Tag: Cherokee

by Alec Crouthamel

Hillsborough falls 11-0 to Cherokee in Group 4 semifinal, ending resurgent season

Hillsborough baseball head coach Matt Mosko, addressing his team after the Raiders’ 11-0 loss to Cherokee in the NJSIAA Group 4 semifinals, gave a poignant message to his players despite the defeat.

Remember this, because you will be remembered.

As the nine seed in the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional tournament, Hillsborough went on a run not seen in 13 years, winning the Raiders’ first sectional title since 2012. Their season came to an end on their home field Monday at the hands of the Chiefs, who are looking to break a drought of their own, looking for their first state title since 1985.

Cherokee got going in a hurry, using an eight-run second inning to take a lead it would never relinquish, and won in five innings, also thanks to a record-breaking outing from its star pitcher.

As is customary for postseason time, the game saw a battle of two top arms. Brayden Fox took the mound for Hillsborough, while the Chiefs gave the ball to top southpaw and Rutgers commit Henry Radbill.

Fox had a solid start, retiring the first two batters he saw with soft contact. Left fielder Alex Odud hit a double to the centerfield wall with two outs, but Fox kept his composure and struck out shortstop Jason Brown swinging to get out of the inning clean.

Radbill immediately set the tone for his outing from the start, striking out his first two batters and inducing a flyout to send the side down in order. His velocity was not overwhelming, but his pinpoint accuracy and placement left little to no room for the Raiders’ hitters to get good contact.

In the top of the second inning, Cherokee spelled trouble for Hillsborough immediately. Second baseman Brett Jackson drew a five-pitch walk, and catcher Mason Kelleher launched a home run to left-center field to strike first and take a 2-0 lead. Two more Chiefs reached base after, with first baseman Nate Linden and Radbill both legging out infield singles.

Fox struck out right fielder Steve Barbagiovanni to record the first out, but he did not get much relief from there with the lineup card flipping over.

Leadoff batter and centerfielder Cooper Burti singled to score Linden, and third baseman Brett Chiesa reached on a fielder’s choice at third base to keep the runners on first and second with two outs.

They did not stay there for long.

Odud hit his second double of the day, this time bringing in two runs, to push the lead to 5-0. Brown – the ninth batter of the inning – reached on an error after a trio of Raider fielders could not come up with a fly ball in shallow left field, scoring Odud. Then Jackson, in his second at-bat of the frame, hit a long home run to straightaway center field to make it an eight-spot in the second inning and force Fox out of the game.

Sam Malone came out of the bullpen and allowed a double from Kelleher before getting Linden to ground out to end the inning. Cherokee scored eight runs on seven hits in the second inning and cruised from there.

Much of the cruising was done by Radbill, who continued his strong outing even with the big offensive cushion. Fox reached on an error to start the bottom of the second, but Radbill retired the next three batters with a groundout, strikeout, and flyout.

Malone rebounded nicely in the third, facing the minimum after a leadoff single, double play, and strikeout, while Radbill went back to his usual intensity in the bottom half. Hillsborough right fielder Shane Khurana walked to lead off, but the next three batters went down by way of a strikeout.

The first, right fielder Jason Williams, went down on a full count, giving Radbill his fourth strikeout of the game and his 93rd of the year, breaking the school’s single-season record. He struck out four more Raiders in the outing, giving him eight for the day and 97 on the year. Radbill got behind multiple batters in the inning, but battled back each time and came out on top.

In the top of the fourth, the Chiefs did even more damage and set themselves up to head home early. After Chiesa grounded out to start, Odud and Brown both walked in back-to-back plate appearances, putting two runners on base with one out. Malone got Jackson to fly out to center, but that put him up against Kelleher with two outs.

Cherokee’s All-Olympic Conference catcher made Hillsborough pay once again, crushing a long three-run home run down the right-field line, and giving the Chiefs an 11-0 lead.

Aidan Cooper came in to relieve Malone after the home run and got a walk and a flyout to get out of the fourth. In the bottom half, Fox notched the Raiders’ first hit of the game with a one-out single, but never made it past first base after a strikeout and groundout.

Cooper retired the side in order in the top of the fifth for the first time in the game, giving Hillsborough one last chance to bat.

With the game in hand, Mosko gave some of his seniors a chance to bat. Catchers Garrett Herndon and Mark Ward both reached base with a walk and a fielder’s choice on back-to-back at-bats, and outfielder Rahil Shah grounded out to end the game.

Radbill finished yet another shutout outing – his third of the season – and moved to 8-0 with a five-inning victory, allowing just one hit and no runs with two walks and eight strikeouts. He moved to 8-0 on the year.

Fox took the loss for Hillsborough, allowing eight runs – five earned – in one and two-thirds innings, with seven hits, two strikeouts, and a walk. In relief, Malone pitched two innings, allowing three runs on three hits, with two walks and a strikeout. Cooper closed his season pitching a shutout inning and a third without a hit, with a walk and strikeout.

The Chiefs improve to 26-3 and advance to Saturday’s Group 4 championship against North 2 Group 4 champion Westfield, after the Blue Devils defeated Passaic Tech 4-1 on Monday.

The Raiders’ surprise run and season come to an end at 14-11, snapping a six-game winning streak since the Somerset County Tournament loss to Immaculata. In those six games, however, Hillsborough baseball’s 2025 team became one that will be remembered throughout the halls on Raider Boulevard.

Click below for postgame reaction from Hillsborough head coach Matt Mosko, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

With state title in hand, Hillsborough still looking for more as Raiders host one last home game with heavy-hitting Cherokee on tap

When the Hillsborough baseball team – the nine-seed in Central Jersey Group 4 – hosted 12-seed Montgomery last Tuesday in a sectional semifinal game, it was a surprise. Even if they’d made a run to the finals and won their first sectional title since 2012, the figured they’d be on the road the whole way.

They played on the road in their next game, back on Thursday, and after falling behind 6-3 in the fourth, scored ten unanswered runs to beat second-seed Old Bridge 13-6, winning the title, their first in 13 years.

Now, everything else is gravy, but it sure would be nice to bring home one more trophy. To get that opportunity, Cinderella Hillsborough (14-10) will have to pull off one more upset: beating a solid Cherokee team that’s 25-3 and fresh off its second South Jersey Group 4 title in Monday’s Group 4 semifinals.

That game will be played at 4 pm Monday, and you can follow Alec Crouthamel for updates, along with postgame reaction and a recap here afterwards.

The Raiders are a Cinderella, but they’re also not. The record may be deceiving, After all, they are in a Skyland Conference Delaware Division with a bunch of really tough teams. Immaculata (17-8) won the Somerset County Tournament and the Division title. Ridge (20-7) shared it with them, went to the SCT final, and got the top seed in North 2, Group 4, where they lost in the finals to Westfield. North Hunterdon (14-11) made the North 2, Group 3 semifinals. And even Bridgewater-Raritan (7-18) finished ahead of the Raiders and Lions, who tied for last in the division at 3-7.

And then there’s Hunterdon Central. They finished 6-4 in the division, right behind Immaculata and Ridge, and were the top-seed in Central 4. Hillsborough “upset” them, but had split their regular season series. So in the end, the Raiders took two of three from Central.

Which begs the question: Are they really a Cinderella?

They may be if they knock off Cherokee, which will be favored to win Monday. Ranked No. 9 in New Jersey by NJ.com (and they never fell below 11 in the Top 20 all year ) the Chiefs are hitting .332 as a team and have hit 24 home runs on the season, and are likely to throw Rutgers commit Henry Radbill, who’s ranked the No. 8 left-handed pitcher among New Jersey seniors.

Radbill is 7-0 in ten starts this season – Cherokee only lost one game he started, 2-1 to Eastern on May 19th – with a 1.04 ERA, striking out 89, while walking just 18. He’s allowed just seven earned runs in 47 innings pitched.

But Hillsborough is playing its best baseball at the perfect time of year. Regardless of the outcome, the Raiders – who have won six straight for the first time since 2019 – also are guaranteed a winning record for the first time since that season. In four tournament games, they’ve outscored the opposition 32-9.

The winner will play in the state Group 4 title game Saturday at 10 am at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton. They’ll get the winner of the other Group 4 semifinal Monday between North 1 champion Passaic Tech (24-6) and North 2 champ Westfield (19-6).

Click below to hear Hillsborough head coach Matt Mosko talk about the Raiders’ season, their Central Jersey Group 4 title, and Monday’s semifinal matchup with Cherokee:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Group 4 Girls’ Semifinal: Hillsborough 49, Cherokee 34

Cesci Schiro led Central Group 4 champion Hillsborough with 24 points as the Raiders’ finished with a strong fourth-quarter to beat South 4 winner Cherokee, 49-34, in the Group 4 semifinals. The win puts Hillsborough in the state Group 4 title game for the first time ever, where they’ll take on West Orange.

Click below to listen to all the action as called by Alec Crouthamel live on Central Jersey Sports Radio from Central Regional High School in Bayville on March 12, 2025.

by Alec Crouthamel

Hillsborough takes down Cherokee in Group 4 semifinals, reaches state title game for the first time in school history

In many other teams’ situations, allowing an early 10-2 run in a state semifinal could spell trouble.

But not for Hillsborough.

The Raiders ultimately came back and won 49-34 with a dominant fourth quarter after trailing early. Francesca Schiro scored a game-high 23 points to lead the way, taking over late in the game attacking the rim.

Fellow senior guard Mya Loniewski scored 13 points, with several opportunities converted from the free throw line. Alexa Gaspar added eight points in the win.

Hillsborough rallied to end the first quarter, taking a 13-10 lead before slowly pulling ahead, switching things up defensively and using more zone traps to force turnovers and get transition opportunities.

The Raiders eventually led 24-20 at halftime.

The Chiefs made another run in the third quarter, eventually retaking the lead, but Hillsborough – just like in the first quarter – didn’t panic and let its defense set up the transition offense.

With the lead in late in the fourth quarter, Hillsborough took the air out of the ball, passing around the perimeter to drain the clock. It ended the game on a big-time run to stamp its first ever state final appearance.

Brielle Alaba led Cherokee with 16 points, as the Chiefs’ pass-heavy offense opened up lanes for her and teammates early on before the defense adjusted. Freshman Leah Weiner finished with seven points.

The Raiders will play West Orange in the Group 4 final on Sunday at 4 pm, playing at Jersey Mike’s Arena at Rutgers University.

Click below for postgame reaction from Alec Crouthamel with Hillsborough head coach Courtney Tierney and guard Francesca Schiro, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Just like they drew it up: Raiders rally from 14-0 deficit to advance to Central 5 championship game

North Brunswick will play in its second sectional title game in the three playoff years, after a rousing come-from-behind victory Friday night.

The third-seeded Raiders fell behind 14-0 at second-seed Cherokee in a Central Jersey Group 5 semifinal game, but came back to tie it at 14 heading into the locker room. Then, the Raiders scored the next two touchdowns to go ahead 26-14 and never looked back.

The win puts North Brunswick in the CJ5 title tilt next Friday night in Hillsborough, where they’ll face the top-seeded Raiders for the second time in just four weeks. Hillsborough blew past 5th-seed Williamstown Friday night 49-14, and beat North Brunswick back on October 29th at Noonan Field in a driving rain storm 41-0.

But head coach Mike Cipot thinks his team is not the same one that got shut out by the Raiders, in a game North Brunswick used as a jumping off point to get to where they are now.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with North Brunswick head coach Mike Cipot about his team’s comeback win over Cherokee, and their chances against Hillsborough: