Tag: Matt Donaghue

by Mike Pavlichko

Oh, Penkala! Old Bridge walks it off after Hascup surprise relief appearance holds off Edison for 4-3 win in 8 to send Knights to CJ4 title tilt

Where do we start?

In the first inning of the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, third-seed Old Bridge decided it had to attack one of second-seed Old Bridge’s two aces in John Smith.

Little did they know they’d end up facing both in one game.

Edison got three runs right off the bat, swinging at first pitches, but Smith settled in, even as Old Bridge got two back in the fourth.

But in the fifth, Smith felt something in his arm after one out and a first pitch ball to Eagles’ shortstop Anthony Calantoni, and he had to come out of the game. Not wanting to save him for a title game that might not be otherwise, Knights’ head coach Matt Doanghue went to his other ace, Justin Hascup, who finished off a strikeout of Calantoni, then fanned Robert Roma to get out of the inning.

Old Bridge’s Justin Hascup pitches in the 6th inning against Edison in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals at Fred Cole Field on June 3, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Edison’s leadoff hitter Darren Tirado started the game getting hit by a pitch, then Calantoni singled, and a Rob Roma single scored Tirado. Calantoni came home on a wild pitch, and Rom scored from second after Murphy walked and Ray Tavarez hit a ball to first that Old Bridge’s Eric Shickschneit threw into center field trying to get a force at second.

Old Bridge had gotten within a run in the fourth on a two-RBI single by Noah Balbuena.

In the sixth, Old Bridge tied it. Chris Crosta led off with a triple, and was driven in two batters later by Shickschneit on a sac fly to center.

Hascup could have come back Thursday – if Old Bridge had won – had he stayed under 50 pitches, but there was no way he was leaving this game, even if he had to pitch through the 12th.

That wasn’t a far-fetched scenario. After splitting two regular season meetings, each team winning by four runs, Edison beat Old Bridge in the first round of the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament 2-1 in 12 innings, a four-hour affair.

But this would be over much more quickly.

After a scoreless seventh, Hascup got the Eagles 1-2-3 in the eighth, and had the two through four hitters due up.

Chris Crosta reached on an E4. Hascup walked. Edison decided to intentionally walk Shickschneit, not to get to the next batter, but to get a force at any base with no one out. On an 0-1 pitch, Akhil Penkala laced a single just inside the third base bag to score Crosta for a 4-3 win, and set off delirium in the Old Bridge dugout.

And on the other side, heartbreak for Edison, which lost 7-4 in the GMC final on a walk-off grand slam by St. Joseph’s JP Zayle in the seventh.

Old Bridge will host 9th-seed Hillsborough – a 10-0 winner in five innings over 12-seed Montgomery in the other CJ4 semifinal Tuesday – this Thursday in the title game at Fred Cole Field at 5 pm.

The win went to Hascup (7-2) in relief – who also logged his 200th career strikeout in the eighth – for Old Bridge (18-10), while Dom Innocenti (1-1) took the loss in relief for Edison, which fell to 17-11.

Click below for postgame reaction from Old Bridge’s Akhil Penkala, Justin Hascup and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge picks up signature win over state-ranked Seton Hall Prep, hands Pirates first loss

Playing in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division is tough enough – with the likes of St. Joseph, Monroe, Woodbridge, South Plainfield and more – but many teams still like to challenge themselves out of their conference.

Defending GMC Tournament champion Old Bridge did just that on Saturday, as the Knights – No. 8 in the Bellamy and Son Paving Top Ten – entertained Seton Hall Prep at Fred Cole Field.

The Pirates came into the game undefeated at 7-0, and ranked third in the NJ.com Top 20. But they headed back up Route Nine with their first loss of the season.

After taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first – only to see Seton Hall Prep get one back in the third and two more in the top of the sixth to tie it at 3-3 – Old Bridge went to work in the bottom of the inning, and scored six to come up with a 9-3 win that will make waves in the state rankings, and possibly the Bellamy & Son Paving rankings as well.

Reliever Brody Nugent got the win in relief, his first decision of the year, throwing an inning and two-thirds, getting the Knights out of the top of the sixth, keeping the score tied.

Akhil Penkala, Anthony Jannucci and Chris Crosta each drove in two runs for Old Bridge (7-4), which has now won three straight heading into a Tuesday meeting with Monroe, then a Thursday-Saturday home-and-home with first-place GMC Red Division foe Woodbridge (8-1).

The Barrons took their first loss Saturday, falling 7-3 to South Plainfield, but remain 2.5 games ahead of the Tigers and Knights, who are tied for second in the division at 5-3. Monroe is a game behind them at 4-4 in the Red.

Click below to hear Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about the win:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge earns split in split series with Edison, 6-2 behind solid start from Penkala

Old Bridge senior Akhil Penkala last took the mound for the Knights in his sophomore season, splitting a grand total of six innings over two games.

But you couldn’t tell as he worked into the seventh inning Tuesday of a GMC Red Division game at Edison.

While Penkala wasn’t overpowering, the righty went the longest he’s every gone on the mound at the varsity level. And while his team’s offense pieced together a run here, and a run there, he held Edison mostly at bay.

The Knights topped Edison 6-2 Wednesday in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 3-3 on the young season.

At the plate, senior John Smith drove in three runs, the first on a 4-3 double-play in the third, the other two with a one-out single in the fifth.

Smith hit a two-out double in the first, then scored on an RBI single by Erich Shikschneit, giving Old Bridge a 1-0 lead. They added a run in the third on that DP Smith hit into, but Edison got it back when Brody Ferrer – who lead off with a walk – was sacrificed home on a fly ball to left by Anthony Calantoni.

Old Bridge picked up another run in the fourth, when Anthony Jannucci led off with a double, then came in from third when Jared Volpe hit into a double play. Then, in the fifth, the Knights got two more to make it 5-1. Brody Nugent and Chris Crosta both got on via infield errors, then scored on a single by Smith.

The Knights got one more on the top of the seventh when Volpe hit a ball right through the third baseman’s legs into left field, scoring Shikschneit.

Then, in the bottom of the inning, Penkala came out to finish out, but only lasted two batters, after Dom Innocenti led off with a triple to left and Connor Murphy scored him with a double to left-center. That’s when Noah Balbuena came in and closed the deal, getting two fly ball outs, then after a single, got a fly out to center to end it.

Edison falls to 2-3 with the loss; freshman starter Brayden Roma took the defeat, but only allowing three earned runs. Penkala picked up the win.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen with Old Bridge pitcher Akhil Penkala and head coach Matt Donaghue:

by Mike Pavlichko

Edison vs. Old Bridge home-and-home finale moved to Wednesday due to rain in forecast

Starting the season 0-2 wasn’t ideal for the Edison baseball team, which dropped its first two games to last season’s GMC Red Division champions, South Plainfield.

But the Eagles bounced back Saturday evening, rallying from three runs down in the seventh against defending GMC Tournament champion Old Bridge, then scoring four in the eighth to go ahead.

Junior Robert Roma closed it out for Edison (1-3), which will look to pick up right where it left off when the two teams meet Wednesday afternoon at 4 pm on the Eagles’ red-and-gold field, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Pregame starts at 3:45 as Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen have the call; click here to listen.

The game was originally scheduled for Monday, but moved due to rain in the foreacast. Edison fell 2-1 to Monroe Tuesday in a regularly scheduled GMC Red Divsion affair.

Roma was supposed to go against Old Bridge (2-3), which planned to have its ace, Justin Hascup, on the mound as well. But both went Tuesday, instead, as Roma started against Monroe, and Hascup started what ended up a 4-3 loss to South Plainfield.

Instead, the Eagles will go with Roma’s younger brother, freshman Brayden Roma. Old Bridge has yet to announce a starter.

The Knights and Edison started out on opposite ends of the spectrum. While Edison dropped its first two before picking up a win, Old Bridge started 2-0, with a Red Division win against East Brunswick, then a 7-3 crossover victory against Spotswood. But they’ve lost their last three now, falling to the Bears 3-1 on the road before Saturday’s 10-6, eight-inning loss to the Eagles, and Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of the Tigers.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches ahead of Wednesday’s game. (Note: Both were recorded Sunday before the originally scheduled game):

Edison head coach Vinnie Abene
Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue
by Mike Pavlichko

Defending GMC Tourney champion Old Bridge looks for more in 2025, but will need to replace three key pitchers to top last season

Despite a GMC Tournament championship in 2024, the season didn’t end the way the Old Bridge baseball team would have liked.

Then again, whose does? Only a handful of teams – sometimes even fewer – win a sectional title, and even fewer go all the way like Bridgewater-Raritan did in 2014, sweeping their division, the SCT, their state section, and the group title.

But for the Knights, who won Central Jersey Group 4 in 2023 and went to the state finals in Hamilton, it was still a disappointing end.

All that said, Old Bridge will have some question marks when it comes to the 2025 season, which opens next Tuesday at 4 pm when the Knights host Red Division foe East Brunswick, against whom they’ve won three straight, two via shutout.

On the mound, Justin Hascup returns. The senior threw 57 2/3 innings last year, more than anyone on the staff, and he’ll anchor the crew again this season. But Justin Meyer, Frank Papeo and Luke Hagen are gone; they combined to throw 110 innings in 2024. Head coach Matt Donaghue says it will be tough to replace them, but is confident he has some arms.

He plans to have senior John Smith as his No. 2 starter behind Justin Hascup. Donaghue calls him a “high-end” pitcher, who only threw an inning last year, mainly playing shortstop. He has other guys who can throw strikes, and as Donaghue says, “that’s half the battle.”

Offensively, Donaghue also is excited about John Smith, who hit .412 last year and was tied with now-graduated Michael Altman for the team lead in RBIs with 17. Donaghue believes he’s the best all-around player in Middlesex County. Akhil Penkala – who hit a team best .443 last season – Justin Hascup and Akhil Penkala also will be top-of-the-order guys for the Knights.

Click below to hear Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk more about the upcoming 2025 season for the Knights with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge rallies in second half, Colonia ties it, but Knights prevail in wild double-OT affair

It was a tale of two halves Friday night on the blue turf at Colonia.

The Patriots looked in control after 24 minutes, taking a 14-2 lead in halftime. George Simpson’s 25-yard touchdown run and Julien Jones’s one-yard run for a score had Colonia ahead, but things turned in the second half.

Old Bridge scored three second-half touchdowns to take an eight-point lead, only to see Colonia force overtime on another score by Jones with 32 seconds remaining, plus the two-point conversion to tie it.

Ultimately, the Knights prevailed for a 36-29 win in double-overtime, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Colonia began OT on offense and scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Chiera, but the Knights answered on a ten-yard TD strike from Brody Nugent.

Old Bridge started on offense in the second overtime period, and got a one-yard run from Zahmir Evans. Colonia got close on their possession, but a fourth-down pass was broken up in the end zone to seal the win.

With the victory, Old Bridge improved to 6-3, and has now won five of six since starting the year 1-2, the only loss in that span coming out of conference to Morristown. The Knights could now get a first round home game if they finish in the top eight of the South 5 supersection this Cutoff Weekend.

Colonia drops to 4-5, but might still have a shot at the playoffs in North 4, where a win would have sealed the deal.

Click below for postgame reaction from Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue and junior quarterback Brody Nugent, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Nugent’s 3 TDs power Old Bridge past East Brunswick, 31-7, in Battle of Route 18

The games have been close recently, but this one was a dominant performance from Old Bridge.

The Knights set the tone early against East Brunswick in Friday night’s game at Vince Lombardi Field, with junior quarterback Brody Nugent rushing for one- and 47-yard touchdowns to give his team a 14-0 lead they would never relinquish, in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy and Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The Bears made it 14-7 on a 14-yard catch by Felix Munoz with 2:10 to go in the first quarter, but Old Bridge got it right back on a 21-yard run by Nugent with just under a minute to go in the period, then added a 30-yard field goal by Lucas Michael to make it 24-7 just before the half.

By this point, the Old Bridge lines on both sides of the ball were dominating play over a young EB line on both sides. They wore the Bears down, though they added just one second-half touchdown, a five-yard toss by Nugent to Jeremiah Dixon.

Nugent was the Old Bridge Offensive MVP, rushing for 117 yards unofficially on 10 carries, running for three touchdowns and passing for one more.

Senior defensive end Zahmir Evans was defensive MVP for the Knights. For the Bears, defensive end Noah DeJesus was defensive MVP; receiver Felix Munoz was the offensive MVP.

Old Bridge improves to 2-2 ahead of a trip to Morristown for a non-conference game next week, while East Brunswick drops to 1-4 and will visit Hunterdon Central next week.

The game was the 31st in the all-time series, which dates back to 1994, following the merger of Madison Central and Cedar Ridge. The Knights now lead 28-3, and have won the last 14.

Click below for postgame reaction with Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue and quarterback Brody Nugent, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge looks to continue domination in Battle of Route 18 vs. East Brunswick Friday

It may not be “the granddaddy of ’em all” like Carteret and Perth Amboy, whose Thanksgiving Day rivalry game – now played in the regular season – has been a fixture in those communities since 1927, but East Brunswick and Old Bridge are rivals in many sports, including football.

For the Knights, it has been almost entirely one-sided on the gridiron, and Old Bridge wants to keep it that way when the teams face off at Vince Lombardi Field on Friday at 6 pm, our “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving.

You can hear that game on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame starting at 5:45 pm. Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau will be on the call; click here to listen.

The two have played every year since 1994, when Madison Central and Cedar Ridge merged to form Old Bridge High School. And the Knights lead the series 27-3. East Brunswick has never won back to back games, and OB has won the last nine, with the Bears’ last victory coming in 2010.

But hold the phone: the closest East Brunswick came during that stretch was last year, a 30-28 loss, and four of the last five meetings have been decided by five points or less.

The Old Bridge offense is led by Brody Nugent, a junior in his second year as starting quarterback for third-year head coach Matt Donaghue. Nugent has rushed for 416 yards and seven touchdowns while throwing for 540 yards and another eight scores.

Defensively, senior lineman Zahmir Evans leads the team with 2 1/2 sacks and 15 tackles for loss, while junior defensive back Xavier Diaz has two interceptions.

The Knights come into the game at 2-2, their two losses coming by a total of three points, while East Brunswick is 1-3, and has failed to score in either of its first two road games.

Click below to hear Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk about the Knights and Friday’s “Battle of Route 18” matchup with East Brunswick:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge was young in ’23, now Knights hope the experience pays off heading into 2024

Many underclassman played key roles last year for the Old Bridge football team in all three phases of the game.

And it showed, as the team got off to an 0-4 start before going 4-2 the rest of the way. There was improvement, but it came a little too late for the Knights in 2023.

This year, they hope to build off that momentum – and all the knowledge gained – with a more senior-laden class.

Back is quarterback Brody Nugent, a sophomore who got thrown into the fire last year, and still threw for over 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns, though he’ll look to cut back on the picks, of which he threw nine last year. But it’s also worth nothing he only threw three in the last four games of the year.

Top runingback Stephen Davies (626 yards, 9 TD) is back for his senior year, and three of Nugent’s top four receiving targets also return.

On defense, senior Zahmir Evans (3 1/2 sacks,. 4 forced dumbles) returns, along with Xavier Diaz and Noah Rios, each of whom logged a pick last year.

Click below to hear from Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue and senior linebacker Tasye Walker at Big Central Conference Media Day:

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2024 GMC/BCC Camp Caravan: Old Bridge had youth in ’23, now it’s experience

It’s Day Two of high school football practice in New Jersey ahead of the 2024 season, and Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden continues to criss-cross the Central Jersey Sports Radio Coverage area on his 2024 GMC/Big Central Conference Camp Caravan with a visit to Old Bridge.

Watch Borden’s full coverage below, including clips from camp, and interviews with head coach Matt Donaghue, along with seniors Zahmir Evans (FB/DE), Noah Balbuena (G/DE), Munvy Francois (DB/Specialist) and junior Brody Nugent (QB/FS).

You can now watch all the 2024 Camp Caravan videos on YouTube by clicking this link!