Category: Baseball Top Ten

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge finishes No. 1 in final Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top 10; Knights are CJSR Team of the Year

The Old Bridge baseball team reached unprecedented heights in 2023, reaching its first-ever state title game. And though they fell just a few runs short of an overall Group 4 title, the Knights – who won Central Jersey Group 4 for the first time in eight years – are the No. 1 team in the final Bellamy & Son Paving rankings, making them the Central Jersey Sports Radio Team of the Year.

Old Bridge finished 21-9 on the season, and beat North Brunswick 2-1 in the CJ4 title game, their first appearance in the finals since 2019. It was the first ring for head coach Matt Donaghue, who played for the Knights in high school under the legendary Fred Cole.

Scroll down for the full rankings.

Finishing second is St. Joseph-Metuchen (21-10), which was in the top ten during the season, but fell out in the last rankings before the state tournament started. The Falcons were the GMC Tournament champions, besting Red Division champion North Brunswick in the finals.

Ridge (25-4) finishes third in the rankings, despite the Red Devils’ being disqualified from the state tournament for a pitch count violation in their North 2, Group 4 quarterfinal game. Ridge had a successful season to that point, and still is one of the best teams in the area.

North Brunswick (21-7) comes in fourth in the final rankings, having won the Red Division in the GMC. But they fell just short in the league tournament finals, and lost to Old Bridge in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game.

Checking in at No. 5 is Rutgers Prep (14-15), which had a wild season. The Argonauts started 1-6, then won five straight to win the Somerset County Tournament, beating the top two teams in the county en route: Bridgewater-Raritan in the semifinals and Ridge in the finals. They also made it all the way to the Non-Public South B title game, losing on a walk-off single at St. Mary-Rutherford.

Bridgewater-Raritan (23-7) comes in sixth. The Panthers were the top-seed in the Somerset County Tournament, thanks to early wins over Ridge in-league, and Hunterdon Central out of conference.

Spotswood (21-8) had a terrific season, winning the GMC Blue Division title, and going all the way to the Central Jersey Group 2 title game, where the Chargers lost to Rumson-Fair Haven.

Woodbridge (20-6) comes in eighth, with its second straight 20-win season.

Coming in ninth is Middlesex (17-9), which made it all the way to the Central Jersey Group 2 championship game, where the Blue Jays lost to Point Pleasant Beach for the second year in a row.

In tenth is South Plainfield; the Tigers reached the GMC tournament semifinals – losint 2-1 to St. joe’s – and made the North 2, Group 3 semifinals, eliminated by Millburn in another 2-1 loss.

Below are the full, final Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten Rankings for 2023:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge remains No. 1 in Week 5 Bellamy Top Ten after red-hot 5-0 week

On the strength of a five-win week, Ridge – winners of 13 straight – is the No. 1 team again this week in the Bellamy & Son Paving Week Five rankings.

The Red Devils are 16-2 and travel to Seton Hall Prep Monday ahead of Tuesday’s Somerset County Tournament Final against 12-seed Rutgers Prep, which you can hear right here on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 7 pm. Ridge is going for its second straight title.

Old Bridge (13-6) holds at No. 2 after going 2-1 last week, and opens play in the GMC Tournament second round tomorrow at 4 pm against 15th-seed Carteret.

Bridgewater-Raritan (13-3) went 2-0 last week, with wins over Hunterdon Central and Immaculata, the latter a 19-4 slugfest.

North Brunswick (11-5) moves up to No. 4 after a 3-1 week. The Raiders earned the top-seed in the GMC Tournament, finishing just ahead of Old Bridge, despite being swept two games by them in the regular season.

Checking in at No. 5 is Monroe (8-6), which went 2-2 in the past week, splitting a two-game set with Old Bridge, losing at Woodbridge, but beating Sayreville (12-5) – which drops to sixth – by an 11-1 score.

In seventh is Woodbridge (13-4), which went 4-0 last week, right ahead of Spotswood (13-4), which had a 2-2 week. The Chargers visit the Barrons Monday night in a GMC Tournament second round game, the opener for both schools.

Moving up one place to No. 9 is Rutgers Prep (8-9), which was 2-2 in the week gone by, including a win in the Preb B Tournament quarterfinals over Princeton Day, 13-2. The Argonauts take on 6-seed Doane Academy on Wendesday in the semifinals, but before that have that date with Ridge in the SCT Finals Tuesday night.

Rejoining the rankings this week is Bernards (10-5) in the ten spot, following a 3-1 week.

Edison dropped out after going 0-4 in the week gone by, with losses to Woodbridge, Old Bridge, East Brunswick and North Brunswick.

Below are the full Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Week 5 Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

There’s a new, old team atop the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten in Week Four

The Ridge Red Devils were ranked No. 1 in the preseason Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, and lasted two weeks there until they became one of two high profile victims of Bridgewater-Raritan, whose takeover of the top spot also was aided by a big win over Hunterdon Central.

But a win by Ridge this weekend in the rematch – and the Panthers’ upset loss to Rutgers Prep in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals (Bridgewater was the top seed) – has put them back at No. 1, With a 4-0 week, Ridge is now 11-2 on the season.

Old Bridge also move sup to third, despite a 2-2 week, now 11-5 on the season, picking up wins over South Brunswick and South Plainfield; they split with the Tigers. Last Sunday, the Knights knocked off statewide No. 1 Red Bank Catholic in their Autism Awareness Challenge game.

Bridgewater-Raritan (11-3) drops to third after a 2-2 week. In addition to the loss to the Argonauts in the county tournament and Ridge in regular season play, they had wins over Immaculata in the SCT, as well as West Morris.

Teams four through eight saw no movement this week.

In fourth is Sayreville (10-3) after a 2-0 week that saw wins over Colonia and Metuchen, while North Brunswick (8-4) also went 2-0, with victories over JFK and East Brunswick.

Woodbridge (9-4) is in sixth after a 2-1 week that saw a win at South Plainfield and a home win over Rahway, as well as a loss to Edison, with the second of the home-and-home at the Eagles’ home field Monday afternoon. Central Jersey Sports Radio will broadcast the Barrons’ Tuesday evening home game against Perth Amboy at 7:00. Click here to listen.

Monroe (6-4) only had one game this week, a 4-3 win over South Plainfield, and remains in seventh.

Spotswood (11-2) won both its games this week, sweeping a home-and-home with arch-rival South River, 6-1 and 1-0.

New to the poll this week are Edison (11-3) and Rutgers Prep (6-7).

The Eagles had a 3-0 week, with wins over Middlesex at home, and against Piscataway and Woodbridge on the road; again, they finish their series in Edison Monday.

The Argonauts won both their games this week, both in the Somerset County Tournament. They topped Somerville 3-2 on Tuesday, then knocked off top-seed and statewide No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan 4-3 in the semifinals on Thursday.

Dropping out were No. 9 East Brunswick (5-8) and #10 Pingry (6-5).

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Week 2 turmoil has settled, but two new teams join Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten in Week 3, while Bridgewater remains No. 1

There are two new teams in the Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Rankings – as Pingry and Monroe join the group – but otherwise, no real major changes of shakeups in the Top Ten this week.

The top two teams went unbeaten in Week 3 of the season, with Bridgewater-Raritan (9-2) holding on to the top spot, while Ridge (7-2) moves up one place to second, dropping Old Bridge (9-3) to third after a 3-2 week that saw the Vikings lose twice in the division, once to Old Bridge and once to East Brunswick.

Sayreville (8-3) holds in fourth, coming off a 2-1 week with wins over Perth Amboy and Colonia.

North Brunswick (6-4) moved up three spots to fifth, had the other unbeaten week among ranked teams. The Raiders swept a two-game home-and-home against St. Joseph-Metuchen – which dropped out at 4-5 off a 1-4 week, along with Franklin (4-6). They also won 10-7 at Woodbridge (7-3), which dropped on place to sixth.

Monroe (5-4) is back in the rankings after a week out; the Falcons are sixth after a 3-0 week with a home-and-home two-game sweep of South Brunswick and a win over South Plainfield.

Spotswood (9-2) is up two places to eight after a 2-2 week, with both losses coming out of conference.

East Brunswick (5-6) holds in ninth, despite a 1-3 week, while Pingry (5-3) also rejoins the rankings, on a 2-0 week that included a win over red-hot Manville in the second round of the Somerset County Tournament on Saturday.

Below are the full Week Three Bellamy & Son Paving baseball rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Panthers ascend to top of Bellamy & Son Paving Week 2 baseball rankings

There was major upheaval in the Bellamy & Son Paving Week Two high school baseball rankings, with a new No. 1, three teams dropping out, three new teams ranked, and everyone else shifting around.

The new top team is Bridgewater-Raritan (6-1). The Panthers picked up wins this past week over two teams that were state-ranked in the preseason – Ridge on Tuesday (3-0) and at Hunterdon Central Tuesday (4-2) – en route to a 3-0 week that saw them move all the way up from 6th place. They were No. 10 in the preseason, and their lone loss came out of conference, 10-3 to Roxbury.

BR should be a good bet to get the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament, which will be seeded Monday night at 7:00. Follow @cjsportsradio on Twitter for updates and check our website for a full story later in the evening.

Making the jump from fifth to No. 2 is Old Bridge (6-1). The Knights had a 4-0 week, capped with a home-and-home series sweep of North Brunswick, including Saturday’s walkoff 3-1 win in 10-innings.

Ridge (5-2) dropped from first to third, going 3-1 this past week, with wins over Pingry, Watchung Hills and Scotch Plains-Fanwood out-of-conference, with their loss coming to Bridgewater.

Debuting at No. 4 is Sayreville (5-2), one of four 5-2 teams in the GMC White, but the only one to have beaten all of the other three at least once, splitting with Middlesex and Edison, and sweeping Woodbridge. The Bombers were 2-1 this week, with a split against Edison and a win over Woodbridge

Woodbridge (5-2) then checks in fifth, with a 3-1 week that included a loss to Sayreville, a home-and-home sweep of JP Stevens, and a 9-8 win over Middlesex at home Saturday.

Making its debut at No. 6 is Franklin (4-3), which is 3-0 against Somerset County competition, having wins over Gill St. Bernard’s, Rutgers Prep and Montgomery, even though they sit fourth in the Skyland Conference Raritan Division, two places behind the second-place Cougars, who are 3-2 overall but 3-1 in the division; Franklin is 2-2, but those losses have come to Phillipsburg, North Hunterdon and Lawrence, all outside the county.

St. Joseph-Metuchen (3-2) drops from third to seventh, having only played one game this week, a non-conference win over Gloucester Catholic, 11-6.

North Brunswick (3-4) fell from second to eighth after a rough 1-3 week that started fine enough with a 1-0 win over Monroe, but was followed with three straight losses. They fell to Notre Dame Wednesday, then were swept two games by Old Bridge.

The Raiders and Falcons play a home-and-home Monday and Tuesday this week, opening at North Brunswick’s Community Park at 6 pm Monday, followed by a 4:00 game in Metuchen that can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Click here to listen.

East Brunswick (4-3) dropped two places to ninth, after a 2-2 week. They beat Piscataway, lost to South Plainfield, then split a home-and-home with Monroe, winning at home Thursday, then losing down there Friday.

And Spotswood (7-0) is the third new team in the rankings this week, one of just three CJSR-area teams to remain undefeated; Dunellen and Piscataway Magnet – both 4-0 and in the GMC’s new Silver Division – are the others. The Chargers have swept home-and-homes with Metuchen, North Plainfield, and Piscataway, and also have a win over North Plainfield. They have four shutouts on the season, and are outscoring opponents 78-11 through seven games.

Dropping out are No. 8 Monroe (2-4), ninth-ranked Pingry (3-3) and No. 10 Immaculata (1-4). The Falcons and Big Blue both went 1-2 this week, while the Spartans dropped game at Hunterdon Central and Hillsborough.

Below are the full Week 2 Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge retains top ranking in Week 1 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten

Through the first week of the high school baseball season, there was little movement at the top of the Bellamy & Son Paving rankings, even though all four teams – in fact, every team in the preseason rankings – took at least one loss.

Note: All team records are as of Sunday, April 9 and do not include games on Monday, April 10.

Ridge (2-1) remained No. 1 after opening with a 2-0 win over Immaculata and a 7-3 win over Rutgers Prep Saturday, sandwiched around an out-of-area loss to Hunterdon Central, 1-0.

North Brunswick (2-1) held in second split a pair with South Plainfield, winning the opener on the road, but falling at home two days later. The Raiders bounced back with a 10-0 blanking of Monroe Saturday.

St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-2) remained in fourth despite starting 0-2 with losses against Monroe at home, then at Old Bridge, because they rebounded with a road win against the Falcons and a shutout home win at home against the Knights.

Woodbridge (2-1) stays at No. 4 after starting 2-0 thanks to a home-and-home sweep of Colonia, before losing to Sayreville 3-0 Saturday afternoon.

The next two teams saw the biggest moves of the week.

Unranked Old Bridge (2-1) joined the rankings at No. 5. The Knights topped JP Stevens 10-0, then came up with a big win over defending Red Division champ St. Joe’s 10-8 at home, before falling to the Falcons in Metuchen 3-0 on Saturday.

And Bridgewater-Raritan moved all the way up from tenth to sixth on the strength of a 3-1 start, with wins over Watchung Hills, St. Joseph-Montvale and Hillsborough. Their lone loss was to out-of-area Roxbury, 10-3 on Saturday.

As a result of the Panthers’ move, the next four teams all moved down a spot.

East Brunswick (2-1) checks in at No. 7, after splitting a pair with South Brunswick, then winning at South Plainfield.

In eighth is Monroe (1-2), which had a big division win over St. Joe’s, 6-5 on Opening Day, but then lost the rematch, and was shutout by North Brunswick.

Ninth is Pingry, which is 2-1 after wins over Warren Hills and at Bernards to start the season, but ended the week Saturday with a 2-1 out-of-area loss to North Hunterdon.

And in tenth is Immaculata (1-2). The Spartans lost a tough one, 2-0 on Opening Day to Ridge, then came back with a 8-7 win over Watchung Hills on the road, before falling in a non-league game at West Morris, 3-2.

Below are the full Bellamy & Son Paving Week One rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge debuts at No. 1 in preseason Bellamy & Son Paving H.S. Baseball Top Ten

The Ridge Red Devils – coming off a 24-4 season, a Somerset County Tournament championship, and a heartbreaking 11-inning loss in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals to end their season – will begin 2023 right where they left off: Number One in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten.

Not only does Ridge take the top spot in our preseason rankings, but the top four teams remained the same. The rest saw some significant movement.

The Red Devils have some key pieces back from last year’s club, including pitchers Connor Byrne and Brendan Callanan, while Callanan, Luke Somelofske and Julian Kielb – the team’s top run producer a year ago – are among the top hitters returning.

In second, it’s North Brunswick, which won its first-ever GMC Tournament Championship last year, beating defending champ St. Joseph of Metuchen in the final. The Falcons check in at No. 3.

The Raiders went 22-10 last season, and have a lot of key hitters back, including Omar and Yomar Carreras and Frankie Garbolino, while Rutgers-bound strikeout whiz Zach Konstantinovsky returns for his senior season. Last year, “Zack K” threw 67 innings, struck out 120 hitters, and walked only two, with a miniscule 0.73 earned run average.

The Falcons finished 22-9 last year, and were the Red Division Champions. Their returning lineup is loaded, with standouts like Mark Gialluisi, Robbie Carvelli, Josiah Brown and many more returning, though they lose two of the best pitchers in the league – Donovan Szak and Andrew Goldan, both of whom are now at Rutgers.

Checking in at No. 4 is Woodbridge. The Barons were 25-7 last year and a North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 finalist, having won an epic 11-inning game at Ridge, but falling to Hunterdon Central in the final. The Barrons return their top pitcher in Eddy Nunez, as well as key offensive players like senior Ty Kobylakiewicz, and juniors Drew Lukachyk and A.J. Bosch.

In fifth is Rutgers Prep, which was 19-6 last season and won the Skyland Conference Valley Division, and made it to the Somerset County final, falling to Ridge. A young team in 2022, they still won’t have a lot of seniors, but players like sophomores Andrew Parisi (.537, 54 RBI, 11 HR) and Zach Fronio (42 2/3 innings pitched, 1.34 ERA) will have lots of experience to call upon.

East Brunswick checks in at No. 6. A Central Jersey Group 4 finalist, the Bears were 17-13 last season, and lost an epic GMC Tournament semifinal game to North Brunswick 1-0 in 12 innings.

Monroe – 16-11 a year ago – is in seventh, while Pingry comes in eighth. The Big Blue were 23-3 last season and had just one regular season loss, to Ridge. Their other two losses were in the county and state tournaments.

Immaculata – 14-13 a year ago – comes in ninth. A young ballclub went 14-13 last season, but lost some key offensive players and some big arms, like Aiden Rumain, Matt Warzeniak and Christian Martell.

And Bridgewater-Raritan, which has a veteran group returning from last year’s 15-13 team debuts in this year’s poll at No. 10.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Preseason Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge is No. 1, the 2022 Team of the Year, in final Bellamy & Son Top Ten Rankings

Winning its first Somerset County Tournament Championship in over a decade helped propel the Ridge Red Devils to No. 1 in the inaugural Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten rankings on Central Jersey Sports Radio, and in the end, that’s where they finish – No. 1 in 2022 and the CJSR Team of the Year.

With more wins than all but one team in the CJSR coverage area, Ridge narrowly missed out on making the North 2, Group 4 title game, with a close, extra-inning loss to Woodbridge. Ridge finished the season 24-4, their most wins since picking up 22 in 2014.

Finishing second was North Brunswick. The Raiders knocked off then-No. 1 and top-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen in the GMC Tournament Final, winning their first title ever, and finished the year 22-10, with a loss to East Brunswick in the Central Jersey Group Four Finals. They were the lowest seed to win the GMC title since 14th-seed South Plainfield won it all in 2018, and second-lowest since JFK won in 2013.

North Brunswick with its 2022 GMC Tournament Championship trophy. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The full rankings follow, with more details on the rest of the teams below:

In third is St. Joseph, 22-9, and the GMC Red Division Champions. Dominant all year long against the rest of the league, they ran up against the juggernaut that is Zach Konstantinovsky in the GMC Tournament finals. Zack “K” held the Falcons to two runs on three hits, in a 4-2 win. With some arm trouble to top starters Donovan Zsak and Andrew Goldan down the stretch, Joe’s was eliminated in the semifinals of Non-Public South A by Christian Brothers Academy.

Fourth is Woodbridge, which set a program record for wins, finishing 25-7, and might be the best team in the area without a title on its resume. The gritty, never-say-die bunch finished second in the White Division to Middlesex, and were knocked out in the GMCT semifinals by St. Joe’s. They did, however, beat Ridge in a marathon 11-inning North 2, Group 4 playoff game, before losing 5-1 at Hunterdon Central to future MLB draft prospect Kyle McCoy. The Barrons graduate a handful of seniors and are expected to be another tough out next season.

Fifth is East Brunswick, which made it to the Central Jersey Group 4 title game, losing to eventual statewide group 4 winner Howell. The Bears had a deep pitching staff, and lost one of the more epic GMCT semifinals ever played, a 1-0, 12-inning affair against North Brunswick. They finished 17-13.

In sixth is Immaculata. The Spartans may have been only 14-13, but play in the tough Skyland Conference Delaware Division, which – top to bottom – may be the best in the CJSR coverage area, rivaling the GMC Red. Though the Spartans didn’t even make it to the Somerset County Finals, they did something no other Somerset County team did this year: make it to Bob DeMeo Field in Hamilton for the Group Finals. And they did it by knocking off top-seed Rutgers Prep in the Non-Public North B finals, 11-2, then rallying from a 7-0 deficit entering the bottom of the 6th to beat Gill St. Bernard’s for the sectional crown. Immaculata would, fall, however, to Ranney in the Non-Public Group B finals.

Seventh is Rutgers Prep, which finished 19-6, Valley Division Champions in the Skyland Conference, and made the finals of the Somerset County Tournament, falling to Ridge. Powered by – among others – a pair of freshmen in pitcher Zach Fronio and catcher Andrew Parisi, the Argonauts will continue to be contenders.

Middlesex comes in eighth, the GMC White Division champion at 23-6. The Blue Jays won two critical games against Woodbridge just before the county tournament seeding meeting to win the title in their first year up from the Blue, a significant feat. But in the tournament, they suffered a late collapse against North Brunswick in the quarterfinals, and were the victim of a controversial call on a play at the plate that killed their rally. And after beating Point Pleasant Beach in the Central Jersey Group 1 finals for each of the past three seasons, this time, the Garnet Gulls came through. Middlesex will be in reload mode next year, with a number of seniors graduating.

Checking in ninth is Pingry, which finished 23-2 and had a tremendous year in and out of its division, and won the Prep A Tournament Championship, defeating Hun. They were also Skyland Conference Mountain Division champs, with their two regular season losses coming to Delaware Division squads – Ridge and Somerville. Their only other defeat came in the state tournament, to St. John Vianney our of the Shore Conference.

In tenth is Monroe, which finished 16-11, and came in second in the GMC Red Division, behind St. Joe’s. They started hot, going 7-1 before dropping four-in-a-row mid-season, including two to St. Joseph, sandwiched in between losses to Somerville and Jackson Liberty. They then ran off another seven wins in eight games before getting knocked out of the GMC Tournament in the quarters by East Brunswick. Their season ended in the Central Jersey Group 4 semis with a loss to eventual state Group 4 champ Howell.

by Mike Pavlichko

There’s a new team atop the Bellamy & Son Top Ten: Ridge overtakes St. Joe’s after Falcons’ upset in GMCT Finals

North Brunswick’s upset of St. Joseph-Metuchen wasn’t enough to make the Raiders No. 1 in the Week 9 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, but it was enough to knock the Falcons from their season-long perch atop the rankings.

St. Joe’s was replaced by Somerset County Tournament champion Ridge, which beat Rutgers Prep 6-0 in the SCT final a week ago Monday. The Raiders – who shocked the Falcons with a 4-2 win Sunday in the GMC title tilt – moved up from fourth to second, while Joe’s dropped to third in the latest rankings.

Below are the Full Week 9 rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Joseph, Ridge, Rutgers Prep continue to lead Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, while North and East Brunswick debut

The top three teams remain the same in the Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, but two new teams made the the Top Ten this week.

North Brunswick debuted and jumped all the way to fourth, on the strength of a big run as the 6th-seed in the GMC Tournament. They’re in Saturday’s title game after outlasting East Brunswick – the 7th-seed, which ousted 5-seed Old Bridge – by a 1-0 score in 12 innings Saturday in the semifinals.

Pingry dropped a spot this week after the addition of the Raiders and Bears, with No. 9 Old Bridge dropping out, along with South River, which had a 0-4 week. But the Big Blue are the first tournament champion in the area, after they won the Prep A Tournament Sunday with a 5-3 victory over Hun.

Below are the full Week 8 rankings: