Tag: Immaculata

by Mike Pavlichko

State Playoff Preview: St. Joseph-Metuchen, Pingry, Gill to open NJSIAA play Tuesday

Hard to believe, but it’s already state tournament time in high school baseball.

The county tournaments are (mostly) done – with the GMC still to be decided this coming Saturday after rain throughout Memorial Day weekend – and everyone is set to begin sectional play in the NJSIAA tournament.

Over the next three days, we’ll take a look at each and every matchup involving Central Jersey Sports Radio teams, starting with the non-public schools, which open play on Tuesday, save for those that have first round byes and are awaiting their first opponent, including Immaculata and Rutgers Prep. St. Thomas Aquinas has a bye, bit already has their opponent determined.

We’ll have a look at Central Jersey Groups 1, 2 and 4 on Monday, and North Jersey, Section 2, Groups 2, 3 and 4 on Tuesday.

NON-PUBLIC NORTH B:

(10) Pope John (4-18) at (7) Gill St. Bernard’s (9-11), 4 pm Tuesday: Though Pope John has taken the last three meetings – with wins in 2019, 2021, and 2024 – that most recent win over Gill is far enough back not to matter. The Lions play a very difficult schedule, including four losses to the two teams that squared off in the Morris County Tournament final, with Mount Olive (now No. 13 in the state) knocking off the statewide No. 1 – and they still are – Delbarton. Both teams are hitting about the same, hovering around the .270 mark, but Pope John has given up more runs, with a team ERA of 7.35, while the Knights are under five. Junior Gavin Bucceri leads the team in hitting, at .379, while senior Jack Markovich is hitting .297 with three home runs. The teams have one common opponent in Pingry; Gill swept them in mid-April, getting a 13-2 and a12-8 win, while Pope John beat the Big Blue a month later, 11-7. The winner will head to Somerset to take on second-seed Rutgers Prep (16-6) in the sectional quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals: (6) Morris Catholic (13-10) at (3) St. Thomas Aquinas (12-14), Thursday (TBA): Just about any team that comes out of the GMC Red Division is probably stronger than their record would indicate. After all, look who’s in the GMC Tournament final: the second and fifth-place teams. And both Old Bridge and Monroe are quite deserving. In fact, their strength of schedule almost certainly was a factor in how high the Trojans were seeded. This will be the first meeting between the teams going back at least to 2008, the last year for which records are publicly available online. They do, however, have one common opponent. St. Thomas lost at home to Montville last Saturday, 12-4, while Morris Catholic beat them two weeks earlier, 8-6. But the Crusaders also lost a preliminary round Morris County Tournament game to a near-.500 Morris Hills team, 9-1, while Aquinas made it to the GMC Quarterfinals, beating South Brunswick 3-2 to get there, then falling to second-seed Middlesex, 3-0. With an up-and-down lineup led by Louis Rizzolo, hitting .373 and a couple others over .300, the Trojans likely look to Rizzolo on the mound in the opener: he’s 6-0 with a 0.98 ERA. A first round bye here means a lot, with Rizzolo starting a quarterfinal game, that would also line him up for a potential title game start.

(2) Rutgers Prep (16-6): The Argonauts have a first-round bye, and will open play Thursday against either seven-seed Gill St. Bernard’s or 10-seed Pope John.

NON-PUBLIC SOUTH A:

(11) St. Joseph-Metuchen (6-16) at (6) St. John Vianney (15-9), 3:45 pm Tuesday: It’s been a challenging season for the defending GMC Tournament Champion Falcons, to say the least. While they graduated a bunch, there’s still talent – and many league coaches will attest to this – but there’s also inexperience. Of their five wins, two came in a back-to-back sweep of East Brunswick in early April, then later in the month they put together a three-game win streak, with victories over Toms River East in the Autism Awareness Challenge, Woodbridge and St. Thomas Aquinas. The followed that up with an eight-game skid – though five of those games were decided by either one or two runs – before beating Freehold Boro, 11-1, to come into the state tournament on a positive note. Also on the plus side, Luke Baranauskas has been back in the lineup for a few games now, after missing the bulk of April; he’s the team’s top regular, hitting .409, while Logan Ring is hitting .352 with 17 RBIs, and Luke Palermo is right behind him with 16 – and it’s no surprise those are key returnees from last season, though they’re still only juniors. Regardless, beating Vianney will be a tough task, especially on the road, with a pitching staff allowing over five earned runs a game. This will be their first meeting since at least 2008. The winner got to third-seed Red Bank Catholic (17-7) Thursday in the quarterfinals; the Caseys have a first-round bye.

(10) Pingry (10-4) at (7) Notre Dame (13-10), 4 pm Tuesday: This will be the first meeting between the teams since 2016, so there’s no recent history here, either. Common opponent advantage goes to the Irish, who beat Gill St. Bernard’s 6-1 in the Autism Awareness Challenge, while the Big Blue were swept by Gill, 13-2 and 12-8, the week prior. Pingry has lost four of five coming in, with defeats at the hands of Pope John, Franklin, Hillsborough and Rutgers Prep, but they are coming in off a 6-4 victory over Oratory Prep, which is 10-4 just like Pingry. The Big Blue is hitting close to .300 (.299), with junior Langston McDonald (.380, 12 RBI) leading the way, while sophomore Andrew Crowley has a team-high 18 runs batted in, while hitting .338 on the year. Nearly every Pingry team has a tendency to be pesky and give opponents fits, and expect little different here in what could be a toss-up. The winner will take a long drive on Thursday to play in the quarterfinals at second-seed St. Augustine (19-6, #12 in NJ), which has a first-round bye.

(1) Immaculata (20-5): The Spartans – coming off a 1-0 loss in eight innings to Watchung Hills in the Somerset County Tournament final Friday afternoon – have a first-round bye and will open play Thursday at Diamond Nation in Flemington against either eight-seed Donovan Catholic (6-15) or nine-seed Paul VI (9-13).

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Somerset County Tournament Final: (2) Watchung Hills 1, (1) Immaculata 0 (8 inn.)

Second-seed Watchung Hills got a run in the top of the eighth and a complete game, three-hit shutout – all the way into extras – by sophomore Lucas Sheehan to beat top-seed and defending champion Immaculata, 1-0, in the 52nd Somerset County Tournament championship game.

It was the sixth title overall for the Hustlin’ Warriors, and first for head coach Joe Tremarco, now in his 11th season and 12th year as head coach.

Top-seed and defending Somerset County Tournament champion Immaculata rallied with three runs in the sixth to beat fifth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan, 7-6, in the SCT semifinals, sending the Spartans to the title game where they will try to become the first team to repeat since they did it in 2018 and 2019.

READ THE FULL GAME STORY HERE!

Click below to watch the full game as Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play live from TD Bank Park in Bridgewater on May 22, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

Tremarco’s steady hand guides Watchung Hills to promised land in SCT final at TD Bank Park

“We’re built to play.”

Those four words from Watchung Hills head coach Joseph Tremarco sum up perfectly his Hustlin’ Warriors.

The certainly came to play Friday night, as the second seed in the Somerset County Tournament, with a tall task at hand: beating not only the top-seed and defending champion Immaculata, but doing it with Ryan Auten on the mound for the Spartans.

Because, heck, all he’s doing next year is going to play in the ACC at Wake Forest.

But a funny thing happened as he and Warriors’ starter Lucas Sheehan – just a sophomore by the way – locked up in a pitchers’ duel.

GAME STORY: Watchung Hills takes down defending champ Immaculata, 1-0 in extras, to win first Somerset County title in 17 years behind Lucas Sheehan three-hitter

They made Auten work, and worked out several deep counts, eventually chasing him as the game went to extra innings, with two out in the eighth, already up 1-0.

Turns out that was all Hills would need.

And behind it all was Tremarco. He is never too up, never too down, and his team feeds off that. Even if they were very, very up when the final out was recorded, a force play at second base to end the game with Immaculata threatening.

While the win gave the Hustlin’ Warriors their sixth SCT championship overall – and first since 2009 – it was the very first for Tremarco, and well-deserved.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with Watchung Hills head coach Joseph Tremarco:

by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills takes down defending champ Immaculata, 1-0 in extras, to win first Somerset County title in 17 years behind Lucas Sheehan three-hitter

Without looking at who was even on the mound for Watchung Hills, the initial thought would be the edge to Immaculata, with perhaps the top pitcher in the county, Wake Forest-bound Ryan Auten on the mound, coming into the game with an ERA of just 0.83 on the season.

In the end, he only allowed just six hits and one earned run, but sophomore Lucas Sheehan of the Warriors did the senior one better.

Sheehan went the distance in an eight-inning game, allowing just three hits, shutting out the Spartans (19-8) en route to a 1-0 victory, and the Hustlin’ Warriors’ first title in the Somerset County Tournament since 2009.

A pitchers’ duel all the way, Watchung Hills (15-7) finally broke through in the top of the eighth in a game where each time had just a handful of real opportunities.

Pinch hitter David Begarney came in for eight hitter Bennett Dealaman and led off the top of the eighth with a single, with Dealaman re-entering to run the bases. But when James Esposito tried to bunt him over, the Immaculata infielders were right on top of it, and charging second baseman Luca Catanzerite snared it before it hit the ground for the first out. Jacob Jaconski struck out, and it looked like another scoreless inning was in the offing.

READ MORE: Tremarco’s steady hand guides Watchung Hills to promised land in SCT final at TD Bank Park

But Dealaman had reached third base with Jaconski at the plate; he stole second and when the throw bounced to the shortstop position off his leg, he took off for another base. Stef DeGeronimo singled to drive him in and give Hills a 1-0 lead. Rob Centamore reached on an infield hit, the last batter Auten could face with the pitch count. And his brother Bryson came in and got a strikeout to end the inning.

A baseball pitcher in a striped uniform preparing to throw a pitch, with a catcher in the background and various advertisements on the outfield wall.
Watchung Hills sophomore Lucas Sheehan works in the third inning of the Somerset County Tournament title game at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater on May 22, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

And with Sheehan back out for the eighth, Immaculata threatened to tie it. Jackson Lewis hit a one-out single, then Catanzerite grounded out, putting Lewis at second. Justin Labrador got plunked, but now the Warriors had a force at any base. And they took advantage when Owen Schilling grounded to short, and DeGeronimo tossed to second after bobbling the ball to get the force and end the game.

Sheehan got the win to improve to 6-2, the first sophomore to get a win in the SCT title game since Casey Cahill did it in 1998. Ryan Auten took his first loss of the year against six wins.

The championship is the first under head coach Joseph Tremarco, in his 12th year and 11th season as head coach. It’s the Warriors’ sixth overall, third most in SCT history, and first since they beat Montgomery – also as the two-seed – in 2009.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel with Watchung Hills’ Stef DeGeronimo, Brody Griffith and Lucas Sheehan, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

TD Bank Park in Bridgewater will host the 2026 Somerset County Tournament championship game tonight. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
by Mike Pavlichko

SCT Finals Preview: Immaculata seeks back-to-back titles, while Watchung Hills aims for first since 2009

Who will win the 2026 Somerset County Tournament baseball championship – two days later than originally scheduled, due to inclement weather – is anyone’s guess.

Sure, Immaculata, the top seed, is the favorite. They’ve won more titles than any other school in Somerset County history with 15, the bulk of them during an amazing run from the late 1990s through the 2000s.

But Watchung Hills, the second-seed, is quite the talented, resilient group, too. And they split with the Spartans in their two meetings this year, with the Warriors taking a 10-0 decision on the day of the seeding meeting, which likely helped propel them to the No. 2 seed, even though they were third in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division behind Ridge, which they lost to twice.

And the Hustlin’ Warriors proved the coaches in the seeding meeting right, knocking out third-seed Ridge in the semifinals Monday, with a 4-2 win, behind a two-hitter from ace Rob Centamore, who struck out a career-high 13 in the win.

Immaculata didn’t have an easy time in the semifinals either, needing three in the bottom of the sixth to pull out a 7-6 victory over the fifth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan.

And now, it’s time for the championship.  Once again, it’ll be No. 1 vs. No. 2

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT FINALS AT-A-GLANCE

Teams:
(1) Immaculata Spartans (19-4, 9-1, Skyland Conference Delaware Division Champions)
(2) Watchung Hills Warriors (14-7, 7-3, Skyland Conference Delaware Division, 2nd place)

Head Coaches:
Immaculata: Kevin Cust, 14th year, 13th season (187-142)
Watchung Hills: Joe Tremarco, 12th year, 11th season (168-146)

Probable Starters:
Immaculata: Ryan Auten (6-0, 0.83 ERA)
Watchung Hills: Nick Minetti (3-2, 3.82 ERA) or Lucas Sheehan (5-2, 5.96 ERA)

Date and Time: Friday, May 22, 4 pm (Pregame at 3:40 pm)
(Note: Game was postponed from Wednesday, due to thunderstorms in the forecast)
Location: TD Bank Park, Bridgewater
Listen: Central Jersey Sports Radio
Watch: CJSR’s YouTube channel
Announcers: Mike Pavlichko & Alec Crouthamel

PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:

Immaculata head coach Kevin Cust
Watchung Hills head coach Joseph Tremarco

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Immaculata:
Double-bye to quarterfinals
Quarterfinals: def. (8) Montgomery, 11-1
Semifinals: def. (5) Bridgewater-Raritan, 7-6

Ridge:
Double-bye to quarterfinals
Quarterfinals: def. (10) Franklin, 9-5
Semifinals: def. (3) Ridge, 4-2

TEAM LEADERS:

Immaculata:

  • Batting Average: Luca Catanzerite (.449); Owen Schilling (.394); Brian Cilento (.372)
  • RBI: Owen Schilling (19); Bryson Auten (15); Luca Catanzerite, Owen Rivenbark (14)
  • HR: Owen Schilling (3); Luca Catanzerite, Andrew Wheeler, Owen Rivenbark, Bryson Auten (1)
  • Walks: Justin Labrador (13); Owen Rivenbark (12)
  • Stolen Bases: Luca Catanzerite (16), Jackson Lewis (12)
  • Wins: Ryan Auten (6); Cole Raymond (5)
  • ERA (min 12 innings): Ryan Auten (0.83); Jackson Trego (2.33)
  • Strikeouts (Pitcher): Ryan Auten (85); Cole Raymond (40)

Watchung Hills:

  • Batting Average: Jacob Jaconski (.485); Rob Centamore (.353); Chris Dorsi (.341)
  • RBI: Max Payne (22); Rob Centamore (13); Jacob Jaconski (12)
  • HR: (Rob Centamore (3); Chris Dorsi, Max Payne (2)
  • Walks: Brody Griffith (11); Brady Simo, Jacob Jaconski Rob Centamore (8)
  • Stolen Bases: Landon Pudlak (14); Stefano DiGeronimo (11); Brody Griffith (10)
  • Wins: Rob Centamore (6); Lucas Sheehan (5)
  • ERA (min 12 innings): Jacob O’Sheal (1.11); Rob Centamore (1.26)
  • Strikeouts (Pitcher): Rob Centamore (54); Lucas Sheehan (24)

TEAM NUMBERS:

  • Runs Scored: Watchung Hills 139, Immaculata 134
  • Runs Allowed: Watchung Hills 110, Immaculata 61
  • Batting Average: Immaculata .324, Watchung Hills .317
  • Home Runs: Watchung Hills 8, Immaculata 7
  • Stolen bases: Watchung Hills 70, Immaculata 55
  • ERA: Immaculata 2.72, Watchung Hills 3.91

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

Immaculata

Watchung Hills

NOTES AND NUGGETS:

Among the winningest SCT programs…

Last year’s final was between the two teams that had won the most Somerset County titles: Immaculata and Ridge, combining for 14 and seven, respectively. This year, it’s between the Spartans and Watchung Hills, and the Warriors third on the all-time list with five championships.

Immaculata has won 15 times in 23 appearances, with ten of those coming in a 12-year span from 1998 to 2008, the most successful run in school history. They won from 1997 through 2002, again in 2004, and three more from 2006 through 2008. Watchung Hills

A little history between them…

These two teams have met twice before in the Somerset County Tournament, in back-to-back years: 1993 and 1994. And in both meetings, the lower seed won.

The Warriors were the third seed in 1993, and upset the top-seeded Spartans, 5-4. Starting pitcher Ben Matsil went the distance striking out the side in the seventh to secure the win, and the offense benefitted from nine walks in the first five innings, with four of those resulting in runs. Brett Chuffo’s two-run double in the fifth gave the Warriors a three-run lead, and some insurance they would need after Immaculata got two in the fifth on a pair of RBI singles.

With the seeds reversed in 1994, Immaculata returned the favor, winning 5-2. Spartans’ ace Jason Ryan was the star that night, giving up three hits and striking out 14, tying the record for strikeouts in an SCT title game. And it was a sloppy game on a night that was dry, but the field was wet from earlier rain, and each team scored two unearned runs in the contest. Immaculata became the sixth team in tournament history at that point, to lose in the final one year, then win it the next.

Also notable, the 1994 final was the first time in Somerset County Tournament history that the same starting pitchers rematched the following year: Ryan for Immaculata and Matsil for Watchung Hills.

’94 SCT meeting was overshadowed by another big game…

Surely, both of those games were huge to anyone who played in it, or had an interest in it, but it wasn’t the biggest game of the sports night by far. Just 30 miles away at Madison Square Garden was a pretty big hockey game: Game Seven of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers, the one Valeri Zelepukin of the Devils tied up at three with 7.7 seconds left in regulation, and which the Rangers won in overtime on Stephan Matteau’s goal.

Aces went in regular season meetings…

In the first regular season meeting between the teams, Watchung Hills took a 10-0 victory on the day of the SCT seeding meeting, propelling them to the second-seed over Ridge, the second-place team in the Delaware Division of the Skyland Conference. The Red Devils had been swept by the Spartans, and Hills had lost both meetings with Ridge, but that was Immaculatta’s only conference loss. Rob Centamore got the win for Hills, but a few days later, when ‘Lata’s ace Ryan Auten got the nod, they picked up a 6-0 win.

In eleven meetings since COVID, Watchung Hills has won eight meetings, all in regular season play, while the Spartans have won only three.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Immaculata (15-8):

  • 1981: Manville def. Immaculata, 4-1
  • 1984: Ridge def. Immaculata, 2-0
  • 1985: (2) Ridge def. (1) Immaculata, 5-0
  • 1991: (1) Immaculata def. North Plainfield, 11-3
  • 1993:  (3) Watchung Hills def. (1) Immaculata, 5-4
  • 1994: (3) Immaculata, def. (1) Watchung Hills, 5-2 
  • 1996: (6) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (1) Immaculata, 7-5
  • 1997:  (2) Immaculata def. (1) Bridgewater-Raritan, 2-0
  • 1998:  (3) Immaculata def. (1) Bridgewater-Raritan, 3-2
  • 1999:  (1) Immaculata def. (6) Hillsborough, 8-0
  • 2000:  (1) Immaculata def. (2) Ridge, 2-0
  • 2001:  (2) Immaculata def. (5) Montgomery, 6-1
  • 2002:  (1) Immaculata def. (2) Ridge, 10-0
  • 2004:  (3) Immaculata def. (1) Hillsborough, 1-0
  • 2005:  (2) Hillsborough, def. (1) Immaculata 5-1
  • 2006:  (1) Immaculata def. (7) Pingry, 8-0
  • 2007:  (1) Immaculata def. (3) Hillsborough, 12-11 (10 inn.)
  • 2008:  (1) Immaculata def. (2) Hillsborough, 9-1
  • 2010:  (2) Montgomery def. (1) Immaculata, 13-3 (ten-run rule)
  • 2013:  (6) Bernards def. (5) Immaculata, 6-5
  • 2018:  (3) Immaculata def. (9) Montgomery, 6-5
  • 2019:  (2) Immaculata def. (5) Ridge, 6-5 (12 inn.)
  • 2025: (1) Immaculata def. (2) Ridge, 3-0
Immaculata poses for a team photo after claiming its record 15th county championship in a 3-0 win over Ridge at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater on May 21, 2025. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)

Watchung Hills (5-5):

  • 1975: Watchung Hills def. Hillsborough, 6-4
  • 1976: Ridge def. Watchung Hills, 4-3 (10 inn.)
  • 1982: Watchung Hills def. Bridgewater-Raritan West, 15-0 (ten-run rule)
  • 1983: Watchung Hills def. Hillsborough, 2-0
  • 1992: (2) Somerville def. (1) Watchung Hills, 9-2
  • 1993: (3) Watchung Hills def. (1) Immaculata, 5-4
  • 1994: (3) Immaculata, def. (1) Watchung Hills, 5-2 
  • 2009: (2) Watchung Hills def. (9) Montgomery 4-0
  • 2015: (6) Hillsborough def. (9) Watchung Hills, 3-1 
  • 2016: (1) Montgomery def. (6) Watchung Hills, 2-1

The Last Time…

  • The top-seed won the SCT was in 2024, when Bridgewater-Raritan beat third-seed Ridge, 10-7.
  • The second-seed won the SCT was last year, when Immaculata knocked off top-seed Ridge, 1-0, in a battle of Skyland Conference Delaware Division co-champs.

by Mike Pavlichko

NJSIAA releases baseball brackets for state tournament; as expected, Old Bridge, Ridge, Middlesex, Immaculata gain top seeds

The NJSIAA has announced the brackets for the 2026 state high school baseball playoffs, with four Central Jersey Sports Radio-area teams gaining top-seeds.

GMC Tournament finalist Old Bridge will be the top seed in Central Jersey Group 4, while Ridge was slotted in at No. 1 in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4. GMC White Division champion Middlesex will be the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 1, and Somerset County Tournament finalist Immaculata got the top-seed in Non-Public South A.

Overall, 35 teams from the area qualified, and of those, 19 will be playing their first game – whether in the first round of sectionals or the quarterfinals – at home, with 16 starting out on the road.

The first round for non-public public schools will be next Tuesday, May 26, the day after Memorial Day. Wednesday, May 27, will be the opening round for public schools.

Brackets become official – pending any appeals or discrepancies – at noon on Wednesday, May 20th.

Central Jersey Group 4

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

Central Jersey Group 2

  • (16) Holmdel at (1) Rumson-Fair Haven
  • (9) Spotswood at (8) Allentown
  • (12) Raritan at (5) Delran
  • (13) Ocean Twp. at (4) Wall
  • (14) Bordentown at (3) Johnson
  • (11) Robbinsville at (6) South River
  • (10) Manasquan at (7) Point Pleasant Boro
  • (15) Cinnaminson at (2) Governor Livingston

Central Jersey Group 1

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

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4

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

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3

  • (16) Orange at (1) Chatham
  • (9) Middletown North at (8) Colonia
  • (12) Matawan at (5) North Plainfield
  • (13) JFK at (4) South Plainfield
  • (140 Rahway at (3) Cranford
  • (11) Summit at (6) Carteret
  • (10) Somerville at (7) Millburn
  • (15) Payne Tech at (2) North Hunterdon

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2

  • (16) Hillside at (1) Caldwell
  • (9) Parsippany Hills at (8) Hackettstown
  • (12) Passaic Valley at (5) Rutherford
  • (13) Shabazz at (4) Madison
  • (14) Voorhees at (3) West Morris
  • (11) Bernards at (6) Lyndhurst
  • (10) Becton at (7) Mendham
  • (15) Parsippany at (2) West Essex

Non-Public North A

  • As expected, Timothy Christian has opted out.

Non-Public North B

  • (9) Hawthorne Christian at (8) Montclair-Kimberley, winner at (1) St. Mary-Rutherford
  • Bye to Quarterfinals: (5) Morristown-Beard at (4) Newark Academy
  • (10) Pope John at (7) Gill St. Bernard’s, winner at (2) Rutgers Prep
  • Bye to Quarterfinals: (6) Morris Catholic at (3) St. Thomas Aquinas

Non-Public South A

  • (9) Donovan Catholic at (8) Paul VI, winner at (1) Immaculata
  • (12) Camden Catholic at (5) Christian Brothers, winner at at (4) Union Catholic
  • (11) St. Joseph-Metuchen at (6) St. John Vianney, winner at (3) Red Bank Cathlic
  • (10) Pingry at (7) Notre Dame, winner at (2) St. Augustine

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Somerset County Tournament Semifinals: (1) Immaculata 7, (5) Bridgewater-Raritan 6

Top-seed and defending Somerset County Tournament champion Immaculata rallied with three runs in the sixth to beat fifth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan, 7-6, in the SCT semifinals, sending the Spartans to the title game where they will try to become the first team to repeat since they did it in 2018 and 2019.

READ THE FULL GAME STORY HERE!

Click below to watch the full game as Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play live from TD Bank Park in Bridgewater on May 18, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

Three-run sixth powers top-seed Immaculata to 7-6 win in see-saw battle with Bridgewater-Raritan, sending Spartans to Wednesday’s SCT title game

It was one of those type of games that in football, you might say the last team to have the ball will win, or in basketball the team with the last shot will win.

In a back-and-forth second Somerset County Tournament semifinal of the day at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater – as heard and seen live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – top-seed Immaculata scored three runs in the sixth, then ended the game catching a Bridgewater-Raritan runner stealing, picking up a 7-6 win in the SCT semifinals, and sending the Spartans to the finals for a second year in a row, with a chance to defend their 2025 title.

The Spartans (19-4) will face second-seed Watchung Hills (14-7) Wednesday at 6 pm at TD Bank Park in the county final. You can hear that game live on cjsportsradio.com, or watch live on our YouTube channel.

The two teams split a pair in the regular season this year.

Immacualata got two on the board in the bottom of the first, when Luca Catanzaraite led off with a single and Justin Labrador followed with one of his own. Owen Schilling then hit a ground-rule double to make it 1-0, and Owen Rivenbark followed with a ground ball to short, driving in another run to make it 2-0 Spartans.

But the Panthers would tie it up with two in the top of the second. Kevin Kelly got aboard with a leadoff single, and Connor Price quickly knocked him in with an RBI double to cut the deficit to 2-1. Stephen Pikulin walked, and Josh Moore reached on an infield hit to load the bases; Rivenbark at third fielded it, and tried to tag Price heading to third, but missed, and his throw to first was late to catch Moore. Cody Rible, the nine hitter, then tied it at 2-2 with a fielder’s choice to short.

Immaculata would get the lead back in the bottom of the second, though. DH Bryson Auten singled to lead off the inning, and moved to second on a sac bunt to the third base side by Jackson Lewis. Catanzarite knocked him in with his second single of the afternoon, making it 3-2 Spartans, and that would be all for Bridgewater starter Gavin Butch, as head coach Max Newill brought in Nico Moore, who ended the inning, getting a fly out to right and a 4-3 groundout.

And then, it was Bridgewater’s turn for some more runs.

Andrew Schmeider started the rally with a single, then Michael Lobosco walked and Nick Spirra reached on a 6-4 fielder’s choice, but Kevin Kelly got plunked to load the bases with one out. After Connor Price struck out, Pikulin came up with the bases loaded, and roped a double to clear the bases, putting the Panthers up 5-3.

They had a chance for more after Josh Moore got hit by a pitch, putting runners at the corners with two out, but Raymond saw Moore breaking for second on a decoy for the runner at third. He tossed to first, Pikulin broke for home, and first baseman Andrew Wheeler threw home to Owen Schilling, who applied the tag for the final out of the inning.

No one would score again until the bottom of the fifth. Rivernbark struck a one-out double for Immaculata, then was brought in on an RBI single by Andrew Wheeler. Conor Quinn, though, grounded into a fielders’ choice to end the inning, but the Panther lead was cut to 5-4.

Bridgewater-Raritan would get its two-run lead back in the top of the sixth, when Kellan Komline worked a one-out walk, and was driven in by a Schmieder triple to the wall in left. But that was all they’d get, as Lobosco followed with a ground ball to first, reaching on a fielder’s choice as Wheeler threw home and Schilling got the tag down to get Schmeider. Spirra grounded to short to end the inning.

And then came the decisive bottom of the sixth. After Bryson Auten struck out to end the inning, nine-hitter Jackson Lewis singled, and Catanzerite reached on a sharp liner to third that went off Kevin Kelly’s leg. Justin Labrador then delivered a triple to the the gap in left center that went all the way to the wall, bringing in two to tie the game at six. Schilling then scored Labrador on a sac fly to right to take a 7-6 lead, before Rivernbark grounded to second to end the inning.

Still, it got tense in the seventh, with Immaculata holding a precarious one-run lead. Kelly struck out to start the inning, but Price singled to left center. Brandon DeMatos came in to pinch run, and stayed at first while Pikulin struck out. Then, on an 0-2 pitch to Josh Moore, DeMatos took off for second. But Schilling made a great throw to second, Catanzerite applied the tag, and the game was over, sending the Spartans back to the title game to defend their title.

Reliever Bryson Auten got the win for the Spartans, while Nico Moore took the loss. Auten went 3 1/3 innings, and allowed just two hits and one run, walking one and striking out three.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel with Immaculata head coach Kevin Cust, senior Owen Schilling and freshman Bryson Auten, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

County tournaments wreak havoc on Top Ten, but not at the top; Immaculata still reigns heading into SCT semis Monday

A week of relative stability in the Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball rankings was short-lived.

While Immaculata remained the No. 1 team this week, nearly everyone else shuffled around, much of it centered around upsets and surprises in the GMC Tournament, which saw top-seed Edison get knocked out in the quarterfinals, and second-seed Middlesex eliminated in the semifinals, with finalists Old Bridge and Monroe rising in the rankings.

Immaculata (18-4) was one of just two teams to have a perfect Week 7, going 4-0. They opened with a 17-3 win at DePaul on Tuesday, then won their opener in the Somerset County Tournament, beating eight-seed Montgomery 11-1 in six innings in the quarterfinals on Thursday. They then won two Skyland Conference games, beating Voorhees 8-0 on Friday, and winning 7-2 at Phillipsburg on Saturday. The Spartans will host five-seed Bridgewater Monday afternoon at 4 pm in the SCT semis at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater. Listen to the game here, or watch it on our YouTube channel.

Climbing from No. 6 to No. 2 is GMC Tournament finalist Old Bridge (17-8). The Knights may the hottest team in the area, having won eight straight, going 4-0 each of the past two weeks, and it even looks like it earned them a top seed in Central Jersey Group 4. (Brackets will be announced by the NJSIAA on Tuesday.) Old Bridge opened the week with a 1-0 win over 14-seed Sayreville in the GMCT first round on Monday. After a non-conference win over Manalapan, 12-3, on Tuesday, the Knights beat six-seed Woodbridge 1-0 in eight innings at home in the GMC quarterfinals on Wednesday, then knocked off No. 2 seed Middlesex, 9-3 in eight innings on Saturday afternoon in the semis. Old Bridge will face Monroe in the title game Saturday at 2 pm at Rutgers’ Bainton Field in Piscataway.

Watchung Hills (13-7) moves up from five to No. 4, going 2-2 in the past week. The Hustlin’ Warriors fell 9-2 at home to Holmdel on Wednesday, but won their Somerset County Tournament opener over ten-seed Franklin, 9-5, on Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals. They won 6-5 at Madison Friday, but fell at home to Livingston 5-4 on Saturday afternoon. Monday, they’re in the SCT semis at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater against third-seed Ridge. Listen to the game here, or watch it on our YouTube channel.

Ridge (14-8) holds at No. 4, after a 1-2 week, but they won the most important one. After a 6-3 loss at Seton Hall Prep on Monday, and a 7-4 home loss to Mendham on Tuesday, the Red Devils beat six-seed Hillsborough in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, 7-0, on Thursday afternoon. Ridge will seek a sixth straight trip to the SCT title game Monday when they play second-seed Watchung Hills in the semis at 1 pm. You can hear the game here, or watch it live on our YouTube channel.

At five, it’s Middlesex (20-3), down two spots after falling in the GMC Tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon, 9-3 to Old Bridge, a game in which they erased a 3-0 deficit over the final two innings, but saw the Knights explode for six in the top of the eighth. But the Blue Jays did go 2-1 last week, beating 12-seed South River Monday in the first round, 12-2, then seven-seed St. Thomas Aquinas in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, 3-0.

Edison (17-6) drops down from three to No. 6. The Eagles were 3-1 last week, opening on Monday with a 10-0 win over 17-seed Piscataway Magnet in the GMC Tournament’s first round. But they got knocked off by nine-seed and eventual finalist Monroe, falling 9-1 Wednesday afternoon. The Eagles rebounded, though, with a 5-2 win over South Brunswick on Thursday, and a 7-2 non-conference home win over Nottingham on Saturday.

Monroe (12-12) re-enters the rankings after a two-week hiatus at No. 6. The Falcons went 4-0 in the past week, starting with a win Monday at eight-seed Colonia, 9-2 in the GMC Tournament’s first round. Wednesday, in the quarters, they won at top-seed Edison, 9-1, then took a break with an 8-1 win over Manasquan at home on Thursday, before knocking off five-seed South Plainfield, 1-0, in Saturday’s GMCT semifinals. That puts Monroe in the championship game this Saturday at 2 pm at Rutgers’ Bainton Field in Piscataway.

Rutgers Prep (13-5) falls one spot to No. 8, after a 1-1 week. They beat eight-seed Newark Academy in the opening round of the Prep B Tournament on Wednesday, 6-1, sending them to the semifinals on Tuesday at 4 pm at home against Princeton Day. But they lost Thursday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, falling 10-5 in eight innings to fifth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan, which will face Immaculata in Monday’s second semifinal, with first pitch set for 4 pm.

Holding at No. 9 is South Plainfield (13-11), which had a 2-1 week, all in the GMC Tournament. They won their first-round game Monday, 2-1, over 12-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen, then topped four-seed Metuchen, 7-6, in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, before falling Saturday, 1-0, to nine-seed Monroe.

Dropping out is Metuchen (18-6), which had a 4-1 week, knocked out of the GMC Tournament in the quarterfinals by five-seed South Plainfield on Wednesday, 7-6.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving H.S. Baseball Top Ten for Week Seven:

by Mike Pavlichko

Throw out the records: Immaculata will need to get past tough Bridgewater-Raritan for chance to defend Somerset County title

It’s one of the oldest cliches in sports, but the reason it’s a cliche is because it’s true.

Throw out the records.

The entire Somerset County Tournament semifinals Monday afternoon at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater consists of Skyland Conference Delaware Division teams, ranging from first place to last. That’s how good the division is.

In the second game of Monday’s doubleheader, there’s the top seed Immaculata. At 18-4, the defending champion Spartans never lost back-to-back games the entire season, and have only one Skyland Conference loss on their resume, a 10-0 shutout at Watchung Hills on the night of the tournament seeding meeting.

On the other hand, there’s Bridgewater-Raritan. Last place finishers in the division, the fifth-seed is 10-4, and had not won more than two games in a row heading into the SCT. But they’ve won four since – two in the tournament, and two non-conference games.

Forget the first 20-plus games for either team. All that matters Monday is that a single win puts that team in Wednesday’s championship game.

Of course, we have you covered for Immaculata and Bridgewater-Raritan in the semifinals live on Central Jersey Sports Radio Monday afternoon. First pitch is set for 4 pm from TD Bank Park in Bridgewater, with pregame at 3:40, That will follow the opener at 1 pm (12:40 pregame) between second-seed Watchung Hills and third-seed Ridge.

Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel 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 second semifinal game of the day:

(1) Immaculata (18-4) vs. (5) Bridgewater-Raritan (10-14)
at TD Bank Park, Bridgewater
4 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio
Audio Stream: (LISTEN LIVE)
Video Stream: (WATCH LIVE)

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Immaculata: Cole Raymond (5-1, 2.36)
Bridgewater-Raritan: Gavin Butch (3-0, 2.13)

PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:

Immaculata head coach Kevin Cust with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko
Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Max Newill with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel

HOW THEY GOT HERE: As top four seeds, each team got a bye to the quarterfinals, which were held last Thursday afternoon.

Immaculata: The Spartans were 11-1 winners over eight-seed Montgomery in six innings in the quarterfinals, taking a 7-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, and putting up a four-spot to end it via the ten-run rule. Ryan Auten got the start, fanned 16 Cougars, and improved to 6-0 with the win, with a 0.83 ERA. Should Immaculata get to Wednesday’s title game, Auten would get the nod.

Bridgewater-Raritan: The Panthers, on the other hand, needed one extra inning to knock off the four-seed, Rutgers Prep, on the road, 10-5. Bridgewater trailed 4-0 after two innings, but sent it to extras at 5-5, with Josh Moore’s double in the eighth breaking the tie. This is the Panther’s fourth trip to the semifinals in the five SCTs since COVID.

TOP HITTERS:

Immaculata: It’s a mix of veterans and younger players for Immaculata throughout the lineup, and among their top hitters as well. Sophomore Luca Catanzerite is perhaps their biggest clutch hitter, also leading the team, batting .432 with 13 runs batted in. He also has a team-leading six doubles and two triples, along with one home run. Senior Owen Schilling is hitting a shade under .400 (at .397), and has a team-best 17 RBIs and three home runs.

Bridgewater-Raritan: The Panthers are only hitting .272 as a team, the only one of the four semifinalists in this year’s SCT hitting below .300 as a team. But at the top, it’s two juniors: Kevin Kelly is hitting .344 with 11 RBI, while Nick Spirra is batting .350 with 15 RBI and a team-high 24 singles. Two younger players are next: freshman Jon Cozine at .333, and freshman Cody Rible, hitting .316 on the year. He’s the younger brother of Cory Rible, BR’s lockdown closer from the 2024 team that won swept the Skyland Delaware, SCT, North 2, Group 4 and the state Group 4 title.

LAST FINALS BERTH:

Immaculata: A tradition-rich program that has the most titles in SCT history (15), the Spartans are the defending champs, beating Ridge in last year’s final. It was their first appearance since COVID, but they won the last two titles prior to the pandemic, in 2018 and 2019, the second of which is the last time a final has gone to extra innings; the second-seeded Spartans beat fifth-seed Ridge, 6-5 in 12 innings.

Bridgewater-Raritan: The Panthers last made it to the SCT final two seasons ago. They were the top-seed and beat third-seed Ridge 10-7 in the highest scoring regulation SCT final since 1986, when Bernards beat Somerville 14-10. They went on to win the North 2, Group 4 final, as well as the program’s first-ever state title, wining Group 4.

PAST COVERAGE:

Immaculata

Bridgewater-Raritan