NJSIAA Tournament
First Round
Central Jersey Group IV

(5) Jackson Memorial 6, (12) Brick Memorial 1

Senior left-hander Matt Guarino pitched a five-hitter with six strikeouts and two walks and also went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI to lead the Jaguars to a win over the Mustangs, avenging a loss to Brick Memorial in last year's Central Jersey Group IV semifinals.

Guarino had an RBI single in the second and an RBI double in the fourth, while Joe DeMaio was 2-for-3 with a double and a two-out, RBI single in the first inning. Junior Brandon Janofsky also finished 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the fourth inning.

Brian Markoski hit a solo home run in the top of the first to stake the Mustangs to a 1-0 lead, but Guarino shut out the Brick Memorial lineup the rest of the way.

Jackson Memorial will host Howell on Thursday in the sectional quarterfinals.

(13) Howell 3, (4) Old Bridge 2

Senior Ryan Wares scattered eight hits over seven innings and Rob Napolitano hit a go-ahead RBI double in the top of the fifth inning to lead the Rebels to an upset win on the road over the Knights.

Wares struck out six and walked one while throwing 131 pitches. Andrew Larsen tied the game with a two-run single in the top of the fourth inning and Mike Levy went 2-for-3 in the win.

Howell will travel to No. 5 Jackson Memorial on Thursday in the sectional quarterfinals.

(3) Colts Neck 4, (14) North Brunswick 3

Junior Tyler Kay came off the bench and hit a go-ahead, three-run double in the bottom of the sixth and junior left-hander Chris Murphy nailed down the win for the Cougars, who rallied to beat the Raiders and advance to Thursday' sectional quarterifinals.

Eric Reardon gave North Brunswick a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth with a two-run single. Murphy pitched 1 2/3 innings to earn the win, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out three.

(7) Hillsborough 2, (10) Manalapan 1

(15) Marlboro 7, (2) Freehold Twp. 3

The Mustangs scored five runs in the top of the first inning for junior left-hander Andrew Nardi, who allowed one earned run on three hits over seven innings to lead the Mustangs to an upset win over the Patriots. Nardi walked three and struck out eight.

Steve Santigate hit a two-run double to left field in the five-run inning and sophomore Brian Reilly added a two-run single in the inning for Marlboro. Santigate finished 3-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI and a run scored while Reilly and Matt Nelson also went 3-for-4 each. Justin Trochiano went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base for Marlboro.

Marlboro will play at No. 7 Hillsborough in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

 

Central Jersey Group III

(7) Ocean 5, (10) Middletown South 3

Senior left-hander Ryan Lillie pitched a six-hitter with three strikeouts and Anthony Bartolomei drove in four of the five Ocean runs as the Spartans beat the Eagles to advance to Thursday's sectional semifinals against Class B North division rival and No. 2 seed Wall.

Bartolomei doubled home a run in the fourth and scored on an RBI single by Andrew MacNeille. After Middletown South took the lead with three runs in the top of the fifth, Bartolomei gave Ocean the lead with a bases-clearing, three-run triple to make it 5-3.

Nolan Pereless and Christian Penk each had an RBI single for Middletown South in the top of the fifth and Kyle Brey added an RBI on a successful squeeze bunt.

(2) Wall 5, (15) Nottingham 0

Ryan Orender pitched a three-hit shutout and went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored as the Crimson Knights blanked the North Stars to advance to the sectional quarterfinals Thursday against Class B North division rival and No. 7 seed Ocean.

Orender struck out five and walked two to earn the win and second baseman Branden Biegert went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored out of the No. 2 spot in the order. Brendan Barcas and Dan Wondrack each went 1-for-3 with an RBI and Chris Barcas and Matt Tancredi were each 1-for-2, with Tancredi scoring two runs and Chris Barcas scoring one.

(6) Jackson Liberty 4, (11) Middletown North 1

Dan Serreino and James Sofield led the Lions on the mound and at the plate as the Lions beat the Lions to advance to the sectional quarterfinals Thursday at No. 3 Hamilton West.

Serreino allowed a run on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts to earn the win and also went 2-for-3 at the plate. Sofield, meanwhile, went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI and pitched two shutout innings to earn the save.

Dan Naif also drove in a run with a two-out single in the third and Joe Santanello plated another with a sacrifice fly in fifth.

 

Central Jersey Group II

(8) Monmouth 5, (9) Rahway 2

Jon Bonczyk struck out nine in a complete-game four-hitter and also doubled home a run to lead the defending CJ II champion Falcons to a win over the Indians. Joe Berner hit his first career home run in the bottom of the third, a solo shot that gave Monmouth a 2-1 lead.

The Falcons added three insurance runs in the fifth on an RBI triple by Matt Vincenti, an RBI single by Dan Valerio and an RBI double by Christian Hoplock.

Monmouth will play in Thursday's quarterfinals against top-seeded Cinnaminson, which beat Monmouth, 7-6, in extra innings in the overall Group II semifinals last season.

(7) Manchester 2, (10) Manasquan 1 (8 Innings)

Sophomore Mark Wernoch hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Hawks walked off with a win over the Warriors to advance to a sectional quarterfinal game at No. 2 Robbinsville.

Jon Meaney - who went 3-for-4 in the game - began the eight-inning rally with a double to deep right field. After an intentional walk to starting pitcher Devin Tomei and a sacrifice bunt by reliever Dan Piskowski, Wernoch lined a 1-and-2 pitch from Manasquan right-hander Tommy Toole into the right-center gap to chase home Meaney with the winning run.

Manasquan tied the game in the top of the seventh against Tomei on an RBI single by Jack Sheehan with two out. Sheehan bounced a comebacker off of Tomei's neck and Matt Paturzo came all the way around from second base to score the tying run.

Manchester grabbed a 1-0 lead on an RBI double by sophomore catcher Darrius Garcia in the bottom of the fourth.

Both starters - Tomei and Manasquan freshman left-hander Tom Sheehan - took no-decisions in solid outings. Tomei allowed an earned run on five hits with six walks and six strikeouts while firing 128 pitches. Sheehan, meanwhile, went five-plus innings and allowed a run on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. After a first-inning walk with two out in the first, Sheehan struck out the next six hitters he faced, with the streak ending on a single by Meaney in the third.

Paturzo finished 2-for-3 out of the No. 9 spot for Manasquan.

(1) Cinnaminson 8, (16) Lakewood 1

Jean Carlos Jerez went 2-for-3 and David Patterson added an RBI double, but the Piners fell to the defending Group II champion Pirates.

(5) Rumson-Fair Haven 9, (12) North Plainfield 5

Senior Tommy Lyons hit his first varsity home run, a three-run shot in a seven-run Rumson third inning that helped propel the Bulldogs to a win over the Canucks to advance to face No. 4 Bordentown in the quarterfinals.

Junior right-hander Morgan Maguire allowed two earned runs in five innings and helped his cause with two hits at the plate.

Thomas Culligan went 1-for-3 with three RBI while Max Goione was 1-for-2 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

(4) Bordentown 8, (13) Point Boro 3

Frank Graziano hit a two-run triple and scored on a Sam Monoco squeeze bunt to put Point Boro ahead, 3-2, in the top of the fifth inning, but Marc Gronostajski hit a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to regain the lead for Bordentown and lift the Scotties to a win over the Panthers.

(6) Matawan 4, (11) Delran 3

Mike Creamer came on to record one out to strand the tying run on third base and the go-ahead run on first in the top of the seventh and the Huskies held on to beat the Bears and advance to the sectional quarterfinals on Thursday against No. 3 Spotswood. Nick Santuccio worked the first 6 2/3 innings and scattered eight hits to earn the win.

Joe Piscopo had two hits and hit a long triple that turned into a run when the junior outfielder raced home on a mishandled relay, giving Matawan a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third. Piscopo also singled in the bottom of the first and scored on an RBI double by Creamer that opened the scoring. Senior catcher Cory Nusbaum tacked on a second run with an RBI single that chased home Creamer.

Luke Adduchio, Billy Rodriguez and Justin Henderson all had three hits each for Matawan.

 

Central Jersey Group I

(10) Point Beach 9, (7) Highland Park 1

Senior Noah Yates homered, tripled, scored three runs and drove in two to lead the Garnet Gulls to a win over the Owls and into the sectional quarterfinals against No. 2 and defending sectional champion Middlesex.

Antonio Garcia went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBI, while Mike Frauenheim was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI for Point Beach.

John Van Schoick allowed a run on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts to earn the win.

(8) Keansburg 3, (9) South River 1

James McAteer capped a three-run third inning with a tie-breaking, two-run single in support of starter Mike Politano, who threw a two-hitter to pitch the Titans past the Rams and set up a sectional quarterfinal at top-seeded South Amboy.

Politano walked four and struck out five in picking up the win, while Nic Vloyanetes and Josh Heck each had two hits for Keansburg.

(6) Shore 7, (11) Keyport 0

Seniors Andrew Schulz, Dylan Vosk and Matt Consentino combined on a three-hit shutout and the Blue Devils rode a six-run first inning to a win over the Red Raiders. Cosentino also went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a run scored while Vosk was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

Schulz improved to 6-1 and allowed three hits over five shutout innings while striking out six. Shore will now play at third-seeded East Brunswick Tech in the quarterfinals.

Jonathan Trigg went 2-for-3 to lead Keyport at the plate.

(2) Middlesex 12, (15) Henry Hudson 0

 

South Jersey Group IV

(8) Rancocas Valley 2, (9) Toms River East 1 (8 Innings)

Tim Zheng went 3-for-4 and drove in both Rancocas Valley runs, including a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning that lifted the Red Devils to a win over the Raiders.

Charlie Mulé drove in the lone Toms River East run with a suicide squeeze bunt to score Jerry Caporale, who led off the top of the fourth with a single.

Senior right-hander C.J. Hirschy went 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in taking the hard-luck loss.

(7) Cherry Hill East 2, (10) Toms River North 0

(3) Williamstown 6, (14) Brick 5 (9 Innings)

Evan Lobato pitched into the ninth inning, struck out nine and scattered eight hits, but the Braves scored once in the bottom of the eighth to extend the game and again in the ninth to win it and beat the Green Dragons.

Lobato also went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Steve Schirm had a two-run single in the top of the third and Matt Olsen squeezed home the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth before Williamstown tied the game in the bottom of the inning.

 

South Jersey Group III

(4) Toms River South 5, (13) Triton 0

Russell Messler hit a lead-off homer in the bottom of the first and added a two-run single in the sixth to give junior Chandler Thompson all the support he would need as the Indians beat the Mustangs to advance to the sectional quarterfinals against Highland.

Thompson pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed four hits, a walk and two hit batters while striking out nine to earn the win. Senior Tyler Folger pitched the last 1 2/3 innings for the save.

Jake Ryan hit his first career home run in the second, a solo shot onto the school roof in right-center. Ray Ligouri also doubled and scored on Messler's sixth-inning single.

(14) Burlington Twp. 2, (3) Central 1 (8 Innings)

Both Anthony Arneth and Aaron Crichlow threw one-hitters with no earned runs over eight innings, and it was two throwing errors that cost Central two runs as the Falcons edged the Golden Eagles in eight innings. Arneth, who pitched a complete-game shutout in the Ocean County Tournament championship game, struck out five and walked two over eight innings, and the lone Burlington Township hit was an infield single.

Crichlow plated the winning run with a sacrifice fly and struck out eight in the win. Christian Bearden doubled and advanced to third on an error in right field to start the fourth inning and scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 1.

South Jersey Group II

(1) Barnegat 12, Pleasantville 0 (5 Innings)

The Bengals used a nine-run third inning to blow open their first-round game against the Greyhounds and advanced to the sectional quarterfinals against No. 9 Sterling. Junior Seamus Brazill pitched a five-inning complete game, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out six.

Junior catcher Nik Fraim went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while senior center fielder Joe Letinski was 2-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored. Senior Matt Wolfgang was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI, and Ryan Ulrich doubled and scored on a single by Fraim in the bottom of the first to open the scoring.

 

Regular Season
Non-Division

Monsignor Donovan 6, Red Bank 1

Russ Petranto went 3-for-4, Chris Calderone was 2-for-3 and freshman Zach Mann allowed a run on two hits over four innings to earn the win as the Griffins beat the Bucs. Petranto drove in two runs, scored one and stole two bases, while Calderone had an RBI single in the first, a double and two runs scored.

Dante Pagano pitched two scoreless innings and Andrew Jarvis pitched a scoreless seventh inning to close it out. Jesse Mack hit a solo home run in the fourth for the lone Red Bank run.

Long Branch 3, Southern 0

Junior Christian Sanchez pitched a seven-hit shutout with three strikeouts and the Green Wave blanked the Rams on senior day. Senior Nick Menkin and Juan Martinez each went 2-for-3 with an RBI and senior Sean Lowney drove in the first run of the game. Senior Connor Mullan was 1-for-3 with a run scored in his final game.

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