Tag: East Brunswick Magnet

April 17, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

With new coach, hot bats and stellar arms, East Brunswick Magnet off to hottest start in years

Once again this year, Greater Middlesex Conference baseball teams found themselves shuffled around to different divisions, and some even landed in the new, fifth division, the GMC Silver.

East Brunswick Magnet – coming off a 10-10 campaign in 2024 – stayed where it’s been for years, in the GMC Gold.

And so far, it’s been Home, Sweet Home for the Tigers.

Under first-year head coach Sean Radu – who spent the last ten seasons as the head coach at Plainfield – EB Magnet is off to a 7-0 start, one of only two schools in the GMC to be undefeated in the third full week of the season.

While they won’t get the No. 1 seed in the county tournament, at this point they should at least be a favorite if they’re seeded into the GMC Invitational Tournament, which was recently named after the late former EB Tech Athletic Director, baseball coach, and architect of their amazing baseball field, Ray Cipperly.

Radu replaces Todd Sak, who spent 16 years (15 seasons) as head coach at East Brunswick Magnet, going 159-142 in that span, with double-digit win totals in each of the past four seasons since the 2020 season was wiped out due to COVID-19.

Noting that excellent foundation, Radu says he wanted to change the culture just “a little bit.”

The result? This year’s squad has been tremendous. The Tigers lead the Division at 7-0 overall, 6-0 in the Silver, two full games ahead of second-place New Brunswick, at 3-1 overall and in the division.

It’s the program’s best start since winning its first ten games en route to a 14-5 campaign under Sak in 2017.

They’re outscoring opponents on average by an average of more than ten runs a game, scoring 82 times in seven games, allowing just eleven per game, 1.5 runs per contest.

The Tigers aren’t just winning. They’re dominating. Four of their seven victories have come via the ten-run rule.

As a team, they’re hitting .380, led by senior outfielder Tommy O’Neill (.522, 5 RBIs) and junior shortstop Jack Clements (.524, 12 RBI), while senior Nomar Carreras has driven in a team-best 13 runs.

On the mound, only three of six pitchers who have seen game action this year have given up an earned run, and only four have been scored upon. Junior Anthony Bienvenue has thrown 17 innings and struck out 18, walking only five, with a team-leading 0.82 ERA, while sophomore Charlie Misura is at 0.88 in eight innings pitched.

Click below to hear East Brunswick Magnet first-year head coach Sean Radu talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about the Tigers’ 2025 season so far:

East Brunswick Magnet is back in action Thursday afternoon with a 4 pm home game against Union County foe Rahway (3-2, 3-0 in the Union County Conference Valley Division.)

April 3, 2023 by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: East Brunswick Magnet 16, Timothy Christian 4

East Brunswick Magnet sent 25 hitters to the plate in the first two innings and scored a combined 15 runs, jumping on Timothy Christian early en route to a 16-4 road win on Opening Day, in a GMC Gold Division game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko and Dennis McNulty call all the action from Piscataway, NJ, on April 3, 2023.

April 3, 2023 by Mike Pavlichko

EB Magnet explodes for 15 runs in first two innings to top Timothy Christian on Opening Day

East Brunswick Magnet starting pitcher Scott Pede – a senior expected to be the ace of the staff in 2022 with Joe Moye graduated – had an easy afternoon Monday in Piscataway.

By the time he came out of the game after pitching the second inning, he had more at bats – three of them – than innings pitched.

And he pitched well against Timothy Christian, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out four. It was just that with a 15-1 lead after two, and having thrown only 34 pitches, head coach Todd Sak saw no need to keep him in the game, potentially saving him again to pitch Wednesday when the teams rematch in East Brunswick.

Pede was 2-for-4 at the plate, with a walk and two runs scored, as Magnet blew past Timothy Christian 16-4 on Opening Day.

EB Magnet sent 13 hitters to the plate in the first inning and scored eight runs. A single by Tommy O’Neil drove in three runs. Then, nine-hitter Joe Squillante drove in two more with another single. Ryan DellaFave – the No. 3 hitter in his second at bat of the inning – drove in two more with yet another single.

After Timothy got a run back on a single by Josh Francis in the bottom of the first, Magnet scored another seven runs in the top of the second, sending 12 men to the plate.

A Squillante walk drove in the first, then a Scott Pede walk drove in another. A ground ball to short by Della Fave that saw the throw sail out of play brought in two more, a single by Matt Murphy drove in two more, and a double by O’Neil drove in another.

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Pede came out of the game after two, and Aidan Rosenthal pitched the last three innings to earn the win, allowing just three runs on one hit, striking out three, walking four and hitting one batter the rest of the way.

For Timothy, it was a tough start for pitcher Josh Thiero, who only managed to get through one inning. Though there was only one error in the first, two other plays could have gone either way, a hit or an error, and choppy fielding and miscues contributed to the offensive outburst.

Jonathan Walker pitched the second, but the bright spot was freshman Josh Guardado, who mopped up the final three innings, scattering two hits and allowing just one run, striking out two.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

East Brunswick Magnet senior Scott Pede

East Brunswick Magnet head coach Todd Sak

April 3, 2023 by Mike Pavlichko

First-year coach Torres leading Timothy Christian, with mix of vets and first-time players, into Opening Day

Like just about every high school baseball team that will open the 2023 season this week across New Jersey, Timothy Christian will have some veterans back.

There’s shortstop Josh Francis, who hit .545 last season for the second-place team in the GMC Gold Division last year with 25 RBIs and five extra base hits. Starting pitchers Josh Thiero and Ben Wang – who combined to go 8-4 last year and toss 72 innings, striking out 84 hitters while walking only 32 – are back as well.

But there are also some newcomers, who epitomize the definition of the word. A half-dozen players on the 13-man roster at the tiny Piscataway school are freshmen, like Chris Solomine, Elisha Mena and Joseph Walker, none of whom have ever played any baseball before.

But head coach Jose Torres – a rookie head coach himself who played his scholastic ball up at Barringer in Newark in the earl 200s – says they are keen to learn, and made great strides in the preseason.

He’ll get his first chance to see how that translates in real game action when his Tigers take on the East Brunswick Magnet Tigers at home Monday in the 2023 season opener.

You can hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with first pitch set for 4 pm and pregame at 3:45. Mike Pavlichko will call all the play-by-play, joined by special guest analyst Dennis McNulty. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear Jose Torres talk about his team as they get set for the 2023 season opener:

April 2, 2023April 3, 2023 by Mike Pavlichko

Ace of staff Pede will lead EB Magnet at Timothy Christian on Opening Day

High school baseball season has arrived; it’s Opening Day across New Jersey, and it’ll be the last go-round for East Brunswick Magnet’s Scott Pede.

Now a senior, Pede has been a key contributor for the Tigers all three seasons of his scholastic career, with his freshman season having been cancelled due to COVID-19.

The one-time baby-faced sophomore is now a full-fledged senior, and will take the hill for EB Magnet on Opening Day Monday when the Tigers visit Timothy Christian in Piscataway in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

First pitch is at 4:00; pregame begins at 3:40 with Mike Pavlichko on the call, joined by guest color analyst Dennis McNulty. Click here to listen.

Two seasons ago in a home game against Timothy Christian, Pede closed out a 10-1 win for Joe Moye, an imposing figure on the mound who’s now gone to graduation. Now, Pede is the biggest returnee on the staff.

Click below to hear East Brunswick Magnet head coach Todd Sak – now in his 19th season – talk about this year’s Tigers: