Tag: Rutgers Prep

by Alec Crouthamel

Rutgers Prep and St. Thomas Aquinas face off for third straight year with Non-Public North B final berth on the line

Three things have been certain over the last three high school baseball seasons.

Death, taxes, and a playoff battle between St. Thomas Aquinas and Rutgers Prep.

This year marks the third iteration of the two teams facing off in the North Jersey, Non-Public B sectional tournament in Tuesday’s semifinal round.

The third-seeded Trojans (13-14) won the first two, taking the sectional title in 2024 and winning in the quarterfinals in 2025, but it’s a whole new season, with two very different teams. The second-seeded Argonauts (17-7) bring a lot of veteran experience to the table – including those losses in each of the last two seasons – and are battle-tested. St. Thomas Aquinas brings some of its own veterans, but also young talent that has progressed with more exposure to the big-game environment.

Will the third time be the charm for Rutgers Prep? Or will the Trojans end the Argonauts’ season for the third straight time? It all gets started with first pitch at 4:30 pm from Rutgers Prep, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Pregame starts at 4:15 with Alec Crouthamel on the call; click here to listen.

Eight of the combined projected starters – including both pitchers – faced off in the 2024 game, and 12 in 2025, so there’s not a lot of unfamiliarity, even in a GMC/Skyland Conference crossover.

But these are different teams from those that took the field 368 days ago. They’ve both overcome some bumps along the way, but have found themselves in recent weeks to make it within a game of a sectional final appearance.

The Trojans got off to a bit of a bumpy start, breaking in multiple newcomers to the lineup and getting the youth movement as much experience as possible. But since the calendar flipped to May, St. Thomas Aquinas has gone 7-4, including a 7-0 quarterfinal win over sixth-seeded Morris Catholic. Senior Louis Rizzolo and junior Nikash Patel – a dangerous pitching duo on their third year of postseason action together – combined for a one-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts in just 75 pitches, while four different hitters recorded at least one RBI.

The Argonauts have blazed a bit of a different trail in 2026, but still have overcome some obstacles. They won 11 straight games over a month-long span, but dealt with a 2-3 stretch over the next nine days, including an extra-inning loss to Bridgewater-Raritan, where the Panthers overcame a four-run deficit and outscored Rutgers Prep 10-1 after the second inning.

From there, though, the Argonauts re-found their focus, including a five-inning, 16-0 victory over tenth-seeded Pope John in the sectional quarterfinals. Star pitcher Li Perez was nothing short of spectacular, allowing just one baserunner and recording all 15 outs via strikeout, while the offense got contributions from all over, including two home runs and five RBIs from senior Maddox Chu.

Both aces – Rizzolo and Perez – will take the ball for the second straight year (Rizzolo also started the 2024 game while Perez played the field) and if both have their best stuff as they did in the quarterfinals, runs will be at a premium.

But with a trip to the sectional final on the line – each team’s first since that 2024 matchup – nothing in the past matters once Perez throws that first pitch of the game.

Click below to hear Central jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with both head coaches about their respective seasons and the upcoming matchup in the Non-Public North B semifinal:

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tom D’Agostino
Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso
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

Thursday NJSIAA State Tournament Roundup: Immaculata, St. Thomas Aquinas advance, while Perez K’s all 15 outs in Rutgers Prep win

There was an “immaculate inning” in the second, and it wasn’t a perfect game, but it was pretty close.

Rutgers Prep senior Li Perez allowed just one-hit and struck out 15 Pope John hitters Thursday afternoon in Non-Public North B quarterfinal action, as the second-seeded Argonauts (17-7) routed the 10th-seeded Lions 16-0 in a five-inning, ten-run rule win. All 15 outs recorded by Perez coming via strikeout. And he did it with just 59 pitches thrown.

Meanwhile, the offense pumped out its second-biggest run total of the year, one shy of the 17 Rutgers Prep scored in a 17-10 win over Union Catholic in the Autism Awareness Challenge on April 17th. Fellow senior Maddox Chu drove in five runs on a 2-for-2 day, which included a three-run homer to center in the first inning, and a two-run homer to right in the second, giving the Argos an 8-0 lead they would extend to 10-0 by the time the inning was over.

And just to make sure the ending was not in doubt, Rutgers Prep added a five-spot in the third, and one more in their final at bat, in the fourth, just for good measure.

Click here to listen to Rutgers Prep senior Li Perez talk about his 15-strikeout, one-hitter with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

The Argonauts move on to the North B semifinals next Tuesday, where they’ll play third-seed St. Thomas Aquinas in a Skyland Conference-GMC crossover. The Trojans (13-14) were 7-0 winners over Morris Catholic (13-11) Thursday in North Edison, and Louis Rizzolo (9 Ks in 6 innings) and Nikash Patel combined for a one-hit shutout.

Aquinas opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the third, and added three more in the fourth and another in the fifth. Patel stole home for the third run in the third, then drove in a run with a single in the fourth. Adrian Sanchez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

  • (1) St. Mary-Rutherford def. (8) Montclair Kimberley, 12-1 (5 inn.)
  • (5) Morristown-Beard def. (4) Newark Academy, 4-2
  • (3) St. Thomas Aquinas def. (6) Morris Catholic, 7-0
  • (2) Rutgers Prep def. (10) Pope John, 16-0 (5 inn.)

Non-Public South A:

Top-seed Immaculata (22-5) won its playoff opener Thursday, 7-0 over Paul VI of Haddonfield. The Spartans picked up a run each in the first and second off the bat of Luca Catanzerite – with a solo home run to right (his second of the year) to leadoff the bottom of the first, then a groundout in the second – before exploding for five in the third, all coming with two outs. Bryson Auten had the big blow in that inning, a three-run homer for his third of the season.

His older brother, Ryan, struck out 14, and allowed just one-hit in a complete-game shutout, to improve to 7-1 on the season.

The Spartans will host fifth-seed Christian Brothers Academy (17-8), in the first meeting between the teams in 15 years, at Diamond Nation in Flemington next Tuesday in the semifinals. CBA beat four-seed Union Catholic 9-2 in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

On the other side of the bracket, 10-seed Pingry (11-15) lost 8-0 down at second-seed St. Augustine (20-7). The Hermits did their damage early, with one in the first and three in the second, then another in the third and three more in the fourth. The Big Blue were held to three hits by Aug’s starter Alex Weingartner, who went five innings, with two other relievers combining for two innings of no-hit ball.

  • (1) Immaculata def. (8) Paul VI, 7-0
  • (5) Christian Brothers def. (4) Union Catholic, 9-2
  • (3) Red Bank Catholic def. (6) St. John Vianney, 4-1
  • (2) St. Augustine def. (10) Pingry, 8-0

UPCOMING SCHEUDLE:

Friday, May 29 (all games 4pm unless otherwise noted)

Central Jersey Group 4 Quarterfinals

  • (8) Freehold Twp. at (1) Old Bridge
  • (5) Monroe at (4) Hightstown
  • (6) Manalapan at (3) Hunterdon Central
  • (15) Franklin at (10) Hillsborough or (7) Jackson Twp.

Central Jersey Group 1 Quarterfinals

  • (4) Metuchen at (1) Middlesex
  • (5) Shore at (4) Metuchen
  • (11) Florence at (3) Point Pleasant Beach
  • (10) Delaware Valley at (2) Piscataway Magnet

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Quarterfinals

  • (8) Phillipsburg at (1) Ridge
  • (5) Bridgewater-Raritan at (4) JP Stevens
  • (6) Westfield at (3) Watchung Hills
  • (10) Woodbridge at (2) Bayonne, 4:30 pm

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 Quarterfinals

  • (9) Middletown North at (1) Chatham
  • (5) North Plainfield at (4) South Plainfield
  • (11) Summit at (3) Cranford
  • (7) Millburn at (2) North Hunterdon

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

Non-Public South A Semifinals

  • (5) Christian Brothers Academy at (1) Immaculata (at Diamond Nation, Flemington)
  • (3) Red Bank Catholic at (2) St. Augustine

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 Mike Pavlichko

State Playoff Preview: St. Joseph-Metuchen, Pingry, Gill to open NJSIAA play Tuesday

Hard to believe, but it’s already state tournament time in high school baseball.

The county tournaments are (mostly) done – with the GMC still to be decided this coming Saturday after rain throughout Memorial Day weekend – and everyone is set to begin sectional play in the NJSIAA tournament.

Over the next three days, we’ll take a look at each and every matchup involving Central Jersey Sports Radio teams, starting with the non-public schools, which open play on Tuesday, save for those that have first round byes and are awaiting their first opponent, including Immaculata and Rutgers Prep. St. Thomas Aquinas has a bye, bit already has their opponent determined.

We’ll have a look at Central Jersey Groups 1, 2 and 4 on Monday, and North Jersey, Section 2, Groups 2, 3 and 4 on Tuesday.

NON-PUBLIC NORTH B:

(10) Pope John (4-18) at (7) Gill St. Bernard’s (9-11), 4 pm Tuesday: Though Pope John has taken the last three meetings – with wins in 2019, 2021, and 2024 – that most recent win over Gill is far enough back not to matter. The Lions play a very difficult schedule, including four losses to the two teams that squared off in the Morris County Tournament final, with Mount Olive (now No. 13 in the state) knocking off the statewide No. 1 – and they still are – Delbarton. Both teams are hitting about the same, hovering around the .270 mark, but Pope John has given up more runs, with a team ERA of 7.35, while the Knights are under five. Junior Gavin Bucceri leads the team in hitting, at .379, while senior Jack Markovich is hitting .297 with three home runs. The teams have one common opponent in Pingry; Gill swept them in mid-April, getting a 13-2 and a12-8 win, while Pope John beat the Big Blue a month later, 11-7. The winner will head to Somerset to take on second-seed Rutgers Prep (16-6) in the sectional quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals: (6) Morris Catholic (13-10) at (3) St. Thomas Aquinas (12-14), Thursday (TBA): Just about any team that comes out of the GMC Red Division is probably stronger than their record would indicate. After all, look who’s in the GMC Tournament final: the second and fifth-place teams. And both Old Bridge and Monroe are quite deserving. In fact, their strength of schedule almost certainly was a factor in how high the Trojans were seeded. This will be the first meeting between the teams going back at least to 2008, the last year for which records are publicly available online. They do, however, have one common opponent. St. Thomas lost at home to Montville last Saturday, 12-4, while Morris Catholic beat them two weeks earlier, 8-6. But the Crusaders also lost a preliminary round Morris County Tournament game to a near-.500 Morris Hills team, 9-1, while Aquinas made it to the GMC Quarterfinals, beating South Brunswick 3-2 to get there, then falling to second-seed Middlesex, 3-0. With an up-and-down lineup led by Louis Rizzolo, hitting .373 and a couple others over .300, the Trojans likely look to Rizzolo on the mound in the opener: he’s 6-0 with a 0.98 ERA. A first round bye here means a lot, with Rizzolo starting a quarterfinal game, that would also line him up for a potential title game start.

(2) Rutgers Prep (16-6): The Argonauts have a first-round bye, and will open play Thursday against either seven-seed Gill St. Bernard’s or 10-seed Pope John.

NON-PUBLIC SOUTH A:

(11) St. Joseph-Metuchen (6-16) at (6) St. John Vianney (15-9), 3:45 pm Tuesday: It’s been a challenging season for the defending GMC Tournament Champion Falcons, to say the least. While they graduated a bunch, there’s still talent – and many league coaches will attest to this – but there’s also inexperience. Of their five wins, two came in a back-to-back sweep of East Brunswick in early April, then later in the month they put together a three-game win streak, with victories over Toms River East in the Autism Awareness Challenge, Woodbridge and St. Thomas Aquinas. The followed that up with an eight-game skid – though five of those games were decided by either one or two runs – before beating Freehold Boro, 11-1, to come into the state tournament on a positive note. Also on the plus side, Luke Baranauskas has been back in the lineup for a few games now, after missing the bulk of April; he’s the team’s top regular, hitting .409, while Logan Ring is hitting .352 with 17 RBIs, and Luke Palermo is right behind him with 16 – and it’s no surprise those are key returnees from last season, though they’re still only juniors. Regardless, beating Vianney will be a tough task, especially on the road, with a pitching staff allowing over five earned runs a game. This will be their first meeting since at least 2008. The winner got to third-seed Red Bank Catholic (17-7) Thursday in the quarterfinals; the Caseys have a first-round bye.

(10) Pingry (10-4) at (7) Notre Dame (13-10), 4 pm Tuesday: This will be the first meeting between the teams since 2016, so there’s no recent history here, either. Common opponent advantage goes to the Irish, who beat Gill St. Bernard’s 6-1 in the Autism Awareness Challenge, while the Big Blue were swept by Gill, 13-2 and 12-8, the week prior. Pingry has lost four of five coming in, with defeats at the hands of Pope John, Franklin, Hillsborough and Rutgers Prep, but they are coming in off a 6-4 victory over Oratory Prep, which is 10-4 just like Pingry. The Big Blue is hitting close to .300 (.299), with junior Langston McDonald (.380, 12 RBI) leading the way, while sophomore Andrew Crowley has a team-high 18 runs batted in, while hitting .338 on the year. Nearly every Pingry team has a tendency to be pesky and give opponents fits, and expect little different here in what could be a toss-up. The winner will take a long drive on Thursday to play in the quarterfinals at second-seed St. Augustine (19-6, #12 in NJ), which has a first-round bye.

(1) Immaculata (20-5): The Spartans – coming off a 1-0 loss in eight innings to Watchung Hills in the Somerset County Tournament final Friday afternoon – have a first-round bye and will open play Thursday at Diamond Nation in Flemington against either eight-seed Donovan Catholic (6-15) or nine-seed Paul VI (9-13).

by Mike Pavlichko

County tournaments wreak havoc on Top Ten, but not at the top; Immaculata still reigns heading into SCT semis Monday

A week of relative stability in the Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball rankings was short-lived.

While Immaculata remained the No. 1 team this week, nearly everyone else shuffled around, much of it centered around upsets and surprises in the GMC Tournament, which saw top-seed Edison get knocked out in the quarterfinals, and second-seed Middlesex eliminated in the semifinals, with finalists Old Bridge and Monroe rising in the rankings.

Immaculata (18-4) was one of just two teams to have a perfect Week 7, going 4-0. They opened with a 17-3 win at DePaul on Tuesday, then won their opener in the Somerset County Tournament, beating eight-seed Montgomery 11-1 in six innings in the quarterfinals on Thursday. They then won two Skyland Conference games, beating Voorhees 8-0 on Friday, and winning 7-2 at Phillipsburg on Saturday. The Spartans will host five-seed Bridgewater Monday afternoon at 4 pm in the SCT semis at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater. Listen to the game here, or watch it on our YouTube channel.

Climbing from No. 6 to No. 2 is GMC Tournament finalist Old Bridge (17-8). The Knights may the hottest team in the area, having won eight straight, going 4-0 each of the past two weeks, and it even looks like it earned them a top seed in Central Jersey Group 4. (Brackets will be announced by the NJSIAA on Tuesday.) Old Bridge opened the week with a 1-0 win over 14-seed Sayreville in the GMCT first round on Monday. After a non-conference win over Manalapan, 12-3, on Tuesday, the Knights beat six-seed Woodbridge 1-0 in eight innings at home in the GMC quarterfinals on Wednesday, then knocked off No. 2 seed Middlesex, 9-3 in eight innings on Saturday afternoon in the semis. Old Bridge will face Monroe in the title game Saturday at 2 pm at Rutgers’ Bainton Field in Piscataway.

Watchung Hills (13-7) moves up from five to No. 4, going 2-2 in the past week. The Hustlin’ Warriors fell 9-2 at home to Holmdel on Wednesday, but won their Somerset County Tournament opener over ten-seed Franklin, 9-5, on Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals. They won 6-5 at Madison Friday, but fell at home to Livingston 5-4 on Saturday afternoon. Monday, they’re in the SCT semis at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater against third-seed Ridge. Listen to the game here, or watch it on our YouTube channel.

Ridge (14-8) holds at No. 4, after a 1-2 week, but they won the most important one. After a 6-3 loss at Seton Hall Prep on Monday, and a 7-4 home loss to Mendham on Tuesday, the Red Devils beat six-seed Hillsborough in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, 7-0, on Thursday afternoon. Ridge will seek a sixth straight trip to the SCT title game Monday when they play second-seed Watchung Hills in the semis at 1 pm. You can hear the game here, or watch it live on our YouTube channel.

At five, it’s Middlesex (20-3), down two spots after falling in the GMC Tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon, 9-3 to Old Bridge, a game in which they erased a 3-0 deficit over the final two innings, but saw the Knights explode for six in the top of the eighth. But the Blue Jays did go 2-1 last week, beating 12-seed South River Monday in the first round, 12-2, then seven-seed St. Thomas Aquinas in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, 3-0.

Edison (17-6) drops down from three to No. 6. The Eagles were 3-1 last week, opening on Monday with a 10-0 win over 17-seed Piscataway Magnet in the GMC Tournament’s first round. But they got knocked off by nine-seed and eventual finalist Monroe, falling 9-1 Wednesday afternoon. The Eagles rebounded, though, with a 5-2 win over South Brunswick on Thursday, and a 7-2 non-conference home win over Nottingham on Saturday.

Monroe (12-12) re-enters the rankings after a two-week hiatus at No. 6. The Falcons went 4-0 in the past week, starting with a win Monday at eight-seed Colonia, 9-2 in the GMC Tournament’s first round. Wednesday, in the quarters, they won at top-seed Edison, 9-1, then took a break with an 8-1 win over Manasquan at home on Thursday, before knocking off five-seed South Plainfield, 1-0, in Saturday’s GMCT semifinals. That puts Monroe in the championship game this Saturday at 2 pm at Rutgers’ Bainton Field in Piscataway.

Rutgers Prep (13-5) falls one spot to No. 8, after a 1-1 week. They beat eight-seed Newark Academy in the opening round of the Prep B Tournament on Wednesday, 6-1, sending them to the semifinals on Tuesday at 4 pm at home against Princeton Day. But they lost Thursday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, falling 10-5 in eight innings to fifth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan, which will face Immaculata in Monday’s second semifinal, with first pitch set for 4 pm.

Holding at No. 9 is South Plainfield (13-11), which had a 2-1 week, all in the GMC Tournament. They won their first-round game Monday, 2-1, over 12-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen, then topped four-seed Metuchen, 7-6, in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, before falling Saturday, 1-0, to nine-seed Monroe.

Dropping out is Metuchen (18-6), which had a 4-1 week, knocked out of the GMC Tournament in the quarterfinals by five-seed South Plainfield on Wednesday, 7-6.

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

by Alec Crouthamel

Five-seed Bridgewater-Raritan rallies, defeats four-seed Rutgers Prep 10-5 in extras in SCT quarterfinals

Through two innings, Bridgewater-Raritan was in some trouble.

The Panthers trailed Rutgers Prep 4-0 in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, and starter Kellan Komline had already approached the 50-pitch mark.

Argonauts’ starter Li Perez, on the other hand, used his powerful fastball to breeze through the opening stretch of the order to start.

But by the time the dust settled in Somerset, fifth-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan took down fourth-seeded Rutgers Prep 10-5, outscoring the Argonauts 10-1 the rest of the way,

Rutgers Prep plated three runs in the first inning, as designated hitter Maddox Chu brought in the first run with a grounder. Left fielder Micah Krugar-Serrano launched a fly ball to right-center field, scoring two more with the bases loaded, but a strong relay home ended the inning as the Argonauts looked to clear the bases.

The Panthers threatened with two runners on and nobody out in the second inning, but Perez reared back and struck out the next three straight batters to get out of trouble.

Rutgers Prep added another in the bottom half of the second, as catcher Ethan Nepomuceno dunked a single into the outfield to put the Argonauts up 4-0.

Nobody scored in the third, but the Panthers started to rally in the fourth. They notched three straight hits to start the inning, handing Perez his first earned run of the season on a Kevin Kelly single, and first baseman Connor Price cut the deficit in half with an RBI groundout.

After a rough start, Komline found his stride in the middle innings, throwing just 20 total pitches in the third and fourth frames.

Perez worked through a scoreless fifth while Rutgers Prep added an insurance run to extend the lead to 5-2.

That’s when the trouble started.

Perez was replaced after facing two batters in the sixth, allowing a walk and a single, up against his pitch count. He was replaced by Jake Brown.

He struck out Price to open the outing on a positive note, but DH Stephen Pikulin quickly put a stop to that.

He crushed a game-tying, three-run home run off an electrical pole way past the centerfield fence, knotting the game at five runs apiece.

After the next three sides went scoreless — including a clutch bases-loaded defensive stand by the Panthers in the bottom of the seventh — they headed to extras.

In the eighth, Price singled, followed by a Pikulin strikeout. Then Nico Moore — after relieving Komline on the mound — singled himself.

Right fielder Josh Moore dialed up a long RBI double to put Bridgewater-Raritan in front. Then after a walk by leadoff centerfielder Andrew Schmieder, Komline did his job with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Then catcher Michael Lobosco came up.

On a 2-2 count, he torched a fastball over the left-field wall to break the game open with a three-run blast.

Moore would shut down the side in the bottom half of the inning to seal the victory.

The Panthers outscored the Argonauts 10-1 after the second inning, with two home runs and contributions from all across the lineup.

Moore earned the win with two innings in relief, while Brown was given the loss in his three innings out of the pen.

Bridgewater-Raritan will advance to face top-seeded Immaculata — who defeated Montgomery 11-1 on Thursday — in the SCT semifinals on Monday at TD Bank Ballpark. It’ll be a matchup of the last two Somerset County champions.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with Bridgewater-Raritan seniors Kellan Komline and Stephen Pikulin, and head coach Max Newill, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

After much shuffling, stability returns to Week 6 Bellamy & Son Paving baseball Top Ten

Division play is all done, county tournaments are underway, and crossovers and non-conference games took center stage last week in the GMC and Somerset County.

And while eight of the teams in last week’s top ten took at least one loss, that was a recipe for a break in the volatility of the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for Week Six.

In fact, only three teams moved around this week, one dropped out, and the top five remained the same, led once again by Immaculata (14-4) for a sixth straight week. The Spartans opened the week with a 10-0 loss on Tuesday at No. 5 Watchung Hills. But that didn’t knock them from the top spot, nor did it cost them the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament, which the coaches voted on that very night. But due to Skyland Conference scheduling, Immaculata never got a crack at the Warriors a second time before the seeding meeting, and with a 6-0 Immaculata win at Diamond Nation in Flemington Thursday over Watchung Hills, they split the series. The Spartans finished out the week with a 5-2 win Saturday over The Hun School. They’re next play Tuesday at DePaul.

Holding in second is Middlesex (18-2), which went 3-0 in the week gone by. They beat two GMC Red Division teams in crossovers, topping St. Joseph-Metuchen 8-7 on Monday, then winning 10-8 at East Brunswick on Wednesday. Yet, it was not enough to give them the top-seed over Edison in the GMC Tournament, which was seeded Friday morning. Still, the Blue Jays beat then-No. 6 Rutgers Prep on Saturday at Mountainview Park, 7-1. Middlesex is back in action Monday afternoon against South River in the first round of the GMCT.

Speaking of Edison (14-5), the Eagles fell Monday to Metuchen, 6-5, but rebounded with a 16-2 win Tuesday over East Brunswick and a 1-0 win Wednesday over Spotswood. Edison did indeed get the top seed in the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament, and will host Piscataway Magnet in the GMC’s first round Monday afternoon.

At No. 4 again this week is is Ridge (13-6), which dropped its first game of the week, 9-5, to Hillsborough on Tuesday, but rebounded with two home wins: 4-3 over Bridgewater-Raritan on Wednesday, and 8-0 over Somerville on Friday. The Red Devils are back in action Monday afternoon when they take on St. Peter’s Prep out of Jersey City.

Holding at No. 5 is Watchung Hills (11-5). The Warriors were just 1-2 in the week gone by, but their first loss came to defending state Group 2 champion Governor Livingston on Monday, 12-2. They bounced back with a 10-0 home win over Immaculata Tuesday, though it was not enough to give them the top-seed in the Somerset County Tournament, having lost twice to Ridge, which in turn had lost twice to the Spartans. And the Warriors had to settle for a split with Immaculata after taking a 6-0 loss at the hands of the Spartans Thursday out at Diamond Nation in Flemington. Watchung Hills has a few days off before a Thursday Somerset County Tournament quarterfinal game, where they’ll host the winner of Monday’s second round game between Somerville and Franklin.

Moving up two spots on a the strength of a 4-0 week is Old Bridge (13-8), which rises to No. 6. The Knights won 10-4 at Colonia on Monday, then beat Metuchen, 8-0, on Wednesday. They welcomed in Bridgewater-Raritan from Somerset County on Friday and won 5-4, before taking down Jersey City’s St. Peter’s Prep Saturday, 3-1. Old Bridge is back in action at home Monday against Sayreville in the first round of the GMC Tournament.

That drops Rutgers Prep (12-4) one spot to seventh, after the Argonauts split four games in the past week. The beat Bridgewater-Raritan 12-8 on Monday, then lost a pitchers’ duel out at North Hunterdon, 1-0, on Tuesday. Prep bounced back with a 10-0 home win over the Lions Thursday to split the home-and-home, but lost Saturday at Middlesex, 7-1. Next up, the Argonauts play Newark Academy on Wednesday.

Also down a spot to No. 8 is Colonia (10-6). The Patriots only played two games this past week, and split. Monday, they lost 10-4 at home to Old Bridge, but they came back to beat St. Joseph-Metuchen on Wednesday, 3-2. Colonia is back in action hosting Monroe in the first round of the GMC Tournament on Monday.

Holding at No. 9 is South Plainfield (11-10). The Tigers went 3-2 in a busy week gone by, winning their first three games: Monday 3-1 at Spotswood, Tuesday 10-5 at Monroe, and Thursday at home, 14-4, over JFK. But on Friday, they lost 5-4 at Sayreville in a crossover with the White Division, then fell 19-9 in a full seven innings to Red Bank Catholic on Saturday.

Making its season debut in the Top Ten is Metuchen (14-5). They enter at No. 9 after a 2-1 week that began in fine fashion with a 6-5 win over No. 3 Edison. They lost at Old Bridge, 8-0, on Wednesday, but bounced back with a 4-2 home win over Monroe on Saturday. The Bulldogs return to action Monday in the GMC Tournament’s first round when they host Spotswood.

Metuchen knocked out previous No. 10 Carteret (14-4), which on Tuesday, handed Piscataway Magnet a 10-0 loss, the Raiders’ first of the season, then beat Highland Park 10-0, but lost a GMC Tournament preliminary round game to Sayreville, 6-1.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Defending Somerset County Tournament champ Immaculata hangs on to get top seed in 2026 tourney

As was widely expected, defending Somerset County Tournament champion Immaculata – the No. 1 team in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for the last five weeks – has been awarded to No. 1 seed in this year’s event by the county’s baseball coaches at the annual seeding meeting held at Immaculata High School in Somerville.

But the decision was a lot less certain heading in than it looked just a few hours earlier.

The Spartans were given the top seed despite a 10-0, five-inning loss at Watchung Hills Tuesday afternoon. That was their first Skyland Conference loss of the season; at 12-4, their other three losses came to Delbarton, Delsea and Winter Park (FL) in a Spring Break trip down South.

Watchung Hills – which got the two-seed – improved to 11-4 with the win, but has two league losses, 12-10 and 13-3 to Ridge, along with defeats at the hands of Notre Dame out of Mercer County and defending state Group 2 champion Governor Livingston. The two defeats at the hands of the Red Devils, who were swept themselves by Immaculata a couple of weeks ago, appeared to factor into the decision.

The Spartans are the first team to win the SCT title and be seeded No. 1 the following year since Montgomery did it nearly a decade ago. The Cougars won the SCT as the top seed in 2016, then were the No. 2 seed again the following year.

The top four seeds – which all get byes to the quarterfinals – were rounded out with Ridge third and Rutgers Prep fourth.

Teams five through ten get byes to the second-round. In order, they are Bridgewater-Raritan fifth, followed by Hillsborough, Somerville, Montgomery, Gill St. Bernard’s, and Franklin..

That leaves the final four seeds – 11 through 14 – to play a pair of first-round games, ideally scheduled for Friday, though teams will have some flexibility to play Thursday, if they’re able.

That includes Bernards at No. 11, followed by Pingry, Manville and Bound Brook.

Here’s the full 2026 Somerset County Tournament bracket:

Here’s the fill 2026 Somerset County Tournament Schedule:

  • First Round: Friday, May 8 at higher seeds
  • Second Round: Monday, May 11 at higher seeds
  • Quarterfinals: Thursday, May 14 at higher seeds
  • Semifinals: Monday, May 18 at TD Bank Park (1 and 4 pm)
  • Finals: Wednesday, May 20 at TD Bank Park (6 pm)

Central Jersey Sports Radio will broadcast the semifinals and finals live at cjsportsradio.com.

by Mike Pavlichko

More movement in Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, after No. 1 Immaculata and No. 2 Middlesex hold serve

The two two high school baseball teams in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten didn’t move at all this week, but most of the rest did.

And with division play mostly out of the way in the GMC, things could get really interesting this week with crossovers heading into Friday morning’s seeding meeting. Same in Somerset County with the last few games before Tuesday’s seeding by the league coaches.

Immaculata (12-3) remains No. 1, as it has been for the past four weeks, after a 3-0 week gone by. The Spartans picked up a Tuesday/Thursday sweep of Hunterdon Central, including a 4-1 home win Tuesday at Diamond Nation in Flemington, and a 14-0 road win just a mile or so away on Thursday. Saturday, they blanked Old Bridge 9-0 in the finale of Spotswood’s E4M showcase. Their last game before the SCT seeding will be Tuesday afternoon, a big one at Watchung Hills. It’s the first of two between the teams, but the only one before the meeting.

Then, it’s to the GMC at No. 2, where Midddlesex (15-2) remains in the same position as last week. The Blue Jays went 2-1, with a sweep of Colonia, both games 4-0 decisions, including a home win Thursday heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. They lost Saturday at Westfield, 2-0, and have two big games this week, playing up against the GMC Red Division. They’ll welcome St. Joseph-Metuchen to Mountainview Park on Monday, and visit East Brunswick on Thursday. A win in either game could give the Blue Jays a strong argument for the No. 1 seed in the GMC’s Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament.

The other team that will be considered for that top-seed is Edison (12-4), which went 4-1 this past week. They blanked Woodbridge 1-0 Monday, then lost at St. Thomas Aquinas, 3-2, on Tuesday, before returning the favor with a 5-0 home win Thursday. Then, they played two on Saturday, first beating North Brunswick 15-4, then topping JP Stevens, 7-2. The Eagles have three games before Friday’s GMC seeding: Monday at Metuchen, Tuesday at home against East Brunswick, and Spotswood at home on Wednesday.

At No. 4 is Ridge (11-5), down one spot from last week after playing just one game, falling 4-3 at Bridgewater-Raritan on Tuesday. The Red Devils have lost four straight – including two to Immaculata and another at North Hunterdon – after starting the season 11-1. They will host Hillsborough on Tuesday.

In the five spot, it’s Watchung Hills (10-3), which re-entered the rankings at seven last week, and now is up two more spots after a 3-0 week. That included a 6-2 win over Hillsborough on Tuesday, an 18-8 win at Hillsborough on Wednesday, and a 6-2 home win Friday over South Plainfield. Monday, they get a crack at defending state Group 2 champion Governor Livingston at home, then host Immaculata on Tuesday less than four hours before the seeding meeting. They’re in the same division – the Skyland Delaware – but will only meet once before the meeting; their second is Thursday. Should the Warriors win, could that be enough – at 11-3, not counting what happens against the Highlanders, to earn a top-seed? Watchung Hills did lose twice to Ridge, and that could hurt them, but also consider if they beat GL how that might be seen by the coaches. It’s definitely not insignificant.

At No. 6 is Rutgers Prep (10-2). The Argonauts won their only game this week, an 11-1 drubbing of Phillipsburg, but they get a chance at two Skyland Conference Delaware Division teams before Tuesday’s SCT seeding meeting: Bridgewater Monday, North Hunterdon Tuesday. Both are on the road.

Colonia (9-5) falls two spots this week to No. 7 after an 0-2 week, both losses coming to No. 2 Middlesex. The first, on Tuesday, was a 4-0 home loss. Then, they lost on the road by the same score on Thursday, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. This week, they get crossover with a pair of Red Division opponents: Old Bridge Monday at home, then at St. Joseph-Metuchen on Wednesday.

At No. 8 is Old Bridge (9-8). The Knights went 3-2 in the week gone by. They started with a 10-4 loss to East BRunswick, but came back to sweep St. Joseph-Metuchen with a 5-1 road win Tuesday and a 9-4 home win Thursday, sandwiched around a 12-1 win at Monroe Wednesday. The finished up with a 9-0 loss Saturday to Immaculata in Spotswood at the E4M Showcase.

Back in at No. 9 after a week out is South Plainfield (8-8). The Tigers split two games this week, beating Monroe on Monday, 12-3, then taking a 6-2 loss Friday at then-No. 7 Watchung Hills. They visit Spotswood Monday and are at Monroe Wednesday looking for a series sweep, before entertaining JFK on Thursday.

And holding at ten is Carteret (12-3). The Ramblers went 2-0 this week, with a 12-2 win over New Brunswick on Monday at home, then a 15-1 road win against the Zebras on Wednesday. This week, they visit Perth Amboy Magnet Tuesday and host Highland Park on Thursday.

Monroe dropped out from No. 9 after a 1-3 week, leaving the Falcons at 8-9. They lost 7-6 on Monday at Toms River South, at South Plainfield on Tuesday 12-3, and 12-1 to Old Bridge at home on Wednesday, before snapping the skid with a 6-3 win Saturday at home over Colts Neck.

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