Watchung Hills’ win in SCT propels Hustlin’ Warriors to top spot in Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top Ten
With a new champions of Somerset County baseball comes a new team atop the Bellamy & Son Paving rankings for Week 8: Watchung Hills. The Warriors displaced No. 1 Immaculata after a 1-0 win over the Spartans in eight innings in the Somerset County Tournament final Friday night, getting the game-winning hit from Stef DeGeronimo, and a three-hit, complete game shutout from starting pitcher Lucas Sheehan, the first sophomore to earn a win in the SCT title game since Casey Cahill of Immaculata did it in 1998. With that win, and Monday’s semifinal victory over Bridgewater-Raritan, Watchung Hills (15-7) moves…
By The Numbers: A look back at the 2026 Somerset County Tournament Final, and a historic win for Lucas Sheehan
The 52nd annual Somerset County Tournament is in the books, and the trophy goes to second-seed Watchung Hills, which beat top-seed and defending champion Immaculata 1-0 to win its sixth title overall, tying the Warriors with Hillsborough for third-place all-time. Here’s a closer look at some notes and nuggets following the 2026 SCT final. Historic win for Sheehan: Watchung Hills head coach Joseph Tremarco had already used his No. 1 and most veteran pitcher, Robbie Centamore, in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals on Monday, in a 4-2 win over Ridge. Even with the finals delayed two days by thunderstorms in…
State Playoff Preview: St. Joseph-Metuchen, Pingry, Gill to open NJSIAA play Tuesday
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. Over the next three days, we’ll take a look at each and every matchup involving Central Jersey Sports Radio teams, starting with the non-public schools, which open play on Tuesday, save for those that have first round byes and are awaiting their first opponent, including Immaculata and Rutgers Prep. St. Thomas…
INSTANT REPLAY – Somerset County Tournament Final: (2) Watchung Hills 1, (1) Immaculata 0 (8 inn.)
Second-seed Watchung Hills got a run in the top of the eighth and a complete game, three-hit shutout – all the way into extras – by sophomore Lucas Sheehan to beat top-seed and defending champion Immaculata, 1-0, in the 52nd Somerset County Tournament championship game. It was the sixth title overall for the Hustlin’ Warriors, and first for head coach Joe Tremarco, now in his 11th season and 12th year as head coach. Top-seed and defending Somerset County Tournament champion Immaculata rallied with three runs in the sixth to beat fifth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan, 7-6, in the SCT semifinals, sending the Spartans…
Tremarco’s steady hand guides Watchung Hills to promised land in SCT final at TD Bank Park
“We’re built to play.” Those four words from Watchung Hills head coach Joseph Tremarco sum up perfectly his Hustlin’ Warriors. The certainly came to play Friday night, as the second seed in the Somerset County Tournament, with a tall task at hand: beating not only the top-seed and defending champion Immaculata, but doing it with Ryan Auten on the mound for the Spartans. Because, heck, all he’s doing next year is going to play in the ACC at Wake Forest. But a funny thing happened as he and Warriors’ starter Lucas Sheehan – just a sophomore by the way -…
Early two-runs, solid pitching boost Piscataway to 3-0 win over Dunellen in Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final
Even when you have two of your best pitchers toss a combined two-hit shutout, it’s mathematically impossible to win a baseball game without scoring. But on Friday afternoon in the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final on Edison High School’s red turf, second-seed Piscataway took care of that part as early as they could, staking starter Sumedh Shingala to a 2-0 lead. Shingala started, Jared Butler finished it in relief with the help of an insurance run, and the Chiefs (11-10) took their first-ever invitational title, beating fifth-seed Dunellen (18-7) to bring home Piscataway’s first county tournament hardware since winning the…
Red-hot Faigin, Mangano lead equally red-hot Monroe into GMC Tourney final against even hotter Old Bridge squad
Note: Due to rain in the forecast, the GMC Championship game has been moved to Saturday, May 30 at 12 noon at Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School. It’s been a topsy-turvy season for Monroe, dropping 11-of-14 after a 5-1 start to limp into the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament as the No. 9 seed. But with county supremacy on the line, the Falcons kicked it into high gear. Three consecutive upsets – Colonia, Edison, and South Plainfield – has Monroe (13-13) in the finals, where they will third-seeded Old Bridge (17-8) for the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship…
Well-balanced, battle-tested Old Bridge set for GMC final – whenever it is – seeking second title in three seasons
Note: Due to rain in the forecast, the GMC Championship game has been moved to Saturday, May 30 at 12 noon at Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School. Look for one particular star, one who rises far above the talent of everyone else on the ballclub, and you won’t find one on the Old Bridge baseball team. And that’s perfectly fine with head coach Matt Donaghue. He’s had teams like that in the past, and those have been fine, too. They won the GMC in 2024 and Central Jersey Group 4 in 2023, with ace pitchers like Justin…
Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Finals Preview: Dunellen, Piscataway looking to scrap their way to a title
A Championship Friday is descending upon New Jersey baseball this weekend. One of them, the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational, will have its final on Friday at 4pm at Edison High School, between second-seeded Piscataway and fifth-seeded Dunellen. Both teams have taken different paths to reach the meeting point. After respective first-round byes, the Chiefs defeated the seven-seed South Amboy, aided by a seven-run sixth inning, including a grand slam from Dominick Summonte. The Destroyers put up big-time runs across the board in a 14-3 win over four-seed East Brunswick Magnet. In the semifinals, Dunellen kept its offensive attack at a…
Old Bridge, Monroe and GMC stuck between turf and a rainy place on Jim Muldowney Championship; how did others handle it?
Sometimes, despite all the best planning and intentions, things just don’t work out. All was right with the world when the Greater Middlesex Conference announced just a week ago that its baseball and softball tournament championship games would be held at Rutgers University, following in the footsteps of the NJSIAA, which announced in early January that the state baseball finals would be held at Bainton Field on RU’s Livingston Campus in Piscataway. A week later, it may have just been too good to be true. But it’s not the GMC’s fault, or Rutgers. Blame Mother Nature. As we know from…
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