Tag: GMC Tournament

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – GMC Tournament Semifinals: (3) Old Bridge 9, (2) Middlesex 3 (8 inn.)

After losing a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh, third-seed Old Bridge rallied for six runs in the top of the eighth, coming back to beat second-seed Middlesex, 9-3, in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament semifinals. The win puts the Knights back in the title game for the second time in three years, having won it in 2024.

READ THE FULL GAME STORY HERE!

Click below to watch the full game as Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the play-by-play live from Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick on May 16, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – GMC Tournament Semifinals: (9) Monroe 1, (5) South Plainfield 0

Catcher Justin Mangano drove in the lone run of the game, while Ben Faigin threw a complete game, one-hitter, striking out 13 in a 1-0 win for ninth-seed Monroe over fifth-seed South Plainfield in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Semifinals. It’ll be Monroe’s first time in the GMC title game since 2017.

READ THE FULL GAME STORY HERE!

Click below to watch the full game as Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the play-by-play live from Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick on May 16, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

After Middlesex forces extras, Old Bridge explodes for three in eighth for 9-3 win, berth in GMCT finals

For the second time in three years, Old Bridge is on to the GMC Tournament title game.

And they’ll look to win their fourth title overall when the third-seeded Knights face nine-seed Monroe next Sunday in the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament final at Rutgers University’s Bainton Field ion Piscataway.

After Old Bridge broke a scoreless tie in the fifth with a run, and got two more in the sixth, Middlesex rallied with three in their final at bat in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

  

But in the top of the eighth, Old Bridge put together a rally of their own. They scored six in the inning to take a 9-3 lead, then retired the Blue Jays to win the game.

Like the first game, Middlesex started Dom Long and Old Bridge starter Brady Meyer were locked in a pitchers duel for five innings.

Old Bridge broke through in the fifth.  Nick Natale walked with one out, and two batters later with two out, Adrian Lutomsmi drove him in with a single.

In the sixth, Matt Chin led with a walk.  After two strikeouts, R.J. Pluchine singled, and Michael Chiarella made it 3-0 with a double.

Down to their final at bat, Middlesex came up and got back-to-back singles from pinch hitters Devin Jackson and Dalton Michael.  Marcus Lavornia reached on an E6, bringing in one run.  Still with nobody out, Luke Jones grounded to second to make it 3-2, and Sean Hughes single to tie the game at 3-3.  But Dom Long grounded to second to end the inning.

And then came the eighth.

After a grounder to second by Matt Chin for the first out, Jared Volpe reached on an error at third, and Erich Schnikschneit doubled to give the Knights a 4-3 lead.  As it turned out, that was all they would need, but they sent 11 men to the plate and scored five more runs on four more hits and another error, to take a 9-3 lead.

In the middle of all that, left fielder Lucas Blanco injured himself crashing into the wall and left field on that Schickschneit double, and had to come out of the game. 

And though Middlesex got a two out walk from Jaremiah Acker, he was stranded at third when Daniel Ianiero grounded two second base to end the game.

Long took the loss for Middlesex, while Chris Crosta, who came in during Middlesex’s rally in the seventh, got the win for Old Bridge.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe with Old Bridge right fielder Michael Chiarella and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Faigin’s one-hit gem, Mangano’s double in 7th send Monroe past South Plainfield in GMCT semifinals

When the last swing-and-a-miss on Monroe starting pitcher Ben Faigin’s 13th strikeout Saturday ended the GMC Tournament’s first semifinial of the day, he threw his glove up in the air, partying like it was 2017, or maybe 2015.

2015 was the last time the Falcons won the GMC Tournament , and 2017 was the last time they made it to the title game.

Now, they’re back in it, and will play next Saturday at 2 pm in the GMC’s Jim Muldowney Tournament final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field in Piscataway against the winner of today’s second semifinal between two-seed Middlesex and third-seed Old Bridge.

And the win was not just thanks to Faigin, but also to his catcher James Mangano, who besides calling and backstopping a fantastic game for his senior, Rutgers-bound starter, delivered a two-out double in the top of the seventh inning to drive in center fielder Tyler Bacon, who’d reached on a one-out single.

A pitchers’ duel all the way, Faigin and South Plainfield’s Aiden McCarthy were cruising, even though McCarthy nearly gave Monroe a lead in the top of the first. Mangano led off with a second-pitch single, and McCarthy walked – maybe pitched around? – Fagin, hitting .522 enteritng the game. But he got a strikeout, pop out and fly out to end the inning, the biggest threat by either team until the seventh.

And after Monroe took the 1-0 lead, South Plainfield still had a chance in its final at bat, with Faigin only having 15 pitches to work with before hitting the 110 limit. With two out, Anhtony CIcenia walked, bringing up freshman second baseman Gabe Garcia.

He worked a 3-2 count, and during that, Cicenia stole second on a pitch that went to the backstop, but came quickly back to Mangano. Cicenia beat the throw, overslid the base, but it was ruiled he got back in time to avoid another tag.

But Faigin bore down and got the strikeout, sending Monroe to the GMC title game.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe with Monroe’s Ben Faigin, Justin Mangano, and head coach Sean Fiels, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

It’s Group 1 vs. Group 4, Middlesex battling Old Bridge, in Saturday’s second GMCT semifinal

Sure, you could call it David vs. Goliath, but is it really?

One is a Group 1 school, the Middlesex Blue Jays out of the GMC White Division. The GMC Tournament’s second seed, they are 20-2 and the defending state Group 1 champions.

The other is among the larger Group 4 schools (Group 5 in football) and won the tournament in 2011, 2019 and 2024, and was a sectional finalist last year, too. This year, they’re the three seed.

Still, you might not know which is which.

But they will battle for a trip to the GMC Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament final in the second game of a semifinal doubleheader at East Brunswick Magnet School Saturday afternoon, and Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live coverage at 2:30 pm, following the opener between South Plainfield and Monroe, which starts at noon.

Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the play-by-play; click here to listen or watch here on our YouTube channel.

Here’s a closer look at the first semifinal game of the day:

(2) Middlesex (20-2) vs. (3) Old Bridge (16-8)
at East Brunswick Magnet School
2:30 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio
Audio Stream: (LISTEN LIVE)
Video Stream: (WATCH LIVE)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Middlesex: Dom Long (7-0, 1.71 ERA)
Old Bridge: Brady Meyer (3-2, 3.50 ERA)

PREVIEW STORIES:

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Middlesex: The Blue Jays have done little wrong this year, and even when they have, more often than not they still find a way to come out on top. Their first round game on Monday was a 12-2 blowout of 15th-seed South River, but they faced a little more of a challenge on Wednesday in the quarterfinals, coming up with a 3-0 win over St. Thomas Aquinas, thanks in large part to a big two-RBI pinch-hit from pinch-hitter extraordinaire Dalton Michael.

Old Bridge: The Knights got here by the slimmest of margins. Monday, in the opening round, they beat 14th-seed Sayreville 1-0, then came back two days later and got a walk-off win, 1-0 over sixth-seed Woodbridge, on an eighth-inning knock by Erich Schickschneit. The Red Division gauntlet has done them well.

TOP HITTERS:

Middlesex: While the Blue Jays are hitting a highly-respectable .314 on the season, eight players with at least 40 at bats are hitting over .300, ranging from .373 to .302, an astounding display of balance. Dalton Michael is the only one under 40 at bats on the year, and he’s even hitting .345, with two big RBIs in a three-run inning that propelled them into the semifinals. Marcus Lavornia is hitting .373 with 13 runs batted in, and Sean Hughes has knocked in a team-best 24 runs. They’ve scored 53 more runs than Old Bridge this season, 156 total.

Old Bridge: Sophomore Matt Chin paces the offense at .417 with 19 RBIs and 2 homers, leading the team in all 13 categories, along with 13 walks, also a team high. Chris Crosta also has two of the team’s eight home runs, and is hitting .321, while Jared Volpe is hitting .333 and has a team-high 23 singles. The Knights are hitting .276 as a team.

LAST FINALS BERTH:

Middlesex: The Blue Jays have only made one final in their history, despite a significantly successful track record in the state tournament. That came in 2012, when they were the third-seed, and beat upset top-seed Sayreville, 10-4, with Mike O’Donnell – now the school’s Athletic Director and the GMC baseball co-chair – as head coach.

Old Bridge: The Knights have won three GMC Tournament championships since the 1994 merger of Madison Central and Cedar Ridge, although it took them 14 years to get there. They lost to St. Joseph-Metuchen in 2008, but won the next three, including 2011, 2019, and their most recent in 2024, a year they also won the Central Jersey Group 4 title. They were the third-seed that year, and knocked off top-seed South Plainfield, 6-1 in the final.

PAST COVERAGE:

Middlesex

Old Bridge

by Mike Pavlichko

Battle-tested GMC Red foes South Plainfield, Monroe set to go in first GMCT semifinal Saturday

It’s almost like the standings don’t matter.

Sure, we hear that all the time, but the GMC Red Division is a gauntlet, and just about any team could come out of there and win the GMC Tournament. That’s the general consensus.

And at least one of these teams will have a crack at it, as fifth-seed South Plainfield and ninth-seed Monroe will do battle Saturday in the first of two semifinals in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament at East Brunswick Magnet School.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live coverage, followed by Middlesex and Old Bridge in the second game at 2:30 pm.

Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the play-by-play; click here to listen or watch here on our YouTube channel.

Here’s a closer look at the first semifinal game of the day:

(5) South Plainfield (13-10) vs. (9) Monroe (11-12)
at East Brunswick Magnet School
12 noon on Central Jersey Sports Radio
Audio Stream: (LISTEN LIVE)
Video Stream: (WATCH LIVE)

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
South Plainfield: Aiden McCarthy (6-1, 2.67 ERA)
Monroe: Ben Faigin (5-1, 1.55 ERA)

PREVIEW STORIES:

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

South Plainfield: The Tigers have had a series of streaks this season. They won two, lost three, won three, lost two, won two, and so on. But the only streak that mattes now is the two straight they’ve won coming into Saturday’s game, both in the GMC Tournament. In Monday’s first round, they Ninth-seed Monroe seeks its highest point of rollercoaster season, trip to title game in GMC Tourney semifinals, picking up a 2-1 victory. In the quarterfinals on Wednesday, they won another squeaker, 7-6 over Metuchen, getting out of a first-and-third two-out jam in the bottom of the seventh with a 1-6-3-4-5 pickoff of the potential tying baserunner on third.

Monroe: The Falcons have been on a bit of a rollercoaster, too, and came into the GMC Tournament having lost eight of their last nine games. But they’ve been hot in the county event, scoring nine runs in both games, and allowing only three runs total. First, they knocked off eight-seed Colonia 9-2 on Monday in the first round, then bounced top-seed Edison 9-1 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

TOP HITTERS:

South Plainfield: The Tigers’ all-time hits leader, Dom Massaro – with 150 over four seasons – almost can’t get out. He’s hitting a whopping .571 this season with 25 runs batted in, and leads the team in those categories, as well as hits (48), doubles (17) and stolen bases (19). But others like Andrew Bena and Aiden McCarthy – who’ll be on the mound Saturday, can hit as well. McCarthy is batting .315 with 22 RBIs and two home runs. (Massaro has a pair, as well.)

Monroe: The Falcons’ starting pitcher is tearing the cover off the ball as well, hitting .522 with 16 runs batted in and two homers. That’s Ben Faigin, while his battery mate, senior catcher Justin Mangano, is hitting .387 with nine runs batted in. Their llineip is a little more top heavy than the Tigers. Faigin also leads the team in stolen bases with 20, and they’ve swiped 49 this year, more than any of the other three teams vying for a trip to the finals this weekend.

LAST FINALS BERTH:

South Plainfield: The Tigers were in the finals two years ago as the top-seed, but lost to third-seed Old Bridge, 6-5. We could see that matchup again, with the Knights taking on Middlesex in the second semifinal Saturday afternoon. South Plainfield has been to six finals, but won their only one in 2018 as the 14th-seed, topping 12-seed Perth Amboy 2-1 in 12 innings. They’ve also had finals appearances in 2014, 2011, 1991, and 1990, and are 5-1 in GMC title games.

Monroe: The Falcons last made the GMC Finals in 2017, when they were the sixth-seed and lost to top-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen, 1-0. Two years prior they won their first trophy as the second, seed, blanking eight-seed Sayreville, 1-0, in eight innings. At 1-3 in finals, they also reached the title game in 2013 and 1994

PAST COVERAGE:

South Plainfield

Monroe

by justinsontupe

Third-seed Old Bridge clicking at the right time heading into Middlesex tussle in Saturday’s GMC Tournament semis

Old Bridge has picked the right time of year to play its best baseball.

Eight straight wins, and eleven 12. Offensive explosions. Pitchers’ duels. Run-rule blowouts. Extra innings nailbiters.

For the past three weeks, everything has come up purple – and in all shapes and sizes, too.

For Matt Donaghue and the Knights, that has become the norm. When May comes, Old Bridge wins. Last year, they were Central Jersey Group 4 finalists. Two years ago, they were GMC Tournament champions. In 2023, Central Jersey Group 4 winners – and then all the way to the state finals in Hamilton.

Some years they have been led by elite pitching and other years it’s been an unstoppable offense.

This year, it has been a little bit of both.

While the offense – led by Matt Chin, Michael Chiarella, Jared Volpe, and Chris Crosta – has been consistently strong, the pitching has keyed the GMC tournament run. Brady Meyer threw a complete game four-hitter in a 1-0 opening round win over Sayreville, and then Blake Dunleavy went the distance two nights later in a 1-0 extra inning win over Woodbridge in eight. 

This side of Middlesex, which is 20-2 and seeded second in the GMC Tournament, no one in the county is playing better baseball at the moment than Old Bridge. 

And fittingly, with a spot in the GMC final on the line, it is the Blue Jays who await Old Bridge in Saturday’s second GMC semifinal at East Brunswick Magnet School. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 pm following the opener between five-seed South Plainfield and nine-seed Monroe in the other semifinal.

Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will have the call on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with coverage beginning at 11:40 am. You can listen to the game here, or watch it all on our YouTube Channel, by clicking here.

Click here to listen to Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe:

by Mike Pavlichko

It’s been a minute: Second-seed Middlesex, defending state Group 1 champs, looking for first GMC Tourney finals berth in 14 years

As a smaller school, albeit one chock full of talent for the better part of two decades now across three different coaches, the GMC Tournament has always been a challenge, often playing against many larger schools with deeper benches.

The Blue Jays have had great success in the state tournament, of course, among similar size schools. Just since COVID, they’ve won two state Group 1 championships: in 2021, the first year after the pandemic shutdown, and last season under first-year head coach Blaze Iannetti.

And you can trace that success – his teams are 43-7 since he took over last year – back to his predecessor, Justin Nastasi, and Mike O’Donnell before him. (O’Donnell is now the athletic director, and GMC baseball co-chair.)

There’s a high bar in Middlesex, and for a second year in a row, they are back in the GMC Tournament semifinals, looking to break through and get back to the championship game after falling one game short last year, falling to Edison in the semis, 3-0.

Saturday, the second-seeded, GMC White Division champion Blue Jays (20-2) will play third-seed Old Bridge (16-8) in the Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament semifinals at East Brunswick Magnet School. First pitch is set for 2:30, with pregame following our first game of the day, between five-seed South Plainfield and nine-seed Monroe at noon.

Coverage begins at 11:40 am with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe. You can listen to the game here, or watch on our YouTube Channel here.

In a sports world where fundamentals sometimes lack, there’s no worry about that with Middlesex. Sure, they might have a rough day in the field once in a while, maybe misplay a ball, or maybe a hitter is in a slump. But they don’t make the mental mistakes, they don’t throw to the wrong base, or run themselves out of an inning very often – and if that, it might just be a product of being overly aggressive, by design.

With so much back from last year’s Group 1 championship team, it starts with pitching, and the one-two combo of junior Dom Long and senior Chris Kozak, the second of whom cracked the 200 strikeout mark earlier this month, and the first of whom will get the ball Saturday against the Knights.

Long is 7-0 (Kozak is 5-0), and has a 1.71 ERA. He likes to work quickly, and get into a groove early. He’s all business.

The team has fun, of course, but they know the goal, and have high standards.

At the plate, the team is hitting .313, and nearly every starter is over the .300 mark, reflecting incredible balanced top-to-bottom, and a bottom third of the order than can turn the lineup over, even if it means playing small ball.

Click here to listen to Middlesex head coach Blaze Iannetti talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by justinsontupe

Ninth-seed Monroe seeks its highest point of rollercoaster season, trip to title game in GMC Tourney semifinals

Are the ninth-seeded Monroe Falcons, at 11-12 and a win away from a trip to the county title game a Cinderella?

It’s tough to say.

The lows have been low: losses in eight of nine entering the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament. But the highs have been very high: a 5-1 start and a mid-April upset win over perennial state power Red Bank Catholic. To date, it’s the only victory by a GMC team over a club currently ranked in the state Top 20 all season long.

“I told the guys we’ve just got to stay consistent,” said Monroe head coach Sean Field. “We’re built for the playoffs. The games that we’ve lost, we’ve been right in them right till the very end. Once the playoffs come, we’ve got to start playing our best baseball, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

The Falcons took down 8th-seeded Colonia, 9-2, in the tournament’s first round on Monday. Ben Faigin, who is penciled in as Monroe’s semifinal starter, struck out 13 batters in a complete game effort.

Monroe followed that by taking care of top-seeded Edison, 9-1, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Faigin launched a two-run home run and Andre Love struck out 11 Eagles in a complete game of his own.

Senior catcher Justin Mangano has been the catalyst at the top of the lineup. He has 6 hits and 3 RBIs over the two GMC tournament games.

In what has been a season of ups and downs, the Falcons find themselves in position to do something the school hasn’t done since 2017: play in a GMC final. South Plainfield (13-10) – which has already beaten Monroe twice this season – stands in the way at East Brunswick Magnet School on Saturday afternoon.

First pitch is set for 12:00 and coverage begins on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 11:40 with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe on the call.  That’s the first of a doubleheader, with the second game featuring second-seed Middlesex and third-seed Old Bridge. Both games can be heard live by clicking this link, and can also be seen here, with a video stream on our YouTube channel.

Click below to hear Monroe head coach Sean Field with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe:

by Mike Pavlichko

Gutty South Plainfield has seen veterans influence younger Tigers, seeking second trip to GMC finals in three years

Working class, blue collar, gritty.

That’s a good way to describe South Plainfield, the town, but also a perfect description of South Plainfield baseball.

Each year, the veterans instill that sense – with a little bit of underdog mentality – in the younger payers, sophomores, maybe freshmen, and even the first-time junior or senior starter.

Each year begins with question marks, and head coach Scott Gleichenhaus had many coming into this season, but in 2026 – as in other years – the Tigers have answered the bell.

And now, fifth-seed South Plainfield finds itself a win away from the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship Game – which will be moving to Rutgers this year, it was just announced Thursday by the league, in a story Central Jersey Sports Radio broke Thursday evening.

To get there, the Tigers will have to beat ninth-seed Monroe (11-12) for a third time this season, when the two play in the tournament semifinals at East Brunswick Magnet School Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for noon as part of a doubleheader that will feature second-seed Middlesex and third-seed Old Bridge at 2:30 pm.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have both an audio and video stream of the game, with coverage starting at 11:40 am with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe. You can listen to the game here, and the video – with our audio commentary – can be seen here, on our YouTube channel.

Senior Aiden McCarthy has been one of the veterans tutoring the newcomers on what it means to be a Tiger, but he has also been leading by example. He’ll get the start Saturday afternoon, coming in with a 6-1 record and a 2.67 ERA. But he can hit, too, batting .315 with 22 runs batted in.

South Plainfield also has been strong defensively, an area where Gleichenhaus wasn’t sure how it would turn out after the graduations on shortstop Dan Kapsch and second baseman Nick Irizzary. Anthony Cicenia and Gabe Garcia have taken over those positions, and been more than able. Coupled with veteran speedster Dom Massaro, the school’s all-time hits leader (and 2025 Central Jersey Sports Radio Special Teams Returner of the Year in football) in centerfield, the Tigers are strong up the middle.

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: