Tag: GMC

by Mike Pavlichko

NJSIAA First Round: Franklin shocks second-seed Edison; firsts “in a while” for JP Stevens, North Plainfield, and Piscataway Magnet; GMC Finalists Old Bridge, Monroe survive

The first round of the NJSIAA state baseball playoffs had a number of intriguing matchups, but there were probably more surprises than anyone bargained for.

Starting with the top-seeds, Middlesex and Ridge rolled, but Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament finalist Old Bridge – the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 4 – survived with a 1-0- win, as did their opponent in this Saturday’s county final, Monroe.

Meanwhile, second-seed Edison – still reeling from injury issues with its starters – got upset in the first round by 15-seed Franklin, 5-4, while North Plainfield won its first playoff game in 15 years, and JP Stevens won its first in seven, in its first home game since 2019 as well.

Piscataway Magnet also got its first playoff win in at least a quarter century, maybe more. (More on that later.)

Here’s a rundown of every section in which Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area teams played – although one, Hillsborough at Jackson in CJ4 was postponed to Thursday due to rain – along with the upcoming schedule for Thursday’s non-public sectional quarterfinals, and Friday’s public sectional quarters.

Central Jersey Group 4:

The big story here was second-seed Edison (19-8) going down, 5-4, to 15-seed Franklin (8-11). The Eagles came into the season with three Division 1 starting pitchers: Connor Murphy (Monmouth) and Dom Innocenti and Rob Roma (Wagner). Those last two, however, have been limited over the last month or so, with Roma limited to under 40 pitches a game most of the year and Innocenti having not pitched in a month. Ray Tavarez took the first round start, and gave up five runs – though only two were earned – and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings, and took the hard-luck loss as the defense committed three errors. As big a loss as it was for the Eagles, it was a huge win for Franklin, and you can read more about that game from Alec Crouthamel, who also talked with first-year head coach Grant Neary after the game.

GMCT finalist and CJ4 top-seed Old Bridge (19-8) escaped with a 1-0 home win over 16-seed East Brunswick, taking the rubber match of three meetings this year. Chris Crosta’s single in the third inning drove in the lone run of the game. And the other of Saturday’s GMCT finalists – CJ4 fifth-seed Monroe (14-13) – also escaped with a 1-0 win, this one over 12-seed Montgomery, and on a walk-off. After a single by Tyler Bacon to start the home seventh, a sac bunt by Rob Profaci, another single from Justin Mangano, and an intentional walk to Ben Faigin loaded the bases, Alex Marcus got hit on the very next pitch, bringing home Bacon with the winning run.

Of note were the starting pitchers. Old Bridge went with Blake Dunleavy, who threw 6 2/3 innings of four-hit shutout ball. Brady Meyer finished it off, but just threw eight pitches, so he would have 110 in the tank for either Friday’s quarterfinal home game against eight-seed Freehold Twp., or Saturday’s noon GMCT title game against Monroe. The Falcons mixed it up with their two aces. Ben Faigin started and went three innings, throwing 45 pitches and striking out six. Andre Love finished it off and allowed just one hit, also striking out six, throwing just 54 pitches. That means Faigin could come back Friday – in the quarterfinals at four-seed Hightstown – or Saturday in the GMCT final, and throw 105 either day (but not both), while Love would have to rest Friday, but could come back Saturday in the GMCT title game and would have 96 pitches available.

  • (1) Old Bridge def. (16) East Brunswick, 1-0
  • (8) Freehold Twp. def. (9) South Brunswick, 4-3
  • (5) Monroe def. (12) Montgomery, 1-0
  • (4) Hightstown def. (13) Sayreville, 5-4
  • (3) Hunterdon Central def. (14) Princeton, 6-2
  • (6) Manalapan def. (11) Marlboro, 4-2
  • (10) Hillsborough at (7) Jackson Twp. (PPD to Thursday, 2 pm)
  • (15) Franklin def. (2) Edison, 5-4

Central Jersey Group 2:

Sixth-seed South River (17-10) fell before 4-0 before they could even get on the board, scoring their lone run in the bottom of the second on a Travis Maloney ground ball to third, with an error on the play allowing Noah Barrero to score. But that was all they’d get, as the Ravens scored no more than two runs in any inning, but did so in every inning but the third. The Rams were held to just three hits.

And ninth-seed Spotswood (14-13) saw its season end with a 4-1 loss at eight-seed Allentown. Brady DeStefano had a 3-for-4 day and drove in the lone run for the Chargers, who committed four errors, although only one of the four runs allowed by losing pitcher Jack Korneski was unearned.

Those were the only two CJSR-area teams in the section.

Central Jersey Group 1:

Top-seed Middlesex (21-5) rebounded from a 7-1 regular season tune-up loss to South Plainfield with a first-round laugher, scoring 21 runs in their 21st win of the season to defeat 16-seed Highland Park (5-17) by the final of 21-1. Sean Hughes led the offensive onslaught with a 4-for-5 day and four RBI and three runs scored, while Luke Jones scored four times and Lucas Blanco was 2-for-2 with three runs batted in. The Blue Jays also worked out nine walks, while senior Chris Kozak got the start and threw 50 pitches in four innings, striking out seven, walking one in a two-hit effort. The Blue Jays get eight-seed South Hunterdon (12-10) in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, fourth-seed Metuchen (19-7) advanced with a 12-2 five-inning win over 13-seed Somerset Tech (11-10). Lucas Malamung and Jon Nugent – who got the win – combined on a two-hitter in the win; Malamung gave up both runs, but they were unearned. Nugent, Sean Dereka and Mason Messina each knocked in three runs for the Bulldogs, who will host five-seed Shore Friday in the quarterfinals.

And on the other side of the bracket, two-seed Piscataway Magnet topped 15-seed Henry Hudson, 5-4, in what is believed to be its first playoff win since at least the 1990s, according to head coach Greg Sampson – who tells CJSR he’s still researching it at press time! And they almost didn’t get it, as the Raiders (24-3) trailed the Admirals (8-11) 4-1 heading into the final inning. But they got four runs in the seventh. After getting within a run, Colton Lyerly hit a sac fly to score his brother, Trey, and tie the game at 4-4. That left runners at the corners after an Elvis Rodriguez single moved Kyle Malchiodi to third, and an infield error on a grounder by Rodhen Santos brought home Malchiodi for a 5-4 win, and the first walk-off victory of the season for Piscataway Magnet, which now will host 10-seed Delaware Valley (12-8) Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals.

In other games, 12-seed Manville (9-14) was shutout at five-seed Shore, 4-0, while 14th-seed South Amboy (9-11) got walked-off in five by third-seed Point Pleasant Beach, 10-0, and sixth-seed Dunellen (18-8) lost 11-1 at home to 11-seed Florence.

  • (1) Middlesex def. (16) Highland Park, 21-1 (5 inn.)
  • (8) South Hunterdon def. (9) New Egypt, 2-1
  • (5) Shore def. (12) Manville, 4-0
  • (4) Metuchen def. (13) Somerset Tech, 12-2 (5 inn.)
  • (3) Point Pleasant Boro def. (14) South Amboy, 10-0 (5 inn.)
  • (11) Florence def. (6) Dunellen, 11-1 (7 inn.)
  • (10) Delaware Valley def. (7) Keyport, 2-0
  • (2) Piscataway Magnet def. (15) Henry Hudson, 5-4

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4:

All went to chalk here except for one game, with 10-seed Woodbridge (16-10) getting past seven-seed Scotch Plains-Fanwood (14-12) on the road, 8-5. The Barrons led 1-0 after one, but then exploded for a six-spot in the third, and held off the Raiders the rest of the way. Senior Gavin Slicner was 3-for-4 in the win, driving in three, scoring three, and hitting a blast of a home run. He now has 45 hits on the season, setting a new school record, and got his 100th career hit in the win. Nick Lukachyk also homered, hitting a solo shot. The Barrons will travel to second-seed Bayonne Friday afternoon at 4:30 for a quarterfinal game; the Bees (20-8) beat 15-seed Piscataway 5-2 in the opening round.

Top-seed Ridge (16-10) advanced with a 13-3 five-inning win over 16-seed Barringer (5-14) out of Newark. Sawyer Paul drove in a game-high three runs on a 4-for-4 day – all singles – while Casey Kucerka, Toby Nicholson and Colin Newcomb each drove in two runs. Lucas Listen went the distance, scattering six hits and three earned runs over five innings, striking out six. The Red Devils face Skyland Conference foe and eight-seed Phillipsburg (14-9) at home Friday in the quarterfinals.

Five-seed Bridgewater-Raritan – who were 6-14 just three weeks ago – now has won six of its last eight games after blitzing 12-seed Plainfield (14-5) by an 11-0 score in five innings. Starter Jack Braswell got the win, and flirted with a perfect game through 3 2/3 before giving up a two-out single in the fourth. He finished out five innings, allowing just that one hit, striking out eight, and doing it all in just 56 pitches. Read more about the Panthers’ win and hear from head coach Max Newill at the link. The Panthers will visit four-seed JP Stevens (18-8) in the quarterfinals, after the Hawks were 11-2 winners over 13-seed Ferris at home Wednesday. It was their first home playoff game in the states since they hosted Barringer in the first round in 2019, a game they won, and it was their first state playoff win since then, as well. Read more about the Hawks’ big win and hear from head coach Tyler Jackow at the link.

And third-seed and 2026 Somerset County Tournament champion Watchung Hills (16-8) also advanced, picking up a 10-0 five-inning win over Elizabeth (8-17). Landon Pudlak was 5-for-5 with a walk-off three-run homer in the fifth that ended the game with the mercy rule. He also plated runs with a walk in the third and a sac fly in the first. Rob Centamore scattered two hits and struck out nine in five innings to improve to 7-0, and the Hustlin’ Warriors will host six-seed Westfield (14-11-1) Friday in the second round.

  • (1) Ridge def. (16) Barringer, 13-3 (5 inn.)
  • (8) Phillipsburg def. (9) Columbia, 2-1
  • (5) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (12) Plainfield, 11-0 (5 inn.)
  • (4) JP Stevens def. (13) Ferris, 11-2 (5 inn.)
  • (3) Watchung Hills def. (14) Elizabeth, 10-0 (5 inn.)
  • (6) Westfield def. (11) Union, 6-3
  • (10) Woodbridge def. (7) Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 8-5
  • (3) Bayonne def. (15) Piscataway, 5-2

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3:

We’re going to get an all-Plainfield surburb quarterfinal matchup in this one Friday, as both fourth-seed South Plainfield and fifth-seed North Plainfield were the only two area teams to advance. The Tigers (15-11) blanked 13-seed JFK (18-8) by a score of 5-0, behind a complete-game, 89-pitch effort from Aiden “The Bull” McCarthy, who allowed just three hits and struck out 12. The Tigers scored in each of the first four innings – one each in the first three, two in the fourth – as Andrew Bena knocked in two runs, while Dom Massaro and McCarthy each scored twice. As for the Canucks, it was their first playoff win in 15 years, a 2-1 win over 12-seed Matawan (9-13-1). Both runs came in the fourth, and it started with Jake Zotollo getting plunked, then a single by Victor Ceda, putting runners at the corners. Ian Lamiera grounded out to short, scoring the first run of the game, and after another groundout, Victor Ceda stole home on a 2-2 pitch to make it 2-0. In the top of the seventh, the Huskies got to within 2-1 after a leadoff single, a couple of stolen bases and a groundout to third, but Bennie Sokolowski – who went the distance, allowing just two hits, fanning nine – got two strikeouts to end the game.

Elsewhere, 8th-seed Colonia (14-10) lost 5-1 at home to nine-seed Middletown North (15-10), cutting a 2-0 deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth only to see the Lions get three in the top of the seventh to take a 5-1 lead they’d hold on to. Sixth-seed Carteret (17-7) was upset at home, 9-6, by 11-seed Summit (9-15-1). And ten-seed Somerville (9-17) was beaten on the road by seven-seed Millburn (13-14), 4-1.

  • (1) Chatham def. (16) Orange, 10-0 (5 inn.)
  • (9) Middletown North def. (8) Colonia, 5-1
  • (5) North Plainfield def. (12) Matawan, 2-1
  • (4) South Plainfield def. (13) JFK, 5-0-
  • (3) Cranford def. (14) Rahway, 14-2
  • (11) Summit def. (6) Carteret, 9-6
  • (7) Millburn def. (10) Somerville, 4-1
  • (2) North Hunterdon def. (15) Payne Tech, 6-0 (Tuesday)

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1:

The only area team in this section was 11-seed Bernards and the Mountaineers (13-11) were beaten 4-1 by six-seed Lyndhurst on a four-hitter by Tyler Herman, who struck out ten and scattered four hits over seven innings.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

Thursday, May 28 – Non-Public Sectional Quarterfinals (all games 4pm unless otherwise noted)

Non-Public South A

  • (8) Montclair-Kimberley at (1) St. Mary-Rutherford, 3 pm
  • (5) Morristown-Beard at (4) Newark Academy
  • (6) Morris Catholic at (3) St. Thomas Aquinas
  • (10) Pope John at (2) Rutgers Prep

Non-Public North B

  • (8) Paul VI at (1) Immaculata, 4 pm (at Diamond Nation, Flemington)
  • (5) Christian Brothers at (4) Union Catholic
  • (6) St. John Vianney at (3) Red Bank Catholic, 3 pm
  • (10) Pingry at (2) St. Augustine

Friday, May 29- Non-Public Sectional Quarterfinals (all games 4pm unless otherwise noted)

Central Jersey Group 4

  • (8) Freehold Twp. at (1) Old Bridge
  • (5) Monroe at (4) Hightstown
  • (6) Manalapan at (3) Hunterdon Central
  • (15) Franklin at (10) Hillsborough or (7) Jackson Twp.

Central Jersey Group 1

  • (4) Metuchen at (1) Middlesex
  • (5) Shore at (4) Metuchen
  • (11) Florence at (3) Point Pleasant Beach
  • (10) Delaware Valley at (2) Piscataway Magnet

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4

  • (8) Phillipsburg at (1) Ridge
  • (5) Bridgewater-Raritan at (4) JP Stevens
  • (6) Westfield at (3) Watchung Hills
  • (10) Woodbridge at (2) Bayonne, 4:30 pm

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3

  • (9) Middletown North at (1) Chatham
  • (5) North Plainfield at (4) South Plainfield
  • (11) Summit at (3) Cranford
  • (7) Millburn at (2) North Hunterdon
by Alec Crouthamel

15-seed Franklin stuns two-seed Edison 5-4 in Central Jersey Group 4 first round

Wednesday’s NJSIAA sectional tournament saw plenty of first-round action, and plenty of drama to boot.

By far, the biggest of those instances came in the Central Jersey Group 4 bracket, where 15th-seeded Franklin knocked off second-seeded Edison to move on to the quarterfinals.

The Warriors (8-11) have shown flashes under first-year head coach Grant Neary, and put it all together at just the right time. This also marks the second straight year Franklin has pulled an upset as a double-digit seed, after defeating sixth-seeded East Brunswick in the CJ4 first round as the 11 seed last season under former head coach Derrick Castillo.

Those two victories were the Warriors’ first in the sectional tournament since the 2021 season.

Neary came to Franklin after a 17-year run in the college ranks, including six years as an assistant at NJIT and a three-year run as the head coach at Saint Peter’s. But with three kids and plenty of activities for all of them, Neary wanted to find a gig that kept him in the coaching game while allowing him to be even more involved with his family.

He’s no stranger to Somerset County baseball, either. Neary starred on the diamond for Bridgewater-Raritan and got his baseball coaching start at Watchung Hills in 2005, helping lead the Warriors to the Group 4 state championship game as an assistant coach under head coach Mario Diez.

The Warriors (of Franklin) are also no strangers to upsets this year. The tenth seed in the Somerset County Tournament, Franklin defeated seventh-seeded Somerville 10-8 in the first round, and fell 9-5 to eventual champion Watchung Hills.

But the confidence was up heading on the road to a GMC staple in Edison. The Eagles (19-8) dealt with some injuries throughout the year, but boasted some of the area’s top talent and earned the top seed in the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament.

It started as a low-scoring pitcher’s duel on Wednesday. The Warriors struck first in the top of the third with a bases-loaded RBI double play by freshman left fielder Mason Bonds, the younger brother of Rutgers star outfielder Peyton Bonds, to open the scoring. But Edison pitcher Ray Tavarez got out of the jam with the double play and another bases-loaded groundout to keep the Warriors at a run.

The Eagles equalized an inning and a half later with a sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Damien Calandra. But Franklin immediately responded with two runs in the top of the fifth, on RBI doubles by Bonds and senior Elijah Zavatsky.

Senior pitcher Dylan Shah did his job as well, keeping Edison at bay for much of the game, even after the Eagles pulled to within a run on a sacrifice fly by senior first baseman Robert Roma. Shah lived up to the billing as Franklin’s top arm on the bump, with six innings of two-run ball.

A full scoreless frame later, and the Warriors went into the seventh and final frame with a slim 3-2 lead.

The offense picked back up in the top half, as Zavatsky recorded his second RBI of the day on a single, and senior third baseman Stanley Madera scored on a double steal to make it 5-2.

Bonds came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh with a three-run cushion, but Edison wouldn’t go away quietly.

Senior right fielder Sam Kentos singled, and Roma walked to put the tying run at the plate with nobody out. Tavarez doubled to score Kentos and pull within two, putting the tying run at second base. Madera recorded the first out with a heady play to throw Roma out at the plate attempting to score, but senior centerfielder Darren Tirado brought the deficit back to a single run with a sacrifice fly. Second baseman Tyler Shuck loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch, bringing up Calandra with the game on the line for either side.

On a 2-0 count, Calandra lined a fastball safely into the glove of Franklin second baseman Kelvin Heuston to secure the upset and send the Warriors to the quarterfinals. Shah earned the win with 100 pitches flat for his team-leading fifth win of the year, allowing two runs on six hits, with two strikeouts and four walks.

Their quarterfinal opponent is TBD. Franklin will face the winner of seventh-seed Jackson Township and tenth-seed Hillsborough, a game postponed to Thursday after rain hit South Jersey hard on Wednesday. Either way, the 15 seed will be ready for the challenge after putting together one of its top performances of the year.

Click below to listen to Franklin’s first-year head coach Grant Neary talk about the Warriors’ season and their first-round upset of Edison with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Mike Pavlichko

In first state playoff home game since 2019, JP Stevens picks up first playoff victory in same span, with 11-2 win over Ferris

In first state playoff home game since 2019, JP Stevens picks up first playoff victory in seven years, with 11-2 win over Ferris

Getting a first round state playoff game at home was one big accomplishment for JP Stevens, a program that hadn’t done so in seven years.

Well, Wednesday night, not only did the fourth-seeded Hawks open the third season with an 11-2 victory over 13th-seed Ferris in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 first round – their first playoff win since 2019 – they’ll get a chance to host a second state game at home Friday afternoon.

They’ll take on fifth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan, an 11-0 winner over 12-seed Plainfield in five innings Wednesday, at home at 4 pm this Friday.

For the previous three years, Stevens (18-8) has been in the boat Ferris (8-19) was in Wednesday: a single-digit win team, playing on the road, no one expecting them to win.

But wth eleven seniors on the club, head coach Tyler Jackow – now in his fourth season – says the program has been building to this moment during his entire tenure, with seniors that were freshman when he came over to North Edison after a season at Perth Amboy Magnet.

To wit, it was senior Nolan Overmyer who had four RBIs against the Bulldogs (who hail from Jersey City, by the way). Senior Arav Patel had three hits on the day. And senior starting pitcher Soham Prajapati went the distance, allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out 13, to give him 102 on the season.

The Hawks were the higher seed Wednesday, expected to win. And everything came together as they planned and hoped.

It’s nice when that works out. One more, and they’re a win away from an appearance in the sectional finals.

Click below to hear JP Stevens head coach Tyler Jackow talk about the win with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Alec Crouthamel

Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Finals Preview: Dunellen, Piscataway looking to scrap their way to a title

A Championship Friday is descending upon New Jersey baseball this weekend.

One of them, the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational, will have its final on Friday at 4pm at Edison High School, between second-seeded Piscataway and fifth-seeded Dunellen.

Both teams have taken different paths to reach the meeting point. After respective first-round byes, the Chiefs defeated the seven-seed South Amboy, aided by a seven-run sixth inning, including a grand slam from Dominick Summonte. The Destroyers put up big-time runs across the board in a 14-3 win over four-seed East Brunswick Magnet.

In the semifinals, Dunellen kept its offensive attack at a ten in a wild 22-17 win over top-seeded Perth Amboy that took four hours, while Piscataway once again got some clutch hitting in a 5-4 walk-off victory over third-seeded North Brunswick.

But both have the same goal in mind, winning a title on Friday.

Each team brings its best to the bump. For the Chiefs, they have two, top junior Sumedh Shingala — the team’s leader in wins and strikeouts — will start, with No. 2 arm Jared Butler ready and waiting, who head coach Rob Stoddard described as “a bulldog” in both starting and high-leverage relief spots. For the Destroyers, Joe Reyes will get the ball as the leader in wins and ERA among the main rotation arms.

They both have battled through respective stretches of up-and-down play — as nearly every team does — but they’re playing their best ball as of late, and will do battle for the GMC Invitational title in Edison.

RAY CIPPERLY GMC INVITATIONAL FINAL AT-A-GLANCE

Teams:
(2) Piscataway Chiefs (10-10, 6-8, GMC Blue)
(5) Dunellen Destroyers (18-6, 9-2, GMC Gold)

Head Coaches:
Piscataway: Rob Stoddard (6th season, 46-81)
Dunellen: Connor Lindsay (3rd season, 45-31)

Probable Starters
Piscataway: Sumedh Shingala (4-2, 3.73 ERA)
Dunellen: Joseph Reyes (6-0, 2.65 ERA)

Date and Time: Friday, May 22, at 4 pm
Location: Edison High School

PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:

Dunellen head coach Connor Lindsay
Piscataway head coach Rob Stoddard

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Piscataway:
First round bye
Quarterfinals: def. (7) South Amboy, 11-5
Semifinals: def. (3) North Brunswick, 5-4

Dunellen:
First round bye
Quarterfinals: def. (4) East Brunswick Magnet, 14-3
Semifinals: def. (1) Perth Amboy, 22-17

TEAM LEADERS:

Dunellen:

  • Batting Average: Juan Luis Rodriguez (.425), Michael Dow (.417), Joseph Reyes (.397)
  • RBI: Kristian Roman Lopez (34), Colin Reynolds (26), Joseph Reyes (25)
  • HR: Cesar Andres Fermin Alarcon (1), Kristian Roman Lopez (1)
  • Walks: Kristian Roman Lopez (24), Jackson Portik (18), Joseph Reyes (14), Juan Luis Rodriguez (14)
  • Stolen Bases: Juan Luis Rodriguez (38), Michael Dow (22), David Torres (17)
  • Wins: Joseph Reyes (6), Cole Mayer (5), David Torres (4)
  • ERA (min 12 innings): David Torres (2.12), Joseph Reyes (2.65), Colin Reynolds (4.77)
  • Strikeouts (Pitcher): David Torres (53), Cole Mayer (49), Joseph Reyes (28)

Piscataway:

  • Batting Average: Jason Mann (.444), Dominick Summonte (.423), Patrick Novak (.370)
  • RBI: Patrick Novak (15), Dominick Summonte (14), Kevin Kovach (13)
  • HR: Dominick Summonte (3), Jason Mann (1)
  • Walks: Kevin Kovach (20), Sumedh Shingala (12), Jason Mann (8)
  • Stolen Bases: Jason Mann (17), Bryce Payne (14), Dominick Summonte (7)
  • Wins: Sumedh Shingala (4), Jared Butler (3), Brady Gallogly (2)
  • ERA (min 12 innings): Brady Gallogly (2.51), Jared Butler (3.35), Sumedh Shingala (3.73)
  • Strikeouts (Pitcher): Sumedh Shingala (72), Jared Butler (46), Brady Gallogly (29)

TEAM NUMBERS:

Dunellen:

  • Runs Scored: 264
  • Runs Allowed: 138
  • Batting Average: .350
  • Home Runs: 2
  • Stolen bases: 124
  • ERA: 4.19

Piscataway:

  • Runs Scored: 133
  • Runs Allowed: 132
  • Batting Average: .291
  • Home Runs: 4
  • Stolen bases: 56
  • ERA: 4.59

PREVIOUS COVERAGE of the RAY CIPPERLY GMC INVITATIONAL

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge, Monroe and GMC stuck between turf and a rainy place on Jim Muldowney Championship; how did others handle it?

Sometimes, despite all the best planning and intentions, things just don’t work out.

All was right with the world when the Greater Middlesex Conference announced just a week ago that its baseball and softball tournament championship games would be held at Rutgers University, following in the footsteps of the NJSIAA, which announced in early January that the state baseball finals would be held at Bainton Field on RU’s Livingston Campus in Piscataway.

A week later, it may have just been too good to be true. But it’s not the GMC’s fault, or Rutgers.

Blame Mother Nature. As we know from this season, she can be fickle.

Big picture, many more people will have their Memorial Day Weekend plans ruined by the rain expected to come down this weekend.

But as far as high school sports in Central Jersey, he first victim was the GMC Softball final, scheduled to be held at Rutgers Wednesday evening. Thunderstorms in the forecast moved that game to Friday at 7 pm, but had to move it to a different venue.

Now, it’ll be Sayreville and St. Thomas Aquinas playing for the trophy at East Brunswick High School. That game will air live on the King James Radio Network with veteran broadcaster Korbid Thompson on the call.

The Somerset County Tournament baseball final also was scheduled for Wednesday at 6 pm at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater, but that was moved as well, to Friday at 4 pm, at the same location. You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, and also watch it on our YouTube channel, with coverage beginning at 3:40 pm.

The good news on both of those is, none of it will really have a huge impact on the state tournament – which begins next week – for the teams involved. Softball has no pitch count restrictions.

And while baseball does, anyone who needs four days’ rest for Immaculata will get it because the top-seeded Spartans will get five days off between the SCT final and their first game in the states, in the South A quarterfinals against either eight-seed Paul VI or nine-seed Donovan Catholic. And their SCT opponent, Watchung Hills, will open next Wednesday in the first round against 14-seed Elizabeth, giving them four days’ rest. That means everyone’s pitch count should reset to zero.

But for Old Bridge and Monroe, who are in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament title game, it’s a different story.

Initially, the plan was as it had always been: the semifinals and finals on back-to-back Saturdays at East Brunswick Magnet’s Ray Cipperly Field, a great natural grass surface that would make some minor league baseball teams jealous. (The late Ray Cipperly, the school’s one-time baseball coach and AD, created that field, and later became the Somerset Patriots’ first groundskeeper.) The rain date was to be Sunday, as always.

Then came the news last week that Rutgers would be hosting the baseball final, same day as previously scheduled, same time.

And as of Thursday evening, that game is still on. The GMC is going to wait as long as it can, we’re told, even until Saturday morning, before making a call on postponing it, which is the right call. If you can get it in Saturday, go for it. MAybe they can move it a bit earlier? Currently, the best chance looks like between noon and 4 pm.

The problem is, Sunday’s weather looks even worse. Rutgers has told the GMC Bainton Field wouldn’t be available Sunday. But even if the GMC hadn’t gone there, East Brunswick Magnet would still be soaked from all the rain to play a game there Sunday. Having it at another high school site on Memorial Day weekend, when everyone is away, would just be impossible from a logistics standpoint.

And don’t even think about moving it to the actual holiday on Monday, which may be the only decent day of the three-day weekend.

So, the GMC – if it reschedules – would move the finals to Saturday, May 30, which happens to be smack dab in the middle of the state sectionals, with Friday, May 29th – the day before – being the quarterfinal round, and Wednesday, June 3rd being the sectional semifinals.

But that’s going to leave both teams figuring out what to do with their pitching. Assuming the two starters this weekend would be Brady Meyer for the third-seeded Knights and Ben Faigin for the ninth-seeded Falcons, they will have to choose between starting them when they want in the state tournament – typically, but not always, top pitchers start in the second round, to line them up for a potential title game – or starting them in the GMC Tournament final, if indeed it gets moved to a week later.

It’s not an enviable position to be in, but it’s not without precedent. In fact, through 2018, that’s the way the tournament was set up, with the finals on a weekend during a break in state tournament play. The GMC went to the current format, moving everything a week later, in 2019, with the goal of ensuring divisional play could get wrapped up before the seeding meeting.

In 2018, South Plainfield – then led by head coach Anthony Guida – was a 14-seed and played in the first round of the GMC Tournament on Monday, May 14, then the quarters on Thursday, May 17, and the semifinals on Sunday, May 20. But the state tournament was scheduled to start on Monday, May 21. The Tigers beat AL Johnson in the first round of Central Jersey Group 2, then had a very good Governor Livingston team coming up – on the road – in the quarterfinals.

“I was talking to my pitching coach, Mike Battista,” Guida told Central Jersey Sports Radio Thursday night, “and he said ‘We have five more games in the state if we went all the way to the final, but we have one more game to win to be [GMC] Champions.”

But Guida added he had three legitimate starters that year, so it wasn’t that big an issue. “We knew that we wanted to put our best, Chris Shine, on the mound in the county final, knowing Amboy had two studs on the mound, too.”

“We made the decision to go for the county tournament win,” Guida said.

South Plainfield would fall on Thursday to the Highlanders in the quarterfinals, 11-2, before coming back Saturday – just two days later – to beat 12-seed Perth Amboy, 2-1 in 12 innings, to claim their first – and only – GMC Tournament title to date. Shine went 8 2/3 innings and scattered nine hits, allowing one earned run, with Billy Keane closing it out with 3 1/3 shutout innings.

The Panthers were in a similar boat, getting knocked out in the same round of the North 2, Group 4 section by Bayonne, 8-0, before falling to South Plainfield in the final.

Even three years later, St. Joseph-Metuchen was in a similar situation due to weather. The semifinals of the GMCT got moved to Monday, May 31, and the finals a week later to Sunday, June 6. The NJSIAA fifth-seeded Falcons had to open the state tournament on Friday, June 4 against fourth-seed Red Bank Catholic. But head coach Mike Murray says they “punted on RBC” figuring they had a better chance to win the county tournament, and saved their ace Andrew Goldan for the GMC final.

They would lose to the Caseys, 4-0, but the GMC second-seeded Falcons were 2-0 winners over five-seed South Brunswick, and the gamble paid off.

What’s interesting to note this year is that Monroe is a five-seed and Old Bridge the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, meaning they’re in the same half of the 16-team bracket. If they can both get past the first two rounds, they’ll play each other in the semifinals, and that would at least put them back on equal footing, pitching-wise. That is, if both coaches are thinking in a similar fashion.

Say the top starter for each team goes Wednesday in the CJ4 opening round, they could go up to 69 pitches and still be able to come back Saturday for the GMC final, and have 81 left in the tank. That could work. They’d also have three days off until the sectional semis, and could throw another 69 pitches then.

If the top-starter goes Friday in the state sectional quarters, they likely would have not pitched Wednesday either, although they could throw a maximum 49 pitches Wednesday, perhaps in relief, then have 101 for Saturday, but they’d be limited to 49 again the following Wednesday in the CJ4 semis, and wouldn’t be able to go in the county final.

Both teams have a legitimate shot at a state title, but to go back to Guida’s thinking, they still have to win three games to even get a crack at it, and nothing is a sure thing. What is a sure thing is that both teams can win a title with one win in the GMC final, whether it’s this Saturday or next.

Ultimately, Matt Donaghue of Old Bridge and Monroe’s Sean Field could have some tough decisions to make.

by Mike Pavlichko

Coaches announce GMC Baseball Senior All-Academic Team for 2026

The Greater Middlesex Conference Baseball Coaches Association has announced its senior All-Academic Team for 2026, honoring one student-athlete from 26 schools in the league.

The team honors “seniors who demonstrated hard work and determination throughout their four years on the diamond, and in the classroom.”

The All-Academic Team will be honored Saturday at the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament title game, scheduled for 2 pm at Rutgers University’s Bainton Field on the Livingston Campus in Piscataway.

That game will feature third-seed Old Bridge and nine-seed Monroe battling for the title. Old Bridge won it all in 2023, the year they also won the Central Jersey Group 4 title and advanced to the state Group 4 title game. Monroe’s last title came in 2015, when they beat Sayreville 1-0.

Here are the members of the GMC Baseball Senior All-Academic Team for 2026:

  • Carteret: Gatik Bhardwaj
  • Colonia: Dylan Chiera
  • Dunellen: Michael Dow
  • East Brunswick: Jaidon Coello
  • East Brunswick Magnet: Stephen Zappola
  • Edison: Robert Roma
  • Highland Park: Melissa Evans
  • JFK: Grant Lorentzen
  • JP Stevens: Sholak Patel
  • Metuchen: Sean Dereka
  • Middlesex: Dalton Michael
  • Monroe: Tyler Bacon
  • North Brunswick: Jairo Marte Reyes
  • North Plainfield: Mark Fultz
  • Old Bridge: Harold Denney III
  • Perth Amboy: Yerandy Guzman
  • Piscataway: Kevin Kovach
  • Sayreville: Aiden Cruz
  • South Amboy: Joseph Foreman
  • South Brunswick: Peyton Lynch
  • South Plainfield: Aidan Kaplan
  • South River: Brendan Lell
  • Spotswood: Michael Palumbo
  • St. Joseph: Kris Almanzar
  • St. Thomas Aquinas: Harrison Eng
  • Woodbridge: Gavin Slicner

Middlesex pitcher Chris Kozak (12) throws a pitch.
by Alec Crouthamel

Two-seed Middlesex shuts down seven-seed St. Thomas Aquinas 3-0, advances to GMC semifinals for second straight year

If you’ve seen Middlesex win one baseball game, you’ve likely seen a hundred of them.

The Blue Jays (20-2, 13-1) have a formula, and execute it well. A gem from one of their “bulldog” aces. Innings where they feed off of each other’s at-bats and stack up runs. Some clutch pinch hitting. And of course, timely defensive plays.

Second-seeded Middlesex got all of that in its 3-0 win over seventh-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament quarterfinals, moving onto the semifinals for the second straight year.

While the Blue Jays didn’t pile on as many station-to-station innings as they’re used to, a three-run fourth inning was all they needed with senior pitcher Chris Kozak on the bump.

He went the distance, throwing a complete-game shutout in 89 pitches, allowing just three hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

But the win didn’t come without some adversity. With their backs against the wall, the Trojans (10-13, 6-8) managed to load the bases with a single, walk, and single with one out in the top of the sixth inning, and the go-ahead run at the plate in starting pitcher Nikash Patel. For the second straight at-bat, Patel came out ambush-style and mashed the first pitch, but it sailed foul over the fence, just barely early on the breaking ball.

Two pitches later, Patel took another opportunity at a ball he liked. He grounded it hard towards senior shortstop Marcus Lavornia. Lavornia took a dive to his right, came up with the ball in his glove, and flipped it to second baseman Anthony Melchiorre.

With the echoing “Get rid of it!” from his coaching staff in the home dugout, Melchiorre fired a laser to first baseman Luke Jones, just barely beating Patel to the spot.

Inning over. No runs scored.

Kozak retired the side in order in 11 pitches the very next inning to end it.

The matchup began as a pitcher’s duel with neither side able to gain an offensive edge. The first 12 batters of the game were retired in order through the first two innings, and each team recorded their first hits of the game in the third inning, but nobody scored.

The opening stretch offered some impressive outfield defense as well, with the wind blowing out to left field on a cool, breezy afternoon at Mountainview Park. That included some catches on the run by Blue Jays centerfielder Dominic Long, and a diving grab by St. Thomas Aquinas left fielder Louie Scaff to end the first inning.

After Kozak worked a nifty pickoff move to retire courtesy runner Junior Perez in the top of the fourth, Middlesex’s offense got going in the bottom half.

Jones started it off with a one-out single, advancing to second on a passed ball. Designated hitter Sean Hughes flew out to left field to record the second out, but the Blue Jays worked some two-out magic.

Long drew a six-pitch walk to put runners on first and second, prompting a pitching change, as the Trojans replaced Patel with freshman third baseman Justin Monterosso. He walked Middlesex third baseman Diego Marcano on four pitches to load the bases to start his outing. Then, with Kozak at the plate, Jones scored on a spiked wild pitch that bounced high in the air to score the game’s first run.

Kozak helped his own cause by re-loading the bases with a five-pitch walk. Second-year skipper Blaze Iannetti then went to pinch-hitting extraordinaire Dalton Michael in a crucial spot.

Michael came out first-pitch swinging, and he lined a fastball into the left-center gap to score Long and Marcano.

St. Thomas Aquinas made another pitching change, inserting junior Chris Gutauskas, who induced an inning-ending groundout to get out of the jam.

The three-run frame was all the Blue Jays needed to come away victorious.

The Trojans did put up a fight in the sixth, but Kozak regained his composure with an easy-looking seventh inning. He threw over 15 pitches in just two innings, trusting his defense and inducing soft contact. He earned the win in his shutout performance.

Patel was given the loss in 3.2 innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs, with three strikeouts and two walks. Gutauskas retired all seven batters he faced in relief.

Middlesex advances to the championship tournament semifinals for the second straight year after doing so last year as the ten-seed.

The Blue Jays will face off against third-seeded Old Bridge — who outlasted six-seeded Woodbridge 1-0 in eight innings Wednesday — on Saturday at East Brunswick Magnet High School. Middlesex is looking for its first GMC Championship appearance since it won the title back in 2012.

Click below for postgame reaction from Middlesex head coach Blaze Iannetti and seniors Chris Kozak and Marcus Lavornia, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:


by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – GMC Tournament First Round: (1) Edison 10, (17) Piscataway Magnet 0

Top-seed Edison got two triples and four RBI’s from Sam Kentos, and a five-inning one-hitter and 14 strikeouts from Connor Muprhy, in a 10-0 win over 17th-seed Piscataway Magnet in the first round of the GMC Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals.

READ THE FULL GAME STORY HERE!

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko call all the play-by-play live from Edison High School on May 11, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

Baseball Power Points Analysis: With a week to go before cutoff, Old Bridge takes top spot from Edison; Middlesex, Ridge remain atop their sections; Immaculata, Rutgers Prep slip to two, but it’s close

Well, we’re down to the last six days before the NJSIAA cutoff in high school baseball.

That’s right, the 2026 season has flown by. The county tournaments are underway, and there is just one more week for teams to get in games to qualify for the state tournament.

Games played through this Saturday will count for playoff qualification, with the NJSIAA announcing the pairings on Tuesday, May 19, with brackets becoming official by noon the next day (in case of any discrepancies).

With that said, we’ll take one more detailed, section-by-section look at how the teams in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area are faring as we race to Saturday’s cutoff date.

Since only two games were played on Sunday, Mother’s Day – both in the Morris County Tournament semifinals, games postponed from Saturday due to rain – all games have been reported, and our analysis is based on power point standings as posted on NJ.com as of 8 pm on Sunday, May 10, 2026.

Click on the header for each section to see the official NJSIAA standings.

Central Jersey Group 4: For the first time in at least the last few weeks, there’s a new team atop the section. Old Bridge (13-8, 26.239 power points) surged in the past week, going 4-0 since our last update, and now the Knights top the section, but not by very much. They jumped Hunterdon Central, Hightstown, and the Eagles, but only lead the second-place Red Devils (11-99, 26.105) by .134 points. And even Edison (14-5, 25.959) is just .28 points behind Old Bridge. One thing that could help is the Eagles get 20-win Piscataway Magnet in the GMCT first round Monday, a win that will be worth 48 points – if they get it – and a net of 40, since it would drop their current lowest game, a loss to Columbia worth only eight. This one, we think, still is going to come right down to the wire, and is simply too close to call right now. The next CJSR-area team down the line is Monroe (8-12, 19.902), which has lost three straight since last week’s update, and fell two places to seventh. They have a slim margin – less than one full point – over both defending sectional champ and 8th-place Hillsborough (8-9, 19.657) as well as 9th-place Sayreville (9-10, 19.291). Like the race at the top, this one could go any which way, and could also come down to the wire. Of note: all those area teams remain alive in their county tournaments, so those could be some big wins, too. It’s also possible Marlboro (9-9, 18.811), Montgomery (8-11, 18.606, 11th) and maybe even South Brunswick (9-7, 18.499) could make a run at a top eight seed. The Vikings are just 1.158 points away. Just look at the Bombers, who pulled up from 15th place last week to ninth this week. Yes, it can be done, but it also can happen the other way. Franklin (5-7, 16.489) dropped from 8th (at 4-5 last week) to 14th this week, and that was with a 1-2 week. That’s not usually so disastrous, but this section is so tightly packed with seven eight teams jammed in a range of 20.086 to 18.223 power points. This could look entirely different by next Saturday. East Brunswick (6-12, 16.616) dropped from 12 to 15 this week, but they’re also more than two points ahead of the 17th-place team, Trenton (7-10, 14.3). They’re a bubble team for sure, but for now, they’re probably more than a 50-50 chance of making the field. North Brunswick (6-14, 13.797) is a bit of a longshot, then again, if they can go on a run in the GMC Invitational and win regular season games against Union and South Brunswick, they could make a big jump.

Central Jersey Group 2: Rumson-Fair Haven (17-3, 32.047) has taken over the top spot here from defending state Group 2 champion Governor Livingston (18-3, 30.247) despite neither team losing a single game in the past week; the Bulldogs went 3-0, the Highlanders 4-0. It’s just that Rumson’s wins were worth more. The highest area team here is South River (1605, 26.332), but the Rams – despite going 3-0 in the past week and increasing their power point average – fell one spot from fourth to fifth. They’re a shade over a full point behind A.L. Johnson (15-4, 27.38) for a top four finish. Arch-rival Spotswood (11-11, 22.075) had a 2-2 week and pulled up one spot to tenth, so they should squarely be in the playoffs. But a top eight finish isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, especially if they can make a run in the GMC Tournament, which would mean knocking off a good 12-win Metuchen team in the GMC Tournament first round on Monday. Ahead of them are Manasquan (10-7, 22.573, 9th) and Robbinsville (15-5, 23.328, 8th).

Central Jersey Group 1: The lead has gotten even larger for defending state Group 1 champion Middlesex (18-2, 30.832), which went 3-0 since our last update, with wins over GMC Red clubs St. Joseph-Metuchen and East Brunswick, and another over Rutgers Prep in a Somerset County crossover. Their closest competition is from Piscataway Magnet (20-1, 27.611), which is having a season for the ages, but will have top-seed Edison – and likely one of their aces, Connor Murphy – Monday afternoon in the GMC Tournament’s first round. A huge upset there could put them over the top (we’ll keep an eye out if it happens). The Raiders would have to make a big run and knock off some big teams this week, since they already have 20 wins, and four wins have already dropped off their total (only the highest 16 power point values count). However, to finish in the top two – which guarantees home field through at least the sectional semis – they may have to hold off teams behind them, including Point Pleasant Beach (12-4, 26.482) in third and Metuchen (14-5, 25.314), which has Spotswood Monday in the GMCT first round. The Bulldogs remain in fourth, and though they don’t have a huge lead over fifth-place Shore (14-5, 24.994) – just .32 points behind – it’s a long way back to sixth-place Dunellen (13-5, 19.226), so they likely only have to worry about the Blue Devils. The next area team here is Somerset Tech (9-7, 13.208), which fell one spot to 11th this week. They’ll be on the road in the first round, as will Manville (7-9, 12.37), which looks solidly in at 13th. South Amboy (8-8, 10.951) in 14th, however, is a bit more on the bubble; they’re around 1.9 points ahead of 17th place Bound Brook (2-11), but at this point, any win for the Crusaders would be huge, having only two wins; they have Dunellen and Henry Hudson this week. Highland Park (5-12, 9.607) currently occupies the 16th seed, just .594 points ahead of the Crusaders.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4: It’s still Ridge (13-6, 28.191) at the top, with a larger lead over second-place Bayonne (16-5, 26.718) than they had last week over Watchung Hills (11-5, 24.292), which is now down one spot to third. We think the Red Devils have a good shot at holding on to No. 1, but all of a sudden here’s JP Stevens (13-7) in fourth, climbing three spots from seventh after a 2-1 week. That’s how tightly a lot of the teams are packed. And there are three more teams at five, six and seven and very close to the Hawks, including Westfield (11-9, 23.467), Scotch Plains-Fanwood (11-8, 23.089) and Columbia (10-9, 23.056). So, JP is hardly assured of anything at the moment, with 1.236 points separating third from seventh place. The next area team is Bridgewater-Raritan (6-14, 19.963) in ninth, but they are not far behind Phillipsburg (10-6, 20.696) in tenth. The Panthers should have a shot at a top eight finish – and at least a first round home game. Woodbridge (11-7, 19.364) may also have a shot as well from their position in tenth. Piscataway (8-10, 14.159) is a bubble team but on the right side of it, and we think likely to make it in as well.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3: North Hunterdon (16-6, 29.912) and Chatham (14-5, 19.658) are neck-and-neck for the second seed, and then we have two nearly-neighboring towns back to back at four and five: North Plainfield (16-7, 23.147, 4th) and South Plainfield (11-10, 21.816, 5th). Either has a shot at a top four seed, which guarantees home field through at least the sectional quarterfinals, with Middletown North (10-8, 21.575, 6th) also in range. It might be a longer shot for the next two teams though. That’s Carteret (14-4, 20.197) in seventh – down three spots since last week – and Colonia (10-6, 19.843) in eighth, which did the opposite, and rose three spots, even though they went 1-1 since out last update. They may have to fend off some teams behind them to hand on to a top eight finish, though. There’s Somerville (9-11, 19.508) in ninth – up one spot from a week ago – followed by Millburn (7-12, 18.789) and Summit (7-11-1, 12.282), but likely not anyone else. JFK (6-14, 14.895) likely finishes in the bottom eight, sitting in 12th, down one from last week’s breakdown.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2: Caldwell (15-1, 30.833) remains the leader here over West Morris (14-5, 28.592), even though the margin has shrunk a bit. Bernards (12-6, 19.268) edged up from eleventh to ten; they’re the only team from the CJSR coverage area in this section. They might have a shot at a top eight seed, but likely have to jump Hackettstown (11-5-1, 20.965) and Parsippany Hills (10-9, 21.007).

Non-Public North A: Although they now have a win under their belt – a 7-1 victory over 0-16 Perth Amboy Magnet – the Timothy Christian/Roselle Catholic co-op (1-14, 7.242) still sits in last place, and we think it’s likely they will opt-out of this thing. Assuming no-one else does, they would get fourth-seed Seton Hall Prep, the No. 5 team in the state which nearly got a perfect game Saturday from Boston College commit J.J. Drennan in a 6-0 win over Columbia; instead he settled for just his second straight no-hitter. Put this in a category of one of those games that just shouldn’t happen.

Non-Public North B: Rutgers Prep (12-5, 24.058) had been in first for a while, with St. Mary-Rutherford right behind them but now they have overtaken the Argonauts, but not by much. St. Mary is 12-4 and has 24.49 power points, just .432 points ahead. This should come down to the wire, but they appear to be the only two teams duking it out for the top seed. Morristown-Beard (8-7, 18.823) and St. Thomas Aquinas (8-12, 18.761) are a good number of points back. The Trojans, however, may need a strong week to fend off fifth-place Morris Catholic (10-10, 16.963) and Montclair-Kimberley (5-14, 16.61). We say that about MKA, despite their record, because with just five wins, and still close to No. 4 in power point average, any win could be a huge jump – it would be a 20 percent increase in their win total. Gill St. Bernard’s (7-8, 15.428) currently sits in eighth place in what should be a ten team field, as Wardlaw-Hartridge didn’t field a team this year, and Golda Och (0-7) could opt out.

Non-Public South A: St. Augustine (17-4, 32.271) has pulled ahead of Immaculata (14-4, 31.008) for the overall top seed, and with the section so far-flung geographically, it would be a big difference if the Spartans had to make the long trip down to Richfield (about halfway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City) for a title game, as opposed to playing at home, at Diamond Nation in Flemington. But this race is far from settled, with just 1.263 points between them. Watch Red Bank Catholic (14-4, 28.362) in third as well. After that, it’s down to ninth for Pingry (8-9, 15.388), and then 11th (next to last) for defending GMC champion St. Joseph-Metuchen (5-14, 14.676).

by Mike Pavlichko

Kozak logs 200th career K as No. 2 Middlesex “steals” one at “home” from St. Joseph-Metuchen in 8-7 walkoff victory

Where to begin?

We could start at the beginning, when the first of multiple Middlesex errors in the field led, in part, to the second-ranked Blue Jays trailing 3-0 before ever stepping to the plate Thursday afternoon at Mountainview Park in Middlesex.

Or, we could talk about Middlesex chipping away with a run in the fourth, and a run in the fifth to cut a three-run deficit to two, sandwiched around senior Chris Kozak picking up the 200th strikeout of his four-year varsity career, ending the top of the fifth and stranding a Falcon on first.

What about St. Joe’s seemingly pulling away, breaking the game open in the sixth, scoring four runs on one hit, a hit batter, and four errors – including two on one play – to take a 7-2 lead?

Or the five runs Middlesex got in their half of the sixth to tie the game at seven, on just three hits and three walks?

In the end, it came down to the bottom of the seventh. With pinch-runner Lucas Blanco on third and Diego Marcano on second, with two outs after a sacrifice bunt by Nomar Almonte moved them over, and Kozak popped out to first, Daniel Ianiero came to the plate.

He took ball one, and Marcano got way off the bag at second. His decoy worked, drawing a throw from St. Joe’s catcher A.J. Huber. Blanco took off from third, beat the throw home, and sent Middlesex off with its 16th win of the year against just two losses.

Playing up and beating a Red Division team – albeit one now 5-13 – is what the committee will look at when the GMC seeds its county tournament this Friday. That, coupled with Edison’s 6-5 loss at Metuchen Monday – Edison is in the Red, Metuchen in the White with Middlesex – could give the Blue Jays an even stronger argument that they should be the No. 1 seed in the Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament.

Middlesex has one loss in the conference, to South Brunswick, while the Eagles’ league losses have come to Monroe, Woodbridge, St. Thomas Aquinas and now Metuchen. Still, Edison is the GMC Red Champion at 10-3, and there’s something to be said for that as well.

Friday could get interesting.

Joe’s got on the board first in this one, and it all started with leadoff hitter Nick Yacykewych, whose ground ball on a 3-1 pitch stayed in the infield, but the throw from third baseman Diego Marcano sailed into foul territory. He came home on single by Luke Palermo, who then got caught stealing, but the decoy allowed Davis Labno to score from third. Logan Ring doubled to drive in another run, and the Jays were down 3-0.

Middlesex senior Chris Kozak pitches against St. Joseph-Metuchen at Mountainview Park in Middlesex on May 4, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

They got on the board with a run in the third, when Daniel Ianiero walked, moved to second on a bad pickoff move, then scored on a single by Marcus Lavornia. They got another in the fourth, when Marcano led off with a double, and a Kozak bunt led to a throwing error by third baseman Owen Krulikowski, allowing Marcano to score, making it 3-2 Joe’s.

And things were relatively calm until the sixth inning, when the Falcons exploded for four runs. Palermo singled to lead it off. Luke Baranauskas reached on a dropped throw to first. Ring laid down a bunt and reached on an error, the second in the inning, scoring Palermo to make it 4-2. After Walter Christian walked to load the bases and AJ Huber struck out, Yacykewich got plunked on ball four to make it 5-2, driving in Baranauskas.

Then, when things seemingly couldn’t get any worse, Labno hit a ball to short that Marcus Lavornia booted. By the time he recovered, after Christian had scored, Lavornia threw home as Krulikowski was headed to the plate, but it sailed to the backstop. Now, the Jays were down 7-2.

But they weren’t done.

Luke Jones led off the sixth with an infield hit to short. Marcano singled and Almonte walked to load the bases with nobody out. After Kozak struck out, Daniel Ianiero walked in a run to cut the deficit to four. Lavornia did the same to make it 7-4. Almonte scored on a wild pitch to Dylan Ianiero, who then flew out to center, but the runner on third didn’t tag, leaving the bases loaded, down 7-5.

Then, Long hit a line drive ground ball to second that went off John Boyke’s glove and into right field, plating Daniel Ianiero and Lavornia, tying the game at seven. But Sean Hughes ended the inning with a little blooper to short.

Middlesex head coach Blaze Iannetti brought in Dalton Michael to pitch, but pulled him after a leadoff walk. Long came in from center to pitch, and got a pop up into foul territory, a K, and a fly out to right, with the final out coming as John Boyke was just 90 feet from home, advancing with a stolen base and wild pitch.

Then, Middlesex won it in the bottom of the inning on a daring decoy play Iannetti said he didn’t really want to show just yet. But when you need a win – and they got it – all bets are off, the bag of tricks has to be opened.

Long got the win in relief for the Jays, improving to 6-0 on the season, allowing just one base runner in his one inning of work. Labno, who also only worked the seventh, took the loss for St. Joseph.

Click below to watch Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with seniors Lucas Blanco and Chris Kozak, along with head coach Blaze Iannetti.