Tag: North Brunswick

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 1 Old Bridge earns split with North Brunswick as Knights get 4-3 “road” win at home

With neither of North Brunswick’s home fields playable Friday afternoon, the Raiders packed up and traveled to Old Bridge for their second meeting this week. In the end, the venue probably didn’t matter.

Old Bridge senior JT Meyer pitched a complete game give-hitter, as the Knights – No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten – came up with a 6-3 win at Fred Cole Field to sweep the season series.

Old Bridge scored in four of the first five innings and never trailed Friday. Michael Altman drove in John Smith – who led off the game with a walk – to make it 1-0 Knights in the first, then Brody Nugent scored from third on a balk in the second to make it 2-0.

The Raiders cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the third when Tim DeGaetano singled with two outs, and Yomar Carreras drove him in with a double to make it 2-1.

But Old Bridge got three across in the top of the fourth. Justin Hascup led off with a double, and after a sac bunt by Meyer, Brody Nugent hit a soft roller in front of the mound. North Brunswick starting pitcher Alejandro Jabar fielded it, looked Hascup back, but then threw wild to first, allowing Hascup to score. Christian Cavanaugh hit one back to Jabar, but his throw home to get Hascup was low. And after John Smith flew out to right, Frank Papeo knocked in Cavanaugh with a single to make it 5-1.

Once again, North Brunswick got a run back in the bottom of the inning. Connor Levine doubled with one out, and two batters later, a single by Danny Breheney cut the deficit to 5-2.

Old Bridge would pick up another insurance run in the fifth. Jabar walked Evan Smith to lead off the inning, then the next batter, Hascup. That ended Jabar’s day, but Justin Meyer’s groundout to first off reliever Aaron Wilhelm knocked in Smith to make it 6-3. Wilhelm allowed two more walks, loading the bases, but got out of it by inducing a fly ball to center by Smith.

Meyer only allowed one more run in the seventh, as courtesy runner Avery Price – running for Andrew Selover – scored on a double-play try thrown wide of first by shortstop John Smith. But he finished out the game, allowing just three runs in seven innings of work, with three strikeouts and just one walk.

Old Bridge improves to 5-2, with a 3-1 record in the GMC Red Division. North Brunswick is 2-2 overall, and in the Red.

by Mike Pavlichko

First-week results lead to volatility in Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, but Old Bridge and Bridgewater-Raritan remain No. 1 and No. 2, Monroe and Pingry make debuts

The top two teams in the Week One Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top Ten didn’t change, but everyone else moved around, and two new teams joined the rankings this week.

Old Bridge (4-1) and Bridgewater-Raritan (2-0) remain No. 1 and No. this week, after getting their seasons off on the right foot.

The Knights handled two Shore Conference opponents, beating Manalapan on the season’s opening day, 2-1, then dropping Marlboro on Thursday, 7-6. After losing Friday to Don Bosco prep, 14-1, they rebounded with a 4-0 shutout win over St. Joseph-Metuchen in Linden. They’ll welcome in the Falcons for the back end of that home-and-home GMC Red Division set Monday night at 6:30, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio by clicking here.

The Panthers knocked off a solid Rancocas Valley team on Monday, 5-3, then came back four days later with an 8-1 win at Scotch Plains-Fanwood.

Entering the poll at No. 3 this week is Monroe, which beat the two teams that occupied third- and fourth-place last week. They beat fourth-ranked St. Joe’s Friday, 8-1, then came back and topped third-ranked North Brunswick at home, 2-0, on Saturday.

North Brunswick (0-1) dropped to fourth with the loss to Monroe, while St. Joseph (0-2) dropped a spot to fifth, with following up the Monroe loss with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Old Bridge.

Spotswood (3-0) rises a spot to sixth, sweeping a Thursday/Friday home-and-home with Metuchen, 10-1 and 4-1, then winning 8-4 at North Plainfield on Saturday.

Woodbridge (3-0) also climbed a spot from sixth to seventh. The Barrons swept a home-and-home with Colonia, via a 9-2 road win and a 2-0 home win, then beat Sayreville 4-2 Saturday, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Making its debut this season in 8th place is Pingry. The Big Blue are 2-0 with wins over two of Somerset County’s three other non-publics; 2-0 at Rutgers Prep on Thursday, and 6-4 at Gill St. Bernard’s on Saturday.

Rutgers Prep (1-1) checks in at No. 9, with the loss to Pingry in its opener, but then a 4-2 win at Passaic Tech on Saturday.

And Ridge (0-2) sits in tenth, after falling to a pair of out-of-area teams: 6-2 at North Hunterdon Thursday, and 5-4 at West Morris on Saturday.

Dropping out were Sayreville (1-1) – which beat Middlesex Friday in its opener but lost 4-2 at Woodbridge Saturday – and Bernards, which hasn’t taken the field yet, as rain and field conditions wiped out their opening week of games.

Below is the complete Week 1 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge, Brigdewater-Raritan take top two spots in Bellamy & Son Paving Preseason High School Baseball rankings

The new season in high school baseball finds Old Bridge right where it left off in the old season: at No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top Ten.

The Knights are coming off a 21-9 season in which they won the Central Jersey Group 4 championship by beating division foe North Brunswick in the title game, and went all the way to the state Group 4 final, falling 4-0 to Ridgewood. Old Bridge returns all but 13 of its over 200 innings pitched last season, led by seniors Frank Papeo and Justin “J.T.” Meyer.

Bridgewater-Raritan begins the year four places higher – at No. 2 – coming off a 23-7 campaign that saw them reach the North 2, Group 4 title game, losing at home to Bayonne. The Panthers – the highest-ranked Somerset County team – bring back pitchers Cory Rible and Matthew Fattore, both seniors, while Fattore, Devin Goldberg and Frankie Verano are among the top hitters back.

North Brunswick starts the season in third, the GMC Tournament runner-up from a year ago. And while ace Zack Konstantinovsky graduated and is now at Rutgers, seniors Alejandro Jabar and Kyle Anderson are solid arms back; both had ERAs a shade over two last season. And the lineup will build around heavy hitting Yomar (prounounced “JOE-mar”) Carreras, who batted .411 last season with 18 RBIs and two homers.

St. Joseph of Metuchen begins the season in third. Sure, they beat the Raiders in last year’s GMC Tournament title game, finishing 21-10, but they also lose a much larger portion of their lineup, a group that was together for the better part of three years since high school baseball resumed in New Jersey after COVID-19 cancelled the 2020 season. Juniors Joseph Barca and Matthew Friedman will be the early anchors in the rotation, but only senior Joseph Zammitti returns from the nine in the starting lineup for the Falcons in their Non-Public South A finals to Red Bank Catholic.

In fifth is Rutgers Prep, the defending Somerset County Tournament Champion. At 14-15 last season, they also made the Non-Public North B title game, losing to St. Mary-Rutherford. But among several graduates and transfers, they lose a pair of two-year starters who would have only been juniors: outstanding pitcher and Maryland commit Zach Fronio, who went home to North Hunterdon, and big hitter Andrew Parisi, who transferred closer to home to Ranney. But Max Treonze is back, and the Argonauts will look to some other arms that sat on the shelf last year recovering from injuries.

Checking in at No. 6 is Ridge, which was 25-4 last season, Somerset County Tournament runner-up. Their postseason came to a premature end due to a pitch count violation in the states. The Red Devils lose their three top pitchers to graduation in Connor Byrne, Brendan Callanan and Luke Somelofske, and while junior Aiden Stieglitz is back off a stellar sophomore campaign, head coach Tom Blackwell will have to find a lineup that can get the timely hits last year’s squad got more often than not.

In seventh is Spotswood, which went 21-8 a year ago. The Chargers were GMC Blue Division champs and reached the Central Jersey Group 2 finals, falling to Rumson-Fair Haven. Excellent pitcher Casey Cumiskey is off to Seton Hall, but his younger brother Carter – who will join him in South Orange in two years – will be back, after pitching to a 1.91 ERA in 44 innings last year, striking out 72, almost two per inning. Junior Breckyn DeAngelis – also one of the team’s better hitters – will see additional time on the mound, too, this year.

At No. 8 is Woodbridge, coming off a 20-6 season, their second straight 20-win campaign. (North Brunswick and St. Joe’s are the only other GMC schools to do that the last two seasons.) The Barrons didn’t lose a single pitcher to graduation, and the only senior starter gone is first baseman Ty Kobylakiewicz. Otherwise, the vast majority of a lineup that hit over .320 returns.

In ninth is Sayreville, which finished 15-10 last year, and won the GMC White Division, a half game ahead of the Barrons. Sayreville has a new head coach in Tim Ballard, who comes over from JFK to replace Mike Novak, who spent 20 years coaching the Bombers, including Ballard himself, who pitched for Sayreville, then went to Monmouth University. The Bombers should be good on the mound, but will be looking to fill some key spots in the lineup.

And Bernards comes in tenth, following a 15-10 season. They were the Skyland Conference Valley Division Co-Champions with Pingry last season. There’s no major turnover in the lineup, and two excellent pitchers return, including Evan Hoeckele, a senior who threw 41 innings last year to the tune of a 0.85 ERA, while fellow senior Charlie Gonella had a 1.54 ERA with the same workload.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

There’s life after Zack in North Brunswick; as solid starters and key hitters return for Raiders

A player like Zack Konstantinovsky – the Central Jersey Sports Radio Player of the Year in 2023 – comes along once in a lifetime.

But with his pitching (and hitting) talents now a few miles away in Piscataway, where he’s on the mound for Rutgers, North Brunswick will be just fine in 2024, thank you.

And that’s even with a new head coach, as Mark Blevins stepped down at the end of last year, and Jake Rosenberg took over as head coach.

Yes, that’s the same Jake Rosenberg who played his high school ball wearing a Raider uniform. Along the way, he’s been an assistant at St. Joseph-Metuchen, a head coach at Piscataway Magnet, and a football assistant for North Brunswick.

But back to the players. While losing a player of Zack Konstantinovsky’s caliber – he gave up just five earned runs all year in 2023, while hitting eight home runs – would be a tall enough order for anyone to overcome, many other key parts also graduated, like Frankie Garbolino and EJ Accetura and Omar Carreras, who smacked eight home runs last year, and hit for a .461 average.

And yet, there’s plenty of talent left. Yomar Carreras, who batted .411 with two home runs and 18 RBIs last year, is back for his senior season.

On the mound, Alejandro Jabar and Kyle Anderson are coming off junior years where they’d be the clear No. 1 ace on a lot of teams. Now, they’re an excellent 1a and 1b combo. Anderson pitched to a 2.05 ERA last year in 41 innings pitched, while Jabar threw 37 1/3 innings, with a 2.06 ERA.

And surely, Rosenberg will discover some new talent.

Rosenberg may have some work cut out for him in 2024, but says he won’t try and “reinvent the wheel.” Instead, he hoped to build on the groundwork laid before him by Blevins.

Click below to hear new North Brunswick baseball coach Jake Rosenberg talk about the Raiders’ upcoming season:

by Mike Pavlichko

One out of two ain’t bad: Monroe boys salvage state tourney double-header on Piscitelli’s buzzer-beater against North Brunswick

The Monroe girls’ basketball team lost a heartbreaker at the buzzer to South Brunswick to open the Falcons’ home NJSIAA state tournament doubleheader Monday night.

Call the Falcons “Even Steven,” because the boys’ team followed it up with a win in much the same fashion.

The difference here was the Monroe boys led most of the way in this Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinal before Tommy Koroma of North Brunswick nailed a three with 9.4 seconds left to tie the game at 45.

Monroe coach Jeff Warner called a time out, knowing if they could get the last shot, they could win, but at worst head to overtime.

Instead, Myles Marabuto found Brody Piscitelli in the left corner for a three that hit nothing but net with three seconds left. With no timeouts, all North Brunswick could do was inbound and heave a prayer that didn’t even leave Koroma’s hands until the clock had already reached zero.

Final score: second-seed Monroe 48, 7th-seed North Brunswick 45.

Brody Piscitelli of Monroe hits the game-winning three with two seconds left to beat North Brunswick in the Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals on February 26, 2024. (Video: Mike Pavlichko)

The Falcons will host third-seed Manalapan Wednesday in the sectional semifinals, after the Braves topped 11-seed Jackson Memorial, 58-42 Monday night.

Piscitelli finished with 11 for the Monroe (18-7), which was led by Marabuto’s 17 points, while Mark Laughery chipped in 10.

Brandon McCain led North Brunswick (15-13) with 13, while Tommy Koroma finished with 12.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg, Aquinas get first-place votes, but Stateliners end up topping final Media Poll

With three first-place votes and a 10-2 record, the Phillipsburg Stateliners have finished 2023 as the top team in the Big Central Media Poll.

P’burg was the preseason No. 1, as well, and held the position until a late-September loss to Hillsborough in the Rumble on the Raritan. The Stateliners’ only other loss came in the North 2, Group 5 final to Union City; they came back to beat Easton on Thanskgiving, the first time they’ve beaten the Red Rovers back-to-back since 2002 and 2003.

St. Thomas Aquinas finished second in the final media poll, three points behind Phillipsburg. The Trojans (10-1) got two first-place votes. They finished the regular season undefeated with a Thanksgiving Eve victory at Immaculata, their only loss coming to DePaul in the Non-Public B semifinals.

Ridge – which finished 8-2 and made it to the North 2, Group 4 semifinals – came in third, whiel National Silver Champion North Brunswick (8-1) finished fourth.

Coming in fifth is Bernards (12-1), which set a program record for wins and took home its first-ever state sectional title three weeks ago when the Mountaineers rallied to beat Lakeland in overtime for the North 2, Group 2 Championship. They were also Patriot Gold Division Champions.

The bottom five includes Sayreville (8-3) in sixth, Hillsborough (8-3) at No. 7, Liberty Silver Division winner Montgomery (8-1-1) at eight, followed by Watchung Hills (8-3) and St. Joseph-Metuchen (7-3) at nine and ten.

Summit, Hillside, and Westfield also received votes.

Below is the full Final Big Central Media Poll for 2023:

by Mike Pavlichko

Philipsburg ends season right where it began: No. 1 in the rankings

The final Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten of the 2023 high school football season finds Phillipsburg not where they were when we last left them, rather, back on top.

The Stateliners finished 10-2 after a loss in the North 2, Group 5 title game, but a victory over Easton for the second straight year, the first time they’ve done that in 20 years. They were also Big Central Conference American Silver Division Champions, one of five division champs to finish in the Top Ten.

The Stateliners are followed by St. Thomas Aquinas, which finished 10-1 and was the champion of the United Gold Division. The Trojans are 19-3 in two seasons under Tarig Holman, and 28-4 since the COVID-shortened season.

Ridge (8-2) – which finished second to P’burg in the United Silver – finished in third in the final rankings.

In fourth is Bernards, which at 12-1 set a school record for wins, and won the North 2, Group 2 title, its first state sectional title in program history. The Mountaineers were the only Big Central team to win a championship this season, but lost at 17-0 at Westwood in the Group 2 semifinals. They also were the Patriot Gold Division Champions.

North Brunswick, the National Silver Division Champions, finished fifth, with a record of 8-1, that lone loss coming in the first round of the playoffs by a single point to Freehold Township.

Montgomery checks in at No. 6, and like North Brunswick, suffered its only loss of the season in the playoffs, ending at 8-1-1, with the Liberty Silver Division title.

The final four teams include Hillsborough (8-3) in seventh, followed by Sayreville (8-3), St. Joseph Metuchen (7-3), and Watchung Hills (8-3). Summit, which had been tied for tenth in the last ranking after cutoff weekend, dropped out, finishing 7-3.

Below are the full Central Jersey Sports Radio Final high school football rankings for 2023:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge holds at No. 1 in Big Central Media Poll, and this week, grabs a vote

For the last several weeks, Ridge has been the No. 1 team in the Big Central Media Poll, but the Red Devils had done it without a first place vote.

This week, they got one, in the final rankings before the start of the playoffs. North Brunswick and St. Thomas Aquinas split the other four first place votes.

Hillsborough fell from sixth to fourth after a Friday night home loss to Westfield, and Summit dropped out after a Saturday afternoon loss at St. Joseph-Metuchen. Watchung Hills took the vacant spot and joined the rankings at No. 10.

Below are the complete Week 9 rankings in the Big Central Media Poll:

by Mike Pavlichko

North Brunswick holds top spot in CJSR rankings heading into playoffs

In the final Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football rankings before the playoffs begin for public schools around the state, North Brunswick maintained its No. 1 position, after finishing its regular season 8-0.

The Raiders are in the top spot for a fifth straight week, followed by Ridge, which held in second.

The rest of the rankings saw a shuffle thanks to previous No. 3 Hillsborough’s home loss Friday to unranked Westfield, and previous No. 8 Summit’s loss to then No. 10 St. Joseph-Metuchen on Saturday. The Raiders dropped to sixth, while the Hilltoppers fell into a tenth-place tie with Watchung Hills, which is back in after a one-week absence.

The next Central Jersey Sports Radio top ten will be the final one of the season, once the last Big Central team is eliminated from the state playoffs, or after Thanksgiving games are played, whichever comes later.

Below are the full Week 9 Central Jersey Sports Radio rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

FRIDAY Cutoff Weekend Playoff Analysis: Group 5

It’s Cutoff Weekend, and we’re the place to get all the updated playoff standings all week long, with our coverage brought to you by My Family Appliances on Route 1 South in the Wick Plaza, Edison.

We’ll have more analysis throughout the day Saturday as scores roll in. And don’t forget to join us for our “Playoff Projection Show” on Saturday at 6:00 pm as Mike Pavlichko brings you all the playoff projections, with analysis and commentary by Marcus Borden, live in studio!

Here’s an updated look at the Group 5 supersections based on Friday night results as reported to Gridiron New Jersey.

NORTH GROUP 5

Passaic Tech clinched the top seed with a win over Paterson Eastside Thursday night, while also capping off its first perfect regular season since 1998. Phillipsburg‘s win over East Brunswick didn’t hurt them at all in power points, OSI rank or UPR, still 0.2 ahead of Union City, which also won Friday night.

Watchung Hills and Plainfield remained in fourth and fifth, respectively. The Warriors beat Elizabeth Friday night by a touchdown, but the Cardinals are in action Saturday against Franklin. We’ll see if that hurts them any, even with a win. They’re just 0.4 UPR points ahead of 6th place Montclair (5-3), which plays at Columbia (4-3) Saturday.

A loss by Union and a huge win by Westfield saw both those teams go in opposite directions Friday night. The Blue Devils beat Hillsborough on the road to improve to 4-4, and climbed from 13th to 7th pace. But the Farmers lost to Ridge and dropped from 6th to 8th place, tied with Ridgewood, which lost Friday night. It that tie remains, Union would get the tiebreaker, with a higher OSI at 52.20, compared to 48.36 for the Maroons.

Bridgewater-Raritan‘s win over Old Bridge was a big one, pushing the Panthers to 3-6 on the year, and elevating them from 15th to 14th, tied with Morristown, and if it remains that way, they Panthers get the tiebreaker with a 45.66 OSI, and Morristown with a 43.86 OSI. The Colonials lost Friday night, while Bayonne won to move from 17 to 16, with Eastside moving out to 17.

We’re taking BR off the bubble. They’re in, making it six Big Central teams in this section, with Phillipsburg the top-seed in what we think should be North 2; PCTI will get the top seed and probably be in North 1.

Key Saturday Games to Watch:

  • #5 Plainfield at Franklin
  • #6 Monctlair at #11 Columbia

SOUTH GROUP 5

The loss by Hillsborough to Westfield ended any chance the Raiders had at a top seed, having entered the night in second place. They fall to No. 5, behind No. 1 Cherokee, Toms River North, Washington Twp., and Marlboro. A win by North Brunswick over Cranford puts the Raiders up a spot to 6th place, right behind Hillsborough by one UPR point. Their standing is still up in the air though depending on two Saturday games, 4th place Marlboro hosting Middletown North and 7th place Rancocas Valley hosting Highland Regional.

Hunterdon Central moved up a spot from 9th to 8th with a win over Perth Amboy, while a South Brunswick loss to Somerville dropped the Vikings from 8th to 12th, so it looks like they start on the road. They look locked into the 12-seed at the moment, but everyone else in the BCC will have to wait for those two games tomorrow.

Key Saturday Games to Watch:

  • #4 Marlboro vs. Middletown North
  • #7 Rancocas Valley vs. Highland Regional