Tag: Matt Donaghue

by Mike Pavlichko

Well-balanced, battle-tested Old Bridge set for GMC final – whenever it is – seeking second title in three seasons

Note: Due to rain in the forecast, the GMC Championship game has been moved to Saturday, May 30 at 12 noon at Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School.

Look for one particular star, one who rises far above the talent of everyone else on the ballclub, and you won’t find one on the Old Bridge baseball team.

And that’s perfectly fine with head coach Matt Donaghue.

He’s had teams like that in the past, and those have been fine, too. They won the GMC in 2024 and Central Jersey Group 4 in 2023, with ace pitchers like Justin Hascup J.T. Meyer, and Frank Papeo, all of whom had ERAs under two.

But this year’s team is a different story. Any pitcher could win on any given day, and though they’re hitting just .278 as a team there’s balance top to bottom, and every grade seems to be participating, too.

Sophomore Matt Chin leads the lineup, hitting .429, with junior Jared Volpe at .317, and senior Chris Crosta at .293. Balance.

Next Saturday afternoon, May 30th – a week’s delay due to rain in the forecast for this Sunday – the third-seeded Knights will play nine-seed Monroe in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship game.

First pitch now is set for noon at East Brunswick Magnet School’s Ray Cipperly Field. That was the original site until about a week ago, when the GMC worked out a deal to move the finals to Rutgers, at last for one year. You’ll be able to hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe on the call. Listen at this link, or watch the game live on our YouTube channel.

Junior Brady Meyer is expected to get the start for Old Bridge, coming in at 3-1, with a 2.95 ERA. He got the start in the semifinals for the Knights, tossing 6 2/3 innings of six-hit ball, allowing two earned runs.

Old Bridge led 3-0 until the seventh, when Middlesex got three in the home half of the inning to send it to extras, only to see Old Bridge score six times in the top of the eighth to emerge with a 9-3 victory, and a ticket to the championship.

The Knights swept Monroe two games this year – getting a 9-5 home win April 23rd, and a 12-1 road win six days later. the first of those matchups was the one where Saturday’s original starting pitchers met, and neither had particularly great starts.

Meyer went 3 2/3, but threw 75 pitches, allowing just three hits and one earned run, but he walked six and struck out four, while Ben Faigin of Monroe went 2 2/3 and allowed four hits, six runs, five earned, walking three and striking out four.

But if the way they both pitched in the semis is any indication – Faigin threw seven one-hit, shutout innings in a 1-0 semifinal win over five-seed South Plainfield last weekend – this one will look a little different if they face each other again.

With the final moved, Old Bridge’s next game – after winning their ninth straight on Friday, a 1-0 Senior night victory over Sayreville – will be in the state tournament, where they open up Central Jersey Group 4 play Wednesday as the top-seed against 16th-seed East Brunswick, a team they swept in the regular season.

Click below to hear from Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue on the GMC title game with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

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

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

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

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

  

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

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

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

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

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

And then came the eighth.

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

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

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

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

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

by justinsontupe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Timely hitting, pitching, send Old Bridge past No. 7 South Plainfield, 9-3, and put Knights ahead of Tigers in GMC Red

Matt Chin and Adrian Lutomski each knocked in three runs and Erich Schikschneit pitched 4 2/3 solid innings in his first start of the season Thursday, as Old Bridge got past South Plainfield, 9-3, in a GMC Red Division game at Fred Cole Field heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

It was that mix of the big hit in the right spot – including a four-run fourth where the Knights batted around – and pitching out of jams that gave the Knights the win, moving them just ahead of South Plainfield in the division with three weeks to go before the GMC Tournament seeding meeting on May 8th.

There’s a lot of baseball to be played between now and then, but in the Red, every win counts, and this one was a big one to open a two-game set between the teams that will finish in South Plainfield Tuesday afternoon.

The first inning was a prime example of getting big pitches in big spots, as South Plainfield got runners on first and third with two out before Schikschneit got a ground ball to second to end the inning.

In the bottom, Old Bridge pounced. Chris Crosta led off with a single, Brady Meyer followed, and Chin drove in his first two runs with an RBI double down the left field line for a 2-0 lead.

The Tigers got one back in the bottom of the third on a groundout to second by Aiden McCarthy, scoring Dom Massaro to make it 2-1, but Old Bridge made it 3-1 during their turn at bat on a single by Chin.

Then, the Knights broke the game pen in the fourth, when they sent nine men to the plate.

Nick Natale hit a one-out single, Michael Chiarella did the same then Lutomski doubled down the left field line – just like Chin’s – to drive in both runs and make it 5-1 Knights. After a strikeout by Ryan Bannerman, Old Bridge added two more runs with two out. Crosta made it 6-1, scoring Lutomski with a triple, and Meyer knocked him in from third with a sac fly to right, giving Old Bridge a 6-1 lead.

South Plainfield got one back in the fifth on a single by Andrew Bena, who started the game on the mound for the Tigers but was lifted with two on and two out in the bottom of the fourth. But Old Bridge added two more in the bottom of the fifth, on back-t0-back sac flies by Lutomski and Bannerman.

The Tigers added one more in the top of the sixth, when Joe Stanzione scored from third on a 6-4-3 double-play ball hit by Gabe Garcia.

But all through the game, Schikschneit faced some tough situations and got out of them, stranding nine South Plainfield baserunners. Facing first and third with two out in the third he struck out eight-hitter Alex Pigna. And the rest? He made numerous Tiger hitters miss, chasing a wicked breaking ball.

Schikschneit got the win for Old Bridge (5-3 5-3 GMC Red) to improve to 2-1, while Bena took the loss for the Tigers (5-5, 5-4), falling to 1-1.

The win moved the Knights into second in the GMC Red Division by a half game over South Plainfield, tied with Monroe, both at 5-3 in Red play.

Click below for postgame reaction from Erich Schikschneit, Matt Chin and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

As GMC Red beats each other up, Old Bridge and South Plainfield tussle in Friday matchup at Fred Cole Field

With the exception of Edison – which is playing some excellent baseball right now – the entire Red Division in the Greater Middlesex Conference has been beating itself up.

After the first-place Eagles at 7-1, the next five games are no more than one or two games over or under .500 as we near the end of Week Three of the season. And the last two teams over .500 will meet Friday afternoon at Fred Cole Field off Route Nine, as Old Bridge entertains No. 7 South Plainfield.

You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 4 pm, with pregame set for 3:45. Mike Pavlichko has the call, and you can listen by clicking this link.

Old Bridge (4-3) took two losses to start the season to Edison, but is 4-1 since, their lone loss coming to St. Thomas Aquinas last Thursday, 3-2. But they split the series with the Trojans, picking up an 11-10 win in eleven innings last Friday, then won by the same score in East Brunswick on Tuesday in eight.

In fact, all but the Knights’ season opener have been decided by one or two runs, and they are 3-1 in one-run games, 2-1 in extra innings.

South Plainfield (5-4) had won three straight before a 7-5 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday. It’s been a series of streaks for the Tigers, who swept St. Joseph-Metuchen 11-1 and 6-2 to open the season, but they lost their next three: two to first place Edison, with a defeat at the hands of Cranford sandwiched in between.

They then swept Woodbridge and won the opener against St. Thomas at home before dropping Thursday’s matchup in North Edison, 7-5.

And all of that is just about what you expect in the GMC Red Division: quality teams, duking it out, all week long.

Click below to hear preview interviews with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko and both coaches:

South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus
Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue
Knights win at Rowan in The Battle at the Beach
by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge seeks first sectional title as Knights head down to deep South Jersey to face Washington Twp. in Central Jersey Group 5 final

The 2025 season has been an outstanding one for the Old Bridge football team, but the Knights still have one more big accomplishment on their list to achieve: their first-ever state titles.

Two prior Championship Weekend appearances – in 2001 and 2015 – bore no fruit, and this year’s berth will no doubt be quite the challenging one, but if any Old Bridge team could do it, it might be this one.

Defensively, they may give up some points, but boy can they score. Quarterback Brody Nugent has is a two-thousand yard passer and a thousand-yard rusher. Defensively, they have 23 takeaways – 12 picks and 11 recovered fumbles. And they’ve won a program record ten games.

All that has brought them to this weekend, the goal of every team when they first put the pads on in Week Zero: to play for a championship.

The Knights will get that opportunity Friday night way down in the far reaches of South Jersey – South of Philly even – when third-seeded Old Bridge (10-1) takes on top-seed Washington Twp. (11-0) down in Sewell, NJ, for the Central Jersey Group 5 championship.

The Minutemen are the No. 1 seed in Central 5 due to the NJSIAA’s seeding procedure, which no longer includes pre-set geographical sections.

And they are no joke. Senior QB Cole Aquino has thrown for just shy of 1,300 yards this season, with 19 touchdowns and just three picks. The defense has pitched five shutouts this season and held eight teams in the teens or better. And they are strong up front on both sides of the ball.

They Minutemen also are the defending champions, but it hasn’t been a particularly long run. They made it to Championship Weekend in 2023 as well, losing to juggernaut Toms River North, but before that had not been to the finals in 19 years.

Click below to listen to Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk about the Knights’ season and Friday’s Central Jersey Group 5 final at Washington Twp. with CJSR’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge wins 28-27 thriller in CJ5 semis at Sayreville on late TD catch by Alsbrook and PAT, to clinch first title game berth in a decade

It was September 1994 when Old Bridge High School officially opened its doors, a merger between Cedar Ridge and Madison Central. Seven years later, they made their first sectional title game, falling 10-7 to JP Stevens.

They’d go again in 2015, falling to South Brunswick.

For the first time, since they are back.

The third-seeded Knights (10-1) beat second-seed Sayreville (9-2) Friday night in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals, 28-27, to advance to the title game next week. They’ll visit top-seed Washington Twp, which is 11-0 after beating Rancocas Valley, 44-26, Friday evening at 6:00.

Sophomore wide receiver Amari Alsbrook had the game-tying touchdown with 1:33 remaining, and the PAT by Michael Firetto made the difference, giving Old Bridge a slim, one-point lead that would turn out to be all they needed.

The Knights led 14-7 at halftime, with senior QB Brody Nugent involved in both scores, the first a 12-yard run, the second, a 33-yard pass to Alsbrook for his first of two TD catches on the night. Those were sandwiched around a 22-yard TD run by Sayreville’s Shaun Jackson, and OB led 14-7 at the break.

Things were looking good when Chase Rizzo caught a 43-yard pass from Nugent to take a two-score lead at 21-7 in the third.

But that’s when Sayreville woke up.

They would score three straight touchdowns. Jackson had a four-yard run to cut it to 21-14. Then, in the fourth, Joseph Curbello picked off a Nugent pass and returned it 76 yards for a score, then Jackson scored from 37-yards out to give his team the lead. But it won only by six, 27-21, as the PAT failed.

Shaking it off, Nugent led the game-winning drive, eventually hitting Alsbrook for the second time, and getting Firetto’s extra point for the one-point lead.

Click below for postgame reaction from Amari Alsbrook, Justin Valinotti and head coach Matt Donaghue with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Marcus Borden:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge takes late lead, hangs on for 38-31 home win over Freehold Twp. in CJ5 1st round

The NJSIAA counts power points, and Strength Index, but luckily for Old Bridge, style points aren’t a thing, only the points on the scoreboard.

And that’s where the Knights were a winner Saturday evening, as third-seed Old Bridge topped sixth-seed Freehold Twp., 38-31, on a late Brody Nugent touchdown and a fumble recovery on the Patriots’ ensuing drive.

Nugent scored from 32 yards out with 6:32 to play to give his team a 38-31 lead. But a bad snap exactly a minute later on the clock went right over the Freehold quarterback’s head, and Justin Valinotti fell on it to give Old Bridge the ball back, allowing them to eventually ice the victory.

The win was Old Bridge’s first in the playoffs since 2017, when they beat Trenton in the opening round of Central Jersey Group 5.

Nugent got the Knights on the board first at 6:44 of the first quarter with a two-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0, and the period ended that way. But just 45 seconds into the second, Dakota Lasater ran in a score from a yard out, and a fake PAT netted two to make it 8-7 Patriots.

Lasater then gave Freehold Twp. a 14-7 lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Lorenzo just over three minutes before halftime to make it 14-7, Nugent tied it up at 14-all with a 19-yard run, but a 37-yard Freehold field goal with 1.2 ticks left before the break made it 17-14 at halftime.

After halftime, Michael Firetto hit from 28-yards out on a field goal to make it 17-all with 6:54 to go in the third, then Brody Nugent took back the lead with his third touchdown of the game, this one from 68-yards out, making it 24-17 with 4:58 to go in the third.

And after Xavier Diaz picked off a long Freehold pass downfield, Chase Rizzo scored from 61 yards out to give the Knights some breathing room: a 14-point lead with just under 14 minutes to go in the game.

That proved to be important, as Freehold Township would get the next two scores in a nine-second span of game action to even it at 31 late in the third, recovering an onside kick after Lasater hit Jake Schultzel for a TD. The two hooked up again for the second score right after.

But then Nugent took over, and his run from 32-yards out with 6:32 left gave Old Bridge a 38-31 lead, after which Justin Valinotti recovered a Freehold Twp. fumble with 5:40 to go. And yet, it still wasn’t over. Old Bridge failed to score, then Freehold did, too, and the Knights were able to run out the final 1:36 thanks to a big first down run from Nugent.

The win sends Old Bridge (9-1) to the semifinals of Central Jersey Group 5 next Friday at 6 pm at second-seed Sayreville (9-1), which beat seventh-seed Trenton 36-0 Friday night. Freehold Township’s season ends at 5-5.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden in Old Bridge, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Nugent carries Knights, gets Old Bridge 21-7 win over Cedar Creek in Battle at the Beach

Expectations around Old Bridge football this year are high, and maybe even higher for senior quarterback Brody Nugent.

Anyone who might have dared to question either of those statements probably has a stomach full of crow right about now. Nugent scored all three touchdowns Saturday afternoon in a 21-7 win over Cedar Creek on Day Three of the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Glassboro, and was named the game’s MVP.

Nugent opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run with 4:04 to go in the first quarter.

Old Bridge senior QB Brody Nugent holds the MVP belt, and gets the “Hat’s Off” honor from South Jersey sportswriter Mark Trible after a three-touchdown performance in a 21-7 win over Cedar Creek in the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Glassboro on August 30, 20205. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The Pirates tied it at seven in the second as quarterback Frenchmon Bethea hit Justus Payton from four yards out for a touchdown, but Nugent and Old Bridge answered right back with a 68-yard touchdown run.

A Knights’ interception by senior defensive back Xavier Diaz – his second of the game – four seconds before the half with Cedar Creek near midfield helped preserve the lead heading into the locker room.

Meanwhile, the Old Bridge defense played superbly. Sophomore DB Justin Burch grabbed another pick on Bethea. All that effort gave Nugent the chance to put the game away, which he did, with a 48-yard touchdown run with 3:04 to play that made it 21-7, the final.

Nugent finished just shy of 200 yards rushing in the game on just 15 carries.

Click below to watch postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Old Bridge senior quarterback Brody Nugent and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2025 Camp Caravan:  Old Bridge already focused on Cedar Creek in Battle at the Beach

The 2025 Camp Caravan resumed Wednesday for Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden with a trip to Old Bridge on Wednesday morning. And while preseason practice is meant to get ready for the year, the Knights are super focused on a very tough opening opponent: Cedar Creek in the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Week Zero.

Watch Borden’s full coverage below, including clips from camp, and interviews with head coach Matt Donaghue, as well as seniors Brody Nugent (QB), Jayden Endaz (RB/SS), Justin Valinotti (MLB) and Thomas Kasoff (LB).

Click below to watch Marcus Borden’s Camp Caravan visit to Old Bridge!