Tag: Old Bridge

by Mike Pavlichko

State tourney, GMC final results yield yet another shuffling of Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top Ten

It was a second week in a row of a fairly good amount of upheaval in the Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Top Ten.

Why?

Monroe’s upset of Old Bridge in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament championship game – coupled with the first two rounds of the NJSIAA state tournament – resulted in some changes, including one team making its first appearance in the rankings this season.

Despite all the movement, Watchung Hills (17-8) remained No. 1 this week, one of just two teams in the same position they were last week. The Hustlin’ Warriors dropped their last regular season game on Tuesday, a 12-5 decision at Millburn, but won two games in the state tournament. In the North 2, Group 4 first round, they beat 14-seed Elizabeth 10-0 in a five-inning mercy-rule walkoff, then got by six-seed Westfield in the quarterfinals, 8-6. They’ll be in the sectional semis at second-seed Bayonne this Wednesday.

Continuing its meteoric rise is Monroe (15-14), now the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament champion after knocking off third-seed Old Bridge, 7-0 in the final, as the nine-seed. However, their season is over, as they got knocked out of the state tournament in Central Jersey Group 4 on Friday, 10-2 down at fourth-seed Hightstown. That came after beating 12-seed Montgomery, 1-0, on a walkoff single by Alex Marcus.

Holding at No. 3 is Immaculata (22-5). The Spartans beat Rutgers Prep at home, 7-0 on Tuesday, in preparation for the state tournament. After a first-round by in Non-Public South A, the top-seeded Spartans beat eighth-seed Paul VI, 7-0, in the quarterfinals on Thursday. They’ll get back to it on Tuesday, when they host 5th-seed CBA. Central Jersey Sports Radio will have Sean Newcomb covering that game, and you can follow him in Twitter by clicking here.

Dropping two spots to fourth is Old Bridge (20-9), after falling to Monroe in the GMC title game on Saturday, 7-0. But the Knights’ season is not done. After opening up the Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs with a 1-0 win over 16-seed East Brunswick on Wednesday, and following it up with an 8-0 win over eight-seed Freehold Township in Friday’s quarterfinals, the Knights – who had an 11-game win streak snapped Saturday – will look to rebound and move on in the state tournament when they host four-seed Hightstown in the semifinals.

A number of teams edged down a spot or two, mainly due to Monroe’s rise. That includes Ridge (17-10), which dropped one spot to five. On Tuesday, they won a regular season game at Hillsborough, 8-1, then got into the state tournament. They beat 16-seed Barringer (Newark) 13-3 in a mercy-rule five-inning walk-off on Wednesday in the North 2, Group 4 opening round, then walked off eight-seed Phillipsburg in six, by a 10-0 score on Friday. Wednesday, they will face five-seed Bridgewater-Raritan in the semifinals, a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio starting at 4 pm, with Mike Pavlichko on the call. Click here to listen.

South Plainfield (16-11) climbs to six this week, one of only two teams (the other, Immaculata) to have a perfect week. The Tigers went 3-0, starting with a 7-1 regular season playoff tune-up victory over Middlesex on Tuesday. The next day, they opened the state playoffs with a 5-0 win over 13-seed JFK in the North 2, Group 3 first round. Friday, they were 7-0 winners over fifth-seed North Plainfield, and now move on to Wednesday’s semifinals, where they’ll go on the road for the first time this year in the states, facing top-seed Chatham.

Middlesex (22-5) drops a notch to seven this week. After the 7-1 loss to South Plainfield on Tuesday, they opened Central Jersey Group 1 play in the state tournament with a 21-1 win in five innings over 16-seed Highland Park, then an 11-1 win on a walk-off in six against eight-seed South Hunterdon. Next up, the Blue Jays play host to five-seed Shore in the CJ1 semifinals on Wednesday.

In the eighth spot is Rutgers Prep (17-7), same as last week. The Argonauts dropped a 70- regular season state tourney tune-up to Immaculata in Flemington on Tuesday, but came back nicely with a 16-0, five-inning win over ten-seed Pope John of Sparta in the Non-Public North B quarterfinals, after getting an opening round bye. Tuesday, they will host third-seed St. Thomas Aquinas at 4 pm in a Skyland-GMC crossover you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Alec Crouthamel calling the action. Click here to listen.

Down two spots to nine is Edison (19-8), which literally limped to the finish line with its top three starters – D1 commits Connor Murphy, Dom Innocenti and Rob Roma – all injured or nagged by arm issues in some way shape or form by the end of the year. None of the three were available for Wednesday’s opening round playoff loss to 15-seed Franklin, 5-4, in the Central Jersey Group 4 section.

And new to the rankings this week is Bridgewater-Raritan. The Panthers – despite a last place finish in the grueling Skyland Conference Delaware Division – proved their metttle not just by reaching the Somerset County Tournament semifinals as a five-seed a couple of weeks ago, but also by reaching the North 2, Group 4 semifinals as a five-seed this week. Bridgewater beat 12-seed Plainfield 11-0 in five innings in the opening round Wednesday, then went on the road in the quarters on Friday and knocked off four-seed JP Stevens, 10-0 in six. Next, they travel to top-seed Ridge for what should be a good rubber match in the sectional semifinals: each team beat the other 4-3 this year in their regular season matchups.

Dropping out was previous No. 10 Colonia. The ninth-seeded Patriots (14-10) lost their opening round North 2, Group 3 playoff game to nine-seed Middletown North, 5-1, on Wednesday, just two weeks after being eliminated from the GMC Tournament in their opening game.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Top Ten for Week Nine. NOTE: This will be the final ranking until the season is complete for all CJSR-area clubs.

by Mike Pavlichko

A look back at the 40th edition of the GMC Finals, as Monroe rewrites some of the history books with 7-0 win over Old Bridge

Throw out the seeds when the Red Division is in the GMC Tournament finals.

The way the GMC has aligned its division the last few years, relying – in part – on a relegation/promotion model where division winners generally move up and last place teams move down for the next year, the Red now gets stacked with the best teams from the year before, and then they beat up on each other.

Even if it’s the eight best teams in the entire conference, someone has to finish last, right?

So after five straight tournaments with at least a No. 1 or No. 2 seed making the title game – dating back to 2019 – neither made it this year. We got the third-seed Old Bridge, and the nine-seed in Monroe, with the Falcons beating the Knights 7-0 Saturday to win their second county championship. And both were very worthy opponents.

There was at least one pure “first” in Monroe’s win. While they aren’t the lowest seeded team to win it – that distinction belongs to Woodbridge, which was seeded 17th in 2000 and knocked off second-seed and in-town rival JFK – but they are the first nine seed to win. The nine-seed is now 1-2 in GMC Finals dating back to the first title game in 1986.

For the record, the three-seed (Old Bridge this year) is 5-4 all-time. The top two seeds have won 22 of the 40 finals, and the top four have won 28.

Here are some other notes and nuggets on the 40th GMC Championship Game:

One-hitter is a rare feat…

We haven’t been able to go back and look at every game, but Ben Faigin’s one-hitter for Monroe was the first since 2014. Brandon Bielak of fourth-seed St. Joseph did it in 2014, a game that was more notable for the fact that they won it – 1-0 over six-seed South Plainfield – on a walk-off bases loaded walk.

Ben Faigin of Monroe talks to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe after throwing a one-hitter in the GMC Final, the first since 2014. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

…but a shutout is not…

In 40 GMC finals, this was the eleventh shutout. They have been more frequent recently.

In the six finals since COVID, half have been shutouts, all by “Falcons.” St. Joseph has the other two: a 2-0 win over South Brunswick in 2021, and a 2-0 win over North Brunswick in 2023.

Multiple wins…

Monroe becomes the sixth GMC team to win multiple championships, joining South Brunswick with two. Here are the rest:

  • 9 – St. Joseph
  • 8 – Edison
  • 5 – East Brunswick
  • 3 – Old Bridge

And for just making the finals, Old Bridge and Monroe – which had both been to four finals prior to this year – move up to fifth place on the all-time list with five. Here are the rest:

  • 11 – St. Joseph
  • 10 – Edison
  • 7 – East Brunswick
  • 6 – South Plainfeld

Monroe is now 2-3 all-time in GMC title games, while Old Bridge drops to 3-2.

Kyle Rutan of Monroe hits against Old Bridge in the GMC Tournament final in East Brunswick on May 30, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Not as close anymore?

Every GMC final from 2013 through 2024 had been decided by one or two runs, with seven decided by one run, and four of those being 1-0 victories. But the last two finals have bucked the trend.

Last year, St. Joe’s beat Edison 7-4 – on a walk-off grand-slam by JP Zayle – and this year Monroe won 7-0. That was thee largest margin of victory since 2010, when six-seed North Brunswick beat 16-seed North Brunswick, 9-2.

It’s also the second largest margin of victory in a final by a lower seeded team, tying the 2005 final, which saw second-seed East Brunswick upset top-seed St. Joseph, 8-1. Only one had a larger margin, in the very first GMC Tournament final in 1986. That year, 12-seed East Brunswick beat 7-seed Madison Central by eleven runs, 14-3. (There was no ten-run rule in that game; it went seven full innings.)

Overall, it was the third-largest margin of victory in the GMC Tournament final. In addition to East Brunswick’s win in the inaugural GMC final in 1986, St. Joseph beat South Amboy 11-0 twenty years later, in 2006. And Edison had a nine-run win, 12-3 over JFK, in 1993.

There have been four other games decided by seven runs in the finals:

  • 2010 – South Brunswick 9, North Brunswick 2
  • 2008 – East Brunswick 8, St. Joseph 1
  • 1994 – Edison 10, Monroe 3

Who’s won both tournaments?

In 2019, the Greater Middlesex Conference introduced the Invitational Tournament. Prior to that, the GMC was an “open” format, with all teams – except those that opted out, and it happens occasionally – getting into the bracket. But seven years ago, the league changed the format, and only a certain number of teams (this year 20) make what’s now called the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament, while the remainder are seeded in the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational.

Although there’s only a six year history of the Invitational, Piscataway’s win this year – 3-0 over Dunellen – makes the Chiefs just the second program to win both the championship (in the open format) and the Invitational.

Carteret won the Invitational in 2019 and 2024, and also won the “open” tournament in 1988, their only title.

Other teams to win the Invitational, followed by records in the “championship” final:

  • Sayreville in 2021 (0-2)
  • JP Stevens in 2022 (0-3)
  • Perth Amboy Magnet in 2023 (NA)
  • New Brunswick in 2025 (NA)

GMC TOURNAMENT FINALS HISTORY

  • 1986:  (12) East Brunswick 14, (7) Madison Central 3 (7 innings)
  • 1987:  (10) Cedar Ridge 2,  (16) Colonia 1
  • 1988:  (2) Carteret 4, (13) JP Stevens 2 (11 innings)
  • 1989:  (1) Madison Central 8, (6) Cedar Ridge 7 (8 innings)
  • 1990:  (1) Edison 9, (10) South Plainfield 3
  • 1991:  (7) East Brunswick 6, (1) South Plainfield 5
  • 1992:  (1) Edison 1, (7) Bishop Ahr 0
  • 1993:  (1) Edison 12, (2) JFK 3
  • 1994:  (1) Edison 10, (3) Monroe 3
  • 1995:  (1) Edison 5, (6) Piscataway 3
  • 1996:  (2) Bishop Ahr 4, (1) Edison 3 (13 innings)
  • 1997:  (3) East Brunswick 3, (5) JFK 2
  • 1998:  (1) Edison 2, (11) East Brunswick 1
  • 1999:  (1) Edison 7, (3) Bishop Ahr 2
  • 2000:  (17) Woodbridge 7, (2) JFK 1
  • 2001:  (2) Edison 4, (13) Spotswood 1
  • 2002:  (3) South Brunswick 4, (1) Piscataway 2 (9 innings)
  • 2003:  (1) Piscataway 9, (10) East Brunswick 5
  • 2004:  (1) St. Joseph 6, (6) Carteret 0
  • 2005:  (2) East Brunswick 8, (1) St. Joseph 1
  • 2006:  (5) St. Joseph 11, (6) South Amboy 0 (5 innings)
  • 2007:  (1) Spotswood 7, (11) JP Stevens 6
  • 2008:  (10) St. Joseph 3, (4) Old Bridge 2
  • 2009:  (1) St. Joseph 6, (7) North Brunswick 0
  • 2010:  (6) South Brunswick 9, (16) North Brunswick 2
  • 2011:  (2) Old Bridge 3, (4) South Plainfield 2
  • 2012:  (3) Middlesex 10, (1) Sayreville 4
  • 2013:  (7) JFK 4, (9) Monroe 2
  • 2014:  (4) St. Joseph 1, (6) South Plainfield 0
  • 2015:  (2) Monroe 1, (8) Sayreville 0 (8 innings) 
  • 2016:  (2) East Brunswick 1, (9) JP Stevens 0
  • 2017:  (1) St. Joseph 1, (6) Monroe 0
  • 2018:  (14)South Plainfield 2, (12) Perth Amboy 1 (12 innings)
  • 2019:  (1) Old Bridge 2, (3) South Brunswick 1
  • 2020:  NO SEASON – COVID
  • 2021:  (2) St. Joseph 2, (5) South Brunswick 0
  • 2022:  (6) North Brunswick 4, (1) St. Joseph 2
  • 2023:  (3) St. Joseph 2, (1) North Brunswick 0
  • 2024:  (3) Old Bridge 6, (1) South Plainfield 5
  • 2025:  (5) St. Joseph 7, (11) Edison 4
  • 2026:  (9) Monroe 7, (3) Old Bridge 0 
by Mike Pavlichko

Another gem from Faigin, backed up by Monroe offense, gives Falcons 7-0 win over Old Bridge, first GMC Tourney title since 2015

Chances are, with Ben Faigin on the mound, Monroe is going to win the ballgame.

Then again, his lone loss coming into the GMC’s Jim Muldowney Championship Final was against Old Bridge, a 9-5 road loss on April 23rd.

But that was not what happened Saturday at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick. In fact, quite the opposite.

Faigin – a Rutgers commit who’s just a junior – took a no-hitter into the seventh before giving up a leadoff double to the Knights’ Eric Schickschneit. But he induced a groundout and got two strikeouts to end it, going a complete game and just allowing five baserunners; the other four came on walks.

Meanwhile, ninth-seed Monroe scored early and often, all but one of their runs coming in the first three innings.

Justin Mangano led off the game and got hit by the very first pitch from Old Bridge’s Brady Meyer, an early sign of control issues. Faigin grounded into a fielder’s choice, and after he stole second, came home to score on Alex Marcus’ single. Nico Antoniades followed with a walk, and Matt Linke drove him in with a single to make it 2-0. Two strikeouts by Meyer ended the inning and kept the damage to a minimum.

The Falcons would make it 3-0 in the second on a sac fly to right by Mangano, scoring Tyler Bacon, who walked to leadoff the inning.

They would add three more in the third. Linke led off with a double to left, and after a strikeout, Austin Loudin hit a ball to left and reached on an error when Nick Natale misplayed it for Old Bridge. After Bacon popped up a bunt for the second out, a Kyle Rutan double scored both and made it 5-0. That was it for Meyer, who was replaced by Chris Crosta coming in from third, and he gave up a single to Mangano for his second RBI of the game to make it 6-0.

Monroe added one more in the sixth on an RBI single by Linke,

Meanwhile, Faigin was cruising, allowing just four walks through the first six innings. He got in a little trouble in the sixth, walking back-to-back hitters with one out, and they advanced to second and third on stolen bases, but Faigin K’d Matt Chin for the second out and got Jared Volpe to ground out to short.

In the end, Faigin gave up one hit in seven innings, walked four and struck out 12 to improve to 7-1 on the season. Monroe wins its second GMC Tournament title, and first since 2015, in five appearances. They finish their season 15-14, having been eliminated from the Central Jersey Group 4 section of the state tournament on the eve of the GMC final, with a 10-2 loss at Hightstown Friday night.

Monroe junior Ben Faigin pitches in the 2026 GMC Tournament final against Old Bridge on May 30, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Meyer took the loss for the Knights, going 2 1/3 innings, allowing six runs, five earned, on four hits. He walked four – one intentional, hit one batter and struck out three.

Old Bridge, however, still has the states to look forward to. They are now 20-8 – with an 11-game win streak snapped – but will play in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals Wednesday at home at Fred Cole Field against 4th-seed Hightstown.

Click below for postgame reaction on the field with Justin Sontupe, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Monroe junior pitcher Ben Faigin
Senior catcher Justin Mangano and head coach Sean Field
by Mike Pavlichko

Jim Muldowney GMC Finals Preview: Old Bridge, Monroe set to face off for title, with Knights still alive in states

It’s not much of a surprise that either third-seed Old Bridge or nine-seed Monroe will play Saturday for the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship.

Just about anyone from the Red Division in the Greater Middlesex Conference (and others, too) would have been a worthy participant in one game to determine conference supremacy.

But when they do play Saturday for the title at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick, it will be a unique situation, and different for both teams.

Years ago, the GMC decided to move its tournament up earlier in the calendar, so the finals would not me in the middle of the NJSIAA state tournament. Bun rain all last weekend prevented that from happening, and the game got rescheduled to Saturday, May 30th.

Old Bridge, meanwhile, earned a top-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, and Monroe got the five-seed. Had it worked out, both could have been facing each other again next week in the semifinals. But while the Knights won their semi Friday against Freehold Twp., 8-0, Monroe fell 10-2 at Hightstown.

Now, the two teams enter in much different situations.

Old Bridge is coming off a playoff win, and will “break” for the GMC final, then have to shift back into “one-and-done” mode next Wednesday, and hope they don’t have to go too deep into their bullpen Saturday. Monroe has it’s top two pitchers both available in Ben Faigin – who will get the start – and Andre Love, with nothing to save them for. This is the end of the line.

With that, here’s a look at the 2026 GMC championship.

2026 JIM MULDOWNEY GMC CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT FINALS AT-A-GLANCE

Teams:
(3) Old Bridge Knights (20-8, 9-5, 2nd place in the GMC Red)
(9) Monroe Falcons (14-14, 6-8, 5th place in the GMC Red)

Date and Time: Saturday, May 30 at noon (pregame 11:40)
Location: Ray Cipperly Field, East Brunswick Magnet HS
Weather: 66, mix of sun and clouds, NW wind (across the diamond from right to left) at 20 mph, gusts 33 mph
Listen On: Central Jersey Sports Radio
Watch On: Our YouTube Channel
Announcers: Mike Pavlichko & Justin Sontupe

Head Coaches:
Old Bridge: Matt Donaghue (9th year, 8th season, 138-91, GMCT champs in 2019 and 2024)
Monroe: Sean Field (8th year, 7th season, 93-73)

Probable Starters:
Old Bridge: Brady Myer (3-1, 2.93 ERA)
Monroe: Ben Faigin (6-1, 1.18 ERA)

ORIGINAL PREVIEW STORIES:

UPDATED INTERVIEWS WITH BOTH HEAD COACHES:

Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue
Monroe head coach Sean Field

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Old Bridge:
First Round: def. (14) Sayreville, 1-0
Quarterfinals: def. (6) Woodbridge, 1-0
Semifinals: def. (2) Middlesex, 9-3

Monroe:
First Round: def. (6) Colonia, 9-2
Quarterfinals: def. (1) Edison, 9-1
Semifinals: def. (5) South Plainfield, 1-0

TEAM LEADERS:

Old Bridge:

  • Batting Average: Matt Chin (.427), Michael Chiarella, Jared Volpe (.318)
  • RBI: Matt Chin (21), Jared Volpe, Adrian Lutomski (14)
  • HR: Matt Chin, Michael Chiarella (2), four others with 1
  • Walks: Matt Chin (15), Chris Crosta (11)
  • Stolen Bases: Chris Crosta (7), Brady Meyer (5)
  • Wins: Blake Dunleavy (5), four others with 3
  • ERA (min 12 innings): Brady Meyer (1.34), Matt Levitt (2.15)
  • Strikeouts (Pitcher): Brady Meyer (42), Blake Dunleavy (40)

Monroe:

  • Batting Average:Ben Faigin (.481), Justin Mangano (.427), Alex Marcus (.289)
  • RBI: Alex Marcus (23), Ben Faigin (17), Niko Antoniades (15)
  • HR: Ben Faigin (2), Robert Profaci (1)
  • Walks: Ben Fiagin (21), Michael Cinque (14)
  • Stolen Bases: Ben Faigin (21), Justin Mangano (10)
  • Wins: Ben Faigin (6), Siddarth Desai, Aadi Shah (3)
  • ERA (min 12 innings): Ben Faigin (1.18), Camerron Kappus (2.74)
  • Strikeouts (Pitcher): Ben Faigin (74), Andre Love (70)

Team Stats:

  • Batting Average: Old Bridge .281, Monroe .270
  • Home Runs: Old Bridge 8, Monroe 3
  • Stolen Bases: Monroe 58, Old Bridge 18
  • Runs Scored: Old Bridge 119, Monroe 119
  • Runs Allowed: Monroe 137, Old Bridge 105
  • Strikeouts (Pitchers): Monroe 230, Old Bridge 163

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

Old Bridge

Monroe

NOTES AND NUGGETS:

New blood, again….

Even though both schools have won a GMC Tournament title in the last decade or so – Monroe in 2015, Old Bridge in 2029 and 2023 – this will be the third straight year the defending champion failed to make the finals.

St. Joseph-Metuchen made it back in 2022 after beating South Brunswick the year before, and North Brunswick beat the Falscons in 2022, then got back in 2023 – and lost again to St. Joe’s.

But the finals saw two different teams in 2024 – Old Bridge and South Plainfield – while last year’s title game featured St. Joe’s (in its third trip in four years) against Edison.

This year, same deal: St. Joe’s came in as the 12-seed and lost their opening round game to fifth-seed South Plainfield, 2-1. Edison was the top-seed, but after a 10-0 victory over 17-seed and Gold Division champ Piscataway Magnet in the first round, lost 9-1 to ninth-seed Monroe in the quarterfinals.

How will the seeds fare?

While the nine-seed in the tournament last reached the title game in 2016, when JP Stevens lost to second-seed East Brunswick, 1-0, you don’t have to go as far back as that to find an even lower-seeded team that made the finals. Edison made it as an 11-seed last year, and lost to fifth-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen, 7-4, on a walk-off grand slam by JP Zayle.

The lowest seed ever to win the GMC Tournament was Woodbridge, 26 years ago. The Barrons were the 17-seed and knocked off second-seed JFK, 7-1.

The nine-seed is 0-2 in the finals all-time. Besides the Hawks, mentioned above, Monroe also was a nine-seed when they made the finals in 2013, but lost to seven-seed JFK, 4-2, for Kennedy’s only title ever, in four trips to the finals.

  • 2013:  (7) JFK 4, (9) Monroe 2 (top-seed Middlesex, Blue Div.)
  • 2016:  (2) East Brunswick 1, (9) JP Stevens 0 (top-seed Monroe, White)

The third-seed has fared better, going 5-3, with wins coming in 1997, 2002, 2012, and twice since COVID, in 2023 and 2024. Old Bridge won it as a three-seed in 2024, and also beat a three-seed. That came in 2019, when the Knights were the No. 1 seed and beat third-seed South Brunswick, 2-1, Donaghue’s first title in just his second season at Old Bridge

  • 1994:  (1) Edison 10, (3) Monroe 3
  • 1997:  (3) East Brunswick 3, (5) JFK 2
  • 1999:  (1) Edison 7, (3) Bishop Ahr 2
  • 2002:  (3) South Brunswick 4, (1) Piscataway 2 (9 innings)
  • 2012:  (3) Middlesex 10, (1) Sayreville 4
  • 2019:  (1) Old Bridge 2, (3) South Brunswick 1
  • 2023:  (3) St. Joseph 2, (1) North Brunswick 0
  • 2024:  (3) Old Bridge 6, (1) South Plainfield 5

Big Schools….

While the NJSIAA only classifies teams by size into four groups in baseball, football is divided into five, with Group 5 being the largest schools. And this will be the first time since 2019 two “Group 5” football schools have made the finals. That year, the Knights were the top-seed and beat third-seed South Brunswick, 2-1, for Matt Donaghue’s first of two championships as Old Bridge head coach.

St. Joseph spoiled that party by making four of five GMC finals since COVID, but the one year it was two public schools, in 2024, it was third-seed Old Bridge (Group 5) over top-seed South Plainfield (Group 3 in baseball and football) by a 6-5 score.

Parallels…

Last year, St. Joseph-Metuchen won the GMC Tournament without ever having led for a single pitch of any of its four games, from the first round through the finals. They won their first two games 1-0, both in extra innings, then walked off Spotswood in the semifinals and beat Edison for the title on a first-pitch grand slam by JP Zayle.

While Old Bridge hasn’t been that dramatic, their games have kept their fans ont he edge of their seats. They even won their first two games by 1-0 scores in this year’s tournament, and the second was in extra innings. In the first round against Sayreville, they won 1-0 with their run coming in the fourth. In the quarters, Eric Schnickschneit drove in Jared Volpe with a single in the bottom of the eighth to win it.

And while they didn’t walk-off Middlesex in the semifinals two Saturdays ago, Middlesex trailed 3-0 going into their final at bat, and tied it with three in the seventh, but Old Bridge came back and scored six in the top of the seventh to take a 9-3 lead, holding Middlesex scoreless in the bottom of the inning to take the win.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY (wins in bold)

Old Bridge (3-1):

  • 2008:  (10) St. Joseph 3, (4) Old Bridge 2
  • 2011:  (2) Old Bridge 3, (4) South Plainfield 2
  • 2019:  (1) Old Bridge 2, (3) South Brunswick 1
  • 2024:  (3) Old Bridge 6, (1) South Plainfield 5

Monroe (1-3):

  • 1994:  (1) Edison 10, (3) Monroe 3
  • 2013:  (7) JFK 4, (9) Monroe 2
  • 2015:  (2) Monroe 1, (8) Sayreville 0 (8 innings) 
  • 2017:  (1) St. Joseph 1, (6) Monroe 0

Note: Old Bridge was comprised of Madison Central and Cedar Ridge prior to the 1994 merger. Their combined histories are below. Each team made two appearances in the finals, with one win each.

  • 1986:  (12) East Brunswick 14, (7) Madison Central 3
  • 1987:  (10) Cedar Ridge 2,  (16) Colonia 1
  • 1989:  (1) Madison Central 8, (6) Cedar Ridge 7 (8 innings)

by Mike Pavlichko

Friday NJSIAA Public State Playoff Roundup: Top-seed Old Bridge advances, but fellow GMC finalist Monroe is knocked out; Watchung Hills, No. 1 seeds Ridge, Middlesex move on; South Plainfield ousts North; Piscataway Magnet walks off again

We started with 32, and after two rounds, we’re down to seven. (At least among the publics.)

Seven teams are all that remain from the Greater Middlesex and Skyland Conferences after the first round and quarterfinals of the NJSIAA state tournament, and all will have an opportunity to reach the section finals in their respective sections next Friday, if they can win semifinal games next week.

Only one team remains in Central Jersey Group 4, where top-seed old Bridge advanced, but fifth-seed Monroe lost, on the eve of their meeting in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament championship game Saturday at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick. First pitch of that game is at noon with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe calling the action. Pregame is set for 11:40, and you can either listen to the game on Central Jersey Sports Radio the usual way, or watch our live YouTube stream by clicking here.

In other sections, second-seed Piscataway Magnet earned its 25th win – for the second straight state tournament game in walk-off fashion – leading the Raiders into one semifinal, while top-seed Middlesex won again by the mercy rule and also will play for a title game berth.

Top-seed Ridge, third-seed Watchung Hills and fifth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan advanced in North 2, Group 4 action, making it three of four teams in the semifinals from the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, while defending North 2, Group 3 champion South Plainfield also moved on to the semis in its section, and will seek a third straight trip to the finals.

Scroll through for section-by-section game recaps, interviews, links and more, followed by the schedule for the next round – which resumes next week after a weekend break – for the non-public sections (Tuesday) and publics (Wednesday).

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 4

(1) Old Bridge 8, (8) Freehold Twp. 0: The Knights (20-8) got a complete game, one-hit shutout from Mason Mule, who only needed 66 pitches to get through seven innings, facing the minimum 27 batters, despite only striking out three. In fact, the only hit he allowed was a third-inning single by Julian Polo, who was thrown out at second by right fielder Michael Chiarella when he tried to turn it into a double.

Old Bridge got two RBI’s apiece from Nicholas Agonstino and Matt Chin, while Jared Volpe scored twice. They went up 1-0 in the second on an Adrian Lutomski double, then got two more in the fourth when Chiarella, with the bases loaded, lined a ball to short, but an error allowed two runs to score. And while that was all they’d need, the Knights added four more for insurance in the fourth, and one more for good measure in the fifth.

Perhaps the biggest thing about Mule’s performance is that head coach Matt Donaghue elected not to go with his top pitcher, Brady Meyer, and it paid off. That leaves Meyer in line to start the GMC Final Saturday afternoon against Monroe. (See the Falcons’ game summary from today for their pitching situation.) And he could come back Wednesday in the semifinals if he throws under 90 pitches Saturday, or in a potential final Friday regardless of his Saturday pitch count.

Click here to listen to Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk about the win over Freehold Twp., and Saturday’s GMC Final against Monroe, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

(4) Hightstown 10, (5) Monroe 2: The Falcons (14-14) were down 2-0 early in this one, as the Rams (18-7) scored twice in their first at bat, on a bases loaded single to center by Dylan Stables and a bases loaded ground out by Manny Gonzalez. And Monroe kept Highstown in check until the fourth, when they exploded for eight runs to take a 10-0 lead. That chased starter Aadi Shah from the game after 3 2/3, allowing seven hits and seven runs, only four of them earned.

With neither Ben Faigin nor Andre Love pitching in the game, both are available to Saturday in the GMC final against Old Bridge, with nearly their full complement of pitches: Faigin will be capped at 105 and Love at 96.

Click here to listen to Monroe head coach Sean Field talk about Friday’s state tournament loss, and coming back Saturday for the GMC final against Old Bridge, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

(7) Jackson Twp. 12, (15) Franklin 0 (5 inn.): The Warriors (8-12) got nine hits through five innings, but failed to get anything across in a mercy-rule shortened game. The Jaguars (12-15) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but piled on eight runs in the second – aided by three Franklin errors – and added three more in the fourth. Dylan Shah, Mason Bonds, Shayne Rooney and Christian Jacas each had two hits in the losing effort.

  • (1) Old Bridge def. (8) Freehold Twp., 8-0
  • (4) Hightstown def. (5) Monroe, 10-2
  • (3) Hunterdon Central def. (6) Manalapan, 12-7
  • (7) Jackson Twp. def. (15) Franklin, 12-1

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1

(1) Middlesex 11, (8) South Hunterdon 1 (6 inn.): The Blue Jays (22 -5) look very much like the team that won the Group 1 state championship last year, and might even be better. Once again, it was Dominic Long on the mound, striking out six and allowing just five hits and one earned run in six innings of work.

Middlesex never trailed in the game, but they did find themselves tied 1-1 heading into the home second inning. But they took the lead back with one in the second, the first of ten unanswered runs over the final five innings. After taking a 2-1 edge into the third, they scored two in the third, then got three more in the fifth and walked it off with a five-spot in the bottom of the sixth.

Dylan Ianiero and Chris Kozak each drove in two runs, while Long scored three times, and Ianiero and Marcus Lavornia each scored twice.

The Blue Jays will host 5-seed Shore (19-8) next Wednesday in the semifinals, but the Blue Devils first have the Monmouth County Tournament Ted Jarmusz Division title game at 4 pm Monday at Colts Neck.

(2) Piscataway Magnet 5, (10) Delaware Valley 4 (9 inn.): For the second straight game in the state tournament, the Raiders won 5-4 in their final at bat, this time needing two extra innings to prevail. Freshman shortstop Trey Lyerly drove in Vincent Canavan with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, after Canavan walked to leadoff the inning and stole second to get into scoring position. You can read the full game story, complete with postgame audio from Lyerly and head coach Greg Sampson at the link.

The Raiders (25-3) will face third-seed Point Pleasant Beach (16-6) – a CJ1 finalist last year and the winners of three straight sectional titles before that – Wednesday in the semifinals, back at home.

(5) Shore 4, (4) Metuchen 0: The Bulldogs’ season ends at 19-8, as the Blue Devils managed five hits and four runs (three earned) off starter James Fenton in his six innings of work, getting two runs in the second and adding two more in the fifth for insurance. Metuchen managed just four hits off Blue Devils’ (19-8) starter Ryan Barham, who struck out seven and walked just one.

  • (1) Middlesex def. (8) South Hunterdon, 11-1 (6 inn.)
  • (5) Shore def. (4) Metuchen, 4-0
  • (3) Point Pleasant Beach def. (11) Florence, 11-1 (5 inn.)
  • (2) Piscataway Magnet def. (10) Delaware Valley, 5-4 (9 inn.)

NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 4

(1) Ridge 10, (8) Phillipsburg 0 (6 inn.): The Red Devils (17-0) jumped on Phillipsburg (14-10) with four runs in the bottom of the first, then walked it off with three in the bottom of the sixth to end the game by mercy rule.

Lucas Grob and Jake Dolan stroked back-to-back one-out singles in the first, and another by Casey Kucerka got Ridge all the runs they turned out to need. After a walk to Casey Kucerka, Dimitri Romer singled score two, and Aiden Kerrigan hit a sac fly to right to make it 4-0.

Kucerka drove in three runs for Ridge, while Grob and Dolan each had two RBIs. Romer went all six innings for the win, striking out five, scattering just three hits to improve to 5-2 on the season.

The Red Devils will meet Skyland Delaware foe and five-seed Bridgewater-Raritan (13-16) in the semifinals – a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – next Wednesday at 4 pm. The teams split their two game set this year, both winning by 4-3 scores.

Click here to hear Ridge head coach Tom Blackwell talk about the Red Devils’ state playoff win over Phillipsburg with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

(5) Bridgewater-Raritan 10, (4) JP Stevens 0 (5 inn.): The Panthers (13-6) have now won four of their last six after a mercy-rule win over the Hawks, their second by the run rule in two state tournament games. Nico Moore got the win, allowing just four hits in his five innings of work. Read Alec Crouthamel’s game story, and hear postgame reaction from Nico Moore, Michael Lobosco and head coach Max Newill at the link.

The Panthers will visit top-seed Ridge Wendesday at 4 pm in the semifinals, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Ridge and Bridgewater split their two game set this year, each winning by a 4-3 score.

(3) Watchung Hills 8, (6) Westfield 6: The Hustlin’ Warriors hung on for dear life in this one, nearly seeing an 8-1 lead after five innings slip away.

Westfield led 1-0, opening the scoring in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Andrew Lisnok, but Watchung Hills took the lead in the bottom of the inning. After a walk and hit batsman to lead off the inning, pinch-hitter David Begarney singled to tie the game. Brody Girffith stole home for the second run, and Jacob Jaconski makde it 4-0 with a line drive single to left.

Then, it was a five-spot in the fifth. Max Payne led off, reaching on an error on the shortstop, Landon Pudlak Walked, and Griffith reached on a bunt down the third-base line. After BRady Simo popped out – with the infield fly in effect – Bennett Dealaman reached on a fielder’s choice to make it 5-0 Warriors. A walk to pinch-hitter Lucas Ricci loaded the bases again, and a Jaconski walk scored the sixth run.After another fielder’s choice, this one by Stef DeGeronimo, Rob Centamore singled to drive in two, giving Watchung Hills what looked like a commanding lead.

But, Westfield would chip away. They got a two in the top of the sixth on and RBI single by Jack Doherty and a two-RBI double by Liam Sullivan to make it 8-4. And they came back for more in the seventh. After a leadoff error, a groundout, another error and a walk, Max Payne came in for Hills and walked Doherty to make ti 8-3, then gave up a single to Alex Lawrence to score two and make it 8-5. All that came with one out, but Payne then induced a pop up for the second out, and fanned Owen O’Connor on strike three swinging to end the game.

The Warriors will travel up to second-seed Bayonne (21-8) to play the Bees in the semifinals next Wednesday afternoon.

(2) Bayonne 3, (10) Woodbridge 1: The Barrons’ season ends at 16-11, dropping a pitchers’ duel in Hudson County Friday afternoon in which Woodbridge actually outhit their hosts, 5-3. The Bees opened the scoring in the first on a groundout by Cody Guthrie, and Woodbridge tied it in the fifth with a double by Hogan Boyd. But Bayone got two to go ahead for good in the bottom of the inning, one on an error on a grounder to Gavin Slicner off the bat of Brayden O’Connor, and another on a sac fly to center by Carmelo Isler.

  • (1) Ridge def. (8) Phillipsburg, 10-0
  • (5) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (4) JP Stevens, 10-0 (6 inn.)
  • (3) Watchung Hills def. (6) Westfield, 8-6
  • (2) Bayonne def. (10) Woodbridge, 3-1

NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 3

(4) South Plainfield 7, (5) North Plainfield 0: Andrew Bena – the second half of a formidable 1-2 starting pitcher punch for the Tigers (16-11) was outstanding, allowing just four hits while striking out ten in a six-inning effort. Jayden Jiminez closed it out.

South Plainfield got on the board with four runs in the bottom of the second. Andrew Cicenia and Ed Bundzinski opened with back-to-back singles, and after a strikeout, Andrew Burns walked, and Joe Stanzione cleared the bases with a double to make it 3-0. Stanzione scored after a second strikeout when Aiden McCarthy hit the ball to second and reached on an error.

The defending North 2, Group 3 champion Tigers – who added another run in the fourth and two more int he sixth for insurance – move on to play at top-seed Chatham (20-6) Wednesday in the sectional semifinals.

Click here to listen to South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus talk about the Tigers’ quarterfinal win over North Plainfield with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.
  • (1) Chatham def. (9) Middletown North, 3-0
  • (4) South Plainfield def. (5) North Plainfield, 7-0
  • (3) Cranford def. (11) Summit, 17-7 (5)
  • (2) North Hunterdon def. (7) Millburn, 6-0

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, June 3 (all games 4 pm unless otherwise noted)

Non-Public North B Semifinals

  • (5) Morristown Beard at (1) St. Mary-Rutherford
  • (3) St. Thomas Aquinas at (2) Rutgers Prep, 4:30 pm (LIVE on CJSR)

Non-Public South A Semifinals

  • (5) Christian Brothers Academy at (1) Immaculata (at Diamond Nation, Flemington) (Follow Sean Newcomb on Twitter for updates)
  • (3) Red Bank Catholic at (2) St. Augustine

Wednesday, June 4 (game times TBA)

Central Jersey Group 4 Semifinals

  • (4) Hightstown at (1) Old Bridge
  • (7) Jackson Twp. at (3) Hunterdon Central

Central Jersey Group 1 Semifinals

  • (5) Shore at (1) Middlesex
  • (3) Point Pleasant Beach at (2) Piscataway Magnet

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Semifinals

  • (5) Bridgewater-Raritan at (1) Ridge
  • (3) Watchung Hills at (2) Bayonne

North Jersey, Section 2 Semifinals

  • (4) South Plainfield at (1) Chatham
  • (3) Cranford at (2) North Hunterdon

Thursday, June 5: Non-Public Sectional Finals (at higher seeds)

Friday, June 6: Public Sectional Finals (at higher seeds)

by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills’ win in SCT propels Hustlin’ Warriors to top spot in Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top Ten

With a new champions of Somerset County baseball comes a new team atop the Bellamy & Son Paving rankings for Week 8: Watchung Hills.

The Warriors displaced No. 1 Immaculata after a 1-0 win over the Spartans in eight innings in the Somerset County Tournament final Friday night, getting the game-winning hit from Stef DeGeronimo, and a three-hit, complete game shutout from starting pitcher Lucas Sheehan, the first sophomore to earn a win in the SCT title game since Casey Cahill of Immaculata did it in 1998.

With that win, and Monday’s semifinal victory over Bridgewater-Raritan, Watchung Hills (15-7) moves up two spots this week to No. 1. They will play a regular-season game at Millburn Tuesday afternoon before opening the state playoffs as a No. 3 seed in North 2, Group 4 first round action at home Wednesday against 14-seed Elizabeth.

Holding in second is Old Bridge (18-8), which only played one game last week, beating Sayreville 9-8 at Fred Cole Field Friday on senior night. The top-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, the Knights will open the playoffs against 16-seed East Brunswick on Wednesday. Should they win, they’ll play a sectional quarterfinal game at home Friday before Saturday’s rescheduled Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship Game against Monroe. You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – or watch it live on our YouTube channel – with first pitch scheduled for noon.

Immaculata (20-5) falls to third, going 2-1 in the past week. Between their 7-6 win over Bridgewater-Raritan in the SCT semifinals Monday and their loss in Friday’s championship, they beat West Morris in a regular season game, 1-0, on Friday afternoon. The Spartans are the No. 1 seed in the state tournament’s Non-Public South A section, and will open play on Thursday in the quarterfinals against either nine-seed Donovan Catholic or eight-seed Paul VI.

Ridge (15-9) once again checks in at No. 4. After their 4-2 loss to eventual SCT champion Watchung Hills in the semifinals on Monday, the Red Devils rebounded with a 7-0 win over Madison on Saturday. They’ll open state tournament play on Wednesday as the No. 1 seed in North 2, Group 4, hosting 16-seed Barringer.

Holding at five is Middlesex (20-4), which lost its only game this week, a Tuesday non-conference loss to North Hunterdon, 4-2. They have one more regular season game to play – Tuesday at South Plainfield – before opening state tournament action as the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 1 on Wednesday afternoon against 16-seed Highland Park.

Up one spot to No. 6 is Monroe (13-13), which split a pair of games last week, falling 16-4 to Robbinsville on Monday before coming back to beat South Brunswick, 6-4, on Wednesday. The Falcons will open the state playoffs as the five-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, hosting 12-seed Montgomery in the opening round Wednesday. Should they win, they will get a sectional quarterfinal game on Friday before playing Old Bridge for the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship Saturday afternoon. You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – or watch it live on our YouTube channel – with first pitch scheduled for 12 pm.

Down one spot to seven is Edison (19-7), which went 2-1 last week after falling the week prior in the GMC Tournament semifinals to Monroe. The Eagles were 9-1 winners over Somerville Tuesday, and 9-0 victors over Carteret on Wednesday – both at home – before losing, 4-0, to Hunterdon Central on Thursday. Wednesday, they open play as the two-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, hosting 15th-seed Franklin.

Up one spot to eight is South Plainfield (13-13), which was idle last week. The Tigers will open state tournament play as the four-seed in North 2, Group 3 in Wednesday, hosting 13-seed and conference mate JFK.

Rutgers Prep (3-1) is down a spot to nine. They beat Dayton 8-7 Monday, then lost 16-10 in a slugfest to Princeton Day on Tuesday in the Prep B Semifinals. They rebounded with a 5-3 win over Pingry on Thursday and an 11-0 win over Phillipsburg on Friday.

And Colonia (14-9) holds at ten after a 2-2 week. They opened with a 5-0 loss to Woodbridge on Monday, then lost Wednesday, 9-2, at Scotch Plains-Fanwood. But they came back with a 4-1 win at Ferris on Thursday, and beat Dayton 6-3 on Saturday. Wednesday, they open play in the North 2, Group 3 section of the state playoffs as the eight-seed, entertaining nine-seed Middletown North.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving H.S. Baseball Top Ten for Week Eight:

by justinsontupe

Red-hot Faigin, Mangano lead equally red-hot Monroe into GMC Tourney final against even hotter Old Bridge squad

Note: Due to rain in the forecast, the GMC Championship game has been moved to Saturday, May 30 at 12 noon at Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School.

It’s been a topsy-turvy season for Monroe, dropping 11-of-14 after a 5-1 start to limp into the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament as the No. 9 seed. But with county supremacy on the line, the Falcons kicked it into high gear.

Three consecutive upsets – Colonia, Edison, and South Plainfield – has Monroe (13-13) in the finals, where they will third-seeded Old Bridge (17-8) for the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship next Saturday, May 30th. You can hear it live on Central Jersey Sports Radio by clicking here, or you can watch it live on our YouTube channel.

Junior Ben Faigin – currently committed to play college baseball at Rutger – has set the tone. Amidst a stellar season (6-1, 1.27 ERA), he has done his best work in the GMC Tournament. 

In the first round against Colonia, he struck out 13 in a complete game two-hitter, allowing just a couple runs. Pitching again last week in the semifinals at East Brunswick Magnet – in a 1-0 win over five-seed South Plainfield – he was even better: a complete game, one-hit shutout with 13 more strikeouts.

That’s 26 strikeouts and just three hits allowed over 14 innings.

While Faigin was expected to take the mound again Saturday with the GMC trophy on the line, it’s up in the air if he’ll do it a week later, depending on how Monroe fares in the state tournament, which begins for them next Wednesday. The Falcons are the five-seed in Central Jersey Group 4 and will host 12-seed Montgomery in the opening round.

Faigin’s battery mate, senior Justin Mangano, has been Monroe’s catalyst on offense. Hitting .402 in a terrific senior year, Mangano has also been at his best in the GMC Tournament. He is 8-for-13 with 4 RBIs, collecting multiple hits in every game. The shining moment so far? The go-ahead RBI double with two outs in the 7th inning against South Plainfield, ultimately sending the Falcons to the GMC title game.

It’s Monroe’s first trip to a GMC title game since 2017 – a loss to St. Joe’s. Monroe’s last GMC championship was in 2015, a 1-0 win over Sayreville.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe talk with Monroe head coach Sean Field:

by Mike Pavlichko

Well-balanced, battle-tested Old Bridge set for GMC final – whenever it is – seeking second title in three seasons

Note: Due to rain in the forecast, the GMC Championship game has been moved to Saturday, May 30 at 12 noon at Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School.

Look for one particular star, one who rises far above the talent of everyone else on the ballclub, and you won’t find one on the Old Bridge baseball team.

And that’s perfectly fine with head coach Matt Donaghue.

He’s had teams like that in the past, and those have been fine, too. They won the GMC in 2024 and Central Jersey Group 4 in 2023, with ace pitchers like Justin Hascup J.T. Meyer, and Frank Papeo, all of whom had ERAs under two.

But this year’s team is a different story. Any pitcher could win on any given day, and though they’re hitting just .278 as a team there’s balance top to bottom, and every grade seems to be participating, too.

Sophomore Matt Chin leads the lineup, hitting .429, with junior Jared Volpe at .317, and senior Chris Crosta at .293. Balance.

Next Saturday afternoon, May 30th – a week’s delay due to rain in the forecast for this Sunday – the third-seeded Knights will play nine-seed Monroe in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship game.

First pitch now is set for noon at East Brunswick Magnet School’s Ray Cipperly Field. That was the original site until about a week ago, when the GMC worked out a deal to move the finals to Rutgers, at last for one year. You’ll be able to hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe on the call. Listen at this link, or watch the game live on our YouTube channel.

Junior Brady Meyer is expected to get the start for Old Bridge, coming in at 3-1, with a 2.95 ERA. He got the start in the semifinals for the Knights, tossing 6 2/3 innings of six-hit ball, allowing two earned runs.

Old Bridge led 3-0 until the seventh, when Middlesex got three in the home half of the inning to send it to extras, only to see Old Bridge score six times in the top of the eighth to emerge with a 9-3 victory, and a ticket to the championship.

The Knights swept Monroe two games this year – getting a 9-5 home win April 23rd, and a 12-1 road win six days later. the first of those matchups was the one where Saturday’s original starting pitchers met, and neither had particularly great starts.

Meyer went 3 2/3, but threw 75 pitches, allowing just three hits and one earned run, but he walked six and struck out four, while Ben Faigin of Monroe went 2 2/3 and allowed four hits, six runs, five earned, walking three and striking out four.

But if the way they both pitched in the semis is any indication – Faigin threw seven one-hit, shutout innings in a 1-0 semifinal win over five-seed South Plainfield last weekend – this one will look a little different if they face each other again.

With the final moved, Old Bridge’s next game – after winning their ninth straight on Friday, a 1-0 Senior night victory over Sayreville – will be in the state tournament, where they open up Central Jersey Group 4 play Wednesday as the top-seed against 16th-seed East Brunswick, a team they swept in the regular season.

Click below to hear from Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue on the GMC title game with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge, Monroe and GMC stuck between turf and a rainy place on Jim Muldowney Championship; how did others handle it?

Sometimes, despite all the best planning and intentions, things just don’t work out.

All was right with the world when the Greater Middlesex Conference announced just a week ago that its baseball and softball tournament championship games would be held at Rutgers University, following in the footsteps of the NJSIAA, which announced in early January that the state baseball finals would be held at Bainton Field on RU’s Livingston Campus in Piscataway.

A week later, it may have just been too good to be true. But it’s not the GMC’s fault, or Rutgers.

Blame Mother Nature. As we know from this season, she can be fickle.

Big picture, many more people will have their Memorial Day Weekend plans ruined by the rain expected to come down this weekend.

But as far as high school sports in Central Jersey, he first victim was the GMC Softball final, scheduled to be held at Rutgers Wednesday evening. Thunderstorms in the forecast moved that game to Friday at 7 pm, but had to move it to a different venue.

Now, it’ll be Sayreville and St. Thomas Aquinas playing for the trophy at East Brunswick High School. That game will air live on the King James Radio Network with veteran broadcaster Korbid Thompson on the call.

The Somerset County Tournament baseball final also was scheduled for Wednesday at 6 pm at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater, but that was moved as well, to Friday at 4 pm, at the same location. You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, and also watch it on our YouTube channel, with coverage beginning at 3:40 pm.

The good news on both of those is, none of it will really have a huge impact on the state tournament – which begins next week – for the teams involved. Softball has no pitch count restrictions.

And while baseball does, anyone who needs four days’ rest for Immaculata will get it because the top-seeded Spartans will get five days off between the SCT final and their first game in the states, in the South A quarterfinals against either eight-seed Paul VI or nine-seed Donovan Catholic. And their SCT opponent, Watchung Hills, will open next Wednesday in the first round against 14-seed Elizabeth, giving them four days’ rest. That means everyone’s pitch count should reset to zero.

But for Old Bridge and Monroe, who are in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament title game, it’s a different story.

Initially, the plan was as it had always been: the semifinals and finals on back-to-back Saturdays at East Brunswick Magnet’s Ray Cipperly Field, a great natural grass surface that would make some minor league baseball teams jealous. (The late Ray Cipperly, the school’s one-time baseball coach and AD, created that field, and later became the Somerset Patriots’ first groundskeeper.) The rain date was to be Sunday, as always.

Then came the news last week that Rutgers would be hosting the baseball final, same day as previously scheduled, same time.

And as of Thursday evening, that game is still on. The GMC is going to wait as long as it can, we’re told, even until Saturday morning, before making a call on postponing it, which is the right call. If you can get it in Saturday, go for it. MAybe they can move it a bit earlier? Currently, the best chance looks like between noon and 4 pm.

The problem is, Sunday’s weather looks even worse. Rutgers has told the GMC Bainton Field wouldn’t be available Sunday. But even if the GMC hadn’t gone there, East Brunswick Magnet would still be soaked from all the rain to play a game there Sunday. Having it at another high school site on Memorial Day weekend, when everyone is away, would just be impossible from a logistics standpoint.

And don’t even think about moving it to the actual holiday on Monday, which may be the only decent day of the three-day weekend.

So, the GMC – if it reschedules – would move the finals to Saturday, May 30, which happens to be smack dab in the middle of the state sectionals, with Friday, May 29th – the day before – being the quarterfinal round, and Wednesday, June 3rd being the sectional semifinals.

But that’s going to leave both teams figuring out what to do with their pitching. Assuming the two starters this weekend would be Brady Meyer for the third-seeded Knights and Ben Faigin for the ninth-seeded Falcons, they will have to choose between starting them when they want in the state tournament – typically, but not always, top pitchers start in the second round, to line them up for a potential title game – or starting them in the GMC Tournament final, if indeed it gets moved to a week later.

It’s not an enviable position to be in, but it’s not without precedent. In fact, through 2018, that’s the way the tournament was set up, with the finals on a weekend during a break in state tournament play. The GMC went to the current format, moving everything a week later, in 2019, with the goal of ensuring divisional play could get wrapped up before the seeding meeting.

In 2018, South Plainfield – then led by head coach Anthony Guida – was a 14-seed and played in the first round of the GMC Tournament on Monday, May 14, then the quarters on Thursday, May 17, and the semifinals on Sunday, May 20. But the state tournament was scheduled to start on Monday, May 21. The Tigers beat AL Johnson in the first round of Central Jersey Group 2, then had a very good Governor Livingston team coming up – on the road – in the quarterfinals.

“I was talking to my pitching coach, Mike Battista,” Guida told Central Jersey Sports Radio Thursday night, “and he said ‘We have five more games in the state if we went all the way to the final, but we have one more game to win to be [GMC] Champions.”

But Guida added he had three legitimate starters that year, so it wasn’t that big an issue. “We knew that we wanted to put our best, Chris Shine, on the mound in the county final, knowing Amboy had two studs on the mound, too.”

“We made the decision to go for the county tournament win,” Guida said.

South Plainfield would fall on Thursday to the Highlanders in the quarterfinals, 11-2, before coming back Saturday – just two days later – to beat 12-seed Perth Amboy, 2-1 in 12 innings, to claim their first – and only – GMC Tournament title to date. Shine went 8 2/3 innings and scattered nine hits, allowing one earned run, with Billy Keane closing it out with 3 1/3 shutout innings.

The Panthers were in a similar boat, getting knocked out in the same round of the North 2, Group 4 section by Bayonne, 8-0, before falling to South Plainfield in the final.

Even three years later, St. Joseph-Metuchen was in a similar situation due to weather. The semifinals of the GMCT got moved to Monday, May 31, and the finals a week later to Sunday, June 6. The NJSIAA fifth-seeded Falcons had to open the state tournament on Friday, June 4 against fourth-seed Red Bank Catholic. But head coach Mike Murray says they “punted on RBC” figuring they had a better chance to win the county tournament, and saved their ace Andrew Goldan for the GMC final.

They would lose to the Caseys, 4-0, but the GMC second-seeded Falcons were 2-0 winners over five-seed South Brunswick, and the gamble paid off.

What’s interesting to note this year is that Monroe is a five-seed and Old Bridge the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, meaning they’re in the same half of the 16-team bracket. If they can both get past the first two rounds, they’ll play each other in the semifinals, and that would at least put them back on equal footing, pitching-wise. That is, if both coaches are thinking in a similar fashion.

Say the top starter for each team goes Wednesday in the CJ4 opening round, they could go up to 69 pitches and still be able to come back Saturday for the GMC final, and have 81 left in the tank. That could work. They’d also have three days off until the sectional semis, and could throw another 69 pitches then.

If the top-starter goes Friday in the state sectional quarters, they likely would have not pitched Wednesday either, although they could throw a maximum 49 pitches Wednesday, perhaps in relief, then have 101 for Saturday, but they’d be limited to 49 again the following Wednesday in the CJ4 semis, and wouldn’t be able to go in the county final.

Both teams have a legitimate shot at a state title, but to go back to Guida’s thinking, they still have to win three games to even get a crack at it, and nothing is a sure thing. What is a sure thing is that both teams can win a title with one win in the GMC final, whether it’s this Saturday or next.

Ultimately, Matt Donaghue of Old Bridge and Monroe’s Sean Field could have some tough decisions to make.

by Mike Pavlichko

NJSIAA releases baseball brackets for state tournament; as expected, Old Bridge, Ridge, Middlesex, Immaculata gain top seeds

The NJSIAA has announced the brackets for the 2026 state high school baseball playoffs, with four Central Jersey Sports Radio-area teams gaining top-seeds.

GMC Tournament finalist Old Bridge will be the top seed in Central Jersey Group 4, while Ridge was slotted in at No. 1 in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4. GMC White Division champion Middlesex will be the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 1, and Somerset County Tournament finalist Immaculata got the top-seed in Non-Public South A.

Overall, 35 teams from the area qualified, and of those, 19 will be playing their first game – whether in the first round of sectionals or the quarterfinals – at home, with 16 starting out on the road.

The first round for non-public public schools will be next Tuesday, May 26, the day after Memorial Day. Wednesday, May 27, will be the opening round for public schools.

Brackets become official – pending any appeals or discrepancies – at noon on Wednesday, May 20th.

Central Jersey Group 4

  • (16) East Brunswick at (1) Old Bridge
  • (9) South Brunswick at (8) Freehold Twp.
  • (12) Montgomery at (5) Monroe
  • (13) Sayreville at (4) Hightstown
  • (14) Princeton at (3) Hunterdon Central
  • (11) Marlboro at (6) Manalapan
  • (10) Hillsborough at (7) Jackson Twp.
  • (15) Franklin at (2) Edison

Central Jersey Group 2

  • (16) Holmdel at (1) Rumson-Fair Haven
  • (9) Spotswood at (8) Allentown
  • (12) Raritan at (5) Delran
  • (13) Ocean Twp. at (4) Wall
  • (14) Bordentown at (3) Johnson
  • (11) Robbinsville at (6) South River
  • (10) Manasquan at (7) Point Pleasant Boro
  • (15) Cinnaminson at (2) Governor Livingston

Central Jersey Group 1

  • (16) Highland Park at (1) Middlesex
  • (9) New Egypt at (8) South Hunterdon
  • (12) Manville at (5) Shore
  • (13) Somerset Tech at (4) Metuchen
  • (14) South Amboy at (3) Point Pleasant Beach
  • (11) Florence at (6) Dunellen
  • (10) Delaware Valley at (7) Keyport
  • (15) Henry Hudson at (2) Piscataway Magnet

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4

  • (16) Barringer at (1) Ridge
  • (9) Columbia at (8) Phillipsburg
  • (12) Plainfield at (5) Bridgewater-Raritan
  • (13) Ferris at (4) JP Stevens
  • (14) Elizabeth at (3) Watchung Hills
  • (11) Union at (6) Westfield
  • (10) Woodbridge at (7) Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • (15) Piscataway at (2) Bayonne

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3

  • (16) Orange at (1) Chatham
  • (9) Middletown North at (8) Colonia
  • (12) Matawan at (5) North Plainfield
  • (13) JFK at (4) South Plainfield
  • (140 Rahway at (3) Cranford
  • (11) Summit at (6) Carteret
  • (10) Somerville at (7) Millburn
  • (15) Payne Tech at (2) North Hunterdon

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2

  • (16) Hillside at (1) Caldwell
  • (9) Parsippany Hills at (8) Hackettstown
  • (12) Passaic Valley at (5) Rutherford
  • (13) Shabazz at (4) Madison
  • (14) Voorhees at (3) West Morris
  • (11) Bernards at (6) Lyndhurst
  • (10) Becton at (7) Mendham
  • (15) Parsippany at (2) West Essex

Non-Public North A

  • As expected, Timothy Christian has opted out.

Non-Public North B

  • (9) Hawthorne Christian at (8) Montclair-Kimberley, winner at (1) St. Mary-Rutherford
  • Bye to Quarterfinals: (5) Morristown-Beard at (4) Newark Academy
  • (10) Pope John at (7) Gill St. Bernard’s, winner at (2) Rutgers Prep
  • Bye to Quarterfinals: (6) Morris Catholic at (3) St. Thomas Aquinas

Non-Public South A

  • (9) Donovan Catholic at (8) Paul VI, winner at (1) Immaculata
  • (12) Camden Catholic at (5) Christian Brothers, winner at at (4) Union Catholic
  • (11) St. Joseph-Metuchen at (6) St. John Vianney, winner at (3) Red Bank Cathlic
  • (10) Pingry at (7) Notre Dame, winner at (2) St. Augustine