Tag: Matt Mosko

by Mike Pavlichko

New-look Hillsborough baseball team opens 2026 season Tuesday when Immaculata comes to town

Talk about a senior exodus.

The Hillsborough baseball team that won the 2025 Central Jersey Group 5 championship as a nine-seed – knocking off top-seed Hunterdon Central in the quarterfinals in extra innings, then second-seed Old Bridge in the title game – looks very different in 2026.

Six players with at least 50 at bats have graduated, and only one pitcher who recorded a win last year returns, and Samuel Malone is likely going to be the every day catcher.

So, yes, Hillsborough head coach Matt Mosko – the Central Jersey Sports Radio Somerset County Coach of the Year last season – will have his work cut out for him trying to piece it all together. Focusing on what the certainties, though, Mosko believes he has a solid outfield – one of the strengths of the program under his tenure – and there are three senior pitchers, albeit light on experience, he’ll rely on, including Opening Day starter Shane Borer.

He’ll get the ball Tuesday when No. 8 Hillsborough entertains No. 2 Immaculata at 4 pm to get the 2026 season going, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel have the call, with pregame set for 3:45 pm; click here to listen.

No one in Somerset County was truly dominant last year, or even in the GMC for that matter. The Raiders were 14-11 and won a sectional title. The Spartans were 17-8, and won the Somerset County title over Ridge, which finished 21-7, the only Skyland Conference squad to crack 20 wins.

Immaculata loses a ton to graduation as well, including big hitters like Jayden Campindica, Aidan English, Collin Kassai and Jayson Labrador. The last of those, Jayson, hit .365 last season, second only to his brother, Justin Labrador, who batted .370, and is back for his senior season.

The Spartans have more proven talent back on the mound, as top starter Ryan Auten is back for one ore go-round, while Jackson Trego (3-2, 1.66 ERA) is back as well.

Click below to hear Hillsborough baseball coach Matt Mosko talk about the Raiders’ 2026 season and their opening day matchup against Immaculata with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Hillsborough’s Mosko, steering Raiders through mid-season rough patch to win program’s first sectional title in 13 years, is named 2025 CJSR Somerset County Coach of the Year

Every team has its ups and downs in a season. Even those that finish that rare undefeated season don’t do it without any difficulty.

But it’s how they bounce back and overcome adversity that defines a team. And in the case of the Hillsborough baseball team, they did that just this season, bouncing all the way to the Central Jersey Group 4 title.

It’s something Matt Mosko didn’t get to do as a player for his hometown Raiders, but in his relatively new life as head coach – now in his fourth season – he and the program have their first since 2012.

After getting off to a 5-1 start, including a split with Hunterdon Central and a split with defending CJ4 champ Bridgewater-Raritan, the Raiders hit a bit of a skid. They went 3-9 over their next dozen games, the last of that stretch a 10-9 loss to eventual champion Immaculata in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, a loss that could have sunk the rest of their season.

HIllsborough players stream out of the dugout after winning the Central Jersey Group 4 championship game against Old Bridge at Fred Cole Field on June 5, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

But they bucked up, and realized that with a nine-seed in the state sectionals, they could make some noise with a few wins. After a road win at Freehold Township, they knocked off top-seed Hunterdon Central in Flemington, came back home and beat Montgomery in the semis, then rallied late to score ten unanswered runs in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game at Old Bridge, bringing home the program’s first NJSIAA trophy in 13 years.

Click below to hear Hillsborough head coach and Somerset County Coach of the Year Matt Mosko talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Alec Crouthamel

Hillsborough routs Montgomery 10-0 in CJ4 semifinals, advances to first sectional final since 2012

In a battle of Cinderella runs in the Central Jersey Group 4 tournament, one would see its dance go for one more hour – or game – and the other would see its slipper fall and head home.

For ninth-seeded Hillsborough, the Raiders established from the start that they were not going home.

They put up a five-run first inning en route to a 10-0 victory in five innings over 12th-seeded Montgomery to advance to the sectional final for the first time since 2012, when they won the North Jersey 2 Group 4 title, where Hillsborough made it to the state final before losing to Manalapan 2-0.

The Cougars had a solid start to the game, putting runners on the corners in the first inning against Raiders starter Brayden Fox, before he struck out second baseman Kenta Komatsu to get Hillsborough out of the inning clean.

In the bottom half of the first, five consecutive Raiders reached base to start the game against Cougars starter John Donahue, with two walks sandwiching three straight ground-ball singles, two of which did not leave the infield.

First baseman TJ Westlake started the scoring after leadoff batter Tommy Kester walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch, with Westlake bringing him in on a high chopper over the outstretched glove of Montgomery shortstop Patrick Fogarty.

Catcher Alex Reiling walked with the bases loaded to bring in the second run. Second baseman Brian Quabeck struck out swinging to record the first out, but shortstop Elijah Dawes hit into an RBI groundout, putting runners on second and third. Right fielder Shane Khurana dunked a flare shot into right field to score two more runs, before he was picked off at second base. Nine Raider batters got to the plate to start the game.

Donahue settled in nicely after, retiring the side in the second inning in eight pitches. Fox matched him however, facing four batters in the second and third innings with 19 combined pitches.

In the bottom half of the third, centerfielder Andrew Advani singled – one of his three hits on the day – before stealing second base, and advanced to third on a groundout. Reiling and Quabeck drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Dawes drew a third straight walk to score another run, forcing Montgomery to make a pitching change with one out.

Right fielder Mason Neufeld relieved Donahue and did his job, forcing two straight swinging strikeouts to avoid any further damage.

In the top of the fourth, the Cougars put together a rally sparked by Komatsu’s leadoff double. He advanced to third on a groundout, before left fielder Michael Englert walked and reached second base on defensive indifference. With runners on first and second and one out, Fox caught a hot-shot comebacker from catcher Evan Puleio, and got a flyout from Fogarty to continue his shutout.

The Raiders got another man in scoring position with two outs, but Neufeld got Fox to fly out to right field to end the inning. Fox got his revenge in the top of the fifth, retiring the side in order against the Cougars’ top of the order.

In the bottom half, Hillsborough’s offense got back to humming along. Reiling led off the frame with a home run to left field to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead. Quabeck reached on a hit-by-pitch and Dawes hit a single to put runners on first and second, then advanced to second and third thanks to a sacrifice bunt by Khurana. Third baseman Jason Williams reached on a fielder’s choice, but a run scored as Puleio was unable to hold on to a play at the plate, giving Hillsborough its eighth run.

With the lineup card flipping over, Kester got hit by a pitch to load the bases, bringing up Westlake. On a 2-0 hitter’s count, he saw a ball over the plate and laced it to left-center field, scoring two runs and ending the game in five innings.

Fox finished the day going the distance with five shutout innings pitched, with two hits, two walks, and four strikeouts, earning the win.

Donahue took the loss, throwing 2.1 innings with five hits, five walks, and five runs (all earned) with one strikeout. In relief, Neufeld threw three innings, allowing five runs on four hits, no walks, and two strikeouts.

The Cougars’ season comes to an end at 10-15, while the Raiders will advance to face second-seeded Old Bridge in the Central Jersey Group 4 final. The Knights came back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat third-seeded Edison 4-3 in eight innings.

Click below for postgame reaction from Hillsborough pitcher Brayden Fox, first baseman TJ Westlake, catcher Alex Reiling, and head coach Matt Mosko, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Fox, Westlake, and Reiling
Head Coach Matt Mosko
by Mike Pavlichko

Hillsborough upsets top-seed Hunterdon Central in CJ4 quarters; will host Montgomery Tuesday

Unlike the bottom half, the top-half of the Central Jersey Group 4 NJSIAA baseball playoff bracket has been riddled with upsets.

Montgomery – the 12-seed – knocked off fifth-seed New Brunswick 14-2 in the opening round, and four-seed Hightstown 5-4 Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Now, they’ll meet a team that pulled an upset of its own to get to the semis.

Ninth-seed Hillsborough (12-10), which edged eighth-seed Freehold Township, 6-2, in the opening round, booted top-seed Hunterdon Central (17-7) with a 3-1 win in Flemington Friday.

It’s a win that – coupled with Monty’s upsets – will make the Raiders a surprise semifinal host when they play their neighbors, the Cougars, Tuesday for a trip to the Central Jersey Group 4 title game.

Boro jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third, and the pitching held it – mostly – from there. With a Tommy Kester walk and a TJ Westlake single sandwiched between a leadoff flyout and a strikeout, Brayden Fox singled to right to score Kester, Alex Reiling singled to score Fox, then a balk by A Petino brought in Westlake from third.

Hunterdon Central’s lone run came in the fourth, on an RBI single by Matty Dalfonzo. They would get just one hit and two baserunners total over the next three innings, shut down by starter James Drinkwater in his final inning, the fifth, and reliever Aiden Cooper, who pitched two scoreless innings to get the save, while Drinkwater picked up the win.

It’ll be an all CJSR-area semifinal in Central Jersey Group 4. In addition to Hillsborough hosting Montgomery in the “Skyland Conference” half of the bracket, it’ll be a “GMC” semi on the other side, with second-seed Old Bridge hosting third-seed Edison at 5 pm Tuesday at Fred Cole Field, in a game that can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The final is scheduled for Thursday at the home of the higher seeded team. Hillsborough last reached a sectional final in 2012, when the Raiders beat Central in the North 2 Group 4 final, beat Ridgewood in the state semis, but lost to Manalapan in the state Group 4 title game.

Click below to hear from Hillsborough winning pitcher James Drinkwater and head coach Matt Mosko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Westlake scores walk-off win, second straight in extras, as No. 10 Hillsborough tops No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan, 5-4, in 8 innings

Coming into the game hitting just .121 through three games, fifth-ranked Bridgewater-Raritan looked nothing like that team in the first inning of their Skyland Conference Delaware Division game Thursday at No. 10 Hillsborough.

Two infield hits, two singles, and a fielder’s choice later, the Panthers took a 3-0 lead before the Raiders could even come to bat. With three more hits in the third, and the aid of an error, they had a 4-0 lead, and things looked good. They already had eight hits, four shy of their season total through three games.

But Hillsbrough – which came into the game 4-1 – started to chip away.

They got a run in the bottom of the third off Bridgewater starter Jack Lanum, after a double by T.J. Westlake drove in Tommy Kester, who’d led off with a single.

They got two in the fifth on a fielders’ choice by Alex Rieling and a single by Brayden Fox.

And they tied it at 4-4 in their next at bat when Brian Quabeck led off with a double off reliever Kevin Kelly, and Elijah Dawes drove him in.

Despite a scoreless seventh, the Raiders had momentum. Junior Samuel Malone – who came in with two out in the third – threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the eighth, setting the table for the nine, one and two hitters in the bottom of the inning.

And they delivered.

Jason Williams led off with a walk, and Kester bunted him over to second. Then Westlake won it with a double over the head of Kellan Komline in deep centerfield, scoring Willliams from second for a 5-4 victory.

Listen to T.J. Westlake’s walk-off double for Hillsborough, with Dom Savino on the call.

While the loss was hard to take for the Panthers (0-4), who certainly broke out of their batting slump, but just couldn’t break through against Malone, it was equally exhilarating for the Raiders (5-1), who’d won in their final at bat – the top of the ninth – the afternoon prior, beating Bridgewater 3-0 in the series opener.

It’s the Hillsborough’s best start ever in four seasons under head coach Matt Mosko, and best overall since 2019, when they began 8-0 and won eleven of their first 12 ballgames. That team finished 16-6.

L.J. Aponte took the loss for Bridgewater to fall to 0-2, while Malone got the win in relief; he’s 1-0.

Click below for postgame reaction with Hillsborough senior T.J. Westlake, junior Samuel Malone, and head coach Matt Mosko, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge, Hillsborough set to tussle in SCT quarters after two regular season nail-biters

Their first meeting was a 3-1 Ridge win. In their second, Hillsborough led 2-0 heading into the seventh before the Red Devils came alive and won 3-2.

The third time is always the most difficult.

But they will indeed play for a third time – ideally Thursday, weather permitting – in the quarterfinals of the Somerset County Tournament, in a game that can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, presented by Zoned Sports Academy of Bridgewater.

Weather will be a factor throughout the weekend, but the teams want to get it in as early as they can with the SCT semifinals at TD Bank Park coming up next Monday.  With Ridge having a natural grass surface, the game has been moved from Basking Ridge to Field 3 at Diamond Nation in Flemington, but still with first pitch at 4 pm, with pregame set for 3:45. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action; click here to listen.

Third-seed Ridge (16-7) started the season just 1-5 but quickly rolled off seven straight wins, and comes into the Hillsborough game with a four-game winning streak.

The sixth-seeded Raiders beat 11-seed Pingry 2-1 in eight innings Monday in the second round of the SCT, but then lost 6-4 to South Brunswick on Tuesday. They have had an up-and-down season, quite literally: they’ve never lost more than two in a row (that happened twice) but they also haven’t won back-to-back games all season.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with both head coaches ahead of their SCT quarterfinal game Thursday:

Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell
Hillsborough head coach Matt Mosko