Buddy Hausmann – Central Jersey Sports Radio

It wasn’t exactly David vs. Goliath, but St. Joseph-Metuchen clearly wasn’t the favorite against Red Bank Catholic, the No. 1-ranked team in the state, heading into Saturday’s Non-Public South A title game.

But for most of five innings, with Jimmy Mulvaney puzzling the Caseys hitters, it looked like an upset might be in the making, even after RBC tied the game at one in the fifth inning.

Red Bank Catholic may not have figured out Mulvaney, but they were able to piece enough together to come out with a 4-1 win, and the sectional title, after all, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

In the decisive sixth inning, Red Bank Catholic got three runs on three hits, all singles, and two errors, including a passed ball, plus a mishandled bunt situation where no one was quite sure whose ball it was t field.

St. Joe’s got its only run in the first inning. Robbie Carvellie doubled with one out, then after a two-ouot walk by Tyler DelVecchio, Matt Kosuda drove him in with a single.

For a while, it looked like that might be the only run of the game. But it wasn’t.

RBC’s Matt Brunner got hit by Mulvaney on the first pitch of the fifth. A sac bunt moved him to second, and an error on a ground ball hit to short by Max Dantoni tied the score.

Then, with the game tied at one in the bottom of the sixth, RBC went ahead in what would be its final at bat of the year at Count Basie Field.

Sean Griggs led with a single, then Frank Scrivanic reached on an error. A passed ball allowed Griggs to score from third, making it 2-1 RBC. Then Brunner flied to center to make it 3-1, and a Brendan Kopec single drove in the fourth run, but he got cut down trying to extend it to a double to end the inning.

Joe’s went down 1-2-3 in the seventh to end the game, and ends its season 23-4.

Red Bank Catholic will play in the Non-Public A Final Thursday in Hamilton against either Don Bosco Prep or Bergen Catholic, the North A winner.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

St. Joseph head coach Mike Murray

*Red Bank Catholic, 2023 Non-Public South A Champions. (Photo: Justin Sontupe)*

Red Bank Catholic head coach Buddy Hausmann

Playing in what may very well be the toughest division in the state, St. Joseph-Metuchen has come through the gauntlet.

They didn’t win their division, but took the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, beating the Red Division champion, North Brunswick, when in counted: in the county final.

Now, they hope that experience pays off in the state playoffs, where they will take on the top-ranked team in New Jersey.

The second-seeded Falcons (21-9) will travel down the Shore Saturday morning to play top-seed Red Bank Catholic (23-5) for the Non-Public South A title, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

First pitch is set for 11 am, with pregame at 10:45, as Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe provide the play-by-play. Click here to listen.

St. Joe’s is playing in the finals for the first time since 2019, and looking for its first sectional crown since they beat Bishop Eustace in 2010, but lost to Immaculata in the statewide Non-Public Group A final. The Falcons also claim titles in 2007, falling in the state final to Seton Hall Prep, and 1989, where they lost to Don Bosco Prep in the state final.

Red Bank Catholic, meanwhile, snapped a string of six straight titles won in the section by St. Augustine, beating the Hermits 8-2 back on Wednesday. They’re also the Shore Conference Tournament Champions for a fourth straight year. Although, notably, one of their five losses this year did come to a team very familiar to St. Joseph: Old Bridge. The Knights beat them 2-1 last month in their Autism Awareness Challenge game.

George Washington commit Alex Stanyek (2-0, 0.30 ERA) is expected to get the ball for the Caseys against one of the biggest and baddest lineups in the GMC, one which has been hitting the ball exceedingly hard of late. The Falcons are coming off an 11-3 drubbing of Notre Dame in Wednesday’s semifinals.

As in that game, Jimmy Mulvaney (7-0, 1.70 ERA) will get the start for St. Joe’s. Yes, that will be starts in back-to-back games, but he’ll do it because head coach Mike Murray was wise with his pitching staff in Wednesday’s game. Murray had that luxury after his team jumped out to an 8-0 lead after three innings against the Irish, with Mulvaney throwing just 68 pitches through five innings of work. That leaves him with 82 for Saturday, per NJSIAA pitch count rules. And closer Bryan Rios should have plenty in the tank, too, after throwing just 26 pitches in the final two innings of relief back on Wednesday.

Click below for preview interviews of the Non-Public South A final with both head coaches: