Tag: Rob Stoddard

by Mike Pavlichko

Early two-runs, solid pitching boost Piscataway to 3-0 win over Dunellen in Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final

Even when you have two of your best pitchers toss a combined two-hit shutout, it’s mathematically impossible to win a baseball game without scoring.

But on Friday afternoon in the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final on Edison High School’s red turf, second-seed Piscataway took care of that part as early as they could, staking starter Sumedh Shingala to a 2-0 lead.

Shingala started, Jared Butler finished it in relief with the help of an insurance run, and the Chiefs (11-10) took their first-ever invitational title, beating fifth-seed Dunellen (18-7) to bring home Piscataway’s first county tournament hardware since winning the full tournament in 2003.

After Shingala started the game giving up a leadoff single to Dunellen, he struck out the next three batters to end the inning.

In the home half, Jason Mann walked to lead it off, then Dom Summonte slugged a triple on a 2-2 pitch to drive in Mann – who’d stole second – to make it 1-0 Piscatway. Then Patrick Novak knocked him in with a sac fly to center to give the Chiefs a 2-0 lead.

Piscatway got an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when Novak reached on an error by the Dunellen shortstop, allowing Summonte – who’d reached on one-out single and stole second – to score.

Shingala went 4 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit, striking out 12, and got the win, improving to 5-2 on the year. Then came Butler, who only struck out two the rest of the way, but also only allowed just one more hit.

Dunellen starter Joseph Reyes took the hard-luck loss, his first of the season, going the full six innings, allowing four hits and three runs – two earned – to fall to 6-1 on the year.

Click below for postgame reaction from Piscataway starting pitcher Sumedh Shingala and head coach Rob Stoddard:

Both teams now move on to the state tournament.

Piscataway is the 15-seed in North 2, Group 4, and will visit second-seed Bayonne at 4:30 pm Wednesday, while Dunellen is the sixth-seed in Central Jersey Group 1, and will host 11-seed Florence at Columbia Park at 4 pm Wednesday.

by Alec Crouthamel

Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Finals Preview: Dunellen, Piscataway looking to scrap their way to a title

A Championship Friday is descending upon New Jersey baseball this weekend.

One of them, the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational, will have its final on Friday at 4pm at Edison High School, between second-seeded Piscataway and fifth-seeded Dunellen.

Both teams have taken different paths to reach the meeting point. After respective first-round byes, the Chiefs defeated the seven-seed South Amboy, aided by a seven-run sixth inning, including a grand slam from Dominick Summonte. The Destroyers put up big-time runs across the board in a 14-3 win over four-seed East Brunswick Magnet.

In the semifinals, Dunellen kept its offensive attack at a ten in a wild 22-17 win over top-seeded Perth Amboy that took four hours, while Piscataway once again got some clutch hitting in a 5-4 walk-off victory over third-seeded North Brunswick.

But both have the same goal in mind, winning a title on Friday.

Each team brings its best to the bump. For the Chiefs, they have two, top junior Sumedh Shingala — the team’s leader in wins and strikeouts — will start, with No. 2 arm Jared Butler ready and waiting, who head coach Rob Stoddard described as “a bulldog” in both starting and high-leverage relief spots. For the Destroyers, Joe Reyes will get the ball as the leader in wins and ERA among the main rotation arms.

They both have battled through respective stretches of up-and-down play — as nearly every team does — but they’re playing their best ball as of late, and will do battle for the GMC Invitational title in Edison.

RAY CIPPERLY GMC INVITATIONAL FINAL AT-A-GLANCE

Teams:
(2) Piscataway Chiefs (10-10, 6-8, GMC Blue)
(5) Dunellen Destroyers (18-6, 9-2, GMC Gold)

Head Coaches:
Piscataway: Rob Stoddard (6th season, 46-81)
Dunellen: Connor Lindsay (3rd season, 45-31)

Probable Starters
Piscataway: Sumedh Shingala (4-2, 3.73 ERA)
Dunellen: Joseph Reyes (6-0, 2.65 ERA)

Date and Time: Friday, May 22, at 4 pm
Location: Edison High School

PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:

Dunellen head coach Connor Lindsay
Piscataway head coach Rob Stoddard

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Piscataway:
First round bye
Quarterfinals: def. (7) South Amboy, 11-5
Semifinals: def. (3) North Brunswick, 5-4

Dunellen:
First round bye
Quarterfinals: def. (4) East Brunswick Magnet, 14-3
Semifinals: def. (1) Perth Amboy, 22-17

TEAM LEADERS:

Dunellen:

  • Batting Average: Juan Luis Rodriguez (.425), Michael Dow (.417), Joseph Reyes (.397)
  • RBI: Kristian Roman Lopez (34), Colin Reynolds (26), Joseph Reyes (25)
  • HR: Cesar Andres Fermin Alarcon (1), Kristian Roman Lopez (1)
  • Walks: Kristian Roman Lopez (24), Jackson Portik (18), Joseph Reyes (14), Juan Luis Rodriguez (14)
  • Stolen Bases: Juan Luis Rodriguez (38), Michael Dow (22), David Torres (17)
  • Wins: Joseph Reyes (6), Cole Mayer (5), David Torres (4)
  • ERA (min 12 innings): David Torres (2.12), Joseph Reyes (2.65), Colin Reynolds (4.77)
  • Strikeouts (Pitcher): David Torres (53), Cole Mayer (49), Joseph Reyes (28)

Piscataway:

  • Batting Average: Jason Mann (.444), Dominick Summonte (.423), Patrick Novak (.370)
  • RBI: Patrick Novak (15), Dominick Summonte (14), Kevin Kovach (13)
  • HR: Dominick Summonte (3), Jason Mann (1)
  • Walks: Kevin Kovach (20), Sumedh Shingala (12), Jason Mann (8)
  • Stolen Bases: Jason Mann (17), Bryce Payne (14), Dominick Summonte (7)
  • Wins: Sumedh Shingala (4), Jared Butler (3), Brady Gallogly (2)
  • ERA (min 12 innings): Brady Gallogly (2.51), Jared Butler (3.35), Sumedh Shingala (3.73)
  • Strikeouts (Pitcher): Sumedh Shingala (72), Jared Butler (46), Brady Gallogly (29)

TEAM NUMBERS:

Dunellen:

  • Runs Scored: 264
  • Runs Allowed: 138
  • Batting Average: .350
  • Home Runs: 2
  • Stolen bases: 124
  • ERA: 4.19

Piscataway:

  • Runs Scored: 133
  • Runs Allowed: 132
  • Batting Average: .291
  • Home Runs: 4
  • Stolen bases: 56
  • ERA: 4.59

PREVIOUS COVERAGE of the RAY CIPPERLY GMC INVITATIONAL

by Mike Pavlichko

Bryce Payne walks it off for Piscataway as Chiefs rally late again, top North Brunswick, 5-4, in Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational semis

Call the Piscataway baseball the Comeback Kids.

Four days after the second-seeded Chiefs rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to erase a 5-4 deficit and beat seven-seed South Amboy 11-5, they were back at it again, scoring two in their final at bat to pull out a 5-4 win over third-seed North Brunswick and advance to their second GMC Invitational title game in five seasons.

This one was back and forth all game long, with each team nickel-and-diming the other.

The Chiefs scored first, getting a run in the bottom of the second on a bunt down the third base line by Kevin Kovach, with Sumedh Shingala scoring on an error by third baseman Willy Pena. He atoned in the top of the third, leading off the inning with a solo home run to tie the game at one. But Piscataway came right back in the home half of the inning with an RBI double by Patrick Novak to make it 2-1 Chiefs.

Again, the Raiders would counter, and this time, they took the lead with two in the top of the fourth, when Marte Reyes came home from third on a passed ball. Starter Jared Butler covered, then overthrew third trying to get a second runner advancing, Aiden Keiser, who came home to score, giving North Brunswick a 3-2 lead.

And they increased it to 4-2 in the fifth, with an RBI single by Reyes. But Piscataway chipped away in the fifth and closed the gap to 4-3 on a Novak single, for his second RBI of the day.

After a scoreless sixth, and with Shingala now on in relief of Butler, Shingala shut down North Brunswick in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for another bout of late-game Chief heroics.

North Brunswick reliever Mateo Gianni came in to close it out, and he got the first two batters on a strikeout and ground out, but then had control problems. He walked Dominick Summonte on six pitches, then plunked Novak on a 3-1 pitch to put runners at first and second. Shingala walked on four pitches to load the bases.

With a 1-1 count on Kovach, Summonte came in to tie the game on a wild pitch. He eventually walked to load the bases again, and Payne ripped a 3-0 pitch into right for a base hit to win the game.

Shingala got the win in relief for Piscataway, tossing three innings of two-hit, one-run ball, striking out six, keeping the Chiefs in it until they could secure the win.

Piscataway moves on to the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final on Friday afternoon at 2 pm at Edison High School. They’ll face the winner of Tuesday’s 6 pm semifinal, featuring five-seed Dunellen at top-seed Perth Amboy. You can hear the final live on cjsportsradio.com, or watch it on our YouTube channel.

It’ll be the Chiefs’ second trip to the GMC Invitational. They went in 2021 – also as the second seed – but lost 10-4 to top-seed Sayreville.

Click below for postgame reaction from Piscataway head coach Rob Stoddard with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Opening Day: Piscataway travels to No. 9 Sayreville as 2024 H.S. Baseball gets underway

UPDATE: Today’s game has been postponed due to rain. A make-up date has not yet been set.

Mother Nature was nice to high school baseball in New Jersey in 2023, relatively speaking.

If the forecast for this week holds, it might be in trouble from the start.

But like that old Saturday Evening Post cover by Norman Rockwell, everyone’s going to try and play Monday, if they can. After all, it’s Opening Day.

And as of now, the window to play looks like it’ll be right when first pitch is scheduled for the season-opening broadcast on Central Jersey Sports Radio, as Piscataway visits No. 9 Sayreville in a Greater Middlesex Conference crossover matchup.

Today’s Piscataway-Sayreville season opener is sponsored in part by Piscataway Township and the Office of Mayor Brian Wahler.

You can hear that game – weather permitting – with pregame at 3:45 and first pitch at 4, as Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau call all the play-by-play. Click here to listen.

The Chiefs are coming off a 7-15 season that saw them go 4-9 in the GMC Blue Division, and last year on Opening Day, they took the Bombers to extra innings, falling in nine by a 7-3 score.

Piscataway didn’t lose a ton in terms of graduation. Michael Wojick (.365, 15 RBI) and Mahir Shah (.257, 23 RBI, 2 HR) will be the biggest pieces missing from the lineup, while Shah also pitched 35 innings, with an ERA under five.

The good news is, head coach Rob Stoddard will have two pitchers back who missed all of last season on the mound due to UCL injuries: Bobby Bressler and Kenny Barksdale. Bressler was able to play second base, but Barksdale was completely shut down. They were P’way’s aces in 2022, but it leaves Stoddard an interesting decision as to who will get the ball on Opening Day, with last year’s ace, Jaden Peace, also in the mix.

Piscataway head coach Rob Stoddard talks about the upcoming season and the matchup with Sayreville.

Meanwhile, the Bombers are playing their first season in two decades with a new head coach, as Bomber alum Tim Ballard comes over from JFK. Ballard played for Mike Novak at Sayreville, then went and played college ball at Monmouth. Now, he takes over for his former mentor, who retired at the end of last season.

Sayreville was 15-10 last year, and GMC White Champions with a division record of 10-2. They’ll return top hitter Jake Romanello, who batted .425 with 13 RBI as a junior last season, and Ballard plans to start junior Thomas Schlaline, who tossed 37 innings in 2023 to a 3.03 ERA, striking out 43 and walking 30.

Ballard having been a Bomber – and playing for the previous coach – means he won’t be reinventing the wheel, but he is excited about how his charges hit the weight room hard in the off-season, and he’s expecting a little more pop out of the bats this season.

Sayreville head coach Tim Ballard talks about the upcoming season and the matchup with Piscataway.
by Mike Pavlichko

Piscataway battled pitching injuries, qualified for playoffs on last day before cutoff, while building program in GMC Blue

Piscataway is one of the larger schools in Middlesex County, but the Chiefs aren’t playing in the GMC Red Division, or even the White.

With a move by the league to get more competitive games, the trend has been to put teams in divisions with similar ability levels. So, the Chiefs moved to the GMC Blue this year. And had things gone perfectly, they might have had a better season.

Yet, at 6-14, the Chiefs – with just one senior on the roster – are expected to be in the state tournament, thanks in large part to two big wins in the last two weeks over St. Thomas Aquinas.

The first came in the newly-expanded GMC Tournament’s first round, an upset by 20th-seeded Piscataway, 7-4 over the 13th-seeded Trojans. The second came eleven days later, on Wednesday – the cutoff date for the state tournament – when they pounded out eleven hits and mercy-ruled STA 14-4 with their season on the line.

A loss, and the Chiefs would have been done, in 17th place in the North 2, Group 4 power point standings. But they won a game that absolutely had to have, in triumphant fashion, likely earning a road matchup with projected top-seed Ridge in the first round of the sectionals, which begin next week.

Though the team still has one fewer win than a year ago, it’s part of what the Chiefs hope is an upward trend for the program, which saw it’s last .500 season in 2017, when Piscataway went 10-10 under Scott Gleichenhaus, who’s now at South Plainfield.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Piscataway third-year head coach Rob Stoddard: