Tag: Matt Donaghue

by Mike Pavlichko

With pair of wins under their belt over Raiders, Old Bridge knows there’s no guarantee against North Brunswick in CJ4 title tilt

Yes, Old Bridge is the only team in the stacked GMC Red Division to beat every other team at least once.

And, yes, North Brunswick is one of the teams the Knights’ beat twice.

But you know how much that will mean Friday when top-seed Old Bridge (19-8) entertains second-seed North Brunswick (21-6) for the Central Jersey Group 4 title Friday at Fred Cole Field.

Zip. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.

But it should prove to be a classic, no matter what.

Try this on for size: After a 10-0 win in the first round over Long Branch, the Raiders have won the last two games on walk-off home runs, including a grand-slam by Justin Batts over South Brunswick, and a walk-off solo homer by Zack Konstantinovsky in the opening round.

But Old Bridge has yet to surrender a single run in three state tournament games. That includes a 3-0 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South, a 10-0 win over their South counterparts, and an 8-0 semifinal win over East Brunswick that saw an offensive explosion break open a tight game in the sixth, capped by Kyle McSorley’s bomb of a three-run home run. It was his sixth of the year on a team that has hit eight.

Like North Brunswick – which could go with Kyle Anderson or Alejandro Jabar in the final – Old Bridge has options, too, with nothing yet decided. It could be Justin “J.T.” Meyer, or it could be Justin Hascup, and some of the decision could come down to the desire to have Meyer’s glove in the outfield against a North Brunswick lineup that uses the entire yard, and then some.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Old Bridge head coach matt Donaghue about the Central Jersey Group 4 title game matchup with North Brunswick:

by Mike Pavlichko

Papeo, Meyer shut down East Brunswick, as McSorley’s blast and Old Bridge bats send Knights to CJ4 final

Frank Papeo threw five scoreless innings, then Justin Meyer came in from right field to handle the last two innings, as top-seed Old Bridge blanked fifth-seed East Brunswick Tuesday, 8-0, in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, sending the Knights to a title game for the first time since 2019.

Old Bridge (19-8) will host second-seed North Brunswick (21-6) for the CJ4 title Friday at 4 pm at Fred Cole Field. The Knights won both meetings with the Raiders this season.

Old Bridge chipped away early at East Brunswick starter Dustin McGuinness.

The first run came in the second. Justin Hascup hit a one-out double, then Evan Smith hit a grounder to the left side of the infield that Jack Gerould cut off. He got Smith at first, but when Hascup treid to go to third, first baseman Jack Ryan fired across the diamond high. The ball went up the line, and Hascup beat a high throw to the plate from left fielder John Oranchak to make it 1-0.

In the third, John Smith led off with a walk, and after a sac bunt put him in scoring position, and a fly out to center, Mike Villani tripled to drive in Smith, then scored himself on a single by Old Bridge starting pitcher Frank Papeo.

Though Old Bridge wouldn’t score again until the top of the sixth, the turning point may have come in the top of the fourth. With one out and two-on, McGuiness was called out looking on strikes, but was tossed from the game for arguing with the home plate umpire. When head coach Chris Kenney came out to argue, he was likewise ejected.

That left Joe Ditzel – who pitched very well in a quarterfinal win over Manalapan last week – to relieve McGuinness. After a 1-2-3 fourth, he gave up a walk and single to start the fifth, but got out of it without any damage being done.

The damage would come in the sixth inning.

Shawn Bogda singled, and after a pop up bunt was caught, Adam Scire walked, and Bogda advanced to third on a wild pitch thrown to pinch-hitter Akhil Penkala. But on a pickoff attempt at first, Bogda got caught trying to score, and Scire moved to second. Penkala walked, and so did John Smith to load the bases.

Thomas Papeo drove in two of those runs with a single to make it 5-0, and then came the bomb: a three-run blast to right center field by Kyle McSorely to make it 8-0.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Old Bridge’s Thomas and Frank Papeo
Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue
by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge has had big wins, but knows much more work is to be done to bring home the crown in GMCT

The Old Bridge baseball team has some pretty big wins on its resume.

They’re one of few teams to win a game that North Brunswick ace Zach Konstantinovsky started. That’s happened only twice in his last two seasons, and the one time this year was a lightning-delayed, 10-inning game in which he was no longer a factor.

They are the only team in the GMC Tournament’s top four seeds – the top four teams in the Red Divsion – to have beaten all of the other three teams at least once.

And they knocked off statewide No. 1 Red Bank Catholic by a 2-1 score on April 23rd in the Autism Awareness Challenge.

But with apologies to Sir Duke and Ella, Knights’ head coach Matt Donaghue says “It don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that ring.”

We’re paraphrasing of course, but Donaghue knows the real goal is the GMC Tournament title. The next step is to get to the Final Four, and to do that, his second-seeded Old Bridge team first has to get by 7-seed South Plainfield in the quarterfinals Wednesday evening at North Brunswick Community Park.

Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino will broadcast the game live as part of Central Jersey Sports Radio’s doubleheader coverage, presented by Auto Lounge of Edison. Game time is 7 pm; Click here to listen live.

The ball tonight – under the lights – will go to a young sophomore named Justin Hascup. Donaghue calls him a competitor who doesn’t back down, a “bulldog.” He’s put his faith in him.

Hascup has given him good reason to, with a 1.87 ERA in 30 innings pitched, and a record of 5-0. But perhaps more importantly, he’s beaten South Plainfield this year.

In a GMC Red Division game on April 27th – less than two weeks ago – the Knights beat the Tigers 8-3 on a strong start from Hascup, who went 6 1/3 innings, and gave up just two earned runs.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko with Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue on the Knights’ season, and what’s left to be done.

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge puts some early distance between themselves and rest of GMC Red field with extra-inning, lightning-delayed win over North Brunswick

Old Bridge and North Brunswick were locked in a good, old-fashioned pitchers’ duel Saturday at Fred Cole Field, the kind of battle that looks like it’ll be par for the course in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division this year.

With the Knights (6-1) leading 2-1 after six innings of play, the visitors tied it up when E.J. Accetura scored on throwing error when Josh Rodriguez hit a ball in the hole to the right side of the infield.

No one would break through until the tenth when Thomas Papeo reached on hard-hit ball to third and a throwing error. But it took a while to win it. Kyle McSorley saw one pitch – a ball – then: a flash of lightning. Then, after a half-hour delay, almost as quickly as the lightning itself, he worked the count to 3-1 before driving in Papeo with a double to right-center for the walk-off 3-2 victory.

The starters went deep. Kyle Anderson went a full seven for North Brunswick (3-4) giving up two earned runs on six hits. Frank Papeo fanned nine for Old Bridge through six, allowing six hits and just one earned run.

Zach Konstantinovsky came in for an inning, then Chris Rosario followed, pitching a scoreless ninth, but giving up the winning run in the tenth, to take the loss.

For Old Bridge, John Smith threw a scoreless seventh, and Thomas Papeo – Frank’s older brother by a year – threw three scoreless innings to get the win in relief.

The win puts some distance between the now-first place Knights and the three teams tied for second in the division, a full game ahead of East Brunswick, North Brunswick and South Plainfield. Old Bridge is 3-1 in the division, having swept the Raiders, while splitting with St. Joseph of Metuchen.

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge likely stays on the right side of the bubble with home win over New Brunswick

Heading into Week 7 of the high school football season sitting in 16th place, Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue might as well have told his players, “Our playoffs begin today.”

A slip in their final two games of the season – especially against an athletic New Brunswick team with just one win to its credit, not a far-fetched idea when dealing with teenagers – could have been disastrous for the Knights,

Instead, they came out and took care of business with a 28-0 win over the Zebras, the Knights’ first shutout of the year, which puts them at 5-3 and – at least for now – helps them keep pace in the South 5 playoff chase.

Brady Cavallaro threw two touchdown passes to Thomas McAleavy and another to Luke Triantafillou in the win, while Danny Hennessy had a six-yard rushing touchdown.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue after the win:

by Mike Pavlichko

Donaghue aims to keep the consistency going as he takes the reins at Old Bridge

The first thing Matt Donaghue talks about when asked about his promotion to head coach of the Old Bridge football program is how Anthony Lanzafama’s January announcement that was was stepping down came as a total surprise.

And why not?

Consider that Bob DeMarco was the head coach for 33 seasons, first at Madison Central, then at Old Bridge when the school was formed via merger with Cedar Ridge in the mid-1990s. Then, former DeMarco student Anthony Lanzafama – who played on the last Madison and first OB team – took over for the next 12 years.

That’s remarkable in this day and age. And now, another DeMarco student – and one who has coached under Lanzafama, too, for the past decade-plus – is the head coach.

Talk about consistency.

No wheel need be reinvented here. The option won’t be going away at Vince Lombardi Field, where the stadium is named after DeMarco, and where the press box will be christened in honor of Mr. Old Bridge, Ron Mazzola, who passed away suddenly this winter.

Donaghue loves coaching, so much so that he’ll remain the head baseball coach as well, a position he’s held since 2018, already with a GMC Tournament title (2019) to his program’s credit.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko’s interview with new Old Bridge football head coach Matt Donaghue:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge is knocked out of state playoffs in 5-2 loss at Marlboro, but Donaghue is excited for the future

Two good sectional playoff runs collided in Monmouth County on Tuesday, with Marlboro moving on, and Old Bridge’s season coming to an end.

The 12th-seeded Knights finished their season at 9-18, but were one of the last two GMC teams standing in the state tournament heading into yesterday’s road game against the Mustangs in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals.

But Old Bridge lost the game 5-2, following a nearly two-hour lightning delay. Marlboro – which knocked off top-seed Manalapan in the quarterfinals – moves on to the championship game against either 3rd-seed Middletown South or 2nd-seed Hunterdon Central.

Their game was rained out yesterday and will be made up at 2 pm Wednesday.

Starter Justin Herbstman pitched two full innings and had started the bottom of the third – walking the leadoff man and throwing one pitch to the next batter – when play was halted. He didn’t return, as Christian Krause started a string of three other pitchers to finish the game.

Marlboro nickled-and-dimed Old Bridge for a run in the first and another in the fourth before scoring three in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead they would never relinquish.

In the top of the 6th, Old Bridge would score twice, the second run helped by an error, to cut the deficit to 5-2.

After holding the Mustangs scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, Old Bridge would threaten, getting runners at the corners with two outs via a walk and a single before Marlboro picked up a K to end the game.

Click below to hear Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk about the CJ4 semifinal loss, the 2021 season, and look ahead to 2022:

by Mike Pavlichko

Knights’ tough schedule has them a win away from CJ4 title game

How tough is the GMC Red Division?

With just seven regular season wins, Old Bridge is a game away from competing for a sectional title.

Everyone else in the Red Division is home. And almost everyone else in the Greater Middlesex Conference.

And doesn’t that just tell you all you need to know?

The 12th-seeded Knights (9-17) play 9th-seed Marlboro (14-8) – and the Mustangs are a bit of a surprise themselves – in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals Tuesday.

They will also do so with heavy collective hearts, after longtime coach Fred Cole passed away Sunday morning at the age of 74. The Knights’ home field was named after him in a ceremony earlier this season.

But to look at all those losses alone is missing the big picture.

Of the Knights’ 17 losses this season, 13 have been by four runs or less, and ten of them have been by three runs or less. They’ve also lost three one-run games.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue about how the challenges of the 2021 season have helped get the Knights a game away from the Central Jersey Group 4 title final:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge finally wins a close one, in a big spot

They’re not the 1962 Mets, but at some point Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue had to wonder if a break was going to go his team’s way.

After all, they had been going the other team’s way for a good part of their 7-17 season, until Wednesday night.

Ten of their 17 losses and come by 3 runs or less; four of them by two runs or one.

That’s when it finally all broke right for the 12th-seeded Knights, who knocked off 5th-seed South Brunswick in the opening round of the NJSIAA baseball state playoffs in Central Jersey Group 4.

Youth was served in this one, which also leaves Donaghue with a bright outlook for the future.

Sophomore Thomas Papeo went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Justin Herbstman – a fellow soph who’s committed to Virginia Tech – got the win in relief, blanking the Vikings and striking out nine in 4 1/3 innings our of the ‘pen.

Next up for the Knights (8-17) is Princeton, the 13th-seed, which knocked off 4th-seed Edison Wednesday 6-4. That gives Old Bridge an unexpected home game Sunday at 2 pm, a late start due to it being an SAT testing day.

Click below to hear about how it happened, the team’s outlook heading into states, and more with head coach Matt Donaghue, pitcher Justin Herbstman and shortstop Thomas Papeo:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge will dedicate Fred Cole Field Monday, sans current Knights

It wasn’t exactly the way they drew it up, but Old Bridge High School will officially dedicate its baseball field in honor of longtime skipper Fred Cole Monday, even if the current varsity team won’t be on hand.

That’s because the Knights are in COVID-19 quarantine.

Originally, the event – unveiling a sign on the scoreboard that’s being installed this weekend – was supposed to take place before Monday’s Opening Day matchup against East Brunswick.

But the school still will dedicate Fred Cole Field with a ceremony at 3:45 Monday afternoon. In fact, it will be live streamed so that the team – and anyone else who can’t make it – can see. Another ceremony will be held at a time to be determined, when the current players can be there in person.

Cole coached nearly 500 games at Madison Central and Old Bridge, going 270-210 in that time, coaching 11 eventual pros, winning the Central Jersey Group 4 title in 1988 and the GMC Tournament title in 1989, before retiring over a decade ago. He’s a New Jersey State Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer.

But his impact was felt much deeper, including how he impacted the lives of the players he coached, and even the coaches he worked with.

The idea to name the field off Ticetown Road after Cole was the brainchild Current Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue and his staff. And Donaghue credits Old Bridge Athletic Director Dan Dimino for making Fred Cole Field ultimately come to fruition.

Now in his third season (35-23) as head coach of the Knights, Donaghue is a 2005 Old Bridge alum, and played for Cole. But following a circuitous route that saw Donaghue win a D3 national title as a player at Kean, then a sectional title as an assistant under Glenn Fredericks at Spotswood, he took over as the Knights’ head coach in 2018, and brought Cole on his staff as an assistant.

Donaghue spoke with Central Jersey Sports Radio about his nearly lifelong mentor:

Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talks about mentor Fred Cole, who coached Donaghue in high school, and later worked on Donaghue’s staff.