Tag: 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
by Mike Pavlichko

Top-seed South Plainfield takes GMC-best ten-game winning streak into quarterfinal matchup with South Brunswick

Once tournament time comes, teams want to be playing their best baseball. That’s certainly the case for South Plainfield.

The Tigers came on like a thoroughbred, wasting defending Central Jersey Group 4 champion Old Bridge and defending GMC Tournament champion St. Joseph-Metuchen in the final two weeks before the seeding meeting to take first place in the league’s Red Division, and, by extension, the top-seed in the tourney.

South Brunswick, meanwhile, may be running on adrenaline, after a nearly four-hour first-round game Monday, a 3-2 win in 14 innings over ninth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas at Rowland Park. They’re on a five-game winning streak.

The top-seeded Tigers (16-3) and eighth-seeded Vikings (11-10) will square off at 7 pm Wednesday at North Brunswick Community Park in one of the final two GMCT quarterfinal games, and you can hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, immediately following the 4 pm quarterfinal.

Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino will call all the action; click here to listen.

South Plainfield is a gritty bunch. Always has been, always will be. When they won their first and only GMC Tournament title in 2018, under head coach Anthony Guida, they got to the finals as a 14-seed, and beat 12th-seed Perth Amboy 2-1. That nearly erased the heartbreak they suffered in 2014, when – as the six seed – they lost to four-seed St. Joe’s 1-0 on a bases-loaded walk-off walk.

South Brunswick, meanwhile, last won in 2010, though they were in two straight finals in 2019 and 2021 – there was no season in 2020 due to COVID-19 – losing the first time to Old Bridge, the second time to St. Joe’s.

The Tigers will send senior Aldo Pigna to the hill Wednesday night. He’s 4-0 in the season with a 3.65 ERA, with South Plainfield winning all five of his starts. And he’s gotten a ton of run support, with no fewer than five in any of his starts, twice scoring more than ten runs.

South Brunswick was hoping to throw junior John Koch (2-3, 3.74 ERA) but he had to go in Monday’s marathon against Aquinas. He threw 64 pitches in 4 1/3 innings and got the win in relief when Jack Leach won it in with an RBI single in the bottom of the 14th in walk-off fashion, but that means he’s unavailable Wednesday.

The good thing for first-year head coach Mike Pallitto is he only used three pitchers in the game, but neither of the other two – seniors Ethan Fantel or Aaron Perna – are available either. So, he’ll put the ball in the hands of Will Haman, who’s 1-0 with a 2.40 ERA. He’s had two starts and two relief appearances; the Vikings won both starts and split the two games he came into out of the ‘pen.

The Tigers took the second game of that home-and-home as well, winning 8-6 on April 11th. But with the two games being decided by a total of three combined runs, expect another close one. The question is, if Perna gets in trouble, will South Brunswick have enough arms in the bullpen?

Old Bridge had a three-game skid in late April, dropping a home-and-home to South Plainfield that ended up costing them the GMC Red title, but they rebounded to win three straight heading into Monday’s win over the Falcons in the GMCT first round.

And there was no rest for South Brunswick on Tuesday, which had a GMC crossover game scheduled with Perth Amboy. They beat the Panthers at home 11-3 and got a four-inning effort from Atticus Solomons.

South Plainfield and South Brunswick have the two most prolific offenses in the GMC Red Division. The Tigers have scored 145 runs in 19 games, while South Brunswick has scored 127 in 21 contests.

The Tigers are hitting .331 as a team, led by two regulars hitting over .400 on the year. Senior shortstop Zack Robinson – a speedster – is hitting .467 with 21 RBIs, three triples and three home runs – all team highs – while junior Dan Kapsch is hitting .424 with 9 runs batted in. As a team, South Plainfield has belted nine homers. Senior Jayden Alvarez has 20 RBIs and a team-leading seven doubles.

The Vikings – while they score a lot of runs – are hitting just .257 on the year, but they’ve hit eight home runs. Colin Perna leads the team with four and has 11 runs batted in, while senior Jack Leach leads the team with 17 RBIs, hitting .312 on the year. Ethan Fantel – back in the lineup the last couple of weeks – has been big upon his return from injury, hitting .529 in 17 at bats since his return to the lineup just five days ago. The Ithaca College-bound senior was hit by a line drive in South Brunswick’s season opener April fourth against East Brunswick, an 11-10 win. He broke several orbital bones in his face, and missed nearly a full month of the season.

Click below to hear from both head coaches:

South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus
South Brunswick head coach Mike Pallitto
by Mike Pavlichko

No. 2 South Plainfield takes GMC Red outright, wins 11-9 slugfest against St. Joseph-Metuchen

Even after second-ranked South Plainfield scored five times in the first to take a 5-0 lead over visiting St. Joseph-Metuchen, the Tigers knew it wouldn’t be over. Even if the Falcons were 3-13 on the season.

St. Joe’s got four in the top of the second to make it a one-run game, but while momentum swung back and forth, South Plainfield never trailed in a 11-9 win heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio Thursday afternoon.

The victory gave the Tigers the GMC Red Division title outright, virtually assuring they’ll be the No. 1 seed in the GMC Tournament, which will be seeded Friday morning.

Jayden Alvarez got the first two RBIs of the game, and the last one. The first two came on two-RBI double in the first after Dan Kapsch led off with a single, and Zach Robinson beat out an infield hit, a sharp liner to third. He capped it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, an insurance run with South Plainfield leading 10-9 at the time.

After the five-run outburst in the first, St. Joe’s got four back in the top of the second, the big blows being a two-RBI single by Luke Palermo and a sac fly to left by Lorenz Matanguihan.

South Plainfield then got two in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double by Brandon Bickunas, who later scored on a steal of third when the throw from the St. Joe’s catcher went into left field, making it 7-4.

Joe’s got it to 7-5 with a run in the top of the third, but South got three more back in their half of the inning to make it 10-5.

And the Falcons chipped away again, scoring again in the top of the fourth, then getting three more in the top of the sixth to cut it to 10-9.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers got an insurance run when Zach Robinson was hit by a pitch from Joe’s reliever Rich Zanagara, stole second, and came around to score on a single by Alvarez.

Chase Donovan got his first win of the season in relief for the Tigers, who are 14-4, 10-2 in the GMC Red. St. Joseph falls to 3-15 with the loss, 3-9 in the Red, as Zangara took the loss to fall to 0-4.

Click below for postgame reaction with third-baseman Jayden Alvarez and head coach Scott Gleichenhaus, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 2 South Plainfield looks to finish off St. Joseph, GMC Red Division when Tigers and Falcons tangle Thursday

Heading into the 2024 baseball season, everyone was talking about the veteran squad defending Central Jersey Group 4 champion Old Bridge would have back, and the solid pitching Monroe would return.

Was anyone talking about South Plainfield?

If they weren’t, they are now. The Tigers 13-3 overall, 9-2 in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division, and No. 2 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten are poised to pick up the top seed in the GMC Tournament when it’s seeded Friday morning.

That’s because they’ve got explosive hitting – nine home runs – and excellent pitching. Even their two conference losses – one to East Brunswick, the other to Monroe – came by a run each, both 3-2 defeats. They have scored more runs (120), and allowed fewer (51), than anyone else in the Red.

Thursday afternoon, South Plainfield looks to finish off the division title and claim it outright when the Tigers host St. Joseph-Metuchen, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio by clicking here. Game time is 4 pm with Mike Pavlichko on the call; pregame starts at 3:45.

Even with a loss, and an Old Bridge win at Monroe today, which would leave the two teams tied for first in the Red Division, South Plainfield has the tiebreaker, sweeping a home-and-home from the Knights last week.

As head coach Scott Gleichenhaus puts it, the Tigers have some “dudes” who can hit. That includes senior Zack Robinson, who’s batting .471 with a team-best three homers, slugging .804 on the year. And even down to the expected DH in Thursday’s game, Anthony Tomei, who hasn’t played baseball in a couple of years and is hitting just .200: he slugged a grand slam to spark a rally Wednesday to come from behind in an 11-4 win over Scotch Plains-Fanwood, and drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth Tuesday against St. Joseph.

On the mound Thursday will be the Tigers’ lowest ERA pitcher, Kevin Penny, “the guy we want on the bump in a big game,” says Gleichenhaus. And why not? In 19 innings, he’s allowed just two earned runs (three overall) for a minuscule 0.74 ERA with a record of 1-0.

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus talk about the Tigers and St. Joseph-Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 2 South Plainfield clinches share of GMC Red, and likely top GMCT seed, with 4-2 road win at St. Joseph-Metuchen

“I wouldn’t want anything more for these guys. I think they earned it.”

Who cares if the top-seed hasn’t won the GMC baseball tournament since 2019? South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus is thrilled for his Tigers.

Second-ranked South Plainfield picked up a 4-2 road win Tuesday over St. Joseph-Metuchen, a victory that clinches at least a share of the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division, and should give them the top-seed in the upcoming tourney, which will be seeded Friday and begins with the play-in round the next day.

Mike Castagna outdeuled the Falcons’ Joseph Barca in a battle of juniors who both went the distance Tuesday, with Castagna giving up just six hits and two earned runs, while striking out four. Dan Kapsch was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and two runs batted in.

The victory keeps South Plainfield (12-3, 9-2 in the GMC Red) a game ahead of Old Bridge (11-5, 8-3) after the Knights blanked Monroe 1-0 at home Tuesday afternoon. Even if South Plainfield dropped its division finale to Joe’s Thursday and Old Bridge finished off a sweep of Monroe, both would be 9-3 in the division, tied for first.’

But the Tigers’ sweep of the Knights last week would give South Plainfield the title outright.

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus talk about the Tigers’ win over St. Joseph, and clinching the Red Division title:

by Mike Pavlichko

South Plainfield looks to keep rolling as Tigers face St. Joe’s in GMCT semis

For third-year coach Scott Glichenhaus and South Plainfield, the start of this season was a bit of a rollercoaster.

A shut-out loss, followed by a 10-run win. Another close loss, and then another hit parade. Lose one, then win one against the top of the GMC. Rinse and repeat.

Boasting one of the most prolific offenses in the GMC, the Tigers (11-10) opened their season with splits against North Brunswick, East Brunswick, and South Brunswick. The offense was in a pattern: 0 runs, then 11, then 3, then 12, then 0, and then 16.

It wasn’t a matter of capability; it was a matter of consistency.

With 54 runs scored over their last six games – five of them wins – seventh-seeded South Plainfield has found that consistency, and at just the right time. In Wednesday’s GMC Tournament quarterfinal upset of second-seeded Old Bridge, the Tigers exploded for 11 runs, including at least one in each of the final five innings.

They now find themselves just one win away from their first GMC final since 2018, when South Plainfield won it all as a No. 14 seed.

Freshman centerfielder Dom Massaro is hitting .360 with a team-leading 24 RBIs. Junior infielder Jayden Alvarez is hitting .377 with 19 RBIs and junior infielder Zach Robinson is hitting .377 with 18 RBIs. As a group, they have hit seven home runs and together comprise one of the most feared offensive trios in the GMC.

On Saturday, South Plainfield looks to keep the bats rolling against third-seeded St. Joseph’s in the first game of the GMCT semifinals at East Brunswick Magnet School’s Ray Cipperly Field. The Tigers and the Falcons split a pair of games during the regular season.

Game time is 12:00, the first of two semifinal games, both of which you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, driven by Auto Lounge of Edison with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe calling all the action. Click here to listen; coverage starts at 11:40 am

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe talk with South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus about the progression of his team in 2023:

by Mike Pavlichko

South Plainfield’s 6-run seventh helps put Tigers in GMCT semis for first time since 2018 title season

For a while, South Plainfield was nickel-and-diming Old Bridge to death in their GMC Tournament quarterfinal game.

The seventh-seeded Tigers had scored a run each in the third, fourth and fifth innings, adding two in the sixth to take a 5-0 lead over the second-seeded Knights.

But after Old Bridge got a run in the sixth to make it 5-1, South Plainfield sent eleven men to the plate in the top of the seventh, scoring six runs on just four hits to take an 11-1 lead.

And while Knights made it interesting, the Tigers (10-10) prevailed 11-4 in the end, and move on the semifinals for the first time since they won the whole thing in 2018.

They’ll take on third-seed St. Joseph Metuchen at noon at Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School, while the 2:30 semi will feature top-seed North Brunswick and fourth-seed Monroe. Both games can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, presented by Auto Lounge of Edison.

The Tigers got on the board in the third when Aldo Pigna reached on a two base error by center fiielder Justin Meyer, who dropped a deep fly ball. After a groundout, Dan Kapsch knocked him in with a single.

In the fourth, Brandon Bickunas led off with a double, went to third on a groundout, and scored on an infield hit by Pigna.

In the fifth, Kapsch led off with a walk, then came in on a single three batters later by Ashton Donovan to make it 3-0.

Then, South Plainfield scored two more in the sixth when Brian Potts singled, moved to second o a wild pitch, and Dan Massaro singled him in. He stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, then was driven in on a single by Jay Alvarez.

The bottom of the inning, though, was when things got really interesting.

Old Bridge’s Mike Villani led off with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and when Frank Papeo Singled to get the Knights on the board, Tigers’ coach Scott Gleichenhaus pulled starter Kevin Penny for first baseman Ashton Donovan. He walked Evan Smith, then induced a pop out and got a strikeout for the first two outs of the inning. He walked Justin Meyer to load the bases, but got Thomas Papeo looking to end the inning.

The last two strikes – both called – appeared low. Papeo was frustrated, and so were the fans. But Papeo came out to pitch the top of the seventh, replacing reliever Justin Meyer. And his frustration boiled over on the mound, affecting his control.

He gave up a walk, a single, and a walk to load the bases before getting Pigna to strikeout. But Dan Massaro drove in two with a single, advancing to second on a throw to third that didn’t get courtesy runner Dan Gonzalez. Kapsch hit a ball to short, but the thorw to first was in the dirt, and got away from the first baseman Frank Papeo, allowing two more runs to score. Then Robinson hit a fly ball to center that was dropped – Old Bridge’s fourth error of the game. And after a foul out down the right field line, Donovan drove in two more runs with a bloop single that dropped in, making it 11-1.

And yet, Old Bridge (14-7) wasn’t done. John Smith walked to lead off the bottom of the seventh, followed by Kyle McSorley, and Villani knocked in a run with an RBI double. After a strikeout, Evan Smith drove in a run on a groundout to short and Josh Martinez singled another run to make it 11-4, but eventually Donovan – who’d been relieved by Robinson, came in to get the final out on a force out to short.

Click below for postgame reaction from South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Dom Savino

Don’t count out scrappy South Plainfield against Old Bridge in GMCT quarterfinals

Every tournament has two kind of contenders: the favorites and the sleepers.

A young ballclub that’s .500 and playing its best baseball at the right time? It’s a classic underdog, and it’s moving through a bracket it hopes to break.

Winners of five of its last seven games, 7th-seed South Plainfield looks to ride its hot streak into Middlesex County’s Final Four as the Tigers battle 2-seed Old Bridge in one of Wednesday night’s GMC Tournament quarterfinal games at North Brunswick Community Park.

Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino will call the game as part of Central Jersey Sports Radio’s doubleheader coverage, presented by AutoLounge of Edison. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Click here to listen.

South Plainfield enters the quarterfinals following its come-from-behind, 6-4 win over 10-seed Middlesex in the 2nd Round. The Tigers’ young bats shined, as junior Jayden Alvarez collected four RBIs, while sophomore Dan Kapsch and junior Zack Robinson each had three hits.

The game will be the third meeting of the spring between Red Division foes South Plainfield and Old Bridge, with the teams splitting the regular-season series. The Knights won the first matchup 8-3 on April 27th, but the Tigers earned the split the next day with a 3-2 victory.

South Plainfield is aiming for its first semifinals berth since 2018, when the Tigers won their first – and only – GMC Tournament title with a 12-inning victory in the championship game over Perth Amboy.

Dom Savino caught up with South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus to discuss his team’s winning streak and talented lineup: