Tag: South Brunswick

by Mike Pavlichko

Through first week – and them some – these high school baseball teams have started the season red hot

The high school baseball season is already a week old, though a few got started a little earlier than most, but more than a few have started the 2026 campaign red hot.

Some were expected, others have turned out to be pleasant surprises.

And that could juggle our first in-season Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, the Week One edition of which comes out Monday morning.

Here’s a look at who’s gotten the season off to a great start after the first week or so or play in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area, with a minimum of three games played..

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE

Red Division

  • Edison: The Eagles are 3-0, and may have had the most success with the toughest opening schedule of all. It was their pitching that helped lock down their season-opening series with Central Jersey Group 4 finalist Old Bridge, picking up 5-2, and 2-1 wins last week. Of course, that’s no surprise looking at who Edison has on the mound: three D1 commits including Robert Roma (Wagner) and Connor Murphy (Monmouth) – who pitched against the Knights, and Dom Innocenti (Wagner) who went four solid innings against South Plainfield in a 5-4, eight-inning home win Saturday afternoon. But the bats can do good stuff, too. Murphy is one of then, already 4-for-8 on the year with two doubles, while Isaiah Lutz is hitting .444 with a double and two RBIs, both of which came against the Tigers, and the last of which walked it off with two outs and the bases loaded Saturday. The Eagles are back at it Tuesday at South Plainfield, then play equally red-hot Monroe (3-0) at home Thursday and away Saturday.
  • Monroe (3-0): The Falcons (3-0) already are a third of the way to their win total from last year, when they went 9-13. And they’ve got two wins over East Brunswick – a series sweep with 10-7 and 5-2 wins – plus a Saturday road victory, 6-2, over defending GMC Tournament champion St. Joseph-Metuchen. In the second win over the bears, junior Ben Faigin pitched five no-hit innings before being lifted and got the win. (Don’t forget, it’s early yet, and some pitchers the first few weeks are on fairly strict pitch counts from their coaches.) Faigin is also doing it at the plate, going 6-for-8 in the first three games with three runs batted in, and he’s walked four times, stealing seven bases already. It’s Monroe’s best start since 2022. The Falcons will close their home-and-home in Monroe Tuesday when St. Joe’s visits, before they play a Thursday/Saturday home-and-home with Edison.
  • South Plainfield: Despite a 5-4 loss in extras at Edison on Saturday, the Tigers are 2-1, and those two wins are nothing to sneeze at. South Plainfield crushed St. Joseph in Metuchen on Tuesday in the season opener, 11-1, then took a 6-2 decision at home on Thursday. Aiden McCarthy pitched the full five innings of Tuesday’s ten-run rule game, allowing just four hits and one earned run, while striking out five, and sophomore Andrew Bena, who blew up on the basketball court this winter, continued to shine on the pitchers’ mound in game two, throwing 6 1/3 and allowing just three hits and two earned runs while striking out eight. McCarthy and Dom Massaro also are tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .455 and .500, respectively, with McCarthy knocking in four runs, while the speedster Massaro – an outstanding football player, and the CJSR Special Teams Returner of the Year in 2025 – has four stolen bases already.

White Division

  • Middlesex: The defending state Group 1 champions and GMCT Final Four team swept Spotswood two games last week, 6-1 on Tuesday at home, 12-1 at “The Swamp” on Thursday, then beat Perth Amboy at home on Saturday, 4-2 to start the season at 3-0. Their two main arms are back this year, Chris Kozak for his senior year and Dominic Long for his junior campaign, and both got wins against the Chargers, with Kozak going the distance, Long going seven, with only Kozak allowing a single earned run. Then they got a solid outing from Dylan Ianiero for the win Saturday allowing four hits and just two unearned runs in six innings pitched. That means the Blue Jays have allowed just one earned run in three wins to start the year. Not too shabby. And, Middlesex is hitting .333 as a team, getting balance from up and down the lineup. Ianiero and Long are both hitting .571 (4-for-7) on the year, with Long also knocking in three runs and walking four times, while Sean Hughes has four runs batted in. After the series finale with the Panthers in the Bay City Tuesday, the Jays get South Brunswick at home, then away, in a Thursday-Saturday two-game set.
  • South Brunswick: New head coach and veteran GMC skipper Lou Urbano has brought a new mindset to the Vikings, and so far, all is looking good at 3-0. They scored a combined 21 runs in their season-opening series against Perth Amboy, which included a 13-2 home win Tuesday, and a n 8-6 road win Thursday. Then, it was a pitchers’ duel Saturday as the Vikings beat Sayreville at home, 1-0, behind four no-hit, shutout innings from starter Collin Perna in his second start of the season. The senior also got the win in Game One against Amboy, and in 8 2/3 innings pitched, has 14 Ks, six walks, and has allowed just three hits and one earned run. The Vikings close out the series with the Bombers in Sayreville Tuesday, before opening a road-home set with Middlesex Thursday and Saturday.

Blue Division

  • Carteret: Off to its best start since 2023, when they went 5-0, the Ramblers have won their first four, sweeping a pair from GMC Invitational finalist East Brunswick Magnet – 4-3 and 12-6 – then picking up a 13-8 win at North Plainfield Thursday, and am 11-1 non-conference win over Long Branch Saturday. As a team, Carteret is in mid-season form at the plate, hitting a scorching .365 as a group, with seven regulars hitting almost .290 or better. Junior Miles Ferreiras is hitting .533 (8-of-15) with six runs batted in, while freshman outfielder/pitcher Jose Parra has knocked in eight. Their pitching is on the younger side, too, with soph Jayden Luciano throwing two scoreless innings at EB Magnet Wednesday, then going the distance in the five-inning mercy-rule win over Long Branch, allowing just two hits and one earned run, while striking out ten. They finish up the home-and-home with North Plainfield Monday afternoon, then open a two game set with South River on the road Wednesday, and home Thursday.

SOMERSET COUNTY

Immaculata visits Hillsborough in a Skyland Conference Delaware Division game on March 31, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Skyland Conference, Delaware Division

  • Immaculata: A home-and-home sweep of Hillsborough – 3-0 in their opener on the road Tuesday, then 3-0 again at home Thursday – plus a 5-3 win over West Essex – a North 2, Group 2 semifinalist a year ago – has the Spartans 3-0 after the first week of play. They’re not exactly tearing the cover off the ball – yet – but the pitching has dominated in the early going, allowing just the three runs to West Essex. Immaculata is off for Spring Break this week, then gets back into action with two against Bridgewater-Raritan the week after – home Tuesday at Diamond Nation and just up the road in Bridgewater Thursday, before an 11 am non-conference game Saturday morning against Delsea, which opens its season this week.
  • Ridge: The Red Devils are 3-0 after a trio of wins over all different teams last week. They opened Tuesday with a 7-4 non-league win at West Morris, then came “home” Thursday and beat Montgomery 11-1 out at Diamond Nation in Flemington, before getting past Rutgers Prep Saturday in Basking Ridge 4-0. There are some new names on the mound, as Dimitri Romer got the win against West Morris, while Matt Brievogel and Dillon Henderson picked up league wins; all three are juniors. At the plate, Ridge is hitting .299 as a team, but they’ve also worked out 17 walks in three games, adding in six hit batsmen. Four games are on tape this week, including a league home and home with Hunterdon Central Tuesday and Thursday, bookended by a non-conference home game against Randolph Monday and a Saturday morning visit to Warren Hills.

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick opens 2026 season with new attitude, new coach, as GMC veteran, NJ Hall of Famer Lou Urbano takes the reins

The South Brunswick baseball program isn’t that far removed from a trip to the GMC Tournament finals in 2021, and yet they are.

There’s been a decline in participation, and last season the Vikings won just four games.

Enter Lou Urbano, a Greater Middlesex Conference baseball veteran, who made his name in the northern end of the county, coaching at JFK in the 1980s, Woodbridge and Colonia in the 90s, and St. Joseph-Metuchen into the new century, before going back to Barrons.

Now, he’s at South Brunswick, with his first goal to change the culture, his second to increase the numbers in the program. Do those two things, Urbano says, and the third goal – winning – will take care of itself.

Urbano knows a thing or two about winning. And so do his former players. That’s why one of his first moves was to bring in one of his former players at Woodbridge, Harry Rutkowski, one of the GMC’s all-time greats, who played his college ball at Rutgers.

There’s a lot to do for Urbano, who’s also a football coach, and plans to remain on the staff of Brian Russo at Rahway – yet another Woodbridge connection.

Much of the pitching staff remains, with a number of sophomores and juniors back, including Jack Whitlock and Tyler Skakacs, who combined to throw 40 innings last season.

Their top hitter is Collin Perna, a junior who hit an eye-popping .446 last season with six home runs and 16 runs batted in, for a lineup that struggled to hit .216 last season, and scored just 59 runs.

And moving “down” to the White Division this year won’t necessarily be a cakewalk, but should give the Vikings a bit more breathing room. Yet, they’ll still have to face two of the league’s three 20-game winners from a year ago in Middlesex and Colonia, as well as scrappy Spotswood, the only team to beat the Blue Jays twice last season.

The Vikings open the season Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 with the first of a two-game, home-and-home set with Perth Amboy. They’ll visit the Bay City for Game Two Thursday afternoon, also at 4:30.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with new South Brunswick baseball coach Lou Urbano

by Mike Pavlichko

Sunday Conversation: Woodbridge’s Joe Goerge on 250 (or 251?) career wins, spanning NJ and NY

Sometimes, you can do the math over and over again, and it just doesn’t add up.

Such was the case when Woodbridge football assistant Jason Goerge – who coaches with his father, Joe, the head man for the Barrons – called me to discuss a milestone his dad was close to reaching.

Or, maybe he’d already reached it?

After beginning his career at Port Richmond on Staten Island, Joe Goerge eventually landed in New Jersey at Franklin. He won two championships, then resurrected the program at Dayton before heading to South Brunswick, where he won three more state titles. He left there to go to St. Joseph by the Sea back in New York, then came back to South Brunswick before arriving in Woodbridge in 2024.

The St. Joseph by the Sea website put his record at 221-137-4 heading on a web page introducing the 2021 coaching staff. They went 4-5 that year, putting him at 225-142-4. Back at South Brunswick, the Vikings went 5-5 in back-to-back seasons, for a total of 10-10, putting him at 235-152-4.

With a 10-1 season last year, and a 3-0 season this year, that’s 245-152-4.

But before coming to Woodbridge, a Mike Kinney article on NJ.com gave him a 238-158-4 record “at five schools – South Brunswick (twice), Franklin and Dayton in New Jersey, and Port Richmond (where he began his career) and St. Joseph by-the-Sea.”

That would make him 251-159-4, and that his 250th career win actually came two weeks ago in a 26-23 win at Watchung Hills.

Since school websites are not always up to date, and to be honest, we trust Mike Kinney more (and Athletic Director Joe Ward, who confirmed the same)… we’re going with those numbers.

But really, what are we talking about here? Joe Goerge has reached quite the milestone. He’s won multiple championships at multiple schools, including 1994 and 1996 in Central Jersey Group 3 at Franklin, along with Central Jersey Group 5 titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017 at South Brunswick.

A jubilant football coach holds a championship trophy aloft while surrounded by celebrating players in their uniforms, cheering and raising their hands in triumph.
Joe Goerge celebrates with his players after South Brunswick’s 2015 Central Jersey Group 5 championship over Manalapan at Rutgers University. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Over the years, he’s touched the lives of thousands of boys and turned them into young men with the life lessons football provides. Accountability, respect, hard work, and overcoming adversity.

Certainly, the championships will be remembered.

But the joy, for Goerge, is in the teaching, and then seeing them years later with their families, their kids, using the lessons they learned – whether at Port Richmond way back when he first started in the 1980s, or in 2040 when he sees anyone on his current Barrons squad, either with their wives and kids, coaching, or maybe playing in the NFL.

To see what they’ve become, what they’ve made out of their lives, that’s the real victory.

And you can be pretty sure there are a lot more than 250 of those victories in Joe Goerge’s career.

And at the rate he’s going, there will be many more to come.

Click below to hear Woodbridge football coach Joe Goerge talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about his long and storied career in coaching, and win No. 250 – whenever it came!

by Mike Pavlichko

2025 Big Central Preview: National Gold Division

There could be a really good race developing at the top of the Big Central’s National Gold Division this year.

It starts with Piscataway, which was 7-4 overall last season and is the defending division champ. But the Chiefs, as longtime head coach Dan Higgins says, measure success “by championships” – as in state championships. And their last came in 2018. But Piscataway has experience, and also will welcome back Josiah Zayas, who comes back to play from his hometown school after transferring from St. Thomas Aquinas – after he sits out the early season due to NJSIAA transfer rules.

But the Chiefs could very well be challenged by Old Bridge this year, which is loaded, and a big favorite of CJSR football analyst Marcus Borden, who got to see them last week on his Camp Caravan tour. Their offense is led by Brody Nugent, their returning quarterback, who is looking for big things this year, personally and team-wise.

Monroe is hoping to turn some of its close losses to wins this year, while South Brunswick wants to maintain last year’s early-season energy (3-0 start) and not sputter late (0-6 the rest of the way).

Meanwhile, East Brunswick has seen the fog lift after the late summer dismissal of Andy Steinfeld as head coach, and with new coach Zack Gega – a Bear alum who was on the staff last year – there’s a good feeling in preseason camp that was missing last year.

Click below to hear our preview of the National Gold Division from Big Central Conference Media Day:

by Mike Pavlichko

Former South Brunswick standout, Rutgers kicker Jai Patel nominated to “Good Works” team for community involvement

Rutgers placekicker Jai Patel – a scholastic standout at South Brunswick High School – has been nominated for the 2025 Allstate American Football Coaches Association “Good Works Team,” created to honors college football players who make a difference in their communities.

Patel – twice an Academic All-Big Ten honoree, and a business analytics and information technology major – has been active with three main organizations since arriving on campus three years ago.

Chop4Change is the football program’s effort toward unity and equality, with an eye toward giving back to the community. Through that, he’s been a team representative and leader for Team IMPACT, which pairs children suffering from serious illnesses with college sports teams. He’s created meal kits for Elijah’s Promise, a well-known and prominent soup kitchen and charitable organization in New Brunswick. And he’s been a part of Special Olympics New Jersey, teaching kids football and running a bocce tournament.

Patel has also been outstanding on the field for the Scarlet Knights, kicking 15 field goals in each of his first two seasons. In 2023, he hit on 83.3 percent of his field goials, a school record. And he made his last 13 last season, also setting a program record. He’s seventh on the school’s all-time list with 30 made field goals.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2025: Who will challenge Piscataway, Old Bridge in National Gold Division?

In 2025, the Piscataway Chiefs ran away with the National Gold title in the Big Central, sweeping their counterparts to go 4-0 in the division, while Old Bridge went 3-1. The rest only won one divisional game and will look to make inroads in 2025.

It’s probably no surprise the two teams that fared the best a season ago are led by veteran mentors. Old Bridge’s Matt Donaghue has been through some wars and was an assistant under predecessor Anthony Lanzafama, and Dan Higgins of Piscataway is the second most-tenured coach in Middlesex County.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the National Gold Division teams – in alphabetical order – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge. Please note game dates and times may be changed without notice as the season approaches. Division games marked with an asterisk (*).

East Brunswick Bears (2-8, 1-3, tied for 3rd with Monroe, South Brunswick in ’24)
Head Coach: Zach Gega (1st season)

  • Week 0: South Plainfield (Thurs, 6p)
  • Week 1: at Hamilton West (Sat 2p)
  • Week 2: Franklin (6p)
  • Week 3: at Monroe*
  • Week 4: Old Bridge* (6p)
  • Week 5: Hunterdon Central (6p)
  • Week 6: at Piscataway* (6p)
  • Week 7: at North Hunterdon
  • Week 8: South Brunswick (6p)

The noise of last year’s sudden dismissal of Andy Steinfeld just before preseason camp is in the rear view mirror, but much of the coaching staff remains in tact, as Offensive Coordinator Zach Gega was promoted to head coach after the season, back in December.

Still, much work remains, as East Brunswick has only won four games over the past three seasons, going 2-8 last year after back-to-back one-win campaigns. Gega will return sophomore QB Sean Christie – who was thrown into the fire last year, and was a thousand-yard passer – but he will have to slash the 19 picks he threw last year against just seven touchdowns. Christie is the only returning QB to take a snap last year. The Bears tried a lot of different players last year, now is the time for that experience to pay off.

Monroe Falcons (4-6, 1-3, tied for third with East Brunswick, South Brunswick in ’24)
Head Coach: Nick Isola (9-12, 3rd season)

  • Week 0: at West Windsor-Plainsboro (6p)
  • Week 1: Hunterdon Central (6p)
  • Week 2: at South Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 3: East Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 4: at JFK (6p)
  • Week 5: North Hunterdon (6p)
  • Week 6: at OId Bridge* (6p)
  • Week 7: at Franklin (6p)
  • Week 8: Piscataway* (6p)

The Falcons will lose their starting QB in Brandon Macaluso (1,425 pass yards, 17 TD) as well as their top receiver (Logan Fotiadis, 482 yds, 6 TD) and No. 1 rusher (Michael Sabbio, 301 yds, 2 TD), as well as a number of seniors on defense. Still, the out-of-conference schedule seems manageable.

Old Bridge Knights (6-4, 3-1, 2nd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Matt Donaghue (15-15, 4th season)

  • Week 0: Cedar Creek (Battle at the Beach at Rowan) (Sat, 3p)
  • Week 1: at Edison
  • Week 2: at Piscataway* (6p)
  • Week 3: South Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 4: at East Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 5: Morristown (6p)
  • Week 6: Monroe* (6p)
  • Week 7: at Hunterdon Central
  • Week 8: Colonia (6p)

The Knights finished the 2024 regular season strong, winning three straight, culminating in a 36-29 double-overtime win at Colonia on Cutoff Weekend, before falling 16-14 to Cherokee in the opening round of the playoffs. The big news is they return dual-threat quarterback Brody Nugent for his senior season. He nearly threw for 1,000 yards (953, to be exact, 12 TD, just 4 INT) but rushed for over 1,000 as well, going for 1,017 and 16 touchdowns. And even with graduation losses, he’ll have targets to throw to like junior Cam Ollivencia (12 catches, 140 yards, 4 TD) and Aiden sophomore Aiden Rios (10 catches, 148 yards, 2 TD). Key defensive standouts like senior DB Xavier Diaz (7 INTs) and DL Michael Kvas (2 sacks, 7 TFL) should mean good things as well.

Piscataway Chiefs (7-4, 4-0, National Gold Champs in ’24)
Head Coach: Dan Higgins (173-58, 22nd season)

  • Week 0: Edison (6p)
  • Week 1: at Bridgewater-Raritan (6p)
  • Week 2: Old Bridge* (6p)
  • Week 3: Ridgewood (6p)
  • Week 4: at South Brunswick*
  • Week 5: Sayreville (6p)
  • Week 6: East Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 7: at Hillsborough (6p)
  • Week 8: at Monroe*

While the Chiefs’ top receiver and runningback graduate, sophomore quarterback Landon Pernell – who threw for 1,275 yards and 13 touchdowns last season – is back, bringing the offense some stability this year and next. They’ve always got young and up-and-coming players in the wings, and Zaire Young (21 carries, 92 yards) is the top returning back. No doubt Piscataway will miss Jahai Johnson, an electrifying return man, but a mixed defense with seniors and underclassmen means this year’s squad should pick up right where it left off, and maybe make more of a move in the states this year.

South Brunswick Vikings (3-6, 1-3, tied for third with Monroe, East Brunswick in ’24)
Head Coach: Ibrahim Halsey (3-6, 2nd season)

  • Week 0: Robbinsville (6p)
  • Week 1: North Brunswick (6p)
  • Week 2: Monroe* (6p)
  • Week 3: at Old Bridge* (6p)
  • Week 4: Piscataway* (6p)
  • Week 5: at Watchung Hills (6p)
  • Week 6: at Union (Thu, 6p)
  • Week 7: Edison (Thu, 6p)
  • Week 8: East Brunswick* (6p)

Things started well for Vikings’ first-year head coach Ibrahim Halsey, who came over from Roselle after Joe Goerge left for Woodbridge, going 3-0. But for whatever reason, they went into a tailspin after averaging nearly 30 points a game in the first three, losing their next six, averaging just 6.8 points per game in that span, getting shutout by Piscataway and Watchung Hills. The good news is QB Daniel Duffie is back for his senior season, and so is No. 2 receiver Kamari Toney (49 catches, 259 yards, 2 TD), who was just a sophomore last season. South Brunswick will lose a ton of seniors on defense.

by Mike Pavlichko

GMC Jim Muldowney Tournament Play-In Round Preview: Four games on tap Saturday

With the Greater Middlesex Conference seeding the Jim Muldowney Championship and Ray Cipperly Invitational on Friday – with Woodbridge getting the overall top seed – the Championship tourney will get underway Saturday with the play-in round, while the Invitational will kick off on Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the four Saturday games in the Championship bracket, including a look ahead to who’s next. Scroll to the end for the first round Invitational matchups.

(17) South Brunswick (3-15) at (16) South River (12-5), 12 pm: This is the type of game that’s impossible to pick, a double-digit team from the Blue Division against a Red Division team with just three overall wins, and one in its own division. The Red has been competitive just about from top-to-bottom, with six of the eight teams cracking the ten-win mark, and besides South Brunswick, Monroe has eight victories. So, it’s tough to tell. Couple that with the fact that the Rams have one of the top pitchers in the league in Julius Rosado, who will be playing not far away at Rutgers next Spring. Does Mike Lepore throw him Saturday, since you have to win that game to advance? Does he save him for Monday’s first round against top-seed and GMC Red champion Woodbridge – in which he would give the South River a fighting chance – but risk not getting a win Saturday, leaving him on the table? Or does he start him, cap him at 50 pitches, allowing him to only take one-day rest, leaving him with 90 against the Barrons? Rosado has only thrown 90 or more pitches once this year, in a 4-3 win over JP Stevens on April 23rd, and he hasn’t thrown more than 25 in four appearances since. Maybe this is what they’ve been saving him for? The Vikings have struggled at the plate, hitting just .227 on the season, and only Timothy Christian (21) has scored fewer runs that South Brunswick, which has 49, as does North Brunswick (2-13). The winner travels to face the Barrons Monday.

(19) JFK (9-8) at (14) North Plainfield (10-5), 12 pm: Here’s two teams more on a par with each other in an all-Blue Division matchup. And this one could be a toss-up. Kennedy gotten some good pitching, but little run support. The workloads have gone to junior Myles Ulaky (1.83 ERA) and Grant Lorentzen, who has allowed just one earned run, four overall, all season in 36 1/3 innings pitched for a barely-noticeable 0.19 ERA. North Plainfield is on its first losing streak of the year – just two games – showing how solid a season they’ve had. The Canucks have gotten decent pitching – with a team ERA of just 2.23 – but they’re hitting just .204 on the year, with no single player batting better than .300 on the season. The winner goes to GMC White champ and third-seed St. Thomas Aquinas Monday.

(18) Carteret (8-8) at (15) Perth Amboy (4-10), 12 pm: Is the fact that the Panthers have just four wins in the white and the Ramblers eight wins in the Blue an equalizer? Sometimes, when comparing teams from different divisions, the GMC seeding committee considers what one team might do in the other division. Add in that this is a classic rivalry – their all-time football series having been the longest running in Middlesex County – and this should be a good one. Perth Amboy comes in strong. After a 3-10 start, the Panthers have won three straight: two over North Brunswick and one over South Brunswick. They scored just 12 runs on that eight game skid, but have scored an average of ten over the last three games, hitting .337 in that span. And it doesn’t matter the opponent, baseball people know hitting is contagious. Yet, the Ramblers will be a tougher opponent. Winners of five of their last seven, Carteret is hitting a healthy .283 and led by senior Eric Thompson, batting .370, while Joneil Martinez has knocked in a team-best 12 runs and is hitting .345 on the year. The winner goes to No. 2 South Plainfield Monday.

(20) South Amboy (5-11) at (13) Metuchen (13-6), 2 pm: It’s an all-Blue Division matchup between the sixth-place Governors and the pennant-winning Bulldogs. South Amboy is hitting .278 as a team, led by senior Benjamin Smith, batting .434, tied for a team-high in RBIs with Jeremy Vasquez, who also has five of the Guvs’ seven home runs. Pitching has been an issue, with a team ERA just over six, and no single pitcher lower than a 4.43 ERA. Metuchen is an interesting story. They were 11-2 before May first, but have lost four of their last five and three straight, although two of those losses came to Red Division foes in Edison (a 4-3 loss) and Monroe (a 7-2 defeat). Metuchen is the beat-hitting team of the eight in the play-in round (as well as the highest-seeded, so maybe they should be?) and has just a 2.62 team ERA, with a number of options to choose from on a staff that doesn’t have a single senior and is dominated by juniors. The winner gets four-seed East Brunswick on the road Monday.

GMC RAY CIPPERLY INVITATIONAL – 1st ROUND
TUESDAY, MAY 13

  • (9) Highland Park (3-13) at (8) Piscataway Magnet (8-8), 4 pm (Winner at (1) JP Stevens on Thursday)
  • (11) Timothy Christian (0-11) at (6) Dunellen (12-6), 4 pm (Winner at (3) East Brunswick Magnet on Thursday)
  • (10) Perth Amboy Magnet (3-11) at (7) Somerset Tech (7-6), 4 om (Winner at (2) North Brunswick on Thursday)
by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Girls’ Basketball: South Brunswick 51, Old Bridge 34

All four seniors scored on Senior Night for South Brunswick, which got a game-high 17 points from Alexis Lease-Springer, 15 from Avery Jenne and 12 from Kendall Dixon, in a 51-34 home win over visiting Old Bridge.

Click below to listen to all the action as called by Mike Pavlichko on Central Jersey Sports Radio on February 4, 2025, from South Brunswick High School in Monmouth Junction, NJ.

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick girls fall behind early, but come back strong to beat Old Bridge on Senior Night

Unless St. Thomas Aquinas is involved, nearly every girls’ basketball game in the GMC Red Division this season has been competitive.

The first time Old Bridge and South Brunswick met down on Route 516, the Knights came back from a ten-point deficit after three quarters to win 46-43.

So, the fact that South Brunswick again led by ten at the end of three “wasn’t lost” on the Vikings, according to head coach Ryan Murphy. Trailing 11-4 early, they put together a great run in the second and took a 22-16 lead at the half they would never relinquish, en route to a 51-34 Senior Night win heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

While the comeback and rally spanned the second and third quarters, after halftime was where South Brunswick really stepped on the gas, getting to the basket with ease as they had better ball movement on offense, opening up lands to drive to the hoop.

The three senior starters all were in double-figures for the Vikings (10-9, 8-5 GMC Red). Alexis Lease-Springer had 17 to lead all scorers, while Avery Jenne added 15 and Madison Rorie had 12.

It was Lease-Springer’s three to end the third, though, that was a real backbreaker. When the ball popped out of bounds of Old Bridge underneath the basket with 2.9 seconds to go, South Brunswick ran a play to get the ball to Alexis, who hit nothing but twine with a wide-open look.

Old Bridge (9-9, 4-9 GMC Red) was led by senior Adriana Misciagna with 14.

Click below for postgame reaction with South Brunswick senior Alexis Lease-Springer and head coach Ryan Murphy, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick and Old Bridge to duel after Knights rallied late to win first meeting

The first time South Brunswick and Old Bridge played this year, it didn’t look good for the Knights, who were held to single digits in both the first and second quarters.

But like many other girls’ basketball games in the Red Division this year, in the end, it was highly competitive.

Old Bridge settled in at halftime, talked about their game plan, and how they hadn’t quite executed it, weren’t getting shots to fall. When they did, they got back into the game, and ultimately came out with a three-point win, 56-53, hitting key shots down the stretch, while getting key stops on the other end of the floor.

Tuesday night, the two meet again. Both are 9-9, with Old Bridge sixth in the Red at 4-8, tied with North Plainfield; the Vikings sit in fourth at 7-5, tied for third with East Brunswick. Which means Tuesday’s game most definitely has implications for GMC Tournament seeding, which happens Friday.

You can hear the South Brunswick-Old Bridge game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko on the call. Tip-off is at 5:30, pregame starts at 5:15. Click here to listen.

South Brunswick is a veteran group, led by three seniors. Alexis Lease-Springer is tops in nearly every offensive category, including scoring at a 15.3 point per game clip, and averaging nearly nine rebounds a game. She also leads in threes made (25), assists (55) and steals (60). Avery Jenne has 18 treys and is averaging 10.1 points per game, while Kendall Dixon is scoring 9.7 per game.

For Old Bridge, it’s senior Adrianna Miscigana (rhymes with “lasagna”) leading the Knights with 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Marilyn Togun – a sophomore – also has been a key presence for the squad.

Click below to hear pregame interviews with both head coaches:

South Brunswick head coach Ryan Murphy
Old Bridge head coach Alec Alspach