Tag: Skyand Conference

Watchung Hills pitcher Robbie Centamore throws a pitch.
by Alec Crouthamel

Full-lineup power propels No. 5 Watchung Hills to 10-0 run-rule win over No. 1 Immaculata

The afternoon of the Somerset County Tournament seeding meeting, each team in action wanted to put their best foot forward ahead of the postseason.

No. 5 Watchung Hills did that, and then some, against No. 1 Immaculata.

The Warriors (11-4, 7-2) bounced back from a 12-2 loss to defending Group 2 state champion Governor Livingston with a five-inning 10-0 victory of their own, giving the Spartans (12-4, 8-1) their first loss in conference play.

Senior pitcher and designated hitter Rob Centamore did his job on the mound and at the plate, going the distance with five shutout innings, while striking out seven batters and allowing just two hits. He also hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend the lead to 6-0, helping his cause even further.

First baseman Max Payne capped off a four-run fifth inning with a bases-loaded RBI single to close out the win. Watchung Hills would’ve batted around in the inning, had the game not ended with the hit.

The rest of the lineup production came from the bottom of the order, with the Warriors’ eighth and ninth hitters — centerfielder Chris Dorsi (two RBIs), pinch-hitter Bennett Dealaman (one RBI), and right fielder Sam Hunsinger (four RBIs) plating the remaining seven runs.

Dealaman was a busy man himself, courtesy-running for catcher Jacob Jaconski — who was plunked three straight times in his first three plate appearances through four innings — before stepping up to the plate himself in the fifth to drive in a run with a single.

Watchung Hills threatened in the first inning with runners on the corners and one out, but Immaculata pitcher Cole Raymond worked a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the jam scoreless. That came after the Spartans left a runner in scoring position in the top of the first with a one-out double from sophomore second baseman Luca Catanzarite, as Centamore left him at second base.

The Warriors got the job done in the second inning, though. The first five batters reached base against Raymond — with four hits and a walk — and Dorsi opened the scoring with a two-run bloop single. Hunsinger brought in two more with a single of his own to bring home the first four runs of the game. Jaconski recorded his second HBP of the game with one out, but another timely 4-6-3 double play ended the inning with a four-run advantage.

Centamore continued to deal, rendering Immaculata hitless from the first inning until the fifth inning, with two walks serving as the only baserunners. He helped his own case in the bottom of the fourth inning with the aforementioned two-run blast, a sky-high ball that just cleared the left-field fence at Frank T. Matullo Stadium. A groundout on the ensuing batter ended the inning, and worked through a shutout inning in the fourth before a pitching change.

Sophomore first baseman Andrew Wheeler moved over to the mound to take over for Raymond. He worked a flyout against second baseman Landon Pudlak, but the next three batters all reached, with back-to-back walks followed by an RBI single from Dealaman.

Immaculata then went to senior right-hander Michael Drelich out of the bullpen, but Watchung Hills kept on hitting. Hunsinger laced a double into the left-center field gap to plate two more runs to make it a nine-run lead, before Drelich worked a groundout to record the second out. That was the last out the Spartans would get, however, with the best of the order due up.

Jaconski worked a walk — without getting hit by the pitch this time! — and Centamore added a single to put runners on first and second with two outs. Payne ended it with his RBI single up the middle to send the Warriors home with an early victory.

Centamore earned the victory with five shutout innings, two hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. Raymond was given the loss in four innings of work, allowing six earned runs on seven hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and three hit batters.

How this affects Tuesday night’s SCT seeding meeting remains to be determined. Watchung Hills had been in the mix for a top-four seed for much of the recent weeks, and Immaculata was the favorite to be the tournament’s top seed. While Immaculata only has the one county loss, Watchung Hills’ two conference losses came to Ridge, which was swept by the Spartans.

It’s a Somerset County transitive triangle!

CJSR’s Mike Pavlichko will have the full bracket after the meeting — starting at 7:30 Tuesday night — at @cjsportsradio on Twitter/X, with a full story after.

All these teams can do is control what is in front of them, and the Warriors — now winners of seven of their last eight games since getting swept by the Red Devils in mid-April — did a good job of putting their best foot forward Tuesday.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with Watchung Hills head coach Joe Tremarco and senior pitcher/DH Rob Centamore, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Alec Crouthamel

No. 1 Immaculata hosts No. 2 Ridge looking for a sweep and bigger lead in SCT top seed race

Central Jersey Sports Radio’s top dogs in baseball have already battled once, and they’ll do so again on Wednesday afternoon.

The latest matchup is the second half of a home-and-home two-game set between No. 1 Immaculata and No. 2 Ridge, a day after the Spartans took the first game 3-0. Pitchers Cole Raymond and Bryson Auten combined for a two-hit shutout, and the offense came from two RBIs — including a home run — from senior catcher Owen Schilling, and a single from sophomore outfielder Brian Cilento.

If all goes to plan for Immaculata, it hopes to be more of the same in the second leg on Wednesday.

You can hear that game live – with no paywall or subscription needed – on Central Jersey Sports Radio with pregame at 3:45 pm and first pitch at four with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen.

The Spartans have played some solid baseball all year long, and are 7-1 against New Jersey teams, with the lone loss coming against Delsea on Saturday.

Immaculata’s pitching and defense have helped push the team to its strong start, and with star senior Ryan Auten on the mound Wednesday, could continue to be a strength.

Auten, committed to Wake Forest, has been brilliant in all three starts this year. He sports a 1.62 ERA and 35 strikeouts — an average of almost 12 per game — and has progressed even after last season, according to head coach Kevin Cust. At times, he wasn’t as sure in his execution, while still working a 2.80 ERA, but that has flipped for the better in the opening month of his senior season.

On the offensive side, the Spartans’ mix of experience and young talent have shown themselves across the year, and the coaching staff has continued to emphasize a strong approach of throwing strikes and hitting strikes.

It worked on Tuesday, as Immaculata drew six walks and seven hits. Now with its ace on the mound, the Spartans aim for a sweep of a fellow state-ranked team, and one it’s battling for Somerset County Tournament seeding at that.

With a win, Immaculata could only strengthen its hold on the prospective top seed in the tournament, while a Red Devils victory makes the conversation a bit more intriguing.

As the defending champions, the Spartans look to get back to the mountaintop, and a win against a fellow contender could go a long way in clearing the path to do so.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with Immaculata head coach Kevin Cust about the Spartans’ season, and their huge series with Ridge:

by Mike Pavlichko

Big third quarter run, masterful defense, send Manville past Bound Brook a second time, 58-41

After a game, win or lose, coaches will show their team the game film to look at all the things they can improve upon and the things they need to work on.

So, if at any other point this season, Manville is struggling defensively, head coach Bill Rooney will want to put on the tape of Thursday night’s home game against Bound Brook, starting with about five minutes left in the third quarter.

That’s when the Mustangs faced their biggest deficit of the game against the Crusaders, eight points, after a three-ball by Titus Godwin.

But after that? Manville went on a 21-0 run, fueled by intense defense that forced Bound Brook into missing bad shots, and they were able to convert on the other end to take a 13 point lead that eventually grew as big as 17, and wound up being the final margin, in a 58-41 win heard live Friday night on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

In the end, Manville finished the game on a 37-12 run, from eight down to win by 17.

Remarkable.

In that run, Collin Shimp – even playing with three fouls – had two big threes. Twin brother Brandon hit one at the buzzer at the end of the third – a microcosm of how the quarter went for both teams – and Jimmy Cuadra had a number of steals along with six points in the period.

After five first quarter lead changes, Bound Brook took the lead, and finished the first half with a 23-19 advantage. They extended that to eight points – the biggest lead for either team at that point – with a three by Titus Godwin, who had 12 points in the first half but was held to five in the second.

And all game, Manville did a number on Dorian Roundtree, the Bound Brook senior who came in averaging 20.6 points per game, but was held scoreless in the first 16 minutes and finished with just six points.

Head coach Bill Rooney’s game plan was a bit novel. Most teams would try and slow down Bound Brook, getting them into a half court game since they get up and down the floor well. But Manville hit some shots, got back on defense, pressed, forced turnovers and got out in transition. They didn’t always hit on the other end, but it frustrated the Crusaders to no end.

Cuadra led the Mustangs with 15 points, while Josh D’Ambrosio added a dozen and Collin Shimp finished with 11. Godwin finished with a game-high 17 for Bound Brook.

It was the second straight win over Bound Brook for Manville (7-5, 5-0 Skyland Conference Mountain Division), which – coming into this season – had not beaten the Crusaders in 25 games over a span of ten years from 2005 to 2015, and they didn’t play each other for the next decade.

That changed December 16, when they picked up a 50-43 win at The Brook. Thursday’s win over Bound Brook (8-3, 3-3 Skyland Mountain) swept the season series.

The last time they beat Bound Brook back-to-back games? Well, that might take some digging. Based on easily available online records, it would predate the 2004-05 season, making it at least 22 years ago.

Click below for postgame reaction from Manville senior Collin Shimp and head coach Bill Rooney, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Alec Crouthamel

Highlander’s big second half helps lead No. 1 Gill St. Bernard’s to emphatic win over No. 3 Pingry – and likely the SCT’s top seed

When you think of Gill St. Bernard’s basketball, you think uptempo, flying across the floor, and plenty of victories.

Through one half against No. 3 Pingry, those three factors were present at times, but not enough with a 21-15 lead.

Once both teams emerged from the locker room for the second half of play, things changed.

The Knights (11-2, 5-0) raced out of the gate and never looked back, pulling away for a 69-38 win, outscoring the Big Blue (7-3, 3-0) 48-23 in the final 16 minutes of play.

Fresh off a 33-point, ten-rebound performance in a thrilling win over Rutgers Prep on Saturday, Gill St. Bernard’s forward Prosper Highlander led the way once again, with a 20-point, 12-rebound follow-up performance. After scoring just two points in the first half, he came alive with 12 points in the third quarter with an array of drives to the basket and a three-pointer.

Oh, and he also picked up the tough assignments on defense, stuffing the stat sheet with three steals and two blocks.

Pingry controlled the tempo early on, scoring the first five points of the game and keeping close for much of the first half. Even after the Knights responded to the opening run with ten unanswered points of their own, the Big Blue ended the quarter with six unanswered to stay within a point at 12-11.

That momentum continued into the second quarter. Even as Gill St. Bernard’s appeared to be on the verge of pulling away, Pingry continued to stack up timely buckets to stay within arm’s reach, as head coach Jason Murdock and his team looked to build off the momentum of back-to-back wins over Immaculata and Rutgers Prep last week.

But the Knights’ intensity and pace on both ends of the floor eventually became too much to overcome. They methodically built up their lead as the third quarter went along, turning defense into offense plenty, before the lead eventually ballooned to 17 points to end the third quarter, and 31 points by the end of the game.

Gill St. Bernard’s standouts Connor Junker and Dorsett Mulcahy kick-started the offense in the opening quarter with six points apiece for all of the Knights’ scoring in the opening eight minutes. Junker finished with ten points with two three-pointers, while Mulcahy finished second on the team with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Dylan Cowell led Pingry with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double to go along with three blocks, and was the Big Blue’s only double-digit scorer.

With the win, Gill St. Bernard’s now puts itself in an excellent position for the top seed in the upcoming Somerset County Tournament, as the Knights look to defend their title from a season ago. Last week, they won their only matchups before the seeding meeting with Montgomery and Rutgers Prep, with the Argonauts also having lost to Pingry.

Amid a schedule head coach Mergin Sina calls one of the toughest in the state, Gill St. Bernard’s passed yet another test as the calendar flips to 2026.

Click below for postgame reaction from Gill St. Bernard’s senior forward Prosper Highlander and head coach Mergin Sina, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Hillsborough’s Mosko, steering Raiders through mid-season rough patch to win program’s first sectional title in 13 years, is named 2025 CJSR Somerset County Coach of the Year

Every team has its ups and downs in a season. Even those that finish that rare undefeated season don’t do it without any difficulty.

But it’s how they bounce back and overcome adversity that defines a team. And in the case of the Hillsborough baseball team, they did that just this season, bouncing all the way to the Central Jersey Group 4 title.

It’s something Matt Mosko didn’t get to do as a player for his hometown Raiders, but in his relatively new life as head coach – now in his fourth season – he and the program have their first since 2012.

After getting off to a 5-1 start, including a split with Hunterdon Central and a split with defending CJ4 champ Bridgewater-Raritan, the Raiders hit a bit of a skid. They went 3-9 over their next dozen games, the last of that stretch a 10-9 loss to eventual champion Immaculata in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, a loss that could have sunk the rest of their season.

HIllsborough players stream out of the dugout after winning the Central Jersey Group 4 championship game against Old Bridge at Fred Cole Field on June 5, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

But they bucked up, and realized that with a nine-seed in the state sectionals, they could make some noise with a few wins. After a road win at Freehold Township, they knocked off top-seed Hunterdon Central in Flemington, came back home and beat Montgomery in the semis, then rallied late to score ten unanswered runs in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game at Old Bridge, bringing home the program’s first NJSIAA trophy in 13 years.

Click below to hear Hillsborough head coach and Somerset County Coach of the Year Matt Mosko talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: