North 2, Group 4 champion Bridgewater-Raritan clinched a berth in the state final for the first time ever with an 8-1 win over North 2 champion Livingston at home on Wednesday June 5, 2024. The Panthers will play Eastern – the South 4 champion – on Saturday, June 8 in Hamilton for the NJSIAA state Group 4 title.
Click below to listen to the full game broadcast, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call:
Bridgewater-Raritan East made a Group 3 final in 1971, and Bridgewater-Raritan West won a Group 2 title in 1989.
But for the first time since the 1992 merger of those two schools, the Panthers are headed to the state finals.
They are there because of solid pitching by Kellen Komline, who wasn’t overpowering, but stranded seven runners on base in the first four innings and pitched a 1-2-3 fifth, while his team built up a 7-0 lead over the first three.
They are there because of a lot of things, but also Matt Fattore’s two-run homer in the first that was part of a four-run inning that left Komline comfortable enough to pitch out of jams.
The end result was an 8-1 win over visiting Livingston to clinch a trip to the Group 4 finals.
Bridgewater-Raritan (29-3) will travel down to Bob DeMeo Field at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton Saturday night for the state Group 4 final at 7 pm against Eastern. The Vikings (25-6) beat Jackson Memorial 7-5 Wednesday in their Group 4 semifinal.
Fattore’s home run started things off in the first after Devin Goldberg flew out but Matthew Lehberger reached on a single. Komline hit a grounder to second that made it 3-0, and Frankie Verano drove in the fourth run with a double.
The Panthers got three more in the third on an RBI single by Verano and a two-RBI single by Joe Spirra.
Livingston got its only run in the fourth, on a pair of doubles. Alex Yang reached with one out, then Julian Schultz knocked him in.
But Bridgewater got it right back in the bottom of the inning. Goldberg reached on an infield hit, stole second on catchers’ indifference, then came home after he tried to steal third but the throw from catcher John Marco Maiello deflected off the third baseman’s glove to the vacant shortstop position.
Komline got the win to improve to 3-0. Mike Lentini pitched the last two innings to close it out. The loss went to Livingston’s Tyler Chen, who fell to 3-1.
Bridgewater improves to 29-3, while head coach Max Newill picked up a milestone win. He’s now 250-186 in his 17 seasons with the Panthers.
The winner will play Saturday at 7 pm at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton in the state Group 4 final, against the winner of Wednesday’s other Group 4 semi between Central champion Jackson Memorial (18-10) and South champion Eastern (24-6), which was eliminated last year in the semis by Old Bridge.
Click below for postgame reaction, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Bridgewater-Raritan carries the flag.
The Panthers are the lone remaining public school left from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area, and they’re just one win away from competing for the first time ever for a state title.
Wednesday afternoon, they’ll host Livingston in the Group 4 state semifinals, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, sponsored by Dr. Matthew Lanum of Softwave Tissue Regeneration Technologies. Game time is 4:00, with pregame starting at 3:40 pm, as Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel bring you all the play-by-play. Click here to listen.
Scroll through for a full preview, links to past coverage, interviews, stats, notes and more on Wednesday’s Group 4 semifinal.
GROUP 4 SEMIFINALS:
Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers
Livingston Lancers
Date and Time: Wednesday, June 5, 2024 – 4 pm
Location: Bridgewater, NJ
Coverage: Live broadcast on Central Jersey Sports Radio (Click here to listen!)
Head Coaches:
Bridgewater-Raritan: Max Newill, 17th season (249-186)
Livingston: Mickey Ennis, 7th season (115-70-1)
Pitching Probables:
Bridgewater-Raritan: Kellan Komline (3-0, 0.56 ERA)
Livingston: Tyler Chen (3-0, 2.24 ERA)
Previews:
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Bridgewater-Raritan (#1 seed, North 2, Group 4):
First Round: def. (16) Union, 3-0
Quarterfinals: def. (9) Edison, 3-0
Semifinals: def. (4) Westfield, 10-0 (5 inn.) (RECAP)
Finals: def. (7) Hunterdon Central, 2-0 (RECAP)
Livingston (#3 seed, North 1, Group 1):
First Round: def. (14) Columbia, 3-2
Quarterfinals: def. (6) Passaic Tech, 8-4
Semifinals: def. (2) Hackensack, 11-4
Finals: def. (4) Montclair, 4-3
What’s next? The winner will play Saturday at 7 pm at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton in the state Group 4 final, against the winner of Wednesday’s other Group 4 semi between Central champion Jackson Memorial (18-10) and South champion Eastern (24-6), which was eliminated last year in the semis by Old Bridge.
PLAYOFF STAT LEADERS:
Bridgewater-Raritan:
Batting Average – Matthew Fattore, Matt Cichocki (.625), Devin Goldberg, JR Rosado (.333)
RBIs: Matthew Fattore (5), Matt Cichocki (3)
HR: None
Stolen Bases: Matt Cichkocki, Devin Goldberg (4), Matthew Fattore, Matthew Lehberger (3)
Strikeouts (Pitching): Jack Lanum (5), Kellan Komline (4)
ERA: 0 runs allowed in 4 games
Livingston:
Batting Average: Massimo DePaola (.667, 2-for-3), Julian Schultz (.545), Jason Becker (.500)
RBIs: John Marco Maiello (4), Massimo DePaola, Julian Schultz, Tyler Chen (3)
HR: None
Stolen Bases: Julian Schultz (2, only player with a SB)
Strikeouts (Pitching): Tyler Chen (11), Adam Goldberg, Max Peri (3)
ERA: Max Peri (2.33), Tyler Chen (3)
THE LOWDOWN:
Bridgewater-Raritan has been amazingly consistent all season long. At 28-3, their losses have come to West Morris, Lawrence and Howell. Since a 3-2 loss to the Rebels – on the road, on May 6 – they have won 12 straight, their longest winning streak of the season.
They’re not the biggest hitting team, but more often than not, they get the hits at the right time. And if the offense isn’t putting up big numbers – like the ten they scored in an SCT finals win over Ridge, or again later in the sectional semis against Westfield – it’s the pitching that keeps them in it long enough for the bats to get the job done.
They also tend to do all the little things right, and have been excellent defensively, all year long. JR Rosado is particularly valuable behind the plate, blocking pitches that might get by other catchers. And he quickly gets to anything that gets by.
Matthew Fattore is the team’s leading hitter, at .439 on the year, with a team-leading 32 runs batted in.Two others have driven in 20 or more, including Rosado (with 24) and Matthew Lehberger (with 20), both of whom are juniors.
On the mound, it’s truly been a team effort. Owen Crimmins has been outstanding – even tossing a no-hitter against Montgomery in an 11-0, five-inning win in the SCT quarterfinals – along with Jack Lanum and Michael Taylor, while closer Cory Rible – working strictly out of the bullpen – has been phenomenal; Bridgewater has won all 16 games he’s pitched in. Kellan Komline (4-0, 0.66 ERA, best on the team) gets the nod here in the semis.
Livingston is coming off its second sectional title in three years. In 2022, they won the North 1, Group 4 title, beating Passaic Tech in the championship game, but losing to eventual Group 4 runner-up Hunterdon Central in the state final.
With a 22-7-1 record, its the most wins they’ve had under seventh-year head coach Mickey Ennis, eclipsing the 21 wins they had in 2022 and 2018. It’s also the second fewest losses they’ve had under his tenure, going 21-4 in ’18.
Junior Julian Schultz is hitting .405 on the year, with 25 RBIs; both lead the team. They’re not a long ball team either, with four different players each hitting one home run.
The Lancers are coming off an emotional win over Montclair in the sectional title game. In their first home sectional final since the 1976, they won 4-3 on a walk-off single by Massimo DePaola, who has been particularly hot of late, despite a season .231 batting average. But hey, it’s all about playing your best baseball in the postseason, and he and the Lancers are doing just that.
Max Peri came back from arm trouble to throw a solid outing against Montclair, and Wednesday the ball will go to junior Tyler Chen, who has solid control: 21 Ks to just five walks all season. But Ennis likes to have his pitchers go with a little more rest. Chen will be going on four days’ rest, after going the distance and throwing a season-high 107 pitches against Hackensack in an 11-4 sectional semifinal win back on Friday.
NEWS AND NOTES:
Championship History…
Bridgewater-Raritan – in its current configuration – has never reached the state final. In 1971, the very first year New Jersey played to group champions in baseball, Bridgewater East made the state Group 3 final, and lost to West Orange. Bridgewater West made the Group 2 final in 1989, and beat Rutherford for the title.
Livingston, meanwhile, has won both state title games they’ve played in. In that 1976 season – when they walked off Belleville to win the North 1, Group 4 title – they won the state championship by defeating Bridgeton. They won it again in 1980, taking out Steinert in the title game.
Nothing but zeroes…
Bridgewater-Raritan has yet to give up a run in four state tournament games, outscoring the opposition 18-0, with ten of those runs coming against Westfield in the sectional semifinals back on Friday.
That’s zero runs in 26 innings pitched The pitching hasn’t been overpowering – just 17 strikeouts to nine walks, but the staff has pitched to contact, and the defense makes plays.
Common Opponents…
There’s only one team both have played this year, and that’s Ramapo. The Panthers were 11-3 winners over the Raiders on the road back on April 27th, just a week after Livingston lost to Ramapo 4-0 at North Brunswick Community Park in the Autism Awareness Challenge.
One other note: Livingston did play South Plainfield this year, one of the three public schools from the CJSR coverage area that made sectional finals. They lost to the Tigers 3-1 on May fourth, the day after South Plainfield was awarded the top-seed in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament.
Recent Meetings…
These two teams haven’t met since at least before 2008, the most recent year for which results are readily available online.
Group 4 Championship History…
Livingston has won two state titles, both in Group 4, while Bridgewater-Raritan is seeking its first since the East-West merger in 1992.
Hillsborough won the Group 4 title in 2005, the only Somerset County team to do so since group champions were first crowned in 1971.
Hunterdon Central – the team the Panthers beat in the North 2, Group 4 final to get here – is the most recent Skyland Conference team to win a group 4 championship. The Red Devils have won it five times, including 1987, 2008, 2009, 2016, and 2018. No other Skyland team has won more state titles.
The Bridgewater-Raritan baseball team already has had a record-setting year. They’ve won 28 games so far, more than any other team in program history.
But there’s still more to go.
Three trophies will be added to the display case outside the Vaughn Stapleton Gymnasium when the infield dust settles: for winning the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, for winning the Somerset County Tournament, and for winning the NJSIAA’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 playoff section.
Next? They want one for a state championship.
But to get opportunity to play for one, the Panthers (28-3) will have to get by one more opponent. Wednesday afternoon, they’ll host the Livingston Lancers – who are 22-7-1 and won the North 1 title over Montclair in walkoff fashion Monday – in the state Group 4 semifinals. Game time is 4:00, and Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live play-by-play of the contest with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Pregame is at 3:40 pm; click here to listen.
The winner will play Saturday at 7 pm at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton in the state Group 4 final, against the winner of Wednesday’s other Group 4 semi between Central champion Jackson Memorial and South champion Eastern, which was eliminated last year in the semis by Old Bridge.
The Panthers continue to be a consistent ball club. They have been a state-ranked team much of the year, currently at No. 4, while they are ranked No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten, a perch they are unlikely to get knocked from regardless of the outcome Wednesday.
But the Panthers aren’t resting on their laurels. Last year, they were the top-seed in the county tournament, and got knocked out in the semifinals by eventual champion and 12-seed Rutgers Prep. they were the second-seed in North 2, Group 4, but lost in the finals to Bayonne.
The Panthers came back hungry, and so far, all they have done is eat, eat, eat.
Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Max Newill talk about the Panthers’ and Wednesday’s Group 4 semifinal game against Livingston:
With its second sectional title in three years, the Livingston baseball team still is looking for more.
The Lancers (22-7-1) are the North 1, Group 4 champ that will face North 2 winner Bridgewater-Raritan (28-3) Wednesday, with a trip to the state Group 4 title game on the line, and they got here in dramatic fashion.
Their opponent was Montclair. And it’s tough enough to beat a team three times in one season, as we see time and time again, but this was a fourth meeting between the schools, and everyone expected a war.
It’s what they got, with the final shot being delivered by Massimo DePaola, a game-winning walk-off single in the seventh. And it was exciting, too, for the Livingston fans, their first sectional title game at home since 1976, when they beat Belleville – ironically, on a walkoff.
Yes, that’s the team coming into Bridgewater Wednesday for a Group 4 semifinal game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with first pitch at 4 pm, and pregame set for 3:40 with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen.
DePaola doesn’t have the highest average on the team, but head coach Mickey Ennis, now in his seventh season as the Lancers’ head coach, says he has been hot lately, getting timely hits. While DePaolo is a senior, as is Ethan Zse, Ennis says the rest are underclassmen. “We thought we were a year away,” the skipper says.
Guess they were closer than they thought.
Click below to hear Livingston head coach Mickey Ennis talk about the Lancers’ season and Wednesday’s Group 4 semifinal matchup against Bridgewater-Raritan: