Tag: Pingry

by Mike Pavlichko

Bernards, Pingry advance in first round of SCT

Both higher seeds advanced Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Somerset County Tournament, with 11-seed Bernards and 12th-seed Pingry both coming up with wins.

They’ll both move on the the second round, scheduled for Monday, with eight games on tap, and winners heading to Thursday’s quarterfinals, with all games at higher seeds.

(11) Bernards 13, (14) Bound Brook 3: In a ten-run rule walk-off, the Mountaineers (12-6) scored in every inning, including two in each of the first two innings, five in the third, one in the fourth, and three in the bottom of the fifth to end it when James Renz singled to left field, bringing in Casey Hocekele. Sean Arcelay had a 3-for-4 afternoon with a double, one RBI, two stolen bases and three runs scored in a complete effort; seven different players drove in runs, with James Ferrante and Sonny Liranzo each knocked in in a pair.

On the mound, starter Landon Farmer went four innings, giving up three runs, only one of them earned. He also fanned six, then Tucker Gallagher pitched a scoreless fifth.

Bound Brook falls to 2-11.

Next up, Bernards will visit sixth-seed Hillsborough (7-9) Monday afternoon in the second round at 4 pm. It’ll be their first meeting since 2023, a meeting the Mountaineers won 5-0.

(12) Pingry 8, (13) Manville 1: The Big Blue (8-9) never trailed, scoring one in the second and three in the fourth before the Mustangs (7-9) could get on the board. Freshman Connor Lahey drove in two runs and scored once on a 3-for-3 day, while Langston McDonald also went 3-for-3 on the afternoon, and scored twice.

Zach Zaslow improved to 3-0 with the win, going the distance and scattering four hits over seven innings, giving up one unearned run, while striking out seven.

On Monday, Pingry will head to 5th-seed Bridgewater-Raritan (6-14). The two have not met since at least prior to 2008, the last year for which records are available online.

Here’s the Monday Somerset County Tournament second round schedule, with a look ahead to projected quarterfinal matchups on Thursday, all at higher seeds:

  • (9) Gill St. Bernard’s at (8) Montgomery, winner at (1) Immaculata
  • (12) Pingry at (5) Bridgewater-Raritan, winner at (4) Rutgers Prep
  • (11) Bernards at (6) Hillsborough (4 pm), winner at (3) Ridge
  • (10) Franklin at (7) Somerville, winner at (2) Watchung Hills
by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: Montgomery 11, Pingry 10

Montgomery rallied three times – the last time coming in the bottom of the seventh inning – to beat Pingry in a Skyland Conference crossover game, 11-10, with a two-out, bases loaded, walk-off infield hit by senior Evan Puleio.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the play-by-play live from TD Bank Park in Bridgewater on April 11, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

Montgomery bats come alive as Cougars top Pingry 11-10 on walk-off infield hit at TD Bank Park

One thing about baseball: the bats could be alive one day and completely dormant the next.

The Montgomery bats had mostly been dormant this season, with the Cougars hitting just .182 coming into Saturday afternoon’s Skyland Conference crossover game at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater, heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

But Saturday, everything clicked, even if it took them a while to get going.

Montgomery rallied three times against the Big Blue. Down 4-0 after the first half inning, the Cougars got a run back in the bottom, then four more in the third to take their first lead of the game at 5-4.

Pingry got three back in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead, and added one more in the sixth, but Montgomery tied it at eight with three in the sixth.

Then, after the Big Blue got two in the top of the seventh, Monty walked it off with three in the bottom of the inning, to pull to within a game of .500 at 3-4. Pingry dropped to 2-3.

In the decisive eighth, Montgomery had to feel good about its chances with the top of the order coming up, after the bottom half of the order had forced an 8-8 tie in the sixth.

With one out, Mason Neufield hit a double into the gap in left, and Henry Maddox – who had four hits in the game: two singles, a double and a triple – drove him in with a single to cut the deficit to 10-9.

Liam McDonald singled to move him to third, and Kenta Komatsu walked to lead the bases. Patrick Fogarty – who started the game on the mound and by now was playing shortstop, drove in the tying tun with a fly ball to right field, scoring Maddox.

Then Puleio worked the count to 3-2, and with the runners off with the pitch, knuckled a ball halfway down the third-base line. Pingry’s Sam deLaurier charged it as McDonnell slid safely into home, and somehow he got a throw off to first. But Puleio – a catcher – legged it out, beating the throw, setting off a wild celebration along the first base side.

It was the most runs Montgomery had scored since a 13-1 season-opening win over Warren Hills. They had scored just six runs in the five games that followed, going 1-4, including a 4-0 shutout at the hands of North Hunterdon. And they knocked out 12 hits in the game as well.

All this despite the fact Monty left nine runners on base through the first six innings, not counting those left on with the walk-off win.

The win went to Mason Neufeld in relief, the fourth pitcher used by head coach Pete Meuller. Neufeld threw one inning and gave up two runs to improve to 2-1 on the year. Michael Cardona – Pingry’s sixth pitcher of the day – took the loss, pitching the seventh; he’s now 2-1.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen with Montgomery’s Evan Puleio, Henry Maddox and head coach Pete Mueller:

by Chris Tsakonas

Pingry visits TD Bank Park in Bridgewater Saturday to meet Montgomery in Skyland Conference crossover

After rolling with an underclassman-heavy squad last year, there’s no shortage of familiar faces in the Pingry dugout this season.

The Big Blue have brought back almost their entire roster, graduating only four seniors from the 2025 season. Pingry’s offense returns several hitters who played key roles at a young age, as three of the top four RBI leaders – Aaron Wu, Sam de Laurier and Riley Wong – were freshmen or sophomores last season.

The Big Blue split the first four games of the season at 2-2, most recently going 1-1 against Warren Hills. The trio of Wu, de Laurier and Varneckas has picked up right where it left off: they have ten of Pingry’s 18 RBIs so far this season.

They’ll take all that offense to TD Bank Park in Bridgewater Saturday afternoon, as the Big Blue battle Montgomery (2-4) in a Valley-Raritan Division crossover in Skyland Conference play. You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 2 pm, with pregame set for 1:40. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas are on the call; click here to listen.

On the pitching side, And four different pitchers have taken the mound already for Pingry, three with good starts, as senior Michael Cardona leads the way with a 1.27 ERA in 11 innings thrown. Langston McDonald (2.47 ERA) and Shane Varneckas (3.32 ERA) have also seen a heavy workload early this season.

They’ll face a Montgomery lineup that, thus far, has struggled a bit at the plate, but probably won’t for long. Sophomore Michael Englert, who went 3-for-5 with a triple and five RBI in the season-opener against Warren Hills – a 13-1 victory – could be back in the lineup Saturday after tweaking his knee in that game.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas talk with Pingry head coach Anthony Feltre:

by Mike Pavlichko

Montgomery has been tested early, looking to heat up as weather gets warmer for Saturday battle with Pingry at TD Bank Park

Peter Mueller – the veteran skipper who has been the Montgomery baseball coach for a quarter century, racking up over 300 wins – knows a thing or two about getting a team ready for the season.

He felt really confident about his team heading into 2026 with a good mix of veterans and younger players, and he still does, despite a 2-4 start to the season against a challenging schedule that’s included the likes of Ridge – a Somerset County Tournament finalist from a year ago, as well as a Hillsborough team that won Central Jersey Group 4, and always-tough-to-beat North Hunterdon.

And well he should.

Saturday afternoon, the Cougars get a chance to move within a game of .500 when they play the home team against Pingry at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater. It’s a 2 pm game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas. Pregame is set for 1:40, click here to listen.

One of the bright spots so far at the plate has been junior Alex Bender, who’s hitting .412 with five runs scored and three stolen bases. Sophomore Michael Englert, an “insanely athletic” left fielder who went 3-for-5 with a triple and five RBI in the season opener – a 13-1 win over Warren Hills – tweaked his knee in that game, and has missed the last five games, but could be back in the lineup against the Big Blue.

On the mound, the Cougars have gotten some good work, but just been on the wrong end of a couple of tough games. And it’s an experienced group, too. Senior Jake Hayes already has thrown a dozen innings, with a 2.84 ERA, but he’s 1-2 on the season, while fellow senior Liam McDonnell is 0-1, but with an ERA of just 1.91. He gave up just two earned runs in a 4-1 loss to Hightstown.

Click below to hear Montgomery head coach Peter Mueller talk about the early season and Saturday’s matchup against Pingry with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – SCT Boys’ Quarterfinals: (5) Immaculata 72, (4) Pingry 68

Fifth-seed Immaculata got 23 points from Riley Gorman and another 20 from Tyler Burns as they erased a 10-point halftime deficit to beat fourth-seed Pingry, 72-68, in the quarterfinal round of the Somerset County Tournament.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko call all the play-by-play from The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, NJ on February 7, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

Last Bellamy & Son Paving Boys Top Ten before season’s end sees first four hold, but rest shuffle as Piscataway, Colonia rise

In the final Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten before the end of the season, The top four teams remained the same, while most of the rest got shuffled around, with Piscataway and Colonia trending upward.

Gill St. Bernard’s (20-2) remains No. 1, having won 16 straight, including two games last week. The Knight edged No. 3 Rutgers Prep Thursday in Somerset in a potential Somerset County Tournament final preview, 73-68. Then, Saturday, they beat Ridge in the SCT quarterfinals, 71-53. Gill will play Immaculata at 4 pm this Saturday in the SCT semis at Franklin High School.

Holding at No. 2 is St. Joseph-Metuchen (21-1). The Falcons swept their two games last week over a pair of GMC opponents: Sayreville on Tuesday, 66-55, and at St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday, 76-38.

Holding in third is Rutgers Prep (15-7), which went 2-1 in the week gone by. Monday, they beat Watchung Hills at home, 93-54, then lost to No. 1 Gill St. Bernards, 83-68, at home Thursday night. The Knights bounced back Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, rolling past Bridgewater-Raritan, 85-58. Their semifinal will be Saturday against Montgomery at 10 am at Franklin High School, a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

On a 3-0 week, Montgomery (19-3) holds in fourth, winners of eleven straight. After opening with a non-conference win at St. Joe’s of Montvale on Wednesday, the Cougars topped Bridgewater-Raritan on the road, 49-42. Saturday, they beat rival Hillsborough, 53-38, in the SCT quarterfinals, setting up a date with Rutgers Prep this coming Saturday at Franklin High School, a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Moving up two spots to fifth is Piscataway (17-6). The Chiefs had a perfect week, starting with an 84-47 win Tuesday at Woodbridge. They came back home for a Friday non-league win over Franklin, 71-69, then won Saturday at Columbia, 59-51.

Immaculata (16-5) holds in sixth. The Spartans opened the week Tuesday with an 85-50 win over Pioneer Academy, but then lost to No. 8 Hillsborough Thursday night, 78-64. But they bounced back strong, rallying in the second half for a 72-28 win at Pingry in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals. Immaculata will play defending champion Gill St. Bernard’s Saturday at Franklin High School at 4 pm in the semifinals.

Checking in at seven is Colonia (14-8), rising three spots this week. The Patriots had a rough start adjusting to graduation and other losses, but have won eight straight, including four last week. After a 55-47 win over Bayonne on Monday, Colonia won 56-51 at Newark Collegiate Wednesday, 64-52 at Old Bridge Thursday, and capped it with a mammoth win at Wall, the No. 17 team in New Jersey, 52-46.

Hillsborough (15-6) holds at No. 8 on the strength of a 2-1 week. The Raiders beat Watchung Hills, 66-53, on Tuesday, then won at No. 6 Immaculata Thursday, 78-64, before falling 53-38 at Montgomery Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals.

Down four spots to nine is Pingry (11-7), which lost twice last week. Wednesday, they fell at Franklin, 63-59. On Saturday, they got knocked out of the Somerset County Tournament in the quarterfinal round, with a 72-68 loss to Immaculata.

And dropping one spot to tenth is South Plainfield (13-9), which split a pair of games last week. After a 74-72 win at Old Bridge Tuesday, they lost a non-conference game to a solid Chatham team, 59-57.

Click below for the full Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 9:

by Mike Pavlichko

Immaculata rallies from 13-point deficit to get past Pingry, 72-68, moving on to SCT semis for first time since 2020

The last time the Immaculata boys’ basketball team was in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, no one had any idea what a “coronavirus” was.

But now, fir the first time since 2020, they’re back in in, as the fifth-seeded Spartans beat four-seed Pingry up in basking RIdge Saturday afternoon, 74-68, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

And Immaculata had to rally to do it.

In a five-point loss back in early January, the Spartans – now 16-5 – fell behind 28-10 after on quarter of play, and new they needed to come out stronger in the rematch. They did, never trailing in the period, and it was 16-16 after the first eight minutes.

But with strong play inside and out, Pingry (11-7) went on a run – punctuated by a couple of two-handed slams by 6′ 8″ Dylan Cowell – to take a 13-point lead late in the half, and a ten-point lead, 38-28 at the break.

Turnabout came in the third quarter, however, as Riley Gorman had two big three to spark a run that saw the Spartans regain the lead with 2:05 to go in the period. Immaculata also got the benefit of two goaltend calls on the run against Pingry.

Gorman – the 6′ 2″ senior who scored his 1,000th point last Saturday at home against Bernards in the first round – finished with 25 points and three triples, giving him a team-best 66 treys this season.

Down the stretch, he and many others contributed. Senior Noah Doss executed on defense. Adam Sandborg off the bench had a key rebound late off a missed Doss free throw that kept Pingry from getting any closer.

Immaculata will play the winner of Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup between 8-seed Ridge and top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s next Saturday at Franklin High School, where all four semifinals – between the girls and boys – will be played.

It’s their first trip to the semifinals since 2020, when they beat Somerville to get there, but lost to Rutgers Prep in the semis. Their last trip to the SCT title game was 2009, when they were the top-seed and won it all, beating second-seed Ridge 58-49 for their first win in six finals berths.

Click below for postgame reaction with Immaculata senior Riley Gorman and head coach Ryan McKeever, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Immaculata looks for stronger start when Spartans travel to Pingry Saturday for SCT quarterfinal matchup

Despite a disastrous first quarter where Immaculata trailed Pingry at home 28-10 at the end of it, the Spartans fought back and were able to cut their deficit to one measly point in the fourth the last time these two teams met, almost a month ago. The Big Blue held on, though, picking up a 64-59 win.

So when the fifth-seeded Spartans (15-5) visit fourth-seed Pingry (11-6) Saturday afternoon in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, getting out to a good start will be Job No. 1.

A trip to the semifinals is on the line, and you can hear it on Central Jersey Sports Radio beginning with pregame at 12:45, and tip-off at 1:00 from the Pingry School in Basking Ridge; click here to listen.

This is the highest seed Pingry has ever earned in the Somerset County Tournament, getting a double-by for the very first time, according to head coach Jason Murdock, whose team has a signature win this season over 2025 SCT and Non-Public South B finalist Rutgers Prep.

That was a 64-58 win that reverberated far and wide, knocking off a team ranked in the state’s Top Ten at the time. Dylan Cowell scored 29 in the win, and three players finished with double-doubles in an inspired effort. Cowell grabbed 14 rebounds, while Neel Sapidi scored 15 and grabbed ten, while Ryan Rust went for 12 and 14.

Immaculata has played solid basketball for much of the year, with no real clunker losses. Four of the Spartans’ five losses have come to the top four seeds in the tourney – Gill St. Bernard’s, Rutgers Prep, Montgomery and Pingry, with the other to the team right behind them, sixth-seed Hillsborough. And they have a signature win over Bridgewater-Raritan, a 64-57 victory on January 8th that was the Panthers’ first of the season after winning their first ten.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches and Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

Pingry head coach Jason Murdock
Immaculata head coach Ryan McKeever