An early 7-2 deficit was too much for St. Thomas Aquinas to recover from, as the third-seeded Trojans lost 11-7 at top-seed St. Mary of Rutherford in the Non-Public North B championship game, ending STA’s season at 14-15.
READ THE FULL GAME STORY HERE!
Click below to listen to Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play live from Tamblyn Field in Rutherford, NJ, on June 5, 2026:
Each coach had a similar message heading into Friday’s Non-Public B final.
If we take care of our own business, we’ll be in a good spot.
Top-seeded St. Mary of Rutherford did so at a higher level than third-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas, winning its first sectional title since 2023, 11-7, at Tamblyn Field in Rutherford.
The Gaels (17-11-1) built up a 7-2 lead after just three innings of play, and even after a late rally from the Trojans (14-15), sealed the win in seven full innings.
Two freshmen faced off on the mound, a tough task for both sides. But St. Mary southpaw Ayden Vargas was ready for the challenge and then some, earning the win with 6 1/3 strong innings.
St. Thomas Aquinas freshman Justin Monterosso got the start for the visitors, but only recorded four outs before the Trojans went with junior Nikash Patel out of the bullpen.
Aquinas never backed down, scoring six runs in the final two innings and raising some blood pressures on the home side, but in the end ran out of innings and time to fully make a comeback.
The Trojans left the bases loaded in the top half of the first, and the Gaels responded with a run in the bottom half, as right fielder Andres Bracho singled home centerfielder Jakhi Gale to open the scoring. Gale reached base in all five plate appearances, and scored three runs on the afternoon.
St. Thomas Aquinas tied the game up in the top of the second, as they loaded the bases for the second straight inning. Catcher Adrian Sanchez got the Trojans on the board with a bases-loaded walk, but Vargas worked two consecutive strikeouts in the heart of the order to leave the bases loaded for the second straight inning.
St. Mary started to take full control in the bottom of the second with four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Five straight batters reached after the first was retired, with Patel replacing Monterosso on the mound in the middle of that stretch. Patel walked in two runs with the bases loaded for his first two batters faced, and even after a strikeout of first baseman Jeffrey Paulino, the Gaels added more.
Bracho stepped up once again, and singled into right field to bring home two more runs to make it a four-spot in the inning.
The Trojans added another run of their own in the top of the third, a sacrifice fly from right fielder Aiden Alberto, but St. Mary got right back to its mojo in the bottom half. The Gaels worked two more runs off a two-RBI double from shortstop Roysell Rivera, taking a commanding 7-2 lead early on.
Each team threw a shutout fourth, but in the bottom of the fifth, St. Mary fully broke the game wide open.
The Gaels worked four straight hits with one out, including RBI base hits by Gale and Rivera, before Paulino mashed a long home run up the left-field hill. By that point, St. Mary worked an 11-2 run, and with a runner on second, came close to ending the game in five innings.
Courtesy runner, Logan Bartley rounded third with a full head of steam after a single by catcher Joshua Figueroa, but Trojans right fielder Justin Brown launched a long throw from the outfield to throw Bartley out at the plate, and keep the game alive.
From there, St. Thomas Aquinas fought to the very last pitch.
The Trojans added a run in the top of the sixth on an RBI single from Brown to score senior Louis Rizzolo, cutting the deficit to eight runs. Reliever Chris Gutaukas threw a shutout bottom half of the inning, setting up the Gaels to win the game in the top half of the seventh.
But as a wise man once said on ESPN, “Not so fast, my friends.”
St. Thomas Aquinas refused to go down without a fight, putting up four runs in the final frame to make things interesting. Designated hitter Harrison Eng reached on a full-count walk with one out, prompting St. Mary to go to the bullpen, as Vargas earned a round of applause for his efforts.
Designated hitter Demir Giddens replaced Vargas on the mound, but the Trojans kept fighting. Giddens struck out pinch-hitter Vic Burgos, setting the Gaels up one out away from a title, but it took a bit longer than anticipated. Monterosso worked a walk of his own, flipping the lineup back to the top one last time. Rizzolo worked another walk on four pitches, then catcher Adrian Sanchez brought home pinch-runner Andrew Scaff with a scorching RBI single. Patel came up and brought two more home with another single up the middle, and Brown made it three straight, going station-to-station with an RBI single of his own, as St. Mary made another pitching change during that stretch, putting Xavier Vargas on the bump.
All of a sudden, it was 11-7 with two runners on.
Vargas didn’t waver, though, facing third baseman Tyler Coello, the ninth batter of the inning. Even in a full count, Vargas trusted his stuff and froze Coello looking to seal the title.
Monterosso took the loss in 1 1/3 innings pitched, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk. Patel pitched four innings, allowing six earned runs, while Gutaukas allowed none in an inning and two thirds of his own.
Ayden Vargas earned the win with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball.
In the end, the Gaels took advantage of their chances. Their top five hitters reached base 18 times, accounting for nine of the 11 runs on the scoreboard.
St. Mary won its 16th sectional championship – 13th in Non-Public North B – and will move on to the Non-Public B final against South champion Gloucester Catholic on Wednesday at Rutgers. St. Thomas Aquinas’ season comes to a close.
Click below to hear postgame reaction from both head coaches with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:
It would be an understatement to say St. Thomas Aquinas – particularly its seniors – have had an eventful week or so.
Tuesday, the third-seeded Trojans (14-14) defeated second-seeded Rutgers Prep in the Non-Public North B semifinals, advancing to the sectional final for the second time in three years.
Thursday, the school held its graduation, meaning the aforementioned title game was moved to Friday.
On Friday, St. Thomas Aquinas will head up to Tamblyn Field to battle top-seeded St. Mary (Ruth.) for its third sectional title in program history.
The Gaels (16-11-1) and Trojans represent two of the last three sectional champions, with St. Mary hoisting the championship trophy in 2023, the first year under head coach Nigel Archibald.
First pitch is set for 4 pm in Rutherford, and you can hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Alec Crouthamel on the call. Pregame begins at 3:45 pm.
The two teams each bring some similarities and differences to the field.
The Gaels are coming off back-to-back 12-1 victories over eighth-seeded Montclair Kimberley and fifth-seeded Morristown-Beard, and the Trojans won each of their two playoff games 7-0 over sixth-seeded Morris Catholic, and 7-3 over the Argonauts.
They each bring a core top of the lineup to the table, led by veterans such as Louis Rizzolo for St. Thomas Aquinas, and Sebastian Santana and Jeffrey Paulino for the Gaels, with the bottom of the order featuring developing talent, getting invaluable experience along the way.
One of the main differences comes in the history. St. Mary has long been a non-public power on the diamond, looking for its 16th sectional championship dating back to 1958.
But none of that history will matter once the two teams take the field. They’re both battled-tested, the Gaels playing a tough NJIC and out-of-conference schedule, and the Trojans in a rugged GMC Red Division.
With the season on the line, all hands are on deck, as each team looks to make it two sectional titles in the decade.
Click below to hear both head coaches preview Friday’s Non-Public North B sectional final, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:
St. Thomas Aquinas: The Trojans won their second sectional title in 2024, and their first in 18 years at the time. They defeated Rutgers Prep in the final, the first of three straight years with victories over the Argonauts in postseason play.
St. Mary: The Gaels have a long history of dominance in their program’s history, racking up 15 sectional titles, including eight since the turn of the century. Their best stretch was a run of six titles in 11 years from 1998 to 2008. St. Mary’s most recent championship came in 2023 over Rutgers Prep, in Archibald’s first year at the helm.
Bold and italics represent CJSR-area teams
Knowing their recent run of success – starting with the late Brian Meeney and now with Tarig Holman, the following information might seem surprising.
But when St. Thomas Aquinas takes the field Friday night as the 5th-seed in the Non-Public Group B playoffs’ opening round, they’ll be looking for their first playoff win in more than two decades.
That’s right, their last playoff win was in 2001.
All that could change Friday night, when the 7-2 Trojans take on 12th-seed St. Mary-Rutherford (7-3) Friday night in North Edison. It may be their best opportunity since they beat Holy Spirit in the opening round of Non-Public Group 3 so many years ago.
And they have the horses to pull it off. With the five-seed, they avoid playing some of the top teams in the group, something that didn’t happen, say two years ago, when the NJSIAA committee gave St. Thomas a road game and seeded them below all three metrics they use as a guideline during the process.
That’s okay, though. The snubs are behind them, and the Trojans are ready to go, having overcome adversity like star runningback Chase Young passing out on the field in Elizabeth, and his father, Chris – STA’s offensive coordinator – in the hospital the last few weeks.
Both have recovered – Chase only missed one game – and his father will be coaching on the sidelines this week, just in time for the postseason.
Click below to hear St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tarig Holman talk about the Trojans, and their opening round playoff matchup against St. Mary-Rutherford:
On a day when Rutgers Prep and St. Joseph of Metuchen played separately for state titles, and it was a former Falcon who figured decisively in a defeat for the Argonauts.
Xavier Arana – who transferred after last year from St. Joe’s to St. Mary of Rutherford – scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh and got the win in relief for the top-seeded Gaels in a 4-3 walk-off win over third-seed Rutgers Prep in Saturday’s Non-Public North B title game up in Bergen County.
St. Mary (20-9) will go on to face the winner of Saturday’s South B title game between second-seed and defending champ Ranney and top-seed Gloucester Catholic.
Right from the get-go tensions were high, with both benches highly vocal in a back-and-forth affair throughout.
Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso started with his sophomore ace Zach Fronio, who’s committed to Maryland, and he cruised through the first three innings, only allowing two baserunners, striking out five. It was the fourth inning that started to give Fronio trouble. He allowed three consecutive singles, including an RBI single from St. Mary’s catcher Kyle Watson that put the Gaels out in front 1-0.Â
Gaels starter Blayze Conte was also cruising along in the game, allowing just one hit and a walk through four innings. It was in the fifth inning that Conte got himself into trouble, allowing back-to-back singles to Max Treonze and Nick Pizzie, walking James Jackman to load the bases, and then a 2 RBI double for shortstop Cody Rullo.
With still two outs in the inning, Gaels Head Coach Nigel Archibald kept Conte on the mound to try and get the final out. But Rutgers Prep freshman catcher Ethan Nepomuceno hit a double of his own, scoring Rullo and giving Rutgers Prep a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth. That’s where Conte’s day ended, and Archibald put in relief pitcher David Anderson to get the final out. Anderson got Zach Fronio to ground out to shortstop to stop the bleeding for the Gaels.
Conte ended up with a no-decision, went 4 2/3 innings, gave up three runs on five hits, struck out four, and walked two.Â
With the Gaels down two going into the bottom of the fifth, they knew they had to start a rally. They did just that, with the nine-hole hitter Arana roping a single to right field to get the ball rolling for St. Mary. Leadoff hitter Tyler Giordano legged out an infield single allowing Arana to advance to second. The Gaels had runners on first and second with one out, when Fronio struck out Jason Rosado for the second out, but the Gaels didn’t give up. Blayze Conte hit a single to center to load the bases, and third baseman Jacob Herrera hit a two-run single to center to tie the game at three apiece.Â
It was crunch time. A game tied at three with two innings left. The Gaels took out pitcher David Anderson – who recorded one out in the fourth – and put in the lefty Arana.Â
Fast forward to the top of the seventh inning. With Arana still on the mound, he worked a 1-2-3 inning, retiring Rutgers Prep to go to the bottom of the seventh tied at three. Santowasso pulled pitcher Fronio – who had reached over 100 pitches – and put in Li Perez for the seventh.
But the Gaels wasted no time getting runners on base. Arana again led off the inning, and this time was hit by a pitch. Perez then walked Tyler Giordano to put runners on first and second with nobody out. The stage was set for St. Mary’s second baseman Jason Rosado, who walked off the Argonauts, sending a ball into shallow left-center field which scored Arana from second for the 4-3 final.
Fronio finished the day with six innings pitched, giving up 3 runs on eight hits. He struck out 12 and walked one. Perez, who didn’t record an out, took the loss.
Arana earned the win for St. Mary with two innings of relief, allowing just two hits and striking out one.
Click below for postgame reaction sponsored by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Forgive Larry Santowasso, the veteran Rutgers Prep coach, if he doesn’t know a lot about St. Mary-Rutherford.
The Gaels are the top-seed in Non-Public North B, but don’t get a lot of ink – or webspace – down here in Central Jersey.
But it’s not much of Santowasso’s concern. He’s just interested in his team. Has been from the very beginning of the season, when they were 1-6 to start the year, and seeded 12th in the Somerset County Tournament.
He knew his team was better than that, and that Bill Parcells’ wisdom didn’t apply to the Argonauts.
As it turned out, they weren’t what their record was, and they still may not be what their record is, which is 14-14 as they head into Saturday’s 12 noon sectional final as the second-seed against St. Mary.
Central Jersey Sports Radio will have updates of the game on Twitter via reporter Dylan Allen, and you can follow him by clicking here.
Rutgers Prep will throw Zach Fronio (2.2, 1.75 ERA) in the game, after Max Treonze pitched five scoreless Thursday against Gill St. Bernard’s in a 9-0 semifinal win, and Li Perez got the save.
It’s unknown if Andrew Parisi will be back in the lineup. He’s been a bit dinged up the last couple of weeks and hasn’t played since a May 16th loss to Ranney. Cody Rullo, who’s also been banged up, returned to to play on Wednesday.
Rutgers Prep will be playing for its first state title since 2013, when the Argonauts won the Non-Public Group B state title. Their last appearance in a sectional final came in 2014.
Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Rutgers Prep head coach Larry Santowasso:
