Tag: Non-Public Group B Final

by Mike Pavlichko

Coming together: Immaculata grew from Day One in ’22, now playing for state title

It’s been a long and winding road – and sometimes full of hills, too – for the 2022 Immaculata Spartans.

And yet, somehow, maybe even by way of a miracle, they’re in the the state finals Wednesday.

That is not to say there was no talent involved. Heck, there was plenty of that. But everyone in ‘Lata-land is still buzzing over what happened last Friday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.

The Spartans had been through the gauntlet of the Skyland Conference Delaware Division. Night in and night out, tough outs like eventual division champ Hunterdon Central, eventual Somerset County Tournament champ Ridge, Somerville, Bridgewater, and we could go on.

In the states, they won big in the opening round, beat Prep B runner-up Morristown-Beard in the quarters, and ran roughshod over SCT finalist Rutgers Prep – the top seed in the section in the semis – and all of a sudden found themselves down 7-0, and getting no-hit by Gill St. Bernard’s.

They wound up winning that game 8-7 on a walk-off bases-clearing double by Jason Capindica, to claim the program’s fifth sectional championship, and first in a dozen years.

So here they are: Wednesday, the Non-Public North B Spartans will take on South B champ Ranney out of Tinton Falls, 7 pm at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have all the action, live and free – click here to listen – with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the action.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Immaculata coach Kevin Cust about the Spartans’ run to the state finals:

by Mike Pavlichko

Early love of baseball still fuels Immaculata freshman Capindica

From a very young age, probably before he could even remember, Jayden Capindica was obssessed with baseball. That obssession was further fueled by his summer nights spent at TD Bank Park, watching his beloved Somerset Patriots.

To Young Jayden, he might as well have been watching the Yankees. It was baseball, up close and personal. It didn’t hurt that those were some pretty damn good teams, too. He was there for the regular season, playoffs, and championships, including Travis Anderson’s walk-off homer to win the 2009 Atlantic League Championship.

Which makes it even more of a perfect story line that Capindica’s home run Friday afternoon at Diamond Nation helped his Spartans claw back from a 7-0 deficit, winning it on his bases-clearing double in the seventh, to shock Gill St. Bernard’s and win Immaculata its fifth sectional title in program history.

Now, the Spartans will go for their third state championship Wednesday, when they take on Ranney School out of Tinton Falls. And you’d be a fool to think Capindica won’t have a profound impact on the game; he always does.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with freshman Jayden Capindica as the team prepares to play for a state title:

Central Jersey Sports Radio will broadcast Wednesday’s Non-Public Group B title game between North B champion Immaculata and South B champion Ranney. Game time at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton is 7 pm. Pregame starts at 6:15 with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas on the call. Click here to listen for free.

by Mike Pavlichko

Added emphasis on athletics has turned Ranney into a parochial power, with some GMC influence

The move was a no-brainer for then Monroe baseball coach Pat Geroni. With two young children at home, he wanted to be closer to his family as much as he could.

He practically lives around the corner from the Ranney School, a small private school with only 600 or so students enrolled from kindergarten through high school,and a heavy emphasis placed on a ademica.

But it was also a private school that had an opening for a head baseball coach, and a push to emphasize athletics to a higher degree. Geroni was up for the challenge.

And so, after seven seasons in southern Middlesex County, Geroni traded his Falcon purple and gold for Panther blue, leaving Monroe with over 100 victories and a GMC Tournament title on his resume.

Three years later, his move has paid off. Thanks to a dramatic semifinal walkoff win over perennial power Gloucester Catholic, Ranney is a sectional champion for the first time ever, and playing for a state title Wednesday.

The Panthers will play Immaculata for the Non-Public Group B title at Veterans’ Park in Hamilton, and Central Jersey Sports Radio will carry the game live, with first pitch set for 7 pm, and pregame set for 7:15. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action, with pregame at 6:15. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talking with Ranney head coach Pat Geroni: