Tag: Autism Awareness Challenge

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 5 Monroe goes on the attack early, hangs on to stun state-ranked Red Bank Catholic, 5-2, in Autism Awareness Challenge; plus all weekend Challenge scores

Monroe head coach Sean Field knew what kind of challenge his Falcons would be in for when they picked up Red Bank Catholic for their Autism Awareness Challenge game this weekend at North Brunswick’s Community Park.

What he didn’t know is that his team would enter the weekend having lost four of their last five games, coming off a two-game sweep at the hands of Woodbridge.

They got back on the right track with an 8-4 win at St. Thomas Aquinas Saturday, then got thrown a curve when a rainy forecast moved their game with the Caseys to Mannino Park in Old Bridge.

But on the way to the game, Field said to his assistant, “You know, if we could get up on these guys early…”

Turns out, that’s just what they did.

The Falcons – who are 7-4, and the No. 5 team in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top 10 – scored five times in the top of the first, then hung on til the seventh, when starting pitcher Aadi Shah allowed two runs on a two-out single. But he got out of it, and the Falcons hung on for a 5-2 win over the perennial state power Caseys, who were ranked No. 18 in the state Top 20 heading in.

After a leadoff walk, a double, and a strikeout to start the game, Alex Marcus made it 1-0 with a single. Ben Faigin, who’d doubled, scored on a passed ball for the second run. Michael Cinque doubled for the third. Matt Linke scored on a dropped third strike to Rob Profaci to make it 4-0, and Christian Luciani drove in the last run on a sac fly to right.

That was all the scoring until the seventh, when Red Bank Catholic (6-2) loaded the bases with one out via a double, single and a six-pitch walk. After Shah got a swinging strikeout for the second out, Luke Lonczak singled to right field, plating two, but Shah then got Charlie Stumberger to ground out to second.

Now, the Falcons are back on a two-game win streak, with St. Thomas Aquinas coming down to Monroe Tuesday to finish their two-game GMC Red Division set.

Click below for postgame reaction from Monroe head coach Sean Field with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

Here’s the weekend roundup of baseball scores from the Autism Awareness Challenge:

THURSDAY:

  • Roselle Park 10, Bound Brook 3
  • South Amboy 22, Rahway 10
  • Scotch Plains-Fanwood 13, East Brunswick 3
  • Piscataway Magnet 17, East Brunswick Magnet 6

FRIDAY:

  • Middlesex 11, Voorhees 12
  • Rutgers Prep 17, Union Catholic 10
  • Spotswood 5, Somerville 4
  • Delbarton 11, Randolph 10

SATURDAY:

  • Barnegat 11, JP Stevens 1
  • South Plainfield 4, Millburn 2
  • Sparta 9, Steinert 3
  • Ramapo 15, Holy Spirit 6
  • Jackson Twp. 10, Livingston 4
  • South River 14, Weehawken 2
  • Carteret 13, North Brunswick 0
  • Metuchen 8, South Brunswick 3

SUNDAY:

  • Monroe 5, Red Bank Catholic 2
  • St. Joseph-Metuchen 7-6
  • Sayreville vs. Mainland (called in 3rd inning due to rain)
  • Gloucester Catholic 8, Governor Livingston 7
  • Columbia 10, Edison 4
  • Gill St. Bernard’s vs. Notre Dame, 4 pm
  • Westfield 4, Old Bridge 3
  • St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Oratory Prep, 7 pm
by Mike Pavlichko

Growing every year, Autism Awareness Challenge is back at North Brunswick Community Park in 2026, and with (mostly) great weather

The Autism Awareness Challenge is back this year at North Brunswick Community Park – to benefit Mike Garlatti’s Teamwork Unlimited Foundation – with a full four-day slate of games.

And while some previous years have been marred by bad weather, forcing games to get rescheduled, played at high school sites, or wiped altogether, this year’s forecast looks much better, at least for the first three days of the event.

After a hot one Thursday with temps in the low 90s, Friday and Saturday will be in the 70s. Sunday, though, may not crack 60, with a 50 percent chance of showers. But Sunday is still five days away, and that forecast could change.

Here’s the full, day-by-day look at the weekend’s upcoming schedule of games,

THURSDAY, APRIL 16

Baseball

  • 4 pm – Roselle Park vs. Bound Brook
  • 4 pm – South Amboy vs. Rahway
  • 7 pm – Scotch Plains-Fanwood vs. East Brunswick
  • 7 pm – Piscataway Magnet vs. East Brunswick Magnet

Softball

  • 4 pm – Sayreville vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
  • 4 pm – East Brunswick Magnet vs. Carteret
  • 6:30 pm – Hightstown vs. Governor Livingston

FRIDAY, APRIL 17

Baseball

  • 4 pm – Voorhees vs. Middlesex
  • 4 pm – Union Catholic vs. Rutgers Prep
  • 7 pm – Spotswood vs. Somerville
  • 7 pm – Delbarton vs. Randolph

Softball

  • 4 pm – Woodbridge vs. North Brunswick
  • 4 pm – Piscataway vs. Middlesex
  • 6:30 pm – Piscataway Magnet vs. JP Stevens
  • 6:30 pm – Bound Brook vs. Colonia

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

Baseball

  • 10 am – Barnegat vs. JP Stevens
  • 10 am – South Plainfield vs. Millburn
  • 1 pm – Steinert vs. Sparta
  • 1 pm – Ramapo vs. Holy Spirit
  • 4 pm – Jackson Twp. vs. Livingston
  • 4 pm – South River vs. Weehawken
  • 7 pm – Carteret vs. North Brunswick
  • 7 pm – Metuchen vs. South Brunswick

Softball

  • 10 am – East Brunswick vs. Spotswood
  • 10 am – Franklin vs. Rahway
  • 12:30 pm – South Amboy vs. South River
  • 12:30 pm – Timothy Christian vs. Perth Amboy Magnet
  • 3 pm – Linden vs. Calvary Christian
  • 3 pm – Metuchen vs. Monroe
  • 5:30 pm – Edison vs JFK
  • 5:30 pm – Perth Amboy vs. Woodbridge Academy

SUNDAY, APRIL 19

Baseball

  • 10 am – Monroe vs. Red Bank Catholic
  • 10 am – Toms River East vs. St. Joseph-Metuchen
  • 1 pm – Sayreville vs. Mainland
  • 1 pm – Gloucester Catholic vs. Governor Livingston
  • 4 pm – Notre Dame vs. Gill St. Bernard’s
  • 4 pm – Columbia vs. Edison
  • 7 pm – Old Bridge vs. Westfield
  • 7 pm – Oratory Prep vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
by Mike Pavlichko

Autism Awareness Challenge is back for another year: CJSR has live Sunday night broadcast of Old Bridge vs. St. Joseph, plus dates and times for games rescheduled due to weather

The Autism Awareness Challenge was set to return to North Brunswick Community Park again in 2025 – to benefit Mike Garlatti’s Teamwork Unlimited Foundation – but the weather has played havoc with the schedule, with only a handful of games getting played at North Brunswick Community Park..

Many were moved to other locations with turf, including Central Jersey Sports Radio’s scheduled broadcast of No. 6 Old Bridge and St. Joseph of Metuchen. Originally set for 7 pm in North Brunswick, that game has now been moved to a standalone contest at Old Bridge and will begin at 5 pm. Catch Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the action, with pregame set for 4:45. Click here to listen.

Some of Sunday’s baseball games have been moved, others are still up in the air, and a further updated is expected later Saturday afternoon or evening.

Here’s the full, day-by-day look at results and the upcoming schedule of games, updated at 1:30 Saturday afternoon. We’ll have additional updates as they become available, and you can also find them on Teamwork Unlimited’s social media channels, such as on Twitter and Instagram.

THURSDAY, APRIL 10

Baseball
Columbia 16, Carteret 3
East Brunswick Magnet 10, Piscataway Magnet 3

Softball (moved from Friday)
Woodbridge 4, Sayreville 2
East Brunswick 10, North Brunswick 1
6:30 pm – Rahway 16, Piscataway 10
6:30 pm – Edison 15, Middlesex 7

FRIDAY, APRIL 11
NO GAMES – RESCHEDULED TO TO WEATHER

SATURDAY, APRIL 12

Baseball – at North Brunswick Community Park
4 pm – Colonia vs. Voorhees – PPD
4 pm – Sayreville vs. Sparta – PPD
7 pm – South River vs. Weehawken – moved to Saturday, May 24, at 11 am at North Brunswick Community Park
7 pm – North Brunswick vs. Steinert – PPD

Baseball – at JP Stevens, Edison
12 pm – Middlesex vs. Robbinsville
3 pm – South Amboy vs. Rahway

Baseball – at Edison HS
12:30 pm – Monroe vs. Livingston
3:30 pm – Jackson vs. Randolph

Softball
JP Stevens vs. Colonia – PPD
Monroe vs. St. Thomas Aquinas – PPD
Perth Amboy vs. JFK – PPD
Carteret vs. East Brunswick Magnet – PPD
Woodbridge Academy vs. Piscataway Magnet – PPD
Timothy Christian vs. South Amboy – PPD
Union Catholic vs. Scotch Plains-Fanwood – PPD
Calvary Christian vs. Perth Amboy Magnet – PPD
South River vs. Linden – PPD
Spotswood vs. Metuchen – PPD

SUNDAY

Baseball – at Rowland Park, South Brunswick
10 am – Gill St. Bernard’s vs. South Brunswick
1 pm – Governor Livingston vs. Delbarton
4 pm – Morris Knolls vs. Red Bank Catholic
7 pm – St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Notre Dame

Baseball – at Carl Sandburg Middle School (Fred Cole Field)
5 pm – Old Bridge vs. St. Joseph-Metuchen (CJSR – LISTEN HERE)

Baseball – at JP Stevens HS in Edison
10 am – JP Stevens vs. Barnegat
1 pm – Edison vs. Scotch Plains-Fanwood

Baseball – at Spotswood HS
12 pm – Spotswood vs. Somerville
3 pm – Ramapo vs. Holy Spirit

Baseball – at Union Catholic HS
9 am – South Plainfield vs. Millburn
12 pm – Rutgers Prep vs. Union Catholic
3 pm – Metuchen vs. Bernards

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: No. 5 Spotswood 8, South Brunswick 7 (Autism Awareness Challenge)

Fifth-ranked Spotswood never trailed, but needed a run in the top of the seventh and two-innings of perfect baseball from Carter Cumiskey in relief to pick up an 8-7 win over South Brunswick in Sunday play at the Autism Awareness Challenge at North Brunswick Community Park.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen call all the action live on April 21, 2024, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 5 Spotswood seeks best start under Fredricks as Chargers face South Brunswick in Autism Awareness Challenge

Even in their storied 2007 season – where the Spotswood Chargers became just the second Greater Middlesex Conference team ever to win their division, the county tournament, and a state title – they didn’t get off to a start like this.

Spotswood dropped its opening game that year, went 12-4 through 16 games, and never lost again that season.

This year’s edition has (almost) matched last year’s start. The 2023 Chargers started 9-0, their best start ever under Fredricks. This year’s squad is 8-0-1 through nine games, looking to go unbeaten through ten when they head to North Brunswick Community Park Sunday for an Autism Awareness Challenge game against South Brunswick (4-6) on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen will call all the play-by-play with pregame at 9:45 am and first pitch at 10:00. Click here to listen.

Spotswood continues to be hot at the plate, with a team batting average of .308, and Seton Hall commit Carter Cumiskey – a junior – hitting a scorching .593 with a 1.074 slugging percentage. He’s knocked in a team-leading 15 runs, while hitting three home runs in nine games so far. Senior Will Buchan has knocked in 13, and junior Mason Bitalla plating 13.

Fredricks is still up in the air on who’ll get the start against South Brunswick.

Click below to hear Spotswood head coach Glenny Fredricks talk about the Chargers’ hot start and Sunday morning’s matchup against South Brunswick:

by Mike Pavlichko

Autism Awareness Challenge returns to North Brunswick Community Park; CJSR has Sunday live broadcast of Spotswood vs. South Brunswick

The Autism Awareness Challenge is back again in 2024 – to benefit Mike Garlatti’s Teamwork Unlimited Foundation – and is scheduled for this weekend at North Brunswick’s Community Park. Dozens of area baseball and softball teams will be participating, with first pitches and honored guests in attendance throughout the event.

Here’s the full, day-by-day schedule of games:

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

Baseball
3:30 pm – Bernards vs. Notre Dame (Lawrenceville)
4 pm – East Brunswick Magnet vs. South River
7 pm – Metuchen vs. Robbinsville
7 pm – Jackson vs. Monroe

Softball
4 pm – Edison vs. Perth Amboy
4 pm – Colonia vs. Spotswood
6:30 pm – Piscataway vs. North Brunswick
6:30 pm – Woodbridge Magnet vs. South River

SATURDAY, APRIL 20

Baseball
10 am – JP Stevens vs. Plainfield
10 am – South Amboy vs. Rahway
1 pm – South Plainfield vs. Millburn
1 pm – Middlesex vs. Governor Livingston
4 pm – Livingston vs. Ramapo
4 pm – Randolph vs. Steinert
7 pm – North Brunswick vs. Scotch Plains-Fanwood
7 pm – Somerville vs. Sayreville

Softball
8:30 am – Timothy Christian vs. Highland Park
8:30 am – Piscataway Magnet vs. Calvary Christian
11 am – Rahway vs. Linden
11 am – Perth Amboy Magnet vs. South Amboy
1:30 pm – St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Metuchen
1:30 pm – East Brunswick Magnet vs. Irvington
4 pm – Monroe vs. JP Stevens
4 pm – Sayreville vs. East Brunswick
6:30 pm – Woodbridge vs. JFK
6:30 pm – Carteret vs. Middlesex

SUNDAY

Baseball
10 am – Colonia vs. Madison
10 am – South Brunswick vs. Spotswood
1 pm – Edison vs. Barnegat
1 pm – Holy Spirit vs. Delbarton
4 pm – Morris Knolls vs. Gill St. Bernards
4 pm – Red Bank Catholic vs. Old Bridge
7 pm – St. Joseph-Metuchen vs. Union Catholic
7 pm – Voorhees vs. St. Thomas Aquinas

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: Edison 19, Barnegat 9

Edison exploded for 17 runs in the first two innings of play en route to a 19-9 home win over Barnegat as part of the 14th annual Autism Awareness Challenge. Starting pitcher Robert Roma helped his cause at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a single and a double and four RBIs in the first inning alone.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko call all the action from Edison High School on Sunday, April 23rd, 2023:

by Mike Pavlichko

Edison bats explode against Barnegat to notch 19-9 win in 5 innings at Autism Awareness Classic

With none of Sunday’s games at the Autism Awareness Classic playable at North Brunswick’s Community Park playable due to field conditions after heavy rain overnight, only half the games on the schedule wound up being played, all at alternative locations.

That sent Edison back home to play Barnegat on their red turf at the originally-schedule time of 1 pm, and it had absolutely zero effect on the Eagles, unless maybe they felt emboldened playing on their home field, and sitting in their own dugout.

That’s because they scored 17 runs on 13 hits in the first two innings of their game against the Bengals, ultimately leading to a 19-9 five-inning win over the visitors.

Edison freshman Robert Roma – who’d only thrown 6 2/3 innings all year, got the start Sunday, and promptly mowed down the first three batters he faced, all on strikeouts.

Then he did his real damage.

He had a two-RBI double and a two-RBI single bating in the cleanup spot, to help his team to a 10-0 lead after one inning of play, driving in nearly half those runs, with 4 RBIs.

In the second – when Edison slapped on another seven runs – he scored one of them after getting aboard with a walk.

All that action on offense for Roma may have taken him out of his rhythm a little bit. He allowed a two-out double in the second, then got a strikeout to end the inning.

But in the third, he gave up a two-out, two-RBI double to DH Matt Hwang, then allowed a grand slam in-the-park homer in the fourth on a fly ball to right that went over backup outfielder Ryan Berner’s head after he initially broke in, then stumbled and fell going back for it.

https://www.idealtiresystems.com/

Barnegat got two in the third, four in the fourth and three more in the fifth to cut it to a nine-run lead to temporarily avoid the mercy-rule ending.

But Edison walked it off in the bottom of the inning, when Darren Tirado walked, Connor Murphy reached on an infield hit, and Noel Pichoco hit a shallow fly ball that should have been caught but appeared to be completely missed by Julian Marfino to drive in the 19th run that gave the Eagles a ten-run lead, and ended the game.

https://www.edisonboysbaseball.com/

Jaxon Appelman hit a two-run home in the second inning, his second of the year, while Jordan Martins hit a bases-clearing, three- RBI triple in his second at bat of the first inning.

Roma didn’t pitch long enough – just 3 1/3 – to get the win, as Edison emptied its bench and brought in seven new position players, only keeping third-baseman Dom Innocenti in the game, moving him to short.

The win puts Edison at 8-3 on the year, surpassing last year’s win total in a 7-17-1 season.

Follow Sportsplex at Metuchen on Instagram for the latest on open gym sessions on their courts and turf!

Click below for postgame reaction brought to you by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

Edison freshman pitcher Robert Roma
Edison head coach Vinnie Abene
by Mike Pavlichko

Barnegat coach McCoy has special tie that brought him to Autism Awareness Challenge

When Mike Garlatti asked Barnegat head coach Dan McCoy about a decade ago if he’d bring his team all the way up from the Jersey Shore to play in the Autism Awareness Challenge, he “couldn’t say yes fast enough.”

At the time, a friend’s son, who went to school with his own son, had just been diagnosed with autism, and McCoy says he knew this would be a special and important event.

But the connection goes back deeper than that.

McCoy still calls Garlatti “Coach Mike.” That’s because he played for him in the 1990s when Garlatti – now a Colorado Rockies scout – was an assistant at Rutgers under the late Fred Hill.

So, really, the decision to hop on a bus and drive almost an hour-and-a-half up the Parkway and Route 18 was an easy one.

As for his team, they’re very young, and taking some lumps this year. The Bengals are 2-7, and just picked up their second win of the season Saturday afternoon, a 9-4 road victory at Middle Township.

Barnegat lost a lot to graduation from last year’s 12-14 team. McCoy has four freshmen in the starting lineup, but isn’t worried. They’re essentially baseball bodies, who have baseball minds he says will catch up in time.

Sunday, they play an Edison team that’s much improved over a season ago, 7-3 on the year, with a 1-0 win over JFK Friday matching their win total from a year ago when they were 7-17-1.

You can hear Sunday’s game against Barnegat at 1 pm, with pregame at 12:45, as part of a doubleheader in the Autism Awareness Challenge. Our first game will feature South River taking on Bernards at 10 am, with pregame at 9:45 am. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call the action; click here to listen.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Barnegat head coach Dan McCoy:

by Mike Pavlichko

Red-hot South River looks to keep it going as Rams play in their 14th Autism Awareness Challenge

The South River Rams have been there almost since the beginning.

Of the Autism Awareness Challenge’s 15 seasons, this will be their 14th.

Longtime South River head coach Mike Lepore, Jr., is a big fan of the event, but he also knows it’s good baseball.

On Sunday, the Rams (7-1) will take on Bernards – which is 4-3 heading into Saturday’s Somerset County Tournament first round game at Hillsborough – in Game One of a doubleheader you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, starting at 9:45 am with pregame, and first pitch for the Rams and Mountaineers at 10 am.

Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will be on the call, with the opener followed by Edison vs. Barnegat at 1 pm. Click here to listen to both broadcasts.

The Rams have been getting great hitting from senior Matt Marques and super-sophomore Julius Rosado, who had a fantastic year as a freshman in 2022 and already is committed to Rutgers.

Marques is a perfect player to hit behind Rosado, who already has drawn three intentional walks among his eight bases on balls so far this season. Yes, Rosado still is hitting .435, with six RBIs, five doubles and a triple. Marques himself is hitting .444 and leads the team with 13 runs batted in, making it a pick-your-poison type of scenario for opposing pitchers.

Lepore will throw freshman Brendan Lell against the Mountaineers. He’s only thrown 5 2/3 innings this season, allowing seven runs – six earned – on five hits. In minimal action, he’s shown control, walking two, striking out five.

Rosado, a stellar arm, will be available. if needed. But, Lepore says his intention is to start him for game one of a critical Tuesday-Thursday home-and-home series against Blue Division-leading and currently undefeated (9-0) Spotswood.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk witth South River head coach Mike Lepore Jr. about the Rams’ season so far and the matchup with Bernards: