Tag: Immaculata

by Mike Pavlichko

Unranked wins by Immaculata, St. Joseph-Metuchen jostle bottom half of Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Rankings

The top four teams didn’t move in the Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings, but the bottom half got shuffled this week after two wins by unranked teams over ranked opponents, namely Immaculata and St. Joseph-Metuchen.

The Spartans knocked off previous No. 6 Bound Brook Saturday, 75-53, while the Falcons stunned Rutgers Prep in Somerset, 73-61, behind 33 points from Josh Ingram.

These are the final rankings until the season is over.

St. Thomas Aquinas (20-2) remained No. 1 after a 1-1 week in which they beat Colonia, 49-48, for their second win over the Patriots this season. They lost Saturday to the Patrick School, 68-52.

Rutgers Prep (14-7) held at No. 2, dropping their only game of the week to St. Joe’s. The Argonauts are likely to earn the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament, which will be seeded tonight in Somerville. Central Jersey Sports Radio will have the seeds as soon as they come out.

Gill St. Bernard’s (15-5) had a 2-0 week, with wins out-of-league against Linden and Arts.

Colonia (16-6) held serve in fourth, despite the loss to Aquinas. The Patriots also beat Union Tuesday, but lost to Ewing Saturday.

The rest all moved around, starting with South Plainfield. The Tigers (19-3) moved up two spots to No. 5 on the strength of a 3-0 week, that included just one win over a GMC team, New Brunswick on Thursday, as well as victories over Rahway and Oratory Prep.

Ridge (15-4) checks in at No. 6 after a 2-0 week highlighted by a 66-53 win over previous No. 5 South River, handing the Rams (20-2) just their second loss of the season.

Immaculata (16-4, unranked last week) checks in seventh after a mammoth 75-53 win over Bound Brook on Saturday. The Spartans had a 3-0 week, also picking up wins over Pingry and Warren Hills.

North Brunswick (19-3) held in 8th on after a three-win week against the GMC, over Old Bridge, Woodbridge and North Plainfield.

South River (20-2) checks in at No. 9, dropping four spots after the loss to Ridge. They picked up league wins during the week over JFK and Carteret.

Tied for tenth are Bound Brook (16-3) and St. Joseph-Metuchen (12-8). The Crusaders had wins over Newark Vocational and Dayton before the loss to Immaculata, while the Falcons lost to Linden Tuesday in the Investors Bank Challenge at AL Johnson in Clark before knocking off Rutgers Prep.

Below are the full Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Rankings for Week 8:

by Mike Pavlichko

Aquinas continues winning, stays atop Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings

On the strength of a 3-0 week, St. Thomas Aquinas continues to hold the No. 1 ranking in the Bellamy & Son Paving Week 6 Boys’ Basketball Top Ten.

The Trojans (16-1) had a 2-0 week, beating St. Joseph-Metuchen Tuesday 66-62 on the road to clinch the GMC Red Division and likely the top seed in the upcoming GMC Tournament, as well as Miami Northwestern 78-59 in a showcase game.

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Gill St. Bernard’s (12-3) held at No. 2, with a 2-1 week that included divisional wins over Franklin and Hunterdon Central and a weekend loss to St. Benedict’s Prep. Rutgers Prep (11-6) inched up to third on a 3-1 week, with wins over Hunterdon Central, Saddle River Day and at Ranney, while losing to Manasquan Sunday 64-54.

The Knights and Argonauts will face off Tuesday night at 7 in Somerset in a game with Skyland Conference Delaware Division implications, but which also could determine the top seed in the upcoming Somerset County Tournament. Gill won their previous meeting on January 5 on a buzzer-beating corner three from Nick Losada.

Colonia (12-4) dropped a spot to fourth despite wins at JP Stevens and against South Brunswick, as the Patriots also lost to St. Joe’s 47-45.

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South River (14-1) and Bound Brook (12-1) had perfect weeks and held steady in fifth and sixth, respectively.

South Plainfield (13-2) nudged up two spots to seventh on a 3-0 week, with a non-conference win over New Providence, as well as divisional wins over Perth Amboy and Edison.

St. Joe’s (10-4) went 1-1 in divisional play against the two top teams in the GMC Red, splitting with Aquinas and Colonia, while also beating Roselle this past weekend in non-conference play, and moves up to No. 8.

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Ridge (11-3) drops to ninth after a 1-2 week that included losses to Immaculata and Phillipsburg, despite a win over North Brunswick (12-3), which dropped out of the rankings on a 2-1 week that included a loss to Ridge.

Immaculata (12-2) – tied for tenth last week with the Falcons – holds the spot all on their own, with a 3-0 week that included the win over Ridge, and victories over Watchung Hills and Koinonia.

Below are the full Week 6 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Top five hold, bottom five shuffle, plus one new team in Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings

There was no movement among the top five teams in the Week 6 Bellamy & Son Boys’ Basketball Top Ten, but plenty below them, and a new team in the fray as well.

St. Thomas Aquinas (13-1) held onto the top spot with a 2-0 week, while Gill St. Bernards (10-2) used a 3-0 week to stay put at No. 2.

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Colonia (10-3) held at third despite a 1-2 week, with one of those losses to top-ranked Aquinas, and the other an out-of-area loss to state-ranked Linden.

Rutgers Prep (8-5) holds in fourth after a 2-1 week, the loss coming out-of-area to state-ranked Seton Hall Prep., while South River holds at five despite suffering its first loss of the season, coming to Red Division opponent Piscataway.

Bound Brook (10-1) – which lost to the Rams a week ago – rebounded with a 3-0 week and climbs two spots to sixth, Ridge (10-1) also moved up two spots on a 3-0 week.

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North Brunswick (10-2) joins the rankings at No. 8 after beating South Plainfield (10-2) Saturday, dropping the Tigers to ninth.

St. Joseph-Metuchen (8-3) holds in tenth, tied with Immaculata (9-2), which went 1-2 this week, 1-1 in-league with a five-point loss at Hillsborough, while dropping a non-league game to Ranney.

Below are the complete Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Aquinas stays No. 1; Gill, South River move up in Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten

Despite a triple-overtime loss to state-ranked Camden Eastside in the Seagull Classic down the Shore on Sunday – its first defeat of the season – St. Thomas Aquinas remains Number One in the latest Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Rankings.

The Trojans are now 11-1, having rolled through Monroe, East Brunswick and Piscataway in GMC play, while also defeating Rosedale Christian in the Iverson Classic at Roselle Catholic on Thursday.

Moving up to No. 2 is Gill St. Bernard’s (7-2) after beating previous No. 2 Rutgers Prep (6-4) on a buzzer-beating three by Nick Losada last Thursday night. Colonia (9-1) moves up after going 3-0 last week, while the Argonauts drop to fourth.

READ MORE: Losada’s three as time expires powers No. 3 Gill St. Bernard’s past No. 2 Rutgers Prep

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South River – a week after knocking off St. Joseph-Metuchen – beat undefeated and previously-6th-ranked Bound Brook Saturday night, and moves up to No. 5 while unbeaten Immaculata (8-0) is up to sixth.

READ MORE: No. 10 South River frustrates No. 6 Bound Brook in unbeaten clash at GMC-Skyland Challenge

After losing to previously-unranked St. Joseph-Metuchen, South Plainfield (8-1) is seventh, with Bound Brook (7-1) falling to No. 8 after the loss to the Rams Saturday. Ridge (7-1) held in ninth, while St. Joe’s (6-2) climbs back in at No. 10. Watchung Hills (6-2) drops out from the No. 5 position.

Below are the full Week 4 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Hot heading into ’23: GMC and Somerset County boys’ teams hoping to keep it going in the New Year

The Christmas break and holiday tournaments are in the rear view mirror, and now it’s five weeks of crunch time in the regular season before the county and state playoff seeding meetings.

They come just about one right after the other, with the GMC seeding meeting on Friday, February 3, the SCT on Monday, the 6th, and the NJSIAA a week later on the 13th.

Everything starts a week earlier than usual this year, after the NJSIAA shortened the season (but allowed for unlimited four-game weeks to make up for it) and lopped off the Tournament of Champions so that the state finals now end Sunday, March 5th. (Last year, the TOC Finals were on March 20th.)

So it’s a bit more of a sprint this year; blink and you might miss it!

Here is a quick look at the boys teams in the area who are in great position heading into 2023:

GMC

  • St. Thomas Aquinas (7-0): The Trojans have only played three games against GMC competition so far this season, and none have been close: they’ve beaten JP Stevens, South Brunswick and Old Bridge in Red Division play by an average of 38 points per game. But their out-of-conference games haven’t been much closer. They beat Oratory before the holidays 66-34, then won all three games in the Husky Holiday Classic, topping Manalapan by 40 and Holdmdel by 27. Their closest game of the year brought home the trophy from Matawan, a see-saw battle with Seton Hall Prep that the Trojans won 52-44, getting eight fourth-quarter points from Kamal Lee in a matchup of top-15 state-ranked teams. (This week: Monroe Monday, at East Brunswick Tuesday, Rosedale Baptist (MD) Thursday, at Piscataway Saturday, Camden Eastside Sunday)
  • South Plainfield (6-0): The Tigers lead the GMC White Division with a 3-0 mark and wins over North Brunswick, Woodbridge and Edison. They swept the Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament over the holiday break with wins over the Eagles and Scotch Plains-Fanwood. Tuesday is a big test, playing up to the Red Division and struggling St. Joseph-Metuchen, which already has two GMC losses this season – to Colonia and South River. A win against the Falcons not only would be a resume-builder, but could leave the county tournament seeding committee with a lot of questions to wrangle with next month. (This week: at St. Joseph Tuesday, at North Plainfield Thursday, at Franklin Saturday)
  • South River (6-0): Brandon Walsh’s team is in a groove heading into 2023. We saw them fend off a tough Spotswood team on December 19th in what has turned out to be their closest game of the season so far, a 73-68 win. They even beat St. Joe’s by seven in a stunner the Monday after Christmas. (Read more by clicking here. And for more on the potential impact on the GMC Tournament seeding, click here.) This week’s schedule is kind to the Rams until they get to Saturday, and a matchup with so-far undefeated Bound Brook. (This week: at Wardlaw-Hartridge Monday, Middlesex Wednesday, at Bound Brook Saturday)
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  • North Brunswick (4-1): The Raiders are in fourth in the White Division at 1-1, but have won four straight since a 12-point opening night loss to South Plainfield at home. Alani Ajigbotosho has led the way in the early season averaging 18 points a game, and has seven steals to boot, with North Brunswick averaging nearly seven a game as a team. They have three below-.500 teams coming up after a trip to Perth Amboy Tuesday, and could very well by 8-1 heading into a potentially critical White Division home matchup with Woodbridge on January 10th. (This week: at Perth Amboy Tuesday, Edison Thursday, Sayreville Saturday)
  • Colonia (6-1): The Patriots may only be on a two-game winning streak, but they’re still one of just four GMC teams to have won six games before the New Year. Their only loss came to Westfield in the opener of the LeGrand Holiday Jubilee, and they also have a win over St. Joe’s – a triple overtime affair – 83-78. (Read more on that game by clicking here.) Freshman guard Aidan Derkack has added another dimension for Colonia, leading the team with 17 steals in seven games, while dishing out 24 assists. This week they get the bottom half of the GMC Red Division, and one more next week before a huge clash at St. Thomas Aquinas on Thursday, January 12th, which we’ll have live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. (This week: at Old Bridge Tuesday, East Brunswick Thursday, at Monroe Saturday)
  • Middlesex (5-1): The Blue Jays’ five-game win streak came to an end last week in the championship game of the Crusader Classic, losing at home team Bound Brook 60-57. Nothing to be embarrassed about there with the Crusaders still undefeated. (More on them in the next section. Defense has been the name of the game for Jared Goldstein’s squad, allowing an average of 31 points per game in their four GMC wins, while scoring 72 against Perth Amboy Magnet, and 91 at Wardlaw-Hartridge. They also had narrower wins by 11 over JFK, and by five over Carteret. Wednesday is a huge one at Blue Division-leader and undefeated South River. (This week: at South River Wednesday, Metuchen Friday, at South Hunterdon Saturday)
Follow Sportsplex at Metuchen on Instagram for the latest on open gym sessions on their courts and turf!

Somerset County

  • Immaculata (5-0): Two of the six teams in the Skyland Conference Raritan Division are undefeated, and three of the others are 4-1. The Spartans opened the season with wins over Conference foes Montgomery, Hunterdon Central and Ridge, then beat Piscataway of the GMC by five before coming back to Somerset County and handling Bridgewater-Raritan on the road, 76-53 last Thursday. Seniors Davis Adams (forward) and Sean Givens (guard) balance the high-low game with 19.2 and 19 points per game, respectively. Adams has notched double-doubles (points and rebounds) in all five games so far, scoring 20-plus points twice, including a near career-high 24 against Central. (This week: at Watchung Hills Tuesday, Phillipsburg Thursday, at Morristown Saturday)
  • Watchung Hills (5-0): The Warriors’ only divisional game so far was a 48-35 win over Montgomery in the Cougar/Warrior Classic on December 29th, and they jump right back in with a critical home matchup against Immaculata at 5:30 Tuesday evening. With the graduation of Elijah Lewis, Hills is much more balanced this year, with five players averaging 8.2 points per game or better, but none more than 11.4 per contest. That’s also a nice luxury to have. (This week: Immaculata Tuesday, Hillsborough Thursday, JP Stevens Saturday)
  • Hillsborough (4-1): Under second-year head coach Tim Palek, the Raiders are picking up where they left off in 2021-22, and after a two-point season-opening loss to Ridge, 55-53, take a four-game winning streak into Tuesday night’s game at Montgomery, which can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with pregame at 6:45 and tip-off at 7. (Click here to listen. For a preview of the game with Coach Palek, click here.) Hillsborough needs to not look past the Cougars (3-4) with a key game at Watchung Hills on Thursday night. (This week: Montgomery Tuesday, at Watchung Hills Thursday, Raritan Friday)
  • Bound Brook (5-0): Head coach Anthony Melesurgo doesn’t rebuild, he just reloads, having done nothing but win the last several seasons. In fact, going back to 2019-20, the Crusaders are a combined 66-10 over a span of four seasons, including an undefeated 14-0 mark in the COVID-shortened season, in which they won the Skyland Conference middle postseason pod. This year’s edition has only won one game “comfortably,” a 67-51 victory over South Hunterdon. They’ve won their other four games by an average of three points. Still, nobody asks how, just if. Jordan Summers has been lighting it up: the senior is averaging a whopping 29 points per game. Just try stopping him. And here’s a nice way to start the new year: three straight games in The Brook. (This week: North Hunterdon Tuesday, Voorhees Thursday, South River Saturday)
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  • Rutgers Prep (5-2): The record may not look “hot” with two losses in their last three games, but they both came to out-of-state opponents: in a regular season home game before Christmas to Devon Prep (PA) 74-70, and in the opening game of the Pete and Jameer Nelson Play-By-Play Classic against Cardinal O’Hara (PA) 73-53. They rebounded with a 69-55 win over Neumann Goretti (PA) on Friday. They’ve only played two Skyland opponents so far, edging Franklin on the road in the season opener 90-82, and beating Hunterdon Central a few days later 71-29. The Argonauts are off ’til Thursday, when they have a huge clash up in Gladstone against Gill St. Bernard’s at 7:00. (This week: at Gill St. Bernard’s Thursday, DePaul Saturday)
  • Gill St. Bernard’s (4-2): With a new look, and no household names – yet – Mergin Sina’s club may take some time to jell. But they’ve won both their Skyland games (over Bridgewater-Raritan by 26 and Franklin by 12) and have two tough losses: one to Ramapo by seven in the Jingle Bells Jubilee, and another today to St. Joe’s of Montvale. They get a conference tune-up before Thursday’s home clash with Prep – Hunterdon Central on Tuesday – as part of a four-game week to start 2023. (This week: at Hunterdon Central Tuesday, Rutgers Prep Thursday, at Christian Brothers Academy Saturday, at St. Augustine Sunday)
by Mike Pavlichko

South River cracks Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten after upset at St. Joe’s

St. Joe’s is out, South River is in.

The Rams’ win over the Falcons in Metuchen over the Christmas break has put them in the Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Week Three Top Ten, taking the tenth spot, while knocking out St. Joe’s, which suffered its second loss of the early season. South River is undefeated at 6-0.

That moved the five teams below the Falcons all up one notch this week, while the first four places remained the same.

St. Thomas Aquinas leads the pack at 7-0, followed by Rutgers Prep (5-2) and Gill St. Bernard’s (4-2). The Argonauts had a 2-1 break, while the Knights were 1-2, but all three losses came to out-of-area opponents, and only Gill suffered a loss to an in-state opponent. Colonia (6-1) held in fourth.

The next four teams are all unbeaten: Watchung Hills (5-0) in fifth, followed by Bound Brook (5-0), South Plainfield (6-0), and Immaculata (4-0), with Ridge (4-1) checking in ninth.

Below are the full Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Few changes in Week 2 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten

Immaculata is in, South Brunswick is out; but those are the only two changes in the Week 2 Bellamy & Son Paving rankings for boys’ basketball.

St. Thomas Aquinas (4-0) remains No. 1, followed by Rutgers Prep, which is 3-1 after suffering its first loss of the season to Devon Prep (PA).

Gill St. Bernard’s (3-0) holds in third, followed by Colonia (4-0) and St. Joseph-Metuchen (3-1), who the Patriots beat last Tuesday in triple overtime in Metuchen.

The bottom five have Watchung Hills (3-0) at six, followed by Bound Brook (3-0) and South Plainfield (4-0).

Unbeaten Immaculata takes South Brunswick’s spot at No. 9. The Spartans (3-0) beat Ridge last Tuesday night 80-73, while the Vikings (2-2) suffered back-to-back losses, albeit to two of the top teams in their GMC Red Division, St. Thomas Aquinas and Colonia.

Ridge (2-1) holds in tenth despite the loss to Immaculata.

Below are the full Week 2 Bellamy & Son Paving rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge is No. 1, the 2022 Team of the Year, in final Bellamy & Son Top Ten Rankings

Winning its first Somerset County Tournament Championship in over a decade helped propel the Ridge Red Devils to No. 1 in the inaugural Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten rankings on Central Jersey Sports Radio, and in the end, that’s where they finish – No. 1 in 2022 and the CJSR Team of the Year.

With more wins than all but one team in the CJSR coverage area, Ridge narrowly missed out on making the North 2, Group 4 title game, with a close, extra-inning loss to Woodbridge. Ridge finished the season 24-4, their most wins since picking up 22 in 2014.

Finishing second was North Brunswick. The Raiders knocked off then-No. 1 and top-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen in the GMC Tournament Final, winning their first title ever, and finished the year 22-10, with a loss to East Brunswick in the Central Jersey Group Four Finals. They were the lowest seed to win the GMC title since 14th-seed South Plainfield won it all in 2018, and second-lowest since JFK won in 2013.

North Brunswick with its 2022 GMC Tournament Championship trophy. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The full rankings follow, with more details on the rest of the teams below:

In third is St. Joseph, 22-9, and the GMC Red Division Champions. Dominant all year long against the rest of the league, they ran up against the juggernaut that is Zach Konstantinovsky in the GMC Tournament finals. Zack “K” held the Falcons to two runs on three hits, in a 4-2 win. With some arm trouble to top starters Donovan Zsak and Andrew Goldan down the stretch, Joe’s was eliminated in the semifinals of Non-Public South A by Christian Brothers Academy.

Fourth is Woodbridge, which set a program record for wins, finishing 25-7, and might be the best team in the area without a title on its resume. The gritty, never-say-die bunch finished second in the White Division to Middlesex, and were knocked out in the GMCT semifinals by St. Joe’s. They did, however, beat Ridge in a marathon 11-inning North 2, Group 4 playoff game, before losing 5-1 at Hunterdon Central to future MLB draft prospect Kyle McCoy. The Barrons graduate a handful of seniors and are expected to be another tough out next season.

Fifth is East Brunswick, which made it to the Central Jersey Group 4 title game, losing to eventual statewide group 4 winner Howell. The Bears had a deep pitching staff, and lost one of the more epic GMCT semifinals ever played, a 1-0, 12-inning affair against North Brunswick. They finished 17-13.

In sixth is Immaculata. The Spartans may have been only 14-13, but play in the tough Skyland Conference Delaware Division, which – top to bottom – may be the best in the CJSR coverage area, rivaling the GMC Red. Though the Spartans didn’t even make it to the Somerset County Finals, they did something no other Somerset County team did this year: make it to Bob DeMeo Field in Hamilton for the Group Finals. And they did it by knocking off top-seed Rutgers Prep in the Non-Public North B finals, 11-2, then rallying from a 7-0 deficit entering the bottom of the 6th to beat Gill St. Bernard’s for the sectional crown. Immaculata would, fall, however, to Ranney in the Non-Public Group B finals.

Seventh is Rutgers Prep, which finished 19-6, Valley Division Champions in the Skyland Conference, and made the finals of the Somerset County Tournament, falling to Ridge. Powered by – among others – a pair of freshmen in pitcher Zach Fronio and catcher Andrew Parisi, the Argonauts will continue to be contenders.

Middlesex comes in eighth, the GMC White Division champion at 23-6. The Blue Jays won two critical games against Woodbridge just before the county tournament seeding meeting to win the title in their first year up from the Blue, a significant feat. But in the tournament, they suffered a late collapse against North Brunswick in the quarterfinals, and were the victim of a controversial call on a play at the plate that killed their rally. And after beating Point Pleasant Beach in the Central Jersey Group 1 finals for each of the past three seasons, this time, the Garnet Gulls came through. Middlesex will be in reload mode next year, with a number of seniors graduating.

Checking in ninth is Pingry, which finished 23-2 and had a tremendous year in and out of its division, and won the Prep A Tournament Championship, defeating Hun. They were also Skyland Conference Mountain Division champs, with their two regular season losses coming to Delaware Division squads – Ridge and Somerville. Their only other defeat came in the state tournament, to St. John Vianney our of the Shore Conference.

In tenth is Monroe, which finished 16-11, and came in second in the GMC Red Division, behind St. Joe’s. They started hot, going 7-1 before dropping four-in-a-row mid-season, including two to St. Joseph, sandwiched in between losses to Somerville and Jackson Liberty. They then ran off another seven wins in eight games before getting knocked out of the GMC Tournament in the quarters by East Brunswick. Their season ended in the Central Jersey Group 4 semis with a loss to eventual state Group 4 champ Howell.

by Mike Pavlichko

Immaculata falls to Ranney, 10-1, in Non-Public B title game

In so many ways, it didn’t play out like many people thought.

There prevailing thought was their might be a lot of scoring in the Non-Public Group B title game, especially after a home run to lead off the game by Ranney pitcher A.J. Gracia. But even though Immaculata got a run back in the second when Spartans’ starter Josh Thompson came home on a wild pitch, the game was a pitchers’ duel headed into the sixth, with both starters going well, and the score still tied at one.

The thing was, both pitchers were nearing the standard 110 pitch limit. And all of a sudden Josh Thompson was in trouble, allowing a leadoff walk and a bloop single to Gracia and Brett Wehringer, then after a strikeout, and RBI infield hit by Jack Tallent to break the one-all tie. And that’s when the floodgates opened, and there was no going back.

After a groundout back to Thompson, Diego Tavarez knocked in two runs with a single to give Ranney a 4-1 lead.

Then in the sixth, Ranney got plenty of insurance, scoring six more runs in an inning that saw more walks (five) than hits (three). And the Panthers still left the bases loaded.

Final score: Ranney 10, Immaculata 1, to win the Non-Public Group B title, the Panthers’s first.

Thompson took the loss, while Gracia got the win. The loss ends Immaculata’s season at 14-13, but it was a highly successful year, as a four-game run through their playoff section – including a win over top-seed Rutgers Prep – culminated with a come-from-behind walkoff win against Gill St. Bernard’s last Friday in the North B final, 8-7, giving Immaculata its fifth sectional title in program history, which is what the season will most be remembered for.

Well, that and their turnaround from an 0-3 start, a season that didn’t see them string together more than three wins in a row until the playoffs, which they entered with a sub-.500 record, and came out on the other side with a trophy.

Click below for postgame reaction with starting pitcher Josh Thompson and head coach Kevin Cust:

Sophomore Josh Thompson
Immaculata’s Josh Thompson (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Head coach Kevin Cust