East Brunswick, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart have the call with pregame at 3:45; click here to listen.

It’s those four runs from Monday’s game that Vargas is focused on, for a number of reasons.

Trailing 13-0 after four-and-a-half innings of play, the Zebras could have packed it in. Instead, they loaded the bases for one of their veterans, Jose Abreu, and all he did was hit a grand slam to extend the game at least one more inning.

Nevermind that East Brunswick Magnet got those four back in the top of the sixth, and won it by blanking the Zebras in the bottom of the inning. At this point, accentuate the positive, and hope the old adage that “hitting is contagious” holds true Tuesday afternoon.

It’ll help they’ll have the outstanding Jacob Henderson on the mound. He held Piscataway last week through five innings, taking a 2-1 lead into the sixth. A bloop, a walk and a home run opened the floodgates, and the Zebras took a 5-2 decision, but still, it was something off which New Brunswick can build.

Click below to hear New Brunswick baseball coach Nico Vargas talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about the 2026 season, and Tuesday’s matchup at East Brunswick Magnet:

by Mike Pavlichko

A new No. 1 baseball team in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, while a tumultuous week adds four new clubs to the mix

There were some great games, big wins, and some pleasant surprises through the first week of the high school baseball season in New Jersey. And while there’s a lot more baseball to be played, there are four new teams joining the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten in Week One, with a brand-new No. 1 team.

St. Joseph-Metuchen – last year’s GMC Tournament champion at 16-7 – has gotten off to a surprising 0-4 start. And while they’ll still likely be in the mix as we get closer to county tournament season, the winless start has made room for a new No. 1, with nine of the ten teams in this week’s rankings being unbeaten

The new No. 1 team is Immaculata (3-0), the defending Somerset County Tournament champs. The Spartans opened upo with a sweep of Hillsborough, wininng 3-0 on the road Tuesday, then 3-0 at Diamond Nation in Flemington Thursday before taking a 5-3 home decision over West Essex on Saturday.

The three teams right behind the Spartans all moved up a notch as well, and all are undefeated.

Ridge (3-0) is in second, picking up victories over three different teams to open 2026. They won 7-4 at West Morris Tuesday, then opened Skyland Conference play with an 11-1, five-inning win over Montgomery Thursday, followed by a 4-0 shutout win at Rutgers Prep Saturday.

In third is defending state Group 1 champion Middlesex (3-0). The Blue Jays avenged a season sweep at the hands of Spotswood last year with a 6-1 Opening Day win over the Chargers at home, then a 12-1 (full seven-inning game) win at “The Swamp” on Thursday. They topped Perth Amboy on Saturday at home, 4-2.

And in fourth is Edison (3-0). GMCT finalists from a year ago, they won their opener Tuesday at Old Bridge, then two straight at home: 2-1 over the Knights on Thursday, and 5-4 in eight innings on Saturday over South Plainfield, rallying with two runs in the seventh to send it to extras.

Moving up two spots to fifth is South Plainfield (2-1). Before the loss to Edison Saturday, they swept a season-opening home-and-home with then-No. 1 St. Joe’s, 11-1 in five in Metuchen on Tuesday, then 6-2 at home on Thursday.

Joining the rankings at No. 6 is Monroe (3-0). The Falcons swept East Brunswick in its first two games – with a 10-7 Opening Day road win on Tuesday, and a 5-2 win at home Thursday – then beat previously-No. 1 St. Joseph Saturday in Metuchen, 6-2.

Up one place to seventh is Colonia (2-0). The Patriots beat Metuchen on Tuesday, 2-1, and after the Bulldogs rescheduled their Thursday meeting for later in the season, beat in-town rival JFK 13-3 in five innings Saturday.

The last three teams all are new to the rankings, starting with South Brunswick (3-0) at No. 8. The Vikings swept Perth Amboy to open the season, 13-2 at home Tuesday, then 8-6 at home on Thursday. Saturday, they picked up a 1-0 win at Sayreville.

At nine is Carteret (4-0) out of the GMC Blue, which scored 40 runs in four games over the first week. After a 4-3 home win Monday over East Brunswick Magnet, the Ramblers beat the Tigers on the road Wednesday, 12-6, then won 13-8 at North Plainfield on Thursday, and 11-1 Saturday at home against Long Branch out of the Shore Conference.

And at ten is Bernards (2-0). The Mountaineers were 8-1 winners on Opening Day Monday against Summit, and beat Del Val at home 4-0 on Wednesday.

Dropping out were No. 1 St. Joseph-Metuchen (0-4), as well as No. 8 Hillsborough, No. 9 Old Bridge, and No. 10 Woodbridge, the last three all 1-3 on the season.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving H.S. Baseball Top Ten for Week One:

by Mike Pavlichko

Through first week – and them some – these high school baseball teams have started the season red hot

The high school baseball season is already a week old, though a few got started a little earlier than most, but more than a few have started the 2026 campaign red hot.

Some were expected, others have turned out to be pleasant surprises.

And that could juggle our first in-season Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, the Week One edition of which comes out Monday morning.

Here’s a look at who’s gotten the season off to a great start after the first week or so or play in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area, with a minimum of three games played..

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE

Red Division

  • Edison: The Eagles are 3-0, and may have had the most success with the toughest opening schedule of all. It was their pitching that helped lock down their season-opening series with Central Jersey Group 4 finalist Old Bridge, picking up 5-2, and 2-1 wins last week. Of course, that’s no surprise looking at who Edison has on the mound: three D1 commits including Robert Roma (Wagner) and Connor Murphy (Monmouth) – who pitched against the Knights, and Dom Innocenti (Wagner) who went four solid innings against South Plainfield in a 5-4, eight-inning home win Saturday afternoon. But the bats can do good stuff, too. Murphy is one of then, already 4-for-8 on the year with two doubles, while Isaiah Lutz is hitting .444 with a double and two RBIs, both of which came against the Tigers, and the last of which walked it off with two outs and the bases loaded Saturday. The Eagles are back at it Tuesday at South Plainfield, then play equally red-hot Monroe (3-0) at home Thursday and away Saturday.
  • Monroe (3-0): The Falcons (3-0) already are a third of the way to their win total from last year, when they went 9-13. And they’ve got two wins over East Brunswick – a series sweep with 10-7 and 5-2 wins – plus a Saturday road victory, 6-2, over defending GMC Tournament champion St. Joseph-Metuchen. In the second win over the bears, junior Ben Faigin pitched five no-hit innings before being lifted and got the win. (Don’t forget, it’s early yet, and some pitchers the first few weeks are on fairly strict pitch counts from their coaches.) Faigin is also doing it at the plate, going 6-for-8 in the first three games with three runs batted in, and he’s walked four times, stealing seven bases already. It’s Monroe’s best start since 2022. The Falcons will close their home-and-home in Monroe Tuesday when St. Joe’s visits, before they play a Thursday/Saturday home-and-home with Edison.
  • South Plainfield: Despite a 5-4 loss in extras at Edison on Saturday, the Tigers are 2-1, and those two wins are nothing to sneeze at. South Plainfield crushed St. Joseph in Metuchen on Tuesday in the season opener, 11-1, then took a 6-2 decision at home on Thursday. Aiden McCarthy pitched the full five innings of Tuesday’s ten-run rule game, allowing just four hits and one earned run, while striking out five, and sophomore Andrew Bena, who blew up on the basketball court this winter, continued to shine on the pitchers’ mound in game two, throwing 6 1/3 and allowing just three hits and two earned runs while striking out eight. McCarthy and Dom Massaro also are tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .455 and .500, respectively, with McCarthy knocking in four runs, while the speedster Massaro – an outstanding football player, and the CJSR Special Teams Returner of the Year in 2025 – has four stolen bases already.

White Division

  • Middlesex: The defending state Group 1 champions and GMCT Final Four team swept Spotswood two games last week, 6-1 on Tuesday at home, 12-1 at “The Swamp” on Thursday, then beat Perth Amboy at home on Saturday, 4-2 to start the season at 3-0. Their two main arms are back this year, Chris Kozak for his senior year and Dominic Long for his junior campaign, and both got wins against the Chargers, with Kozak going the distance, Long going seven, with only Kozak allowing a single earned run. Then they got a solid outing from Dylan Ianiero for the win Saturday allowing four hits and just two unearned runs in six innings pitched. That means the Blue Jays have allowed just one earned run in three wins to start the year. Not too shabby. And, Middlesex is hitting .333 as a team, getting balance from up and down the lineup. Ianiero and Long are both hitting .571 (4-for-7) on the year, with Long also knocking in three runs and walking four times, while Sean Hughes has four runs batted in. After the series finale with the Panthers in the Bay City Tuesday, the Jays get South Brunswick at home, then away, in a Thursday-Saturday two-game set.
  • South Brunswick: New head coach and veteran GMC skipper Lou Urbano has brought a new mindset to the Vikings, and so far, all is looking good at 3-0. They scored a combined 21 runs in their season-opening series against Perth Amboy, which included a 13-2 home win Tuesday, and a n 8-6 road win Thursday. Then, it was a pitchers’ duel Saturday as the Vikings beat Sayreville at home, 1-0, behind four no-hit, shutout innings from starter Collin Perna in his second start of the season. The senior also got the win in Game One against Amboy, and in 8 2/3 innings pitched, has 14 Ks, six walks, and has allowed just three hits and one earned run. The Vikings close out the series with the Bombers in Sayreville Tuesday, before opening a road-home set with Middlesex Thursday and Saturday.

Blue Division

  • Carteret: Off to its best start since 2023, when they went 5-0, the Ramblers have won their first four, sweeping a pair from GMC Invitational finalist East Brunswick Magnet – 4-3 and 12-6 – then picking up a 13-8 win at North Plainfield Thursday, and am 11-1 non-conference win over Long Branch Saturday. As a team, Carteret is in mid-season form at the plate, hitting a scorching .365 as a group, with seven regulars hitting almost .290 or better. Junior Miles Ferreiras is hitting .533 (8-of-15) with six runs batted in, while freshman outfielder/pitcher Jose Parra has knocked in eight. Their pitching is on the younger side, too, with soph Jayden Luciano throwing two scoreless innings at EB Magnet Wednesday, then going the distance in the five-inning mercy-rule win over Long Branch, allowing just two hits and one earned run, while striking out ten. They finish up the home-and-home with North Plainfield Monday afternoon, then open a two game set with South River on the road Wednesday, and home Thursday.

SOMERSET COUNTY

Immaculata visits Hillsborough in a Skyland Conference Delaware Division game on March 31, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Skyland Conference, Delaware Division

  • Immaculata: A home-and-home sweep of Hillsborough – 3-0 in their opener on the road Tuesday, then 3-0 again at home Thursday – plus a 5-3 win over West Essex – a North 2, Group 2 semifinalist a year ago – has the Spartans 3-0 after the first week of play. They’re not exactly tearing the cover off the ball – yet – but the pitching has dominated in the early going, allowing just the three runs to West Essex. Immaculata is off for Spring Break this week, then gets back into action with two against Bridgewater-Raritan the week after – home Tuesday at Diamond Nation and just up the road in Bridgewater Thursday, before an 11 am non-conference game Saturday morning against Delsea, which opens its season this week.
  • Ridge: The Red Devils are 3-0 after a trio of wins over all different teams last week. They opened Tuesday with a 7-4 non-league win at West Morris, then came “home” Thursday and beat Montgomery 11-1 out at Diamond Nation in Flemington, before getting past Rutgers Prep Saturday in Basking Ridge 4-0. There are some new names on the mound, as Dimitri Romer got the win against West Morris, while Matt Brievogel and Dillon Henderson picked up league wins; all three are juniors. At the plate, Ridge is hitting .299 as a team, but they’ve also worked out 17 walks in three games, adding in six hit batsmen. Four games are on tape this week, including a league home and home with Hunterdon Central Tuesday and Thursday, bookended by a non-conference home game against Randolph Monday and a Saturday morning visit to Warren Hills.

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 5 Edison forces extras, then walks it off on Lutz single in 8th to top No. 7 South Plainfield 5-4, in wild finish to battle of unbeatens

Early on, even though the home team scratched across a run in the first, it looked like No. 5 Edison and No. 7 South Plainfield would be tangled in a pitchers’ duel on a beautiful Saturday morning on the red turf along the Boulevard of Eagles.

Jayden Jiminez settled in for the Tigers, pitching to contact.  Edison’s Dom Innocenti struck out five of the first six batters he faced.

Eventually, South Plainfield got on the board, taking a 3-2 lead with two runs in the sixth, then adding an insurance run in the top of the seventh to give Tigers a 4-2 advantage.

But Edison scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to send it to extra innings.  And after a one-two-theee top of the eighth by Braydon Roma in relief, Isaiah Lutz drove in the game winner in the bottom of the frame with a single to center with the bases loaded and two out.

Darren Tirado got the offense started, as he led off the bottom of the first with a double to the gap in left, and after a strikeout of Robert Roma, starting pitcher Dom Innocenti – who was throwing heat early and struck out the side in the top of the first – singled to make it 1-0 Edison.

South finally broke through in the top of the fourth.  Aiden McCarthy led with a single, took second during the next at bat, and after Chris Loniewksi struck out,  Andrew Bena singled to right to tie the game at one.

Edison went back in front in the bottom of the fifth.  Connor Murphy led off with a double, a sac bunt moved him to third, and Damien Calendra singled him in to make it 2-1 Eagles.

But South Plainfield went ahead in the sixth. Dom Massaro got hit by a pitch to lead it off, stile second, and came around to score on a double by Aiden McCarthy. Chris Loniewski walked to put runners on first and second for Bena, who grounded to short. Ray Tavarez went to second for the first out, but Connor Murphy’s throw went past first, allowing McCarthy to score, making it 3-2 Tigers. Innocenti would get a pop up and stirkeout to end the inning.

The seventh would bring the Tigers a much-needed insurance run. With one out, Joe Stanzione reached on an infield hit up the middle. Pinch-hitter Mike Fiore walked, so did Massaro, and with the bases loaded, McCarthy knocked in a run to make it 4-2 with sacrifice fly to center. A strikeout ended the inning.

But in the bottom of the seventh, Edison would tie it, with a little bit of controversy. Murphy hit a hard ground ball to third, and reached on a throwing error. Lutz hit a double to drive him in and bring Edison within one. That’s when things got interesting.

Calandra was called on to bunt, and it was fielded by pitcher Jayden Jiminez. But the ball was to the first base side, and by the time he fielded it, he chose to make a tag instead of tossing to first, but the umpires ruled he missed the tag. Tigers’ head coach Scott Gleichenhaus came out to argue, saying not only did Jiminez make the tag, but that Calandra went out of the base path to avoid the tag. The umpires discussed, upheld the call, and Gleichenhaus continued to argue, but to no avail.

The play moved Murphy to third, and with Aidan Kaplan on in relief, Tirado grounded to third, scoring Murphy and tying the game at four. But South Plainfield held there. Robert Roma hit a sharp liner to short, which went off Calandra’s shoulder, and he was called out for interference, then with Innocenti at the plate, Roma was thrown out trying to steal second on the first pitch to end the inning.

Braydon Roma, now in his second inning of relief for Edison, got the Tigers in order in the top of the eighth, and the Eagles’ bats did their thing.

Damian Calandra gives Edison a 2-1 lead over South Plainfield in the fifth inning, driving in Connor Murphy from third on April 4, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Innocenti led with an infield hit to short, where the throw may have pulled the first baseman off the bag, but he appeared to beat it out anyway. After Sam Kentos struck out, Ray Tavarez was intentionally walked after one pitch, and Kaplan retired Brayden Toma with a strikeout. But by now, Edison had second and third on a pair of wild pitches.

That brought Lutz to the plate, and he quickly roped a single to center, scoring Innocenti, and giving Edison a 5-4 win in eight innings.

Braydon Roma got the win in relief in his first appearance of the season for Edison (3-0), while Adian Kaplan took the loss in relief for the Tigers (2-1)

Cllick below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with Edison senior Isaiah Lutz and head coach Vinnie Abene, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: