Tag: Middlesex

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 4 Middlesex uses solid outing from Long, late offensive outburst to pick up 12-1 win, sweep season-opening series from Spotswood

It was no secret how good the Middlesex baseball team could be this year, coming off a state Group 1 championship with a vast majority of the team coming back.

And in the first two games of the season, the fourth-ranked Blue Jays lived up to that expectation, finishing off a two-game sweep of Spotswood Thursday with a 12-1 road win – heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The game was actually a tight pitchers’ duel for the first five innings. Middlesex took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, as Dylan Ianiero doubled to the warning track in left, then moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a second, which turned out to be ball four to starter Dom Long.

But at least through the fifth, that was it. The Jays threatened a couple of times, while Long no-hit the Chargers through the first five innings, retiring his all of the first 16 batters he faced.

Everything changed in the sixth inning. After a Chris Kozak pop up to short, Diego Marcano walked, and Anthony Melchiorre drove him in with a double to the wall in right. Leadoff hiter Lucas Blanco walked as well, and Dylan Ianiero knocked in Melchiorre with a single. Long walked to load the bases.

Sean Hughes came up and grounded one back to starter Leo Carone, who threw home to get the force. But catcher Dylan Melczer couldn’t handle the throw, it got by him, and two more runs came in to make it 5-0 Middlesex. And after a Marcus Lavornia walk, Devin Jackson knocked in two with an RBI single to make it 7-0.

Spotswood finally broke through in he bottom of the inning. With one out, Carone reached on an infield hit – a hard-hit ball behind the second base bag that Melchiorre fielded, but couldn’t get out of his glove in time to make a play at first – then nine-hitter Mike Palumbo doubled to move Carone to third. He later scored on a sac fly to center by leadoff man Gavin Romeo, but that was all they’d get.

With Carone out of the game for Spotswood, Middlesex added five more in the seventh, with the big highlight a two-run homer by Lucas Blanco, the first of his career.

Carone took the loss for Spotswood, going five innings, allowing eight hits and seven runs, four of them earned. He also struck out four. Long went six innings for Middlesex, allowing two hits and one earned run, striking out eight. Jackson finished off the seventh for the Jays.

Click below for postgame reaction from Middlesex head coach Blaze Iannetti and starting pitcher Dom Long, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

With Cumiskey and Buchan gone, Spotswood leaning on senior trio and young prospects as Middlesex visits

Losing a guy like ace pitcher Casey Cumiskey or Will Buchan, both of whom were among Spotswood’s best hitters a season ago, is tough for any team.

But they’re not all the Chargers lost to graduation after the 2025 season. Six players with 40 ore more at bats are gone from the lineup, and only one – Leo Carone, who only had 14 at bats – hit over .300 on the year.

Don’t get it wrong, veteran head coach Glenny Fredricks isn’t crying in his soup. In fact, he’s excited about a solid core of seniors he has back – second baseman Gavin Romeo, centerfielder Sebby Saracino, and third baseman Ryan Orth – as well as some highly-touted kids from Milltown who decided to stay home, stay public, and play for the Chargers.

All will be on display again as Spotswood loos to earn a split of its season-opening home-and-home with Middlesex, following a 6-1 Opening Day road loss Tuesday. They’ll play Thursday at 3 pm, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame set for 2:45 as Mike Pavlichko calls all the action; click here to listen.

Those two who stuck with Spotswood rather than a non-public – and they had offers – are Jack Abrams and JoJo Modeste. Abrams will see time at first base, while Modeste is a switch-hitting shortstop with power. Fredricks calls them “help a year early” as they will immediately contribute as freshmen.

Orth is the top hitter back amobg those with more than 40 at bats, swinging it for a .244 average and seven runs batted in. Romeo hit .233 with eight RBIs, while Saracino hit .2176 with nine runs driven in, and a home run, a grand slam which came in a blowout season-opening win last year over South Amboy.

Click below to hear Spotswood head coach Glenny Fredricks talk about the season and Thursday’s game against Middlesex with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Coming off emotional Opening Day, Middlesex looks to return the favor, sweep Spotswood

To so the Middlesex baseball program – or even the entire town – had a difficult, trying, emotional off-season would be a hideous understatement, and words probably can’t even do it justice.

The death of teammate James Matula in November in a car crash in upstate New York shocked the community, the school, and the baseball program to its core.

Not that you ever put it behind you, but it was surely good to get back on the baseball field in the preseason, but many of those emotions came rushing back Tuesday as the fourth-ranked Blue Jays opened their 2026 season without No. 1, James Matula.

His family was there for an Opening Day ceremony to once again pay tribute to the young man who would have been a senior on a loaded Middlesex team looking to defend its Central Jersey and state Group One championships.

They got through it all, getting on the board early, in a 6-1 home win over Spotswood. Thursday afternoon, they will visit the Chargers for a 3 pm game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with an eye on sweeping the season series, and turning the tables on a Spotswood team that was the only club to beat the Blue Jays twice last season.

You can hear the game live, with pregame at 2:45 and Mike Pavlichko on the call. Click here to listen.

Middlesex loses some key seniors, to be sure, mainly Dom Parenti and Owen Reynolds, but the vast majority of the lineup is back, including top returning hitter Dominc Long (.346, 16 RBI), who also will take the mound Thursday. Long, as a sophomore last season, led the team in innings pitched, and was 12-0 with a 1.37 ERA and 72 strikeouts.

He’s part of a 1-2 punch with Chris Kozak, who last season as a junior was 6-4, but with a 0.90 earned run average.

Click below to hear Middlesex head coach Blaze Iannetti talk about the season and Thursday’s game against Spotswood with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Defending GMC, SCT champs St. Joseph-Metuchen, Immaculata open season at No. 1, No. 2 in Bellamy & Son Paving preseason Top Ten

It’s never easy to predict how any high school team – in any sport – will do from year-to-year, what with graduation losses and unproven talent. The year before can be a guide, but who knows who a new group will respond, or if a new coach will reignite a program that struggled the year prior.

That said, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish, and last year’s teams will mainly get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the preseason Bellamy & Son Paving High School Basketball rankings.

Defending GMC Jim Muldowney Tournament Champion St. Joseph-Metuchen will begin the year at No. 1. Though the Falcons (16-7) lose a ton of pitching – more than 134 out of 161 innings pitched by Joseph Barca, Richard Zangara and Domenic Erbafina – the bats may be able to carry them until second-year veteran skipper Dennis McCaffery sees what his young pitching staff has. The Falcons won the GMCT last year as a five seed, taking all four games in their final at bat, and they never led for a single at bat in the entire run.

Last year’s Somerset County Tournament champion holds in second place, Immaculata. At 17-8, they were also Skyland Conference Delaware Division co-champions with Ridge, and they’ll bring back a good amount of pitching. While they lose Rob Sikorski to graduation, their top two pitchers in terms of innings thrown – Jackson Trego and Ryan Auten, both seniors – return.

Ridge checks in at No. 3. Going 20-7 a year ago, the Red Devils lose ace Aidan Stieglitz but have a good chunk of returnees that should keep the Red Devils right in the thick of things, a year after sharing the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title with Immaculata, and reaching both the Somerset County Tournament and NJSIAA North 2, Group 4 finals.

The only Central Jersey Sports Radio-area team to win a state title last year, Middlesex begins the year at No. 4. The Blue Jays (23-5) were a GMC Tournament final four squad, and beat Midland Park to win the NJSIAA Group 1 title, their first since 2021. They bring back all but ten of their 193 innings pitched last year, led by senior Chris Kozak and junior Dominic Long.

Checking in at No. 5 is Edison, which is overflowing with quality pitching. The GMC Tournament runner-up Eagles (17-11) have four Division 1 commits. Pitchers Robert Roma and Dom Innocenti are set with Wagner, while Connor Muprhy is going to Monmouth.

No. 6 is Colonia, which went 23-5 a season ago, falling to South Plainfield in the North 2, Group 3 sectional title game. While Seton Hall-bound Colin Kroner returns to the mound, starter Cory Pascarella is gone to graduation and now playing at Monmouth, as is Matt Fasulo (.289, 19 RBI) at Rutgers-Newark.

At No. 7 is South Plainfield, which took some big graduation losses, including the middle of the infield (Dan Kapsch at short, Nick Irizarry at second). And of four pitchers for the North 2 Group 3 champion Tigers (18-11) who threw at least 15 innings last year and pitchers Kevin Penny, Aiden McCarthy and Mike Castagna are gone, more than three quarters’ of last season’s innings pitched.

Checking in at eight is Hillsborough. The defending Central Jrsey Group 4 champs were 14-11 last season, but lose a ton, including pitchers James Drinkwater, Brayden Fox (also an outfielder) and Krish Patel, as well as hitters like Andrew Advani and catcher Alex Reiling, among others.

In ninth is Old Bridge. The Knights were 18-11 last year as well, and made the Central Jersey Group 4 finals, falling to Hillsborough. They lose two aces in Justin Hascup and John Smith, with Brady Meyer the most experienced pitcher coming back. The lineup may have fewer question marks, but head coach Matt Donaghue always has a deep roster, it’s just a matter of experience.

And checking in at ten, it’s Woodbridge. the Barrons were 18-8 last year and GMC Red Division champs. They’ll take a hit losing pitcher Ryan Leach to graduation, but Kevin Arroyo returns after throwing 63 1/2 innings a year ago, with a 1.11 ERA and 62 strikeouts.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving 2026 Baseball Preseason Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio unveils 2026 High School Baseball Broadcast Schedule featuring a dozen regular season games, plus County, State tourneys

With a dozen regular season games, plus coverage of the GMC and Somerset County Tournaments – as well as state tournament coverage to be announced at a later date – Central Jersey Sports Radio has announced its 2026 high school baseball broadcast schedule.

It all gets started next week, with our opener on Tuesday, March 31 at 4 pm between defending 2025 SCT champion Immaculata and NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 4 winner Hillsborough. Then, after the calendar turns to April mid-week, we get state Group 1 champion Middlesex visiting Spotswood, on Thursday, April 2.

Coverage also includes two regular season games at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater – Montgomery vs Pingry on April 11, and Rutgers Prep against South Plainfield two Saturdays later – as well as the semifinals and finals of the Somerset County Tournament on April 18th and 20th, respectively.

The schedule includes three of last year’s SCT semifinalists, and all four of 2025’s GMC Tournament semifinalists, including a rematch of the title game between Edison and St. Joseph-Metuchen, and a rematch on the Invitational final between New Brunswick and East Brunswick Magnet.

Last year’s North 2, Group 3 winner South Plainfield also is on the schedule, as well as finalist Colonia.

Click here to see the full 2026 broadcast schedule.

Manville guard Josh D'Ambrosio (3) directs traffic for the Mustangs against Middlesex in the Central Jersey Group 1 quarterfinals.
by Alec Crouthamel

Manville boys rally, stun Middlesex in Central Jersey Group 1 quarterfinals

Midway through the third quarter, Manville was on the ropes.

In the Central Jersey Group 1 quarterfinals, the sixth-seeded Mustangs (19-8) trailed Middlesex 36-22 on the road, with a rising home crowd.

But just as it looked like the playoff matchup was going to slip away from Manville, they struck back.

The Mustangs ended the third quarter on an 11-2 run, and kept their foot on the gas to eventually pull away late and stun the third-seeded Jays (19-9) 47-44. Senior Josh D’Ambrosio finished with a game-high 22 points – 14 in the second half – and knocked down a go-ahead three with under two minutes to play to take the lead for good.

As the final buzzer sounded to end a frenetic final minute, Manville came out of the fray with a victory, before being promptly mobbed by the section’s worth of students who made the trip down Route 28.

Middlesex opened the game rolling on both sides of the floor, complementing an aggressive and opportunistic defense with a balanced scoring attack on offense. Five different Jays scored in the opening quarter.

They took a nine-point lead into halftime, led by 13 points from Jax Robel. He finished with a team-high 19 in the loss, as the Mustangs’ defense held him without a point in the final quarter. As a team, Middlesex knocked down six three-pointers in the opening half, but made none in the second half.

Once the teams exited the locker room after halftime, it was clear Manville had a different intensity than the opening 16 minutes.

The Mustangs attacked the basket and set up threes of their own on offense, and did a much better job matching up on the defensive side, forcing turnovers and bad shots.

The late run to end the third quarter was just as much due to Manville’s defensive intensity as its deliberation and efficiency on offense. In addition to D’Ambrosio taking more scoring initiative, the Mustangs got a major boost from junior forward Jonathan Gosk with seven points in the third quarter alone. He finished as the team’s second-leading scorer with ten points.

Manville trailed by five at the end of the third, and the momentum fully swung the visitors’ way quickly to start the fourth. D’Ambrosio drew a three-shot foul to open the scoring, and freshman guard Levan Chankotadze added a three-pointer of his own to take the lead for the first time in the half.

The two teams went back and forth from there, including a go-ahead three-point play chance from Chris Kozak, but Manville found its footing from the perimeter and knocked down its free throws late to seal the upset victory. D’Ambrosio scored 11 of the Mustangs’ 14 fourth-quarter points.

Manville moves on to the semifinal round for a third straight year, where it will face the winner of the opposite quarterfinal between second-seeded Point Pleasant Beach and tenth-seeded Dayton. The location will depend on the winner of the game. Middlesex’s season comes to a close with a 19-9 record.

Click below for postgame reactions from Manville head coach Bill Rooney and guard Josh D’Ambrosio with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Middlesex defense again powers Jays in 42-32 GMC-Union crossover win against Dayton

When you lose someone the caliber of Jess Divine – who scored 2,135 points in a four-year varsity career at Middlesex – who’s going to pick up the points?

For the Blue Jays, though, it’s always been the defense fueling the offense, and that was on full display Saturday as they picked up a 42-32 win over visiting Dayton in a GMC-Union County crossover.

Senior Alyssa Young scored nine points, including a pair of treys, one of which was a four-point play in the first quarter. But the more impressive part of her stat line was the fact that she had a dozen steals.

No matter who the coach is – Kevin Harper, Stew Lester, and now first-year skipper and 2016 MHS grad Zakiya Beckles – that’s the program, the consistency: defense and pressure.

And it works.

The game was a tight one until the Jays (12-7) pulled away in the fourth quarter. No one led by more than five throughout the first half, not until the final period, in fact, when Middlesex built as big as a ten-point advantage.

Sophomore Kaylee Devine, Jess’s younger sister, led all scorers with 13 – including three from downtown – while Avery Iskra had 12.

Sophomore Aria Molinelli had 12 for Dayton, which was highly competitive, despite falling to 2-13 with the loss. Junior Madison Tarrant – the only junior to dress, with no healthy seniors on the squad, added six, while sophomore Maggie Hildebrand added five.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with Middlesex senior Alyssa Young and head coach Zakiya Beckles:


by Mike Pavlichko

Middlesex, Dayton to meet Saturday morning in small school GMC-Union County crossover

They are two teams with some definite similarities: short rosters, short benches, as well as some inexperience and youth.

And that’s not just the players on the floor, it’s the two head coaches.

Middlesex is led by 2016 grad Zakiya Beckles, who was here under Stew Lester, who left after last season to coach the boys at Middletown North. Marissa Liberato is the head coach at Jonathan Dayton in Springfield; she’s a 2015 Toms River North grad, and spent the past six years under longtime head coach Dave Rennie.

The two teams will square off Saturday morning at 11:30 in Middlesex, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will be on the call; pregame starts at 11:15; click here to listen.

For Middlesex, it’s getting used to life after Jess Devine, even if her sister, Kaylee, could be her doppelganger. Devine graduated in June as the all-time leading scorer at the school, girls’ or boys.

Middlesex is scrappy defensively. Ball control against the Blue Jays is an absolute must. That’s one big reason they’re 11-7, playing as a Group 1 school in the GMC’s Red National Division.

Another big reason is Sophomore Avery Iskra, who’s taken baton as the team’s scoring leader this season, averaging 11.8 points a game, while senior Alyssa Young – the team’s only 12th grader – is leading the squad with 30 treys.

But a senior is something Dayton won’t even have this year. Their only one – Bella Pintardo, with two years’ varsity experience – is out due to injury. That leaves two juniors, two sophomores, and four freshmen – eight players, the same as Middlesex – in the scorebook for Saturday’s game.

The top two scorers are sophomores. Maggie Hildebrand is averaging 10.3 points per game, tied for the team lead with 4.7 rebounds per contest, and leads the squad with 15 from downtown, and 16 assists. Aria Molinelli is second with 8.8 points per game, and has been the top scorer in six of 14 games so far. Hildebrand has led in the other eight.

The schedule also hasn’t been kind to small-school Dayton, a Group 1 program which is just 2-12, but has played a brutal slate including Elizabeth – the largest high school in the state – as well as Linden. Their wins have come over Whippany Park and South Plainfield.

But in a number of games, they’ve been that close, including a four-point defeat at the hands of Oak Knoll on January 6th. They also fell three points shy at Elizabeth last Saturday, and came within seven of Summit.

Click below for interviews with both head coaches previewing Saturday’s Middlesex-Dayton game:

Middlesex head coach Zakiya Beckles with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas
Dayton head coach Marissa Liberato with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: