Tag: Scott Gleichenhaus

by Mike Pavlichko

Defending North 2, Group 3 champs South Plainfield will have much work to do to repeat after mass graduations in key spots

This time of year, high school baseball teams throughout New Jersey are figuring out who will replace their graduated seniors for the upcoming season. Maybe a pitcher or two here, or a hitter or two there.

South Plainfield will have to face more than most.

Getting some measure of redemption after a tough, late-inning loss to Ramapo in the North 2, Group 3 finals in 2024, the Tigers took the title last season, beating Colonia in the final, with a veteran group.

Now, much of that core is gone.

Of their top four pitchers by innings thrown, three are gone – Kevin Penny, Mike Castagna, and Ryan Balent – while Aiden McCarthy (1.34 ERA in 52 1/2 innings pitched) and Jayden Jiminez (2.29 ERA, 18 1/3 IP) are back.

On defensive alignment, head coach Scott Gleichenhaus will have to replace catcher Steve Studlack, as well as his middle infield combo of shortstop Dan Kapsch (.323, 24 RBI) and second baseman Nick Irizzary (.3878. 17 RBI). His corner infielders, David Butrico in left, Balent in right) are also gone.

Then again, with a real blue collar group, some is bound to step up. McCarthy will be in the lineup everyday at first base if he’s not on the mount, and he hit .297 last year with 25 RBIs to led the team.

And the Tigers also will look to senior Dom Massaro for major contributions and leadership. Massaro, CJSR’s Special Teams Returner of the Year in football, hit .394 last year – best among the regulars – knocked in 20 runs and stole 38 bases, good for No. 2 on the team last season.

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus talk about the Tigers’ upcoming 2026 season with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Dylan Allen

South Plainfield falls short of Group 3 Championship game in heartbreaking fashion, losing to Morris Knolls 3-2, in 8

After surrendering back-to-back home runs, in the first inning, and being down 2-0 through the first three batters of the Morris Knolls lineup, it surely looked like South Plainfield was going to have a long day on the diamond.

It was quite the contrary, as South Plainfield came back to eventually tie the game at two, and had its fair share of chances to win the game. The effort from South Plainfield wasn’t enough, however, as Colin Iberer of Morris Knolls walked it off with a bases loaded full-count two-out walk in the eighth inning to send the Golden Eagles to Saturday’s NJSIAA State Group 3 final with a 3-2, eight-inning win.

Morris Knolls (15-10) had its ace on the mound in Dean Kaletcher, and boy, did he pitch like one to start. Kaletcher on the season had a 1.60 ERA with 77 strikeouts and only 17 walks and he retired the first seven batters he faced and racked up four strikeouts by the end of the third.

South Plainfield (18-11) had its ace on the mound as well. Junior Aiden McCarthy was tasked with pitching this road state semifinal game, and it didn’t start well. He surrendered back-to-back solo home runs to Dylan Fitzsimmons, his ninth of the year, and Ryan McDonald, his third of the year, giving the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead in the first.

But McCarthy settled in, and head coach Scott Gleichenhaus credited his senior catcher, Steven Studlack. “He’s one of the hardest working and greatest kids we’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching,” Gleichenaus said after the game, noting he “helped settle McCarthy down, and he even energized the team later with a line drive single in the third.”

But the rest of the way out, no one could score, and the pitching was must-see. Despite the first-inning homers, McCarthy went on to pitch six scoreless innings and only allowed three hits in that span. All of a sudden, the pressure was put on Kaletcher to preserve the 2-0 lead.

The fourth inning was when South Plainfield started to string together some hits off Kaletcher. With two outs and no one on base, singles from Dan Kapsch and Lorenzo Fuscoletti put runners on first and second. It was only the Tigers’ second and third baserunners of the game.

Up came third baseman Chris Loniewski with a chance to do some damage. After working the count, he slapped a ball into center field for a single, Kapsch took off from second with a burst of speed and got the sign from Gleichenhaus to round third and takeoff for home. Fitzsimmons, out in center, fielded and fired the ball in on a line to home and gunned out Kapsch at the plate to end the inning, preserving the 2-0 lead.

McCarthy kept on cruising, retiring Morris Knolls in order in the bottom of the fourth. Now to the top of the fifth, with one out in the inning, Kaletcher walked two batters in a row. Then, he allowed an infield single to leadoff man Nick Irizarry to load the bases. McCarthy lined out to shallow center field, which kept the runners from tagging.

But with two outs and the bases loaded, South Plainfield had the guy they wanted up at the plate: recently-named GMC Red Division Player of the Year Dom Massaro. He singled, plating two, tying the game at 2-2.

South Plainfield had a chance to take the lead on the top of the seventh. Leadoff man Irizarry was hit by a pitch to start the inning. He then stole second base and later advanced to third on a wild pitch that got by Morris Knolls catcher Ryan Kuehne. The Tigers had a man on third with nobody out, and the meat of the order coming up. Kaletcher was then taken out of the game. He finished with six innings pitched, six hits, two earned runs, four walks, and seven strikeouts.

That’s when Fitzsimmons came in and got his team out of the jam. Unfazed, he struck out McCarthy, got Massaro to hit a weak ground ball back to him, and got Kapsch to fly out to shallow right field to end the threat.

McCarthy came back out and pitched a one-two-three inning to send the game to extras. Morris Knolls put Fitzsimmons back out on the mound, where he continued to dominate. He allowed just one hit to Loniewski in the inning and struck out the side. Onto the bottom of the eighth.

Fitzsimmons led off the bottom of the eighth with a single to center field. McDonald followed with a sac bunt, and Gleichenhaus intentionally walked cleanup hitter Ryan Kuehne to have a chance at an inning-ending double play. With runners on first and second, Jason LoBello hit a hard grounder to third that Loniewski fielded cleanly and beat Fitzsimmons in a foot race to third to get the force out. But Troy Kuehne followed with a soft ground ball back to McCarthy, who slipped, letting the ball get by him and loaded the bases with two down.

That was all for McCarthy, and the call went in for closer Jayden Jimenez in one of the toughest spots a pitcher can be in: game on the line, two outs, bases loaded.

Jimenez would face DH Colin Iberer, who was 0-for-3 on the day. After fighting off several pitches foul, he worked the count full, before Jimenez just missed with a breaking ball for ball four, sending the winning run across.

There was hysteria everywhere. Happy, angry, disappointed fans, parents and players. Morris Knolls stormed the field and celebrated the walk-off win, where South Plainfield players could only stand and watch it unfold.

A truly gut-wrenching way to end a truly successful, championship season for the South Plainfield Tigers.

Click below for postgame reaction from South Plainfield Head Coach Scott Gleichenhaus, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Alec Crouthamel

Redemption! South Plainfield hangs on, defeats Colonia 5-4 in North 2, Group 3 championship

South Plainfield’s 2024 and 2025 seasons have one thing in common, and one big difference. The similarity? The Tigers defeated Colonia both years in the North 2 Group 3 tournament. The difference?

South Plainfield took home the hardware this year.

It took some more effort to close out the game than it seemed at first, but the Tigers survived the Patriots’ seventh inning rally to win 5-4 and clinch the sectional title.

It came with plenty of small-ball, using the team’s speed and contact ability to move runners over and get into scoring position.

With southpaw Kevin Penny taking the mound for South Plainfield and righty Colin Kroner on the bump for Colonia, it was a battle of standout arms, but Penny came away victorious.

After a quiet first inning that saw both teams go down in order, the Tigers struck first in the second inning. Shortstop Dan Kapsch singled, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from DH Lorenzo Fuscoletti. Third baseman Chris Loniewski laced an RBI double to score the game’s first run. Kroner recovered, however, retiring the next two batters to end the inning.

Penny kept up his strong start, retiring the Patriots’ first nine batters through three innings, giving his offense some breathing room. They took it in the top of the third, adding another run to the ledger with four consecutive singles from the lineup’s top four hitters. First baseman Aiden McCarthy singled in second baseman and leadoff batter Nick Irizarry to take a 2-0 lead.

But again, Kroner remained composed and escaped without any further damage. He struck out Fuscoletti looking and induced a groundout from Loniewski to end the inning with three runners stranded.

Colonia finally got a baserunner on to start the fourth inning with a leadoff walk from left fielder Cory Pascarella, but he never got past first base. A fielder’s choice and two flyouts later, Penny remained dominant.

Kroner brought the Patriots some more momentum by striking out the side, but the offense was unable to put together a rally.

In the ensuing top of the fifth inning, the Tigers’ offense woke back up. Irizarry singled to lead off – one of his three singles in the game – and stole second. After a swinging strikeout by McCarthy, Kroner got what looked like a routine fly ball from centerfielder Dom Massaro, but it bounced off Pascarella’s glove. Irizarry scored and Massaro advanced to third, and was driven in one batter later by Kapsch on an RBI groundout, giving South Plainfield a 4-0 lead.

Designated hitter Jayce Rodriguez finally notched the first hit off Penny with a ground-ball single to lead off the bottom of the fifth, but that baserunner was quickly erased by a flare shot to Penny, and a heads-up throw to first to double off Rodriguez. First baseman Tyler Chiola popped out to Irizarry to end the inning. Kroner allowed two baserunners in the sixth inning but they did not score.

With six outs left in their season, the Patriots loaded the bases – in large part due to a two-out single from third baseman Dylan Chiera and a walk by Kroner – but shortstop Matt Fasulo struck out looking on an inside fastball.

Penny was mobbed by his dugout, with the Tigers sitting three outs away from a sectional title.

Kroner remained in the game for the seventh inning, getting a flyout for the first out. Kapsch sent another fly ball to centerfield, but that one also bounced off the glove of centerfielder Nick Minue, putting Kapsch at third base. On the ensuing at-bat, he came around to score off a wild pitch to Fuscoletti. Kroner got two more flyouts, but South Plainfield notched yet another key insurance run.

Colonia – with three outs remaining in its season – put up one last gasp.

Tigers head coach Scott Gleichenhaus made a pitching change, swapping Kevin Penny for star reliever Jay Jimenez in the hot and humid conditions.

Jimenez did not have his best stuff, however, and the Patriots took advantage. Rodriguez led off with a groundout, but second baseman Jake Gotti walked to start off the rally. Chiola reached on a fielder’s choice, beating out a double-play ball. Catcher Jake Harvatt walked on a full count, and right fielder Joseph Massimino laced a single down the third base line to score Colonia’s first two runs.

With the lineup card flipped over, Pascarella hit an RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-3, still with two outs. Chiera walked to put two runners on, and Kroner singled to load the bases. Fasulo got his redemption, drawing a bases-loaded walk to draw Colonia within a single run, and the game-winning run on second base.

Gleichenhaus made another change.

Pitcher Mike Castagna entered, looking for a save in as high-pressure a situation as a pitcher can walk into. With Rodriguez up for the second time in the inning, Castagna induced another groundout to McCarthy, stepping on the bag and winning the sectional title.

Kroner was given the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) in seven innings with nine hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts. He also had a solid day at the plate, reaching twice in the sixth and seventh innings with a walk and a single.

Colonia’s season ends at a strong 23-5 mark.

Penny earned the win in six shutout innings, allowing just two hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Jimenez went two-thirds of an inning, allowing four runs (all earned) on three hits and four walks. Castagna got the final out and recorded the save.

South Plainfield moves on to the Group 3 state tournament, where it will face North 1 Group 3 champion Morris Knolls, who upset top-seeded Ramapo in Thursday’s title game.

Click below for postgame reaction from South Plainfield pitcher Kevin Penny and head coach Scott Gleichenhaus, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Pitcher Kevin Penny
Head Coach Scott Gleichenhaus
by Mike Pavlichko

No. 3 South Plainfield squeaks past No. 4 Woodbridge, 1-0, to sweep of first-place Barrons

Heading into the opener of their home-and-home series Saturday morning, South Plainfield knew it would have its hands full with Woodbridge, which came in to the two-game set with an 8-0 record.

By the time it was all over early Tuesday afternoon, the Tigers had swept the Barrons, capping it with a 1-0 road victory heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

In a tight game with few hits, the lone South Plainfield run came without virtue of a hit at all. 

That came after a fourth inning in which – via two walks and a sac bunt that ended up an infield hit – the Tigers left the bases loaded after Woodbridge starter Ryan Leach buckled down and got two strikeouts and a ground out to second to escape unscathed.

Not so in the fifth, however, though it could have been worse.  After the leadoff hitter struck out, Chris Loniewski, Dom Massaro and Dan Kapsch all walked back-to-back-to-back to load the bases.  Another walk to Kevin Penny drove in a run, but an unassisted double play ended it.  Nick Irizzary lined out hard to first, and Xavier Diaz just had to reach right behind him to tag Penny, just a few feet off the bag.

Woodbridge, meanwhile, had trouble getting anything going against Penny, the South Plainfield starter.  They had managed just two hits heading into the seventh, down 1-0, but nearly rallied.

After a pop up by their leadoff man, Nick Lukachyk doubled, with Jack Kobylakiewicz pinch running for him, the tying run in scoring position.  And when Bryant Periera followed with a single, that was the end of Penny’s day, bringing in closer Jayden Jiminez. 

He got Derek Anderson to ground to second, moving Periera to second, and after a walk to Gavin Slicer to load the bases, Diaz hit a 1-2 pitch to second, with Irizzary throwing to Kapsch covering the bag for a 4-6 force play to end the game.

Penny improved to 2-0 with the win, throwing 6 1/3, allowing four hits and no runs, striking out five. South Plainfield upped its record to 8-3, 6-3 in the GMC Red, 1.5 games behind first place Woodbridge, and – for the moment – a half game ahead of third place Old Bridge, which visits Monroe this afternoon.

Jiminez got the save, his fourth.

Woodbridge, which started the season 8-0, drops to 8-2, all in the Red.  Leach took the loss, falling to 2-1, allowing just two hits and one earned run, but he allowed eight walks along with five Ks.

Click below for postgame reaction with South Plainfield pitchers Kevin Penny, Jayden Jiminez and head coach Scott Gleichenhaus, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Top two teams in GMC Red square off Tuesday morning, as No. 3 South Plainfield visits No. 4 Woodbridge to finish home-and-home set

Just to give you an idea how good – and balanced – the GMC Red Division is, Woodbridge began the year 8-0, Old Bridge just knocked off the No. 3 team in the state in Seton Hall Prep, and South Plainfield just handed the Barrons their first loss of the year.

And that’s just the top three teams in the Red.

Two of them will face off again Tuesday morning at 10:00 – No. 3 South Plainfield and No. 4 Woodbridge – in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with the Tigers and Knights tied, both 2.5 games behind the Barrons.

Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel will call all the play-by-play, with pregame from Woodbridge High School set for 9:45 am in another Spring Break morning matchup. Click here to listen.

Woodbridge has been red hot to start the season, playing all of their games in the division thus far. The Barrons opened with 8-7 and 9-4 wins over St. Joseph-Metuchen, then swept South Brunswick, East Brunswick and Edison before taking their first loss of the year, a 7-3 defeat in South Plainfield Saturday afternoon. The Tigers scored a run each in the first and second, then exploded for five in the fifth to go up 7-0, and held Woodbridge to a three-run rally in the sixth that fell short.

Top-to-bottom, the Barrons have been hitting well this season, led by players like senior catcher Derek Oxner (team-leading .400 average, 6 RBI), junior Xavier Diaz (.310, team-best 8 RBI), and senior Ryan Leach (.294, 7 RBI, 2 HR).

On the mound, they’ve gotten great work from their three starters – Kevin Arroyo, Michael Gurovich and Ryan Leach – who have combined for a 1.70 ERA, with Arroyo and Leach both individually having earned run averages under two.

South Plainfield, meanwhile, is on its longest win streak of the season, at three. At 7-3 overall, they’re 5-3 in the Red, tied for second with Old Bridge, and have two non-conference wins, one each over Millburn and Summit. Their three losses all have been in the division – one each to St. Joseph-Metuchen, Old Bridge and Monroe. They split with the Falcons and Knights.

The lineup hasn’t been as consistent one through nine like Woodbridge has, but junior Dom Massaro is tearing the cover off the ball, hitting a blazing .485 with eight runs batted in and a home run. Seniors Dan Kapsch (.364, team-best 9 RBI) and Nick Irizarry (.333, 6 RBI) also are contributing at the plate.

The Tigers have mainly used four different starters. Kevin Penny (2-1, 4.40 ERA) will get the start for them on Tuesday, while Ryan Leach (2-0, 1.67 ERA) will get the nod for the Barrons.

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:

Woodbridge coach Mike Monaco with Mike Pavlichko
South Plainfield coach Scott Gleichenhaus with Alec Crouthamel

by Mike Pavlichko

South Plainfield has some questions, but Tigers are motivated to “finish business” in ’25

To anyone’s mind, the South Plainfield baseball team had a fine 2024 season. The Tigers finished 22-6-1, won the GMC Red Division, and made it to the GMC Tournament finals as well as the North 2, Group 3 title game in the state playoffs.

But those two finals left a bad taste in their mouths. As the top-seed in the GMCT, they got knocked off by third-seed Old Bridge, and they were down just 4-3 to Randolph heading into the top of the seventh in the sectional finals before the wheels uncharacteristically came off, and they lost 8-3.

This year’s Tigers, as a result, are hungry, and want to eat. But like every team this time of year, there will be a few question marks to answer.

South Plainfield loses some big hitters and their left side of the infield in shortstop Zach Robinson – with his .462 batting average, three home runs, and a team-best 30 RBI – and third baseman Jayden Alvarez, who hit .360 with two home runs and 27 RBI. Brandon Bickunas (18 RBI, 1 HR) also graduated. That’s a tough 1-2 punch to lose – on offense and defense.

And on the mound, Aldo Pigna (5-1, 3.10 ERA in 38 1/3 innings pitched) and Chase Donovan (1-1, 3.40 ERA in 22 2/3 IP) will be big losses, too.

But there is also plenty returning. On the mound, Kevin Penny and Mike Castagna have been solid; they combined to go 8-2 last year, Castagna throwing to a team-best 1.60 ERA among regulars. Ryan Balent could step up a level after some solid non-conference performances last year.

At the plate, outfielder Nick Irizarry (22 RBI) is back – and should move into the infield to shore that area up – along with sophomore outfielder and pitcher Dom Massaro (.310, 14 RBI, 3 HR), plus a host of others who will look to take the Tigers one step further this year.

Massaro was named a team captain after rebounding last year following an injury that kept him out earlier in the season. Dan Kapsch will also play significant role in the infield, and catcher Stephen Tudlack returns, too, which will help as the pitching staff looks to figure itself out.

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus talk about the upcoming season for the Tigers:

by Mike Pavlichko

Late Randolph rally dooms South Plainfield; Tigers fall 8-3 in North 2, Group 3 final

There was a point midway through Monday’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 title game that everything was coming up South Plainfield.

But in the end, seven runs in the final two innings gave Randolph the title, via an 8-3 win against the Tigers as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The top-seeded Tigers had taken a 2-1 lead over visiting second-seed Randolph in the third inning, on a groundout by Dan Kapsch that scored Stephen Studlack, and an RBI single by Zach Robinson that plated Dom Massaro.

In the top of the fifth, Randolph had a runner at third with two down, and on a bloop single to right, Brandon Bickunas made the catch and threw a perfect strike to Studlack to double up courtesy runner Ryan Kress tagging from third to end the inning with a 9-2 double play.

Then in the bottom of the inning, Massaro led off with a solo home run into the woods in left field.

What could go wrong?

Well, Randolph scored three times in the sixth, chasing starter Aldo Pigna from the game, to take a 4-3 lead, then scored five more times in the top of the seventh to put it out of reach.

The three runs in the sixth came on three hits and two walks. There were no big bombs. And the seventh was a nickel-and-dime affair, too.

It was a tough way for the season to end for South Plainfield, which finishes 22-6-1. They defied preseason prognosticators, winning the GMC Red Division over Old Bridge and Monroe, but lost in the GMC Finals to Old Bridge, and now in the sectional title game to Randolph.

Pigna took the loss, his first, to fall to 5-1, while ace Tommy Martin went the distance for the Rams, allowing six hits, striking out nine to improve to 7-1.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Randolph head coach Mark Rizzo
South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus
by Mike Pavlichko

South Plainfield fresh and fired up for crack at first North 2, Group 3 title in nearly a decade

It hasn’t been that long since South Plainfield won a sectional title. Many teams have gone much longer – see St. Thomas Aquinas, until yesterday – if they’ve even won one at all.

For the Tigers, it’s been nine years, eight seasons, not counting the wiped-out COVID year of 2020.

In 2015, under head coach Anthony Guida, South Plainfield not only won a sectional title, but they won the whole enchilada, beating Cranford 4-2 to win the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 title, then taking out Northern Burlington 8-4 to win the state Group 3 championship.

Nine years later, they’re back in the game, scrappy as ever.

Monday afternoon, top-seed South Plainfield will host second-seed Randolph in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 title game, which can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio by clicking here. Game time is 2 pm, with pregame set for 1:45. Mike Pavlichko will call all the play-by-play.

South Plainfield comes into the game at 22-5-1 and as GMC Red Division champions. They lost 6-5 to Old Bridge in the GMC Tournament final back on May 18th, and other than a defeat the previous day to Notre Dame of Lawrenceville, they have won 16 of their last 19 games, with one a tie against Spotswood called due to darkness.

Randolph is 20-9, finishing 7-5 and in second in the North Jersey Athletic Conference American Division to Delbarton. The Rams started hot, going 11-1 in their first dozen games, but stumbled a bit late in the year, dropping six of eight heading into the state tournament.

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus talk about the Tigers and the North 2, Group 3 title game against Randolph:

by Mike Pavlichko

With Red Division title in its pocket, South Plainfield needs one more to rule GMC

Every year, the top teams in every sport set three main goals: win their division, win the county, win a state title.

For South Plainfield, it’s one down, two to go.

They can’t get to that third one yet. In fact, the state tournament seedings don’t even come out until next Monday. But this Saturday, the Tigers will get their crack at the GMC Tournament championship, when they take on Old Bridge at Ray Cipperly Field in East Brunswick.

Game time is 2 pm, and you can hear it live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe on the call. Pregame begins at 1:30; click here to listen.

Top-seeded South Plainfield is 19-3-1 – ahead of today’s non-conference game with Notre Dame – ranked 11th in the state. But third-seed Old Bridge is no slouch. They’re new to the statewide rankings this week, checking in at No. 18, and are 17-7 overall. and they have a good deal of last year’s Central Jersey Group 4 championship team back, and the experience of going all the way to the state Group 4 final.

Everyone had pegged Old Bridge and Monroe as the favorites to win the Red Division, and considered them serious contenders to win the county tournament. South Plainfield had other ideas from the start, but it was a home-and-home sweep of the Knights two weeks before the GMC seeding that catapulted them into first place. And they cemented that with a sweep of St. Joseph-Metuchen the following werk to make it official.

They’re a team that can hit, and score runs in bunches. They’ve scored 29 runs in the tournament, and were tops among the four semifinalists in that department coming into last weekend’s final four.

They’re a team that can pitch, and play defense. And they can never be counted out.

Their win in the GMC Tournament quarterfinals a week-and-a-half ago was the stuff of legend. They came from five runs down in the seventh to beat South Brunswick 10-9.

Just call it another day at the office.

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Scott Glecihenhaus talk about the Tigers as they head into Saturday’s GMC Tournament championship:

by Mike Pavlichko

South Plainfield scores early and often in 8-3 win over Edison, to earn trip to GMC title game

In just about any game where Jaxon Appelman is the starter for Edison, he would get the edge.

Kevin Penny of South Plainfield had other ideas Saturday afternoon.

The junior got the start in the GMC Tournament semifinals against the Eagles Saturday, and he was comfortable working with an early 4-0 lead that helped the top-seeded Tigers to an 8-3 win, earning a trip to next week’s conference championship game back here at Ray Cipperly Field.

The Tigers (18-3) got four runs in the first on just one hit, while Appelman walked one and hit two batters.

Dan Kapsch led off with a base on balls, the Zach Robinson and Jayden Alvarez were hit by pitches to load the bases. Brandon Bickunas doubled to score two. Nick Irizzarry grounded into a fielder’s choice to score the third run, and an error on right fielder Teddy Eyler on a ball hit by Aiden McCarthy drove in the fourth run.

Appelman seemed to settle in a bit, and Edison (13-8) got a run back in the third. Dom Innocenti drew a one-out walk, Teddy Eyler singled and Appelman drove in a run on a fielder’s choice.

But South Plainfield answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Bickunas reached on an E5 to lead off, then Irizzarry and McCarthy walked. Aftee Ryan Balent struck out, a Stephen Studlack walk drive in a run, and Aldo Pigna plated another with a groundout to make it 6-1 Tigers.

Edison would make it 6-2 in the fourth. Brody Ferrer led off with an infield hit, and two batters later, Shaun Garland knocked him in with an RBI single.

In the sixth, South Plainfield got two insurance runs. Zach Robinson hit a fly ball to right that was misplayed – Edison’s fourth error of the game – and Jayden Alvarez promptly belted a first-pitch two-run homer to right.

Kevin Penny pitched 6 1/3 innings, striking out five, and got the win to improve to 2-0. Jaxon Appelman fell to 4-2 with the loss, allowing six runs, four earned in four innings of work.

South Plainfield will meet Old Bridge in the GMC Tournament final next Saturday at 2 pm at Ray Cipperly Field, in a game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. The two met in 2011, with Old Bridge taking the title.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

South Plainfield starting pitcher Kevin Penny and head coach Scott Gleichenhaus