Tag: Rumson-Fair Haven

June 1, 2023 by Mike Pavlichko

Scrappy Spotswood looks to bring home first title in 13 years, ready for Rumson

Glenny Fredricks has seen a lot of Spotswood teams, but he has the feeling this one is something special.

Their semifinal win over Delran, 5-3 at the home field they affectionately call “The Swamp,” was their first of three in the state tournament not to come by a walk-off. And it still wasn’t easy, with closer Jackson Walsh allowing a run and loading the bases in the seventh before nailing down the save, allowing the collective Charger faithful to breathe a sigh of relief.

But that’s the way championships are won. It’s never easy, especially at Spotswood.

Fredricks and his Chargers like it that way.

They relish the underdog role, one they will take into Friday’s Central Jersey Group 2 final when third-seeded Spotswood (21-7) visits top-seed Rumson-Fair Haven (20-5).

What to make of the challenge?

Well, Rumson has some really good pitching, with an ERA of 2.32. They only hit .264 as a team, though, which could be fun for Charger fans to watch against Casey Cumiskey, who will get the nod in alternating fashion after his younger brother Carter picked apart Delran for most of their game on Tuesday.

And if you don’t enjoy Spotswood’s brand of small-ball and aggressive base-running and believe it can work – the team worked for over an hour on bunting at practice – well, you might just be one of those fans who also likes runners on second in extra innings.

Click below to hear Spotswood head coach Glenny Fredricks talk about his Chargers’ and their chance at a title:

March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Bound Brook’s run ends in sectional final, with loss at Rumson-Fair Haven

Seeking its first sectional title since 1979, the Bound Brook Crusaders ran into a really good Rumson team.

Top-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven won its third title in the last six years, getting off to a good start out of the gate en route to a 75-44 win in the Central Jersey Group 2 championship game.

Bound Brook fell behind early, and couldn’t recover from the deep hole of an 11-2 Bulldog run to start the game.

And though the Crusaders found their offensive rhythm in the second quarter, with Donovan Nwenyi scoring 9 points and Brook getting as close as eight, a 6-1 run to close the half by Rumson left Bound Brook down 32-19, and it was an uphill battle from there. A 9-0 run to start the second half spelled the end for the Crusaders, who finish the season with a 22-5 record.

It was the end of the line for a trio of Bound Brook seniors who were the faces of the program for a while: quick guard Quadir Harrell, glue guy Donovan Nwenyi, and solid Bryce Cobb, who missed all of last year due to a football injury. They wound up going to two sectional finals, and winning the one-off Skyland Conference Gold (middle) Pod in 2021, finishing 14-0, the first undefeated season in modern history for the Crusaders.

Click below for postgame reaction as Chris Tsakonas caught up with Bound Brook head coach Anthony Melesurgo:

March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Bound Brook seeks first state title since 1979 when Crusaders visit Rumson

One has been there, done that, and the other has been there, but not done that for quite some time.

When second-seed Bound Brook (22-4) travels to top-seed Rumson-Fair Haven (20-3) tonight for the Central Jersey Group 2 title game the Crusaders will be gunning for their first sectional championship in over 40 years, while the Bulldogs will be seeking their third in the past six seasons.

Tip-off is at 6:30 pm. Follow Chris Tsakonas (@tsakonas_chris) on Twitter for periodic live updates and stats, with postgame reaction coming later tonight on cjsportsradio.com.

That’s OK for this group at Bound Brook, though. After all, they went 14-0 and won the Skyland Conference Gold (middle) pod last year, completing likely their first undefeated season ever, or at least in modern history. And at one point this year, they had the state’s longest active winning streak, which reached 27 before an early February loss at Immaculata.

In the preseason, the big question for Bound Brook was how they might fare at the end of the season, making the move up to Group 2. Even against larger schools, head coach Anthony Melesurgo may have been thrilled just to get out of the same section as Burlington City, which ended their season in the playoffs four straight years, from 2017 to 2020, a stretch bookended by two losses in the finals.

That 2020 CJ1 final was one this team remembers. Seniors Quadir Harrell, Bryce Cobb and Donovan Nwenyi played in it, as did freshman-now-junior big Jordan Summers, who will be crucial tonight in the rebounding game against Rumson.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with the Crusaders’ about their season and tonight’s Central Jersey Group 1 title game against Rumson-Fair Haven:

Senior Bryce Cobb

Senior Donovan Nwenyi