Tag: Souoth Plainfield

May 15, 2026May 15, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Gutty South Plainfield has seen veterans influence younger Tigers, seeking second trip to GMC finals in three years

Working class, blue collar, gritty.

That’s a good way to describe South Plainfield, the town, but also a perfect description of South Plainfield baseball.

Each year, the veterans instill that sense – with a little bit of underdog mentality – in the younger payers, sophomores, maybe freshmen, and even the first-time junior or senior starter.

Each year begins with question marks, and head coach Scott Gleichenhaus had many coming into this season, but in 2026 – as in other years – the Tigers have answered the bell.

And now, fifth-seed South Plainfield finds itself a win away from the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship Game – which will be moving to Rutgers this year, it was just announced Thursday by the league, in a story Central Jersey Sports Radio broke Thursday evening.

To get there, the Tigers will have to beat ninth-seed Monroe (11-12) for a third time this season, when the two play in the tournament semifinals at East Brunswick Magnet School Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for noon as part of a doubleheader that will feature second-seed Middlesex and third-seed Old Bridge at 2:30 pm.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have both an audio and video stream of the game, with coverage starting at 11:40 am with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe. You can listen to the game here, and the video – with our audio commentary – can be seen here, on our YouTube channel.

Senior Aiden McCarthy has been one of the veterans tutoring the newcomers on what it means to be a Tiger, but he has also been leading by example. He’ll get the start Saturday afternoon, coming in with a 6-1 record and a 2.67 ERA. But he can hit, too, batting .315 with 22 runs batted in.

South Plainfield also has been strong defensively, an area where Gleichenhaus wasn’t sure how it would turn out after the graduations on shortstop Dan Kapsch and second baseman Nick Irizzary. Anthony Cicenia and Gabe Garcia have taken over those positions, and been more than able. Coupled with veteran speedster Dom Massaro, the school’s all-time hits leader (and 2025 Central Jersey Sports Radio Special Teams Returner of the Year in football) in centerfield, the Tigers are strong up the middle.

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

May 26, 2025June 1, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County champion Immaculata rises to No. 1, GMC champ St. Joe’s to No. 2 in Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten

The completion of the two county tournaments in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area gives us new teams at No. 1 and No. 2 in the Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Top Ten.

Somerset County Tournament winner Immaculata (17-5) retakes the top spot from Ridge for the first time since Week 1, when they wrested the top spot away from Bridgewater-Raritan after an Opening Day win and opening week sweep over the Panthers. The Spartans were 4-0 this week, with a win over Franklin, 1-0, in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals – on a no-hitter by Ryan Auten – and Wednesday in the title game, 3-0 over Ridge. They also won non-conference games Tuesday against North Brunswick, 7-3, and at West Morris on Saturday, 4-1, outscoring their four opponents 19-4 during the week.

Red hot St. Joseph-Metuchen (15-6) takes the second spot, going 2-0 in the week gone by and continuing to win games late. After beating Spotswood last Saturday in the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament semifinals, 4-3 in walkoff fashion, Joe’s began the week with a 2-1 eight-inning win at Westfield, breaking a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth. It was their eighth straight win, and fifth in a row in their last at bat. But the ultimate topper was Saturday, when they trailed 4-2 heading into their final at bat in the bottom of the seventh, got one run to cut it to 4-3, then won the GMC crown 7-3 on a walkoff grand slam by JP Zayle. The Falcons won all four of their GMCT games in walk-off fashion.

Ridge (17-5) falls to third, on a 2-1 week. They beat Rutgers Prep Monday, 11-0, in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, then lost to Immaculata 3-0 in the title game Wednesday. The Red Devils rebounded with a 7-1 win Friday at Chatham.

Holding in fourth is Edison (13-9), which won its eighth and ninth straight games with a Monday victory at Carteret, 7-3, and an 8-1 win at Somerville on Tuesday. But that streak got snapped in dramatic fashion Saturday, when St. Joseph beat them to win the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship with a 7-4 walkoff.

Rutgers Prep (13-9) went 2-1 in the past week and holds in fifth. After a Monday loss to Ridge, 11-0, in the SCT semifinals, they rebounded with a Tuesday 7-3 win at Princeton Day, and a 7-4 win at Millburn on Saturday.

Holding at No. 6 is Middlesex (17-5), which went 2-0 in the week gone by. The Blue Jays beat two Union County teams at home this week via shutout: Scotch Plains-Fanwood 1-0 on Tuesday, and Union 2-0 on Friday.

Colonia (20-4) moves up two spots to No. 7, becoming the first team from the CJSR coverage area to reach 20 wins this season. (The next closest teams are Ridge and Middlesex, with 17 each.) The Patriots went 3-0 in the week gone by, with a 1-0 win at rival Woodbridge on Monday, a 7-3 home victory over Bloomfield Wednesday, and a 10-0 win over Carteret at home on Thursday.

South Plainfield (14-10) drops a spot to No. 8, splitting two games this week. The Tigers won at Dayton on Tuesday, 6-1, but came back with a 10-5 loss at Elizabeth on Friday.

Also splitting two games last week was Spotswood (15-10), which dropped to nine. The Chargers got blanked 6-0 by Monroe at The Swamp on Tuesday, but rebounded with at 8-3 home win over Ewing on Wednesday.

And holding at No. 10 is Woodbridge (16-7), which went 1-2 this week and has gone 3-3 in its last six games. The Barrons dropped a 1-0 home decision to Colonia on Monday, rebounded with a 3-2 win at JFK to complete their township series Tuesday, then lost Friday at Perth Amboy, 4-3.

Below is the complete Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Top Ten:

June 10, 2024June 9, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Bridgewater-Raritan took No. 1 ranking early in season all the way to the finish line; Panthers are 2024 CJSR Team of the Year

Very early in the season, after two weeks of play, Bridgewater-Raritan jumped into the No. 1 spot in the Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Top Ten. And they never looked back.

En route, the Panthers won the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title, the Somerset County Tournament, the North 2, Group 4 championship, and – this past Saturday night – won the program’s first-ever state title, beating Eastern 6-4 in the Group 4 championship game down in Hamilton.

It was a fitting way to cap 2024, a dominant season by the Panthers, in which they went 30-3, setting a new program record for wins.

Bridgewater-Raritan is the Central Jersey Sports Radio 2024 Team of the Year. We’ll have a full story with them later this week, and we’ll also announce our Player of the Year.

For now, scroll through to read more about the season’s final rankings. The complete Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten is at the bottom of this article.

Finishing second is Old Bridge. The Knights went 20-9, eliminated from the state tournament by GMC Red Division foe Monroe in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, but they won their second GMC Tournament title in five seasons with a 6-5 victory over South Plainfield in the finals.

South Plainfield finishes in third at 22-6-1, not only a GMC Tournament finalist, but they also reached the North 2, Group 3 finals, falling 8-3 to Randolph.

Ridge (21-9) checks in at No. 4. The Red Devils made the Somerset County Tournament finals for a fourth straight season, but fell to Bridgewater-Raritan in the title game.

Colonia (19-7) didn’t win the White Division or a tournament title, but came on strong late in the year, winning 14 of 16 heading into the state tournament, where they fell in the semifinals of North 2, Group 3 to South Plainfield.

Immaculata is at No. 6, finishing 17-9. The Spartans won the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title.

Monroe is at No. 7, finishing 16-10. The Falcons finished third in the GMC Red Division, but beat three area teams – East Brunswick, South Brunswick and Old Bridge – to get to the Central Jersey Group 4 final, where they eventually fell 5-1 at Jackson Memorial.

Woodbridge re-enters the rankings in the final analysis, finishing 17-10 and winning the GMC White Division.

Carteret (18-7) finishes in the nine-hole. The Ramblers were the GMC Invitational Tournament champions.

And St. Thomas Aquinas (19-10) finishes in the final spot after a state tournament run that saw them beat three Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area teams – Timothy Christian, Gill St. Bernard’s and Rutgers Prep – to win the Non-Public North B title. They would fall 10-0 to Gloucester Catholic in the Non-Public Group B final on Friday night.

Below is the complete final Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for the 2024 high school baseball season: