Stef DeGeronimo – Central Jersey Sports Radio

Without looking at who was even on the mound for Watchung Hills, the initial thought would be the edge to Immaculata, with perhaps the top pitcher in the county, Wake Forest-bound Ryan Auten on the mound, coming into the game with an ERA of just 0.83 on the season.

In the end, he only allowed just six hits and one earned run, but sophomore Lucas Sheehan of the Warriors did the senior one better.

Sheehan went the distance in an eight-inning game, allowing just three hits, shutting out the Spartans (19-8) en route to a 1-0 victory, and the Hustlin’ Warriors’ first title in the Somerset County Tournament since 2009.

A pitchers’ duel all the way, Watchung Hills (15-7) finally broke through in the top of the eighth in a game where each time had just a handful of real opportunities.

Pinch hitter David Begarney came in for eight hitter Bennett Dealaman and led off the top of the eighth with a single, with Dealaman re-entering to run the bases. But when James Esposito tried to bunt him over, the Immaculata infielders were right on top of it, and charging second baseman Luca Catanzerite snared it before it hit the ground for the first out. Jacob Jaconski struck out, and it looked like another scoreless inning was in the offing.

But Dealaman had reached third base with Jaconski at the plate; he stole second and when the throw bounced to the shortstop position off his leg, he took off for another base. Stef DeGeronimo singled to drive him in and give Hills a 1-0 lead. Rob Centamore reached on an infield hit, the last batter Auten could face with the pitch count. And his brother Bryson came in and got a strikeout to end the inning.

A baseball pitcher in a striped uniform preparing to throw a pitch, with a catcher in the background and various advertisements on the outfield wall. — *Watchung Hills sophomore Lucas Sheehan works in the third inning of the Somerset County Tournament title game at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater on May 22, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

And with Sheehan back out for the eighth, Immaculata threatened to tie it. Jackson Lewis hit a one-out single, then Catanzerite grounded out, putting Lewis at second. Justin Labrador got plunked, but now the Warriors had a force at any base. And they took advantage when Owen Schilling grounded to short, and DeGeronimo tossed to second after bobbling the ball to get the force and end the game.

Sheehan got the win to improve to 6-2, the first sophomore to get a win in the SCT title game since Casey Cahill did it in 1998. Ryan Auten took his first loss of the year against six wins.

The championship is the first under head coach Joseph Tremarco, in his 12th year and 11th season as head coach. It’s the Warriors’ sixth overall, third most in SCT history, and first since they beat Montgomery – also as the two-seed – in 2009.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel with Watchung Hills’ Stef DeGeronimo, Brody Griffith and Lucas Sheehan, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, you haven’t.

Way back in the first inning of Watchung Hills’ Skyland Conference Delaware Division home game against Bridgewater-Raritan Thursday – heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – first baseman Max Payne did something he may never, ever do again.

He broke his bat – a metal bat – on what turned out to be an infield hit to the left side. Has anyone ever seen that happen? Probably not.

But he was outdone by how the Hustlin’ Warriors finished off the game.

After taking a 6-5 lead with five runs in the bottom of the fourth, the Panthers rallied in the top of the seventh to tie the game at six, forcing Hills to bat in the bottom of the seventh with the score 6-6.

Payne flied out to center, and Landon Pudlak popped up a foul ball to the first baseman. But with two out, Brody Griffith singled, and Brady Simo reached on a hard liner to third that was scored an infield hit. With a 3-1 count, centerfielder Chris Dorsi took a strike, as Griffith made a move toward third. That prompted a pickoff throw from catcher Michael Lobosco.

By now, Griffith was well on his way to third, but the throw couldn’t be handled at the bag by Connor Price, and it sailed to the fence, bringing Griffith home with the winning run, giving Watchung Hills (3-1) a 7-6 victory and a two-game sweep of BR following a 9-1 road win Tuesday.

The Warriors got on the board in the bottom of the first taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Pudlak, but Bridgewater got five in their half of the second on five hits. They did it with a two-RBI double by DH Stephen Pikulin with the bases loaded, then a three-run homer to left by Josh Moore – the first of his varsity career – during one of the few moments in the game when a steady wind died down. All five runs came with one out.

The Warriors got those five back in the fourth, taking a 6-5 lead, sending nine men to the plate in the inning. They loaded the bases when Brady Simo got hit by a pitch, Dorsi reached on an infield hit, and Sam Hunsinger got plunked as well. Stef DiGeronimo walked to drive in a run, making it 5-2 Panthers, and that was it for Bridgewater starter Kevin Kelly.

Gavin Butch relieved him, and went 3-2 on the next two batters before striking both out. But Payne cut the deficit to two with a hard liner to short that was ruled an infield hit, Pudlack drove in two with a line drive single to right to make it 5-5, and Payne scored on a wild pitch with Griffith at the plate to make it 6-5 Watchung Hills.

Jack Braswell, in his first pitching appearance of the season for Bridgewater-Raritan (1-3), took the loss, while the win went to the Warriors’ Lucas Sheehan, who also made his first appearance of the year, despite giving up the tying run in the top of the seventh.

Click below for postgame reaction from Alec Crouthamel with Watchung Hills head coach Joe Tremarco, pitcher Nick minettio and second baseman Landon Pudlak, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: