Tag: South Amboy

by Mike Pavlichko

And then there were six: A look at the undefeated teams left in the CJSR coverage area

We’re officially two weeks into the high school baseball season – though some haven’t quite managed two weeks’ worth with all the rain we’ve gotten – and there are a half-dozen teams who remain unbeaten.

Some have received a lot of attention, like Bridgewater-Raritan, No. 1 this week, taking the top spot in the Week 2 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten. Others, like South Amboy (4-0) or Piscataway Magnet (2-0) have not.

So, here’s a look at all six teams without a blemish on their records so far.

Bridgewater-Raritan (6-0, #1 ranking)

The Panthers had high expectations coming into the season, and so far have delivered with aplomb. They had a big season-opening win over Rancocas Valley, and beat state-ranked North Hunterdon 7-1 back on Saturday, a win that – coupled with Old Bridge’s second loss of the season – elevated them to No. 1 this week in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten.

The Panthers are hitting .304 as a team, and have three home runs already. And they’re getting it from a mix of veterans – one each from Devin Goldberg and JR Rosado – as well as others like Matthew Lehberger, a junior who hit his first varsity homer against Hillsborough on April 9th.

The team ERA is 1.97, with Owen Crimmins, Corey Rible and others looking sharp.

The Panthers have a big test Tuesday afternoon when they travel out to Flemington to take on Hunterdon Central, a 4:00 start.

Spotswood (7-0, #5 ranking)

The Chargers won their seventh straight Monday afternoon, beating Somerville 7-3 on the road in the teams’ first meeting since 2007. That’s a nice feat, but it’s getting to be old hat around “The Swamp.” After all, Spotswood won its first nine games last season en route to a 21-8 season, and a trip to the Central Jersey Group 2 final.

Seton Hall commit Carter Cumiskey has been lights out. He’s 3-0, only allowing his first earned run of the season Monday afternoon, giving him a 0.39 ERA (in 17 and 2/3 innings pitched) with a 3-0 record. He struck out ten Pioneers in the win, and – oh yeah – also hit a solo home run that led Somerville to intentionally walk him his next two at bats.

Meanwhile, Glenny Fredricks – now in his 20th season with the Chargers – is sitting at 299 career wins after Monday’s victory.

Everyone in the lineup is hitting, and Spotswood continues to do the little things well, the definition of a Fredricks-coached team. The Blue Division-leading Chargers have scored more runs than anyone in the league (75) and are outscoring their opponents 75-16 through seven games, a +59 run differential that’s also the best in the GMC.

The Chargers are back in action at home Thursday at 4 pm against Marlboro, where Fredricks will go for win No. 300 in his coaching career.

Woodbridge (7-0, #6 ranking)

Like Bridgewater and Spotswood, the Barrons returned a veteran group and also had high expectations for this season. So far, it’s all gone according to plan for Woodbridge. At +53, they’re second in the GMC in run differential, giving up just eight runs all year, the lowest of any team that has played at least three games. (Edison, right behind them in the GMC White, has only given up nine in six games; the Eagles are 5-1.)

Woodbridge has swept home-and-homes from Colonia, Sayreville, and JP Stevens, while beating Middlesex in their first meeting of the year on the road Monday, 4-3.

Senior Eddy Nunez – who burst on the scene as a freshman in the “COVID comeback” season – has thrown 19 innings, more than anyone on the staff, and struck out 27 (1.4 per inning) on the season. His ERA is a slim 1.47, while senior Shawn Kish has also been solid. So has Drew Lukachyk, who didn’t pitch much last year due to arm issues, but has returned to form this season.

Lukachyk is hitting .409 this year as well, and that’s not even the best average on a team that’s hitting an excellent .357 overall. Sophomore Xavier Diaz is hitting .471 and Kish – also a senior – is batting .429.

The Barrons host Middlesex Tuesday afternoon at 4, then entertain North Brunswick Thursday.

Immaculata (7-0, #7 ranking)

What a turn for Kevin Cust’s ballclub, whose best year since the COVID shutdown in 2020 was a 14-13 record two seasons ago, sandwiched between 9-win, sub-.500 seasons. This year, the Spartans are back in top form.

While they didn’t win their first seven that year, in 2018 Immaculata started 1-1, but then won 17 straight to go 18-1 in their first 19. That year, they beat Montgomery for the Somerset County title, then fell in the Non-Public South B final to Gloucester Catholic.

This year’s team opened up with three out-of-state foes – all wins – and now has won four straight since beginning Skyland Conference play, with all coming against Somerset County Teams in Montgomery on the road, then Watchung Hills, Franklin and Pingry at home. In their first seven, they’ve tossed three shutouts, and allowed two or fewer runs in five of those games.

The Spartans are tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .369 as a team, and led by junior Colin Kassai, who’s hitting .600 on the year – 12 for 20 – while senior Troy Rabosky is hitting .571 on 12 for 21.

Pitching-wise, they’ve given up 13 runs all year, and by scoring 66, have the largest run differential in the CJSR coverage area, let alone the Skyland Conference, at +63 on the season. Senior Josh Thompson has thrown 17 innings so far, with a paltry 0.41 ERA.

Immaculata plays Rutgers Prep Tuesday at 4, then travels to Flemington for a big test Saturday morning at 11:00 against Hunterdon Central.

South Amboy (4-0)

With all their wins coming in the GMC Gold Division, the Governors have swept their home-and-homes with Carteret and New Brunswick. While the Zebras are just 1-3, Carteret is 4-2, with their only losses coming to South Amboy, and the Ramblers are right behind them in the division.

While the pitching has been hit or miss, their offense has been more hit than miss. The Guvs are batting .329, with three regulars at .300 or better, including Weslyn Morel-Sanchez (.429), Benjamin Hernandez (.444) and Benjamin Smith (.545), who already has eight runs batten in on the season, plus the team’s only home run.

After a 19-7 win over New Brunswick on Monday – the Governors outscored the Zebras 30-10 in that home-and-home series – South Amboy visits the pristine field at East Brunswick Magnet for a 4 pm first pitch on Wednesday.

Piscataway Magnet (2-0)

Sure, it’s earlier for the Raiders than anyone else, having played two games – both GMC Silver Division opponents – but why not give the Raiders some pub?

It took them over a week to play their first game of the season, a 17-0 whitewash of Wardlaw-Hartridge. Then it was another six days before they got back on the field Monday to win at Perth Amboy Magnet, 8-7 in eight innings. The Raiders got two in the top of the eighth to break a 6-6 tie, then held PA Magnet to a run in the bottom of the inning to pick up the win.

Albeit through two games, Piscataway Magnet is off to a good start, hitting .382 as a team with four extra base hits (3 doubles and a triple). Freshman Kyla Malchiodi leads the way, hitting .750 (4 for 8) through two games with a team-leading nine runs batted in.

Senior Matt Baez got the win in the opener, tossing a complete game of five scoreless, one-hit innings, striking out 15 while walking only two in a ten-run rule win.

Their biggest test yet will come Tuesday when they visit GMC Silver Division leader Highland Park (3-1, 3-0 in the division) at 4 pm.

by Mike Pavlichko

Seventh heaven? Seven area boys’ hoops teams head into Christmas Break with perfect records

As things wind down for a few days for Christmas – with holiday tournaments just beyond – there are seven boys’ basketball teams from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area with unblemished records, and a few more still unbeaten in divisional play.

Of those, five are in the Greater Middlesex Conference, with two in Somerset County.

Cougars, Warriors still perfect…

Perhaps the most notable unbeaten from Somerset is Montgomery, which is 4-0 so far, 2-0 in the Valley Division, with wins over Pingry and West Morris on the road to start the season, then a pair of home wins over Delaware Valley and Morris Knolls. It’s their best start since the COVID-shortened 2021 season, went they went 6-0 to start, and finished 10-4. Senior Steve Donahue is leading the way with 14 points per game for the Monty, which hosts its own Cougar Holiday Classic this week. They host North Hunterdon at 2 pm Wednesday, following Bridgewater-Raritan and Princeton at noon, while the Cougars and Panthers will play each other at 4 pm Friday.

Watchung Hills is the other Somerset County team not to lose yet. The Warriors are 5-0 overall, 3-0 in the newly-configured Raritan Division. Justin Salton’s club has only played two county opponents, and three from the Skyland. They have wins at Bound Brook and over Bridgewater, while they beat Phillipsburg in their opener. Out-of-conference wins have come over Morris Knolls and at Clifton. Junior Zack Patette (16.4 ppg) and senior John Kelly (15.4 ppg) are the top scorers leading a fairly balanced attack. They also play in a Cougar Classic this coming week, this one up at Chatham. It’s a three-game, four-team event, playing the host school Tuesday night at 7, New Providence Wednesday at 3 pm, and Cranford out of Union County on Friday at 1:30 in the afternoon.

GMC’s five have some usual suspects, some not…

The undefeated teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference are somewhat of a mix. On the one hand, there’s St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph-Metuchen in the Red Division, which doesn’t surprise anyone. The other three? South Amboy and Calvary Christian in the Gold, and Timothy Christian in the Blue.

We’ll start with Timothy, as we broadcast their season-opener, a win against JFK in which senior Jalen Fleming eclipsed the 1,000-point mark. The Tigers followed that up with wins at Carteret, South River and Metuchen. They are scoring 73.3 points per game, with an average margin of victory a shade over 23 points. Fleming, of course, is a big reason why, averaging 22.3 points a game, but then there’s junior Myles Dickerson After dropping 20 in the opener against Kennedy, he scored 25 against the Ramblers, 32 against the Rams, and 35 against the Bulldogs, for a tidy 28 points per game. And as Nigerian transfer Chukwudi Raphael Mamah gets more comfortable with the American game and contributes more, the Tigers will be a tough out. Their schedule hasn’t been the best, but it’s not the worst either, but it could get tougher this week. They’re in the Butch Kowal Tournament at Rahway this week, playing the host Indians at 7:30 Wednesday night. If they win, they would likely play Rumson-Fair Haven (currently 31-) in the final Friday night at 7:30; the consolation tips at 6.

Myles Dickerson (#5 in black) runs the offense against JFK in a GMC Blue Division home game in Piscataway on December 15, 2023. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The Gold has South Amboy and Calvary Christian, but at least one won’t be undefeated for long. That’s because they face each other on January third in Old Bridge. 

But first, the Governors are in the Middlesex/Shore Holiday Tournament at South River this week, taking on Henry Hudson at 11 am Wednesday, before Keansburg and the homestanding Rams play each other at 12:30 pm. The consolation takes place Thursday at 11, followed by the championship at 12:30. South Amboy is led by senior Jake Eberle with 16.6 ppg and 7.8 rpg, while fellow senior Gavin Pelkey is averaging 15.8 points per game.

Calvary Christian will be out at the University of Valley Forge in Pennsylvania at the Patriot Holiday Invitational. They play Thursday against Baptist Regional at 4 pm, then will get either Mount Airy Christian (PA) or Coventry Christian (PA) in the 12:30 consolation or the 3:30 final the next day.

And then, of course, the GMC Red Division, with standbys Aquinas and Joe’s. They will play each other twice this season, but the first of those meetings doesn’t come until January 16th in North Edison. They’ll rematch January 30th in Metuchen.

The Trojans are 5-0 despite turning over their entire roster save for one player, Davon Grant, who had all of 23 career varsity points entering the season. GMC wins have come over JP Stevens, South Brunswick, and Old Bridge, with the victory over the Knights’ being by almost the slimmest of margins, 54-52. They also have wins over New York non-publics, St. Joseph by the Sea on Staten Island and Monsignor Scanlan out of The Bronx. Newcomer Aiden Ur, a junior, leads the scoring with 16.4 points per game, while seniors Paris Papadatos and Rinelson Dilone are adding 14.8 and 14 points a game, respectively. In fact, Dilone is cleaning up on the glass, too, nearly averaging a double-double, with 9.8 boards per contest. Aquinas plays St. Elizabeth (DE) on the Varsity Viking Invitational on Wednesday (time TBA), the are in the Boardwalk Basketball Classic at Wildwoods Convention Center down the Shore, taking on Middle Township of the Cape-Atlantic League at 1:15 in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve.

As for St. Joe’s, they’ve been without senior Jeremy DeCaro, a major piece, but fellow senior Jeremy Clayville has been lighting it up. He’s averaging 26.8 points per game, twice scoring more than 30 points. He had 35 against JP Stevens last Thursday night in a 30-point win, a week after piling up a mammoth 43-point effort – a career high – in a season-opening ten point road win over Piscataway. Fellow seniors Owen Griffin and Dave Caruso also are averaging a shade over 10 points a contest. The Falcons are in the Whitey Dukiet All-American Holiday Classic at Livingston High School this Wednesday, where they’ll take on Morris Knolls Wednesday at 1, before Ridge and Livingston Square off at 3 pm. The consolation game is noon Friday, while the final tips at 2:00.

by Mike Pavlichko

Playoff update: Boys’ Basketball Public Sections

Continuing with a look at state playoff seeding projections, we’re taking a look at boys’ basketball public sections in Central and North 2. Remember that unlike most years when the first 16 games on a team’s schedule are counted, only the top 13 power point values are added this year. So, teams playing past their 16th game can still accumulate power points, but not full games’ worth. If a game makes the top 13, the lowest score is dropped, and all that is gained is the difference between the lowest of the 13, and the new score.

(Example: a team’s lowest among it’s top 13 scores is a 15. If it wins a game worth 20 points, the 15 is dropped, and the 20 added, for a net gain of 5.)

The analysis below is based on official NJSIAA calculations as available on NJ.com as of 9 am Tuesday:

Central Jersey Group 4: The top team here is Marlboro (17-2) with 454 points, and Monroe (18-3) is behind in second them at 413. They’re unlikely to get the top seed, but also unlikely to get caught from behind by Jackson Memorial (12-5, 361, 3rd) and definitely not by South Brunswick (12-6, 329, 4th). Both teams could gain since their 13th power point value is a loss, but not enough to overtake the Falcons. Next up from the CJSR area is No. 10 Montgomery (10-8, 244), then East Brunswick (8-8, 242) at 12. Both could move in a tight pack either up or down. Speaking of which, teams 15 through 17 are all from the GMC, and could be make or break this week. Old Bridge is 15th at 7-12 with 208 points, followed by Sayreville (8-10, 184) and North Brunswick (7-14, 176). It’s probably the Bombers and Raiders battling it out for that last playoff spot. North Brunswick has Edison Wednesday, and Sayreville is at St. Thomas Aquinas Tuesday and hosts Colts Neck Friday. Either team could add games before Saturday’s cutoff to get in. This could get interesting.

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 4: You’ve got Watchung Hills (14-3, 361) in the catbird’s seat here, led by Elijah Lewis, who just committed to Adelphi this week. Westfield is 16 points behind, and it may be tough for them to catch up with 13 wins already. How about Franklin (11-6, 341) making a push, though? The Warriors have room for two more wins here, and might be able to make up the 20 point disparity, so look out; they currently sit in third. Ridge is right behind them wrapping up the top four at 13-5 with 326 points, but with 13 wins, they’re less likely to make a move than Franklin. Toward the middle of the pack, JP Stevens (9-7, 275) is tied with Elizabeth (8-5, 275) for 7th, but both have room for improvement this week. Edison (12-6, 260) is right behind, but already has 12 wins, so it’s doubtful the Eagles can crack the top eight. Bridgewater-Raritan (8-11, 250) is 12th, followed by resurgent Piscataway (8-7, 246), which has won four in a row and six of its last eight after a rough 2-5 start.

Central Jersey Group 3: The only area team in contention here is Somerville (5-12, 161 points) in the bottom half of the pack in 12th place, solidly in that bottom half, but solidly in the field of 16. Manasquan is the current top team at 13-4, followed by 14-4 Robbinsville.

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 3: Here’s some intrigue: South Plainfield out of the GMC Blue is in first at 17-3, with 351 power points, while Colonia from the GMC White at 14-3 with 332 points is in second. It’ll be tough for the Patriots to make up that ground having 14 wins already; getting one of the pair against St. Thomas Aquinas sure would have helped. They’re the only area teams in contention in this section.

Central Jersey Group 2: With 13 wins already, a loss to Immaculata may not have hurt Bound Brook all that much, but it didn’t help either. The Crusaders (13-1, 357) have a slim shot at No. 1 Rumson-Fair Haven (13-2), which is only ahead by six points, with 363. For example, their lowest value is a 15, a win over North Plainfield. A win over Hunterdon Central (which has 7 wins) Tuesday would be worth 6 quality points, 4 group points, and 15 residual points, for a total of 25. Drop the 15, add 25 and the net gain is 10. They’d jump ahead of the Bulldogs, but now it depends what they do. Bottom line: the Crusaders are still in play in the critical final week for a top seed. South River (13-4, 312) checks in 5th here, with Middlesex (9-10) at ten, and Roselle (11-15, 251) and Spotswood (13-5, 248) not far behind them. Metuchen (7-10, 165) appears to be sitting comfortably in 16; don’t expect anyone behind the Bulldogs to challenge them.

Central Jersey Group 1: It looks like Perth Amboy Tech (11-4, 214) is a lock for the four- or five-seed. They currently sit in fifth, and the only real difference as a potential extra home game if things go to chalk. Further down the standings, Highland Park (4-12, 141) checks in at 12, followed immediately by Manville (7-9, 135, 13th) and South Amboy (5-9, 122, 14th). Somerset Tech (3-15, 105) is 14th. Burlington City is the top team here at 12-4