NJSIAA Tournament
Group Semifinals
Group IV
At Overbook High School

Jackson Memorial 6, Eastern 5

Senior left-hander Matt Guarino went the distance and helped his cause with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning to lead the Jaguars (19-8) to a win over the Vikings (19-10) and into their first state final since 2010.

Guarino finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI and junior shortstop Brandon Janofsky and sophomore Kyle Johnson each were 1-for-3, with Janofsky knocking in two and scoring two and Johnson driving home one.

Janofsky broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run single in the fourth inning that gave Jackson Memorial the lead for good. Johnson added an RBI single and Guarino capped the Jaguars' four-run fourth with an RBI single give himself a 6-2 cushion.

Jackson Memorial will play Roxbury - 3-1 winners over Millburn in the other Group IV semifinal - in Saturday's Group IV final in Toms River, at a site and time to be determined.

 

Group I
At Monmouth University

Shore 5, Pennsville 0

Senior left-hander Matt Cosentino threw a four-hit shutout against a Pennsville lineup that was collectively batting above .400 as a team and the Blue Devils (18-9) advanced to their first Group final since 2009, when they lost in the Group II final to Pequannock.

Cosentino walked one and struck out seven while earning his second win of the tournament, the first coming in the sectional semifinals against defending Group champion Middlesex. This one was a shutout against a Pennsville club (28-3) that had not been shut out this year.

Senior Andrew Schulz staked Shore to an early 1-0 lead with an RBI triple in the top of the first and scored on an infield single by junior James Kelly. Junior Matt McCarthy tacked on two more in the top of the sixth with a two-run single through the middle to give Cosentino a 4-0 cushion. Shortstop Clayton Coffey added two hits and a run scored in the win.

 

Sectional Final
South Jersey, Non-Public A
At Rowan University

(8) St. John Vianney 3, (2) Gloucester Catholic 2

Senior catcher Anthony Santoro punched a single through the right side and into right field with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to score junior left fielder Nick Gugliara from second with the winning run and the Lancers (19-7) walked off with a win over the four-time defending state-champion Rams (26-6) for their first sectional title since 1981.

The walk-off hit made a winner out of senior left-hander Justin Chin (9-0), who beat top-seeded Bishop Eustace and the four-time defending champions in his last two starts. He allowed two earned runs on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts and again benefited from a solid St. John Vianney defense that did not commit an error.

Gugliara began the winning rally by slapping a single deep into the hole between third base and shortstop, his second hit of the game and third time on base. Senior third baseman Pat Devenney then failed to drop a sacrifice bunt with his first two strikes, but worked a walk to put runners on first and second for Santoro. After Gloucester Catholic junior starter and University of Maryland recruit John Murphy got ahead 1-and-2 with a well-spotted curveball and an overpowering fastball, Santoro stayed on a curveball from Murphy and hit it through the hole between first and second, chasing Gugliara home with the winning run.

Santoro - a four-year starter behind the plate - also drove in the first run of the game with the first of back-to-back, two-out RBI singles that gave St. John Vianney a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gugliara reached on an error by starting pitcher John Murphy, moved to second on a sacrifice by third baseman Pat Devenney, and scored when Santoro lined a 1-and-2 curveball from Murphy into right-center.

Santoro moved to second on a throwing error by the Gloucester Catholic cutoff man and his courtesy runner Vincent Durso scored when senior Chris Loney delivered his own RBI single to right-center.

Junior Sean Breen hammered an RBI double down the right-field line to cut the SJV lead in half in the top of the sixth and sophomore Tyler Mondile blasted a one-out triple off the right-field wall and scored on a ground-out to shortstop to tie the game at 2 in the seventh.

Senior first baseman Joe Rotelli went 2-for-3 with a long double to left-center off Murphy to improve to 9-for-14 with five doubles and a home run during the state tournament.

St. John Vianney will play the winner of Wednesday's game between Bergen Catholic and St. Joseph of Montvale in the Non-Public A final Saturday in Toms River at a time and location to be determined.

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