Tag: South Plainfield

by Mike Pavlichko

Defending GMC, SCT champs St. Joseph-Metuchen, Immaculata open season at No. 1, No. 2 in Bellamy & Son Paving preseason Top Ten

It’s never easy to predict how any high school team – in any sport – will do from year-to-year, what with graduation losses and unproven talent. The year before can be a guide, but who knows who a new group will respond, or if a new coach will reignite a program that struggled the year prior.

That said, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish, and last year’s teams will mainly get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the preseason Bellamy & Son Paving High School Basketball rankings.

Defending GMC Jim Muldowney Tournament Champion St. Joseph-Metuchen will begin the year at No. 1. Though the Falcons (16-7) lose a ton of pitching – more than 134 out of 161 innings pitched by Joseph Barca, Richard Zangara and Domenic Erbafina – the bats may be able to carry them until second-year veteran skipper Dennis McCaffery sees what his young pitching staff has. The Falcons won the GMCT last year as a five seed, taking all four games in their final at bat, and they never led for a single at bat in the entire run.

Last year’s Somerset County Tournament champion holds in second place, Immaculata. At 17-8, they were also Skyland Conference Delaware Division co-champions with Ridge, and they’ll bring back a good amount of pitching. While they lose Rob Sikorski to graduation, their top two pitchers in terms of innings thrown – Jackson Trego and Ryan Auten, both seniors – return.

Ridge checks in at No. 3. Going 20-7 a year ago, the Red Devils lose ace Aidan Stieglitz but have a good chunk of returnees that should keep the Red Devils right in the thick of things, a year after sharing the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title with Immaculata, and reaching both the Somerset County Tournament and NJSIAA North 2, Group 4 finals.

The only Central Jersey Sports Radio-area team to win a state title last year, Middlesex begins the year at No. 4. The Blue Jays (23-5) were a GMC Tournament final four squad, and beat Midland Park to win the NJSIAA Group 1 title, their first since 2021. They bring back all but ten of their 193 innings pitched last year, led by senior Chris Kozak and junior Dominic Long.

Checking in at No. 5 is Edison, which is overflowing with quality pitching. The GMC Tournament runner-up Eagles (17-11) have four Division 1 commits. Pitchers Robert Roma and Dom Innocenti are set with Wagner, while Connor Muprhy is going to Monmouth.

No. 6 is Colonia, which went 23-5 a season ago, falling to South Plainfield in the North 2, Group 3 sectional title game. While Seton Hall-bound Colin Kroner returns to the mound, starter Cory Pascarella is gone to graduation and now playing at Monmouth, as is Matt Fasulo (.289, 19 RBI) at Rutgers-Newark.

At No. 7 is South Plainfield, which took some big graduation losses, including the middle of the infield (Dan Kapsch at short, Nick Irizarry at second). And of four pitchers for the North 2 Group 3 champion Tigers (18-11) who threw at least 15 innings last year and pitchers Kevin Penny, Aiden McCarthy and Mike Castagna are gone, more than three quarters’ of last season’s innings pitched.

Checking in at eight is Hillsborough. The defending Central Jrsey Group 4 champs were 14-11 last season, but lose a ton, including pitchers James Drinkwater, Brayden Fox (also an outfielder) and Krish Patel, as well as hitters like Andrew Advani and catcher Alex Reiling, among others.

In ninth is Old Bridge. The Knights were 18-11 last year as well, and made the Central Jersey Group 4 finals, falling to Hillsborough. They lose two aces in Justin Hascup and John Smith, with Brady Meyer the most experienced pitcher coming back. The lineup may have fewer question marks, but head coach Matt Donaghue always has a deep roster, it’s just a matter of experience.

And checking in at ten, it’s Woodbridge. the Barrons were 18-8 last year and GMC Red Division champs. They’ll take a hit losing pitcher Ryan Leach to graduation, but Kevin Arroyo returns after throwing 63 1/2 innings a year ago, with a 1.11 ERA and 62 strikeouts.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving 2026 Baseball Preseason Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio unveils 2026 High School Baseball Broadcast Schedule featuring a dozen regular season games, plus County, State tourneys

With a dozen regular season games, plus coverage of the GMC and Somerset County Tournaments – as well as state tournament coverage to be announced at a later date – Central Jersey Sports Radio has announced its 2026 high school baseball broadcast schedule.

It all gets started next week, with our opener on Tuesday, March 31 at 4 pm between defending 2025 SCT champion Immaculata and NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 4 winner Hillsborough. Then, after the calendar turns to April mid-week, we get state Group 1 champion Middlesex visiting Spotswood, on Thursday, April 2.

Coverage also includes two regular season games at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater – Montgomery vs Pingry on April 11, and Rutgers Prep against South Plainfield two Saturdays later – as well as the semifinals and finals of the Somerset County Tournament on April 18th and 20th, respectively.

The schedule includes three of last year’s SCT semifinalists, and all four of 2025’s GMC Tournament semifinalists, including a rematch of the title game between Edison and St. Joseph-Metuchen, and a rematch on the Invitational final between New Brunswick and East Brunswick Magnet.

Last year’s North 2, Group 3 winner South Plainfield also is on the schedule, as well as finalist Colonia.

Click here to see the full 2026 broadcast schedule.

by Mike Pavlichko

Last Bellamy & Son Paving Boys Top Ten before season’s end sees first four hold, but rest shuffle as Piscataway, Colonia rise

In the final Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten before the end of the season, The top four teams remained the same, while most of the rest got shuffled around, with Piscataway and Colonia trending upward.

Gill St. Bernard’s (20-2) remains No. 1, having won 16 straight, including two games last week. The Knight edged No. 3 Rutgers Prep Thursday in Somerset in a potential Somerset County Tournament final preview, 73-68. Then, Saturday, they beat Ridge in the SCT quarterfinals, 71-53. Gill will play Immaculata at 4 pm this Saturday in the SCT semis at Franklin High School.

Holding at No. 2 is St. Joseph-Metuchen (21-1). The Falcons swept their two games last week over a pair of GMC opponents: Sayreville on Tuesday, 66-55, and at St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday, 76-38.

Holding in third is Rutgers Prep (15-7), which went 2-1 in the week gone by. Monday, they beat Watchung Hills at home, 93-54, then lost to No. 1 Gill St. Bernards, 83-68, at home Thursday night. The Knights bounced back Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, rolling past Bridgewater-Raritan, 85-58. Their semifinal will be Saturday against Montgomery at 10 am at Franklin High School, a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

On a 3-0 week, Montgomery (19-3) holds in fourth, winners of eleven straight. After opening with a non-conference win at St. Joe’s of Montvale on Wednesday, the Cougars topped Bridgewater-Raritan on the road, 49-42. Saturday, they beat rival Hillsborough, 53-38, in the SCT quarterfinals, setting up a date with Rutgers Prep this coming Saturday at Franklin High School, a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Moving up two spots to fifth is Piscataway (17-6). The Chiefs had a perfect week, starting with an 84-47 win Tuesday at Woodbridge. They came back home for a Friday non-league win over Franklin, 71-69, then won Saturday at Columbia, 59-51.

Immaculata (16-5) holds in sixth. The Spartans opened the week Tuesday with an 85-50 win over Pioneer Academy, but then lost to No. 8 Hillsborough Thursday night, 78-64. But they bounced back strong, rallying in the second half for a 72-28 win at Pingry in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals. Immaculata will play defending champion Gill St. Bernard’s Saturday at Franklin High School at 4 pm in the semifinals.

Checking in at seven is Colonia (14-8), rising three spots this week. The Patriots had a rough start adjusting to graduation and other losses, but have won eight straight, including four last week. After a 55-47 win over Bayonne on Monday, Colonia won 56-51 at Newark Collegiate Wednesday, 64-52 at Old Bridge Thursday, and capped it with a mammoth win at Wall, the No. 17 team in New Jersey, 52-46.

Hillsborough (15-6) holds at No. 8 on the strength of a 2-1 week. The Raiders beat Watchung Hills, 66-53, on Tuesday, then won at No. 6 Immaculata Thursday, 78-64, before falling 53-38 at Montgomery Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals.

Down four spots to nine is Pingry (11-7), which lost twice last week. Wednesday, they fell at Franklin, 63-59. On Saturday, they got knocked out of the Somerset County Tournament in the quarterfinal round, with a 72-68 loss to Immaculata.

And dropping one spot to tenth is South Plainfield (13-9), which split a pair of games last week. After a 74-72 win at Old Bridge Tuesday, they lost a non-conference game to a solid Chatham team, 59-57.

Click below for the full Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 9:

by Mike Pavlichko

Another week of chaos in Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Top Ten as Colonia, South Plainfield rejoin

Some big wins and tournament losses this week threw a wrench into the Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings, with the list pared down to ten this week, while three teams dropped out, and two new ones took their place, rejoining the Top Ten after bowing out earlier this season.

Holding on at the No. 1 spot – and on a 14-game winning streak – Gill St. Bernard’s (18-2) went 3-0 this week. They beat Immaculata at home Tuesday, 89-68, then won a pair of games down at the Metro Classic at Stockton University. They beat Paramus Catholic 65-46 on Friday, then got a 67-53 win over Spire Academy’s (OH) International team.

St. Joseph-Metuchen (19-1) stays in second, mainly on its overall body of work, despite taking its first loss of the season at previously-unranked South Plainfield, 55-54 in overtime. The Falcons rebounded with a 56-30 win at Monroe on Thursday, a 58-52 win over Crestwood Prep (Canada) Friday at the Metro Classic, and a 67-43 win over New York Military (NY) at home Sunday afternoon.

Moving up a spot to third is Rutgers Prep (13-6). The Argonauts were 2-0 last week, beating Franklin 83-65 on Tuesday, then Salem, 67-55, on Thursday.

Also up a spot this week is Montgomery (16-3), which has won eight straight, including a pair in the week gone by. The Cougars topped then-No. 3 Pingry Wednesday, 68-54, then beat Central Jersey College Charter, 72-32 on Friday.

Down two spots to fifth is Pingry (11-5), which lost its only game this week, 68-54 to Montgomery.

Up one spot to six is Immaculata (14-4). The Spartans lost at No. 1 Gill St. Bernard’s on Tuesday, but came back with a 74-54 home win over North Hunterdon Thursday, then beat Bernards 74-49 on Saturday afternoon in the Somerset County Tournament second round. The fifth-seeded Spartans will travel to four-seed Pingry this Saturday in the quarterfinals.

At seven – up two spots – is Piscataway. The Chiefs beat then-No. 6 East Brunswick 81-74 on Tuesday, then South Plainfield 70-49 on Thursday, before falling 72-62 to Ewing in the Mary Walker Classic in Hackensack on Sunday.

Hillsborough (13-5) holds steady at NO. 8 after a 1-2 week. It began with a 54-52 loss Tuesday at Montclair, but the Raiders came back with a GMC crossover win over Sayreville on Thursday, 89-74, then beat Watchung Hills at home Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament’s second round, 60-50. Sixth-seeded Hillsborough will visit neighbor and third-seed Montgomery this Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Then, there are two “new” teams.

South Plainfield (12-8) rejoins the rankings at No. 9, starting the week off by knocking off the top -ranked GMC team, St. Joseph-Metuchen, ending its 16-game win streak to start the season, 55-54 in overtime. After a 70-49 loss Thursday to Piscataway, the Tigers rebounded with a 77-62 home win over Notre Dame.

And back in at No. 10 is Colonia (10-8), which has been improving all season long. After a 65-29 win at Monroe Tuesday, the Patriots beat then-No. 6 East Brunswick at home, 56-44, and completed a 3-0 week when they beat Roselle Saturday, 62-51.

The Bears dropped out to make room for the two new teams after a 1-2 week, also losing to Piscataway, but also beating St. Thomas Aquinas.

And the two teams tied for tenth dropped out, as well. Briddgewater-Raritan (12-5) beat Somerville Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament, but lost to Ridge on Tuesday. Somerville (12-7) went 1-2 as well, falling to Warren Hills along with Bridgewater-Raritan in the SCT, while beating College Achieve in the preliminary round on Tuesday.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 8:

by Mike Pavlichko

And just like that, down goes unbeaten, No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, edged by late South Plainfield FTs, 55-54

They would have liked to have both of them, they only got one, but as the Rolling Stones once said, South Plainfield got what it needed.

Andrew Bena stepped to the free throw line with five seconds and change left in the game, missed his first, but made the second, and the defense held to power the Tigers past No. 2 St. Joseph of Metuchen, 55-54, Tuesday night, handing the Falcons their first loss of the season.

St. Joe’s was the last undefeated boys’ basketball team left in the GMC. Colonia is the lone remaining girls unbeaten, with a 14-0 mark.

Now, the question is, what kind of wrinkle does that throw, if any, into the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament seeding, which takes place next Friday, February 6th.

South Plainfield was ahead by none with just under six minutes to go, but the Falcons went on a late 7-0 run to tie it. The Tigers’ lone basket to stop the run was Bena’s free throw.

But head coach John Greco had no timeouts, so it was up to his defense and Aiden Noblecilla, who the coach said had been playing lights out defense all game on St. Joe’s Aidan Carter. He did it on the final play, without committing a foul, and the rest as they say is history.

Bena finished with 16 on the night to lead all scorers in the game, and was five-of-six from the foul line. Boresa Jawula finished with 13, while Noblecilla added 12 for the Tigers (11-7, 6-2 GMC Red National).

Joel Patrick led the Falcons (16-1, 7-0 GMC Red American) with 12 while Elijah Carter added 11 in defeat.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with South Plainfield head coach John Greco about the win over St. Joseph-Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Top Ten losses reshuffle the entire deck in Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings

For the first time this season, the entire Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten got a complete reshuffle.

It was a challenging week to be sure, as a few top ten teams suffered multiple losses this week, whether in conference play or at showcase games. And the end result is one new team in the rankings, and a new No. 1 squad.

Gill St. Bernard’s (9-3) is the new top team after getting through a heck of a schedule this past week. They opened with a 79-46 win over Ridge, then passed tests from two of the Skyland Conference’s elite – winning 64-53 Thursday at Montgomery (in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio) and again Saturday at home over Rutgers Prep, 90-84. The Knights should have the inside track at the top seed in the county tournament, but first will have to get by Pingry Tuesday; the Big Blue knocked off Rutgers Prep Thursday, and would have a legitimate argument for that top seed if they can beat Gill on the road.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph-Metuchen moves up to No. 2, as they remain undefeated at 10-0. The Falcons went 4-0 in the week gone by; they were 61-45 winners over St. Thomas Aquinas at home Tuesday and beat Old Bridge 75-35 on Thursday in GMC play. Then, Saturday at the Iverson Classic Breakout Series at Paramus Catholic, they beat Archbishop Carroll (PA) 61-50. And on Sunday, they beat Wings Academy (NY), 77-36.

With an upset of Rutgers Prep Thursday, Pingry enters the top ten at No. 3. The Big Blue are 7-2, and last week, knocked off one of the league’s heavyweights in the Argonauts at home. That followed a Tuesday win over then-No. 10 Immaculata, which came back Thursday to hand Bridgewater-Raritan its first defeat of the season. Pingry took a loss Saturday, however, at Oratory Prep, 60-58.

Falling one spot to fourth was Rutgers Prep (6-5), which opened the week with an 89-73 win over Montgomery, but then lost three straight – at Pingry on Thursday, 64-58; Saturday at Gill, 90-84, and Sunday, 79-64, to St. Francis (NY) at their Shooting Stars Shootout showcase event.

Falling from No. 1 back behind Prep is Montgomery, which lost two league games during the week, at Rutgers Prep on Tuesday, then to Gill at home on Thursday. But the Cougars ended a three-game skid with a 66-45 home win over an eight-win Overbrook team from the Tri-County Conference in their own Coaches vs. Cancer Classic down in Skillman.

East Brunswick (11-1) has won five straight, and rises one spot to six this week. The Bears beat Woodbridge 80-54 on Tuesday, Monroe 72-40 on Thursday, then used a big second-half rally to win at Sayreville, 48-47, on Saturday, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Immaculata (6-2) climbed to No. 7 this week from ten. After a loss to Pingry, 64-59, back on Tuesday, they rebounded by knocking off undefeated and then-No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan on the road, 64-57. They also won Saturday, beating Hamilton 77-42.

Down two spots to No. 8 is Bridgewater-Raritan (9-1), which took its first loss of the year Thursday against Immaculata at home. That was sandwiched in between a pair of wins: Tuesday, 69-50, at Watchung Hills, and Saturday at Hillside, 69-54.

Piscataway (9-3) is down to nine after a two-loss week. They fell 68-67 Thursday to previously-ranked Sayreville, then lost Sunday afternoon to East Orange at nearby Plainfield in the Stay Public Basketball Showcase, 74-53.

And down one spot to tenth is Somerville (8-2). The Pioneers lost Tuesday 48-24 to Delaware Valley, but bounced back with a pair of wins: Thursday at home over College Achieve Central, 71-26, then Saturday, 52-20 over Westfield in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery.

Dropping out this week is No. 8 South Plainfield. The Tigers (8-3) beat Colonia Tuesday at home, 56-42, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, then Woodbridge 88-68 on Thursday, but fell twice over the weekend: Saturday to Ramapo 54-30 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery, then Sunday 67-46 to Westfield in the Stay Public Basketball Showcase at Plainfield.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week Five:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – BOYS: No. 8 South Plainfield 56, Colonia 42

No. 8 South Plainfield got 17 points from Justin Vaca and 16 from Andrew Bena in a 56-42 win at home over Colonia, the Tigers’ first win over the Patriots since the 2005 GMC Tournament semis, snapping a 23-game losing streak in the series.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen call all the play-by-play from South Plainfield High School on January 6, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – GIRLS: South Plainfield 61, JP Stevens 37

South Plainfield got career highs of 24 points from Jiselle Lennon – including four treys – and 18 points from MaKenzie Harris en route to a dominating 61-37 win over visiting JP Stevens in GMC White American Division action.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen call all the play-by-play from South Plainfield High School on January 6, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 8 South Plainfield gets outstanding D, scoring from Vaca, Bena in first win over Colonia since 2005, snapping 23-game skid

It was mid-fourth quarter. South Plainfield’s Justin Vaca was looking to make a pass, and he lobbed the ball with his right hand toward the basket.

Was it an alley-op? A pass to someone cutting in the back door?

It ended up going through the basket, a three-pointer to boot. That wasn’t the intent, but that’s kind of the way things went for the 8th-ranked Tigers Tuesday night, in a 56-42 win over visiting Colonia in a GMC crossover game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio..

It had been a long time since South Plainfield had beaten Colonia. In fact, it had been 21 years, it’s last victory coming in the 2005 GMC Tournament semifinals. Since then, they had played 23 times, with the Patriots winning every single matchup.

Until Tuesday night that is.

The Tigers (7-1) played tenacious defense, forcing uncharacteristic Colonia turnovers, and directly or indirectly, turned them into points on the other end. Vaca, the junior, finished with 17 points, including three that wasn’t meant to be, and had another right after it, helping extending a lead that was once eleven and had shrunk down to five all the way up to 12, before coming out with a 14 point win in the end.

Sophomore Andrew Bena finished with 16.

Colonia (2-6) got 17 out of Jayce Rodriguez, a sophomore who has seen an increased role with the departure of a lot of offensive firepower, but little other offense. Senior Dylan Chiera was next up with eight, but the Patriots were in foul trouble much of the night, including in the decisive fourth when they had fouls to give to try and get back in the game, just no one to commit them without fouling out.

Chiera did, and Desmond Rudanovic, Teagan Amponsah, Tyler Herman and Jayden Johnson all finished the game with four fouls.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from South Plainfield’s Justin Vaca, Andrew Bena and head coach John Greco, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Graphic displaying the logo of Sportsplex at Metuchen, featuring various sports icons and promoting their Instagram for gym session updates.
by Mike Pavlichko

South Plainfield girls score in bunches, presses way to 61-37 home win, and sweep of JP Stevens

The first time these two girls’ basketball teams met, South Plainfield came away with a ten-point win in North Edison over JP Stevens, 43-33. They did it on the strength of a 14-2 first quarter.

Tuesday night in the back-end of the series, the Tigers went even further, using a 21-7 first quarter – 12 of those points coming from excellent sophomore Jiselle Lennon – en route to a 61-37 GMC White American Division win heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio

Lennon finished with 24 points, a new career high, while MaKenzie Harris also had a career best, scoring 18. The Tigers (3-4) hit eight triples in the game, all coming in the first half.

For their part, while the South Plainfield offense was clicking, the defense was doing its thing, especially with its backcourt pressure. They forced the Hawks into several turnovers: basketballs smacked away, or thrown right into the hands of a Tiger.

JP Stevens (4-3) got 16 from junior Aliyah Manley, including a first quarter triple, but no one else got into double figures, and only three other players scored.

Click below for postgame reaction from South Plainfield’s Jiselle Lennon and head coach Alex DeVivo with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dylan Allen, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: