Shore Conference (NJ) Baseball NJSIAA Opening Round Scoreboard, 6/2/21

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NJSIAA Tournament

Opening Round

North Jersey 2, Group III

(1) Millburn 4, (16) Matawan 1

Senior Tim Egan went the distance and allowed just one earned run for Matawan, but the Huskies (8-13) came up short against the Millers (15-6). Senior Luke Elliot led the Matawan offense with three hits.

Central Jersey Group IV

(6) Freehold Twp. 2, (11) East Brunswick 0

Senior Matt Villapiano allowed a leadoff single to Damien Charleston in the first and did not allow a hit the rest of the way, pitching a one-hit shutout to lead the Patriots (15-7) past the Bears (11-11) into the quarterfinal round Saturday at No. 3 Middletown South.

Villapiano also hit Charleston in the third inning, but those were the only two baserunners the senior left-hander allowed all game. Villapiano struck out seven, did not issue a walk and faced two over the minimum number of batters in his 82-pitch gem. The Patriots defense also backed him up with an error-free game in the field.

Senior catcher Griffin Murphy supplied the offense for his battery-mate, delivering a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the first to chase home the only two runs of the game.

(1) Manalapan 11, (16) Sayreville 1 (5 Innings)

Chris Marzo and Anthony Mauro each went 3-for-3 and Tom Guidice, Max Graime and Ethan Rodriguez each doubled and drove in two runs to lead an offensive outburst by the Braves (16-6) in a win over the Bombers (9-11).

Mauro hit two doubles, Marzo scored three runs and drove one in, and Guidice and Fraime each finished 2-for-3. Cristian Bernardini and Anthony Matteis each went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Junior Tyler Kane pitched three no-hit innings with seven strikeouts and four walks, during which he allowed one unearned run and threw 67 pitches. Sebastian Czajkowski closed it out with three strikeouts in two scoreless innings.

Kane will be eligible to throw 83 pitches on Saturday, when Manalapan hosts No. 9 Marlboro in the sectional quarterfinals.

(9) Marlboro 11, (8) Monroe 4

Frank Talarico hit a go-ahead two-run triple as part of a seven-run explosion in the top of the seventh inning, sparking the Mustangs (13-7) to a round-one win over the Falcons (14-7) that sets up a quarterfinal game at top-seeded Manalapan on Saturday.

Julian Buchmann followed with an RBI single to make it 7-4 and Nick Wright later added a two-run double that stretched Marlboro's lead to 10-4. Mark Capell capped the rally with a sacrifice fly and also plated Marlboro's first run with an RBI single in the Mustangs' three-run third inning.

Alex Jankowski also singled home a run in the third and tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI single in the top of the fourth. Alex D'Ambrosio capped the third-inning rally with an RBI single.

Capell finished 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs and two RBI, while Jankowski, Wright and Talarico each finished 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Marlboro starter Tyler Villa record only one out before leaving due to injury, prompting Marlboro to piece the game together with Jake Kalfayan (two innings), Alex D'Ambrosio (2 2/3), Josh Mack (one) and Nik Gomulka (one). Mack earned the win with a scoreless sixth inning, during which he struck out two.

(3) Middletown South 3, (14) Montgomery 0

Sophomore Ben Schild fired a one-hit shutout and Ryan St. Clair came through with a tie-breaking, two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to spark the Eagles to a win over the Cougars.

Joe Stanzione and Will Christopher each added an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth for Middletown South, which will host No. 6 Freehold Township Saturday in the sectional quarterfinals.

Pitching

Top Hitters

Central Jersey Group III

(1) Colts Neck 7, (16) Lawrence 4

Brad Salamone delivered RBI singles in both the first and second innings and the Cougars rode a hot start to a win over the Cardinals, setting up a quarterfinal match-up with No. 9 Middletown North.

Salamone also hit the first of three consecutive RBI singles in the second, with Collin Kratzer and Joe Cilea following him with run-scoring hits during the four-run second.

Pitching

Top Hitters

(9) Middletown North 11, (8) Ocean 8

Brothers Ryan and Danny Frontera blasted back-to-back home runs to open the scoring in the third inning and jumpstart the Lions in a high-scoring, first-round win over the Spartans.

Sophomore Ryan Frontera launched a two-run shot over the left-centerfield fence on the first pitch and senior Danny Frontera crushed a no-doubt solo bomb on a 2-1 pitch during the following at-bat to make it 3-0, Middletown North.

Danny Frontera added a two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning that gave himself a 7-0 cushion on the mound.

Ocean also hung two home runs on Danny Frontera, with senior left-handed swinger Dillon Downs smashing an opposite-field two-run shot to left-center to make it 7-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore George Krenkel cut the Middletown North lead to 7-4 with another two-run blast to dead center in the bottom of the fifth.

Colin Dowlen, Andrew Lombardi, Danny Frontera and Tyler Sharkey all added RBI singles for insurance in the sixth and seventh innings. Nick Vaughn smacked a two-run double and Krenkel and Downs added RBI singles during a four-run bottom of the seventh that made things interesting leading up to the final out.

Pitching

Top Hitters

(5) Allentown 1, (12) Jackson Liberty 0

Joey Dimino and Dan Merkel pitched a combined one-hitter for the Redbirds (14-4) to outduel Carl Barth and Ethan Bloomfield for the Lions (10-8) as Allentown advanced to the quarterfinals Saturday at No. 4 Wall.

Dimino struck out 10, walked two and allowed one hit in his six scoreless innings. Dean Mitchell delivered the RBI single in the fourth inning that proved to be the difference.

Barth pitched the first four innings for Jackson Liberty, allowing one unearned run on four hits and one walk while striking out five in a hard-luck loss.

(4) Wall 10, (13) Nottingham 0 (5 Innings)

Matt Johnson fired a one-hit shutout and Jay Bant went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI to help lead the Crimson Knights (19-5) to a first-round rout of the North Stars (8-11).

Johnson struck out five and walked two, needing 81 pitches to finish the game.

Christian Cosenza went 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI and Jerry Winchester finished 2-for-2 with a double, a run scored and an RBI to add to the Wall attack. Andrew Fischer also went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored and Nick Lovarco was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI for Wall.

Wall will host No. 5 Allentown in the sectional quarterfinals on Saturday.

(3) Hamilton West 5, (14) Red Bank 3

Nate Rodriguez hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Hornets (15-5) held on to beat the Bucs (8-15) after a fast start to the game for Red Bank.

Red Bank starting pitcher Andrew Glauber went the distance on the mound and gave the Bucs a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the first inning. He allowed five earned runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out four.

Sean O'Mara went 3-for-4 with an RBI single in the second that gave Red Bank a 3-0 lead. Jackson Hyman made it 2-0 earlier inning with a squeeze bunt to plate Matt Keegan, who singled earlier in the inning.

(6) Hopewell Valley 10, (11) Brick 0 (6 Innings)

Cody Rich pitched a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and Mike Boyer went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI as the Bulldogs (12-9) rolled through the Green Dragons (10-11) to reach the sectional quarterfinals Saturday at No. 3 Hamilton West.

John Wade took the loss for Brick, which could not recover from a six-run third inning by Hopewell Valley.

(7) Northern Burlington 2, (10) Neptune 0

Ryan Dromboski outdueled Neptune senior ace Brian Young and the Greyhounds (18-5) edged the Scarlet Fliers (10-12) to earn a quarterfinal match-up at home against No. 15 Burlington Township, which upset No. 2 Steinert on Wednesday, 6-5.

Young allowed two earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out eight in the loss. Dromboski, meanwhile, pitched a four-hit shutout with four strikeouts and three walks.

Central Jersey Group II

(4) Voorhees 3, (13) Monmouth 2

Christian Zito hit a go-ahead two-run single in the top of the sixth inning, but the Vikings (20-4) came back with two in the bottom of the sixth and closed out the win in the seventh over the Falcons (9-13) to advance to the quarterfinals Saturday against No. 5 Spotswood.

Zito finished 2-for-2 at the plate, Brian Yadlon was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored on the Zito single and Brian Boccino was 1-for-2 with a run scored for Monmouth as well.

Aiden Denton went the distance on the mound in taking the loss, allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five. Cole McGourty earned the win, striking out 11 over seven innings for Voorhees.

(10) Holmdel 5, (7) Metuchen 1

Andrew Woodward went 3-for-4 with three RBI to back starter Jake Umans as the Hornets (11-11) upended the Bulldogs (14-6) to advance to the sectional quarterfinals Saturday at No. 2 Governor Livingston.

Umans scattered 11 hits, walked one and struck out only two, but he kept Metuchen to just one run thanks to a defense that did not commit an error and control that resulted in 61 of 99 pitches for strikes.

Brandon Cieplensky, John Spallin and James Vallillo each went 2-for-3, with Cieplensky driving in one, Spallin scoring twice and Vallillo scoring a run.

(1) Rumson-Fair Haven 11, (16) Bordentown 1 (5 Innings)

John Goodes and Dylan Sakele combined on a no-hitter and the Bulldogs rolled through the Scotties and into the sectional quarterfinals Saturday against No. 8 Robbinsville.

Pitching

Top Hitters

(3) South Plainfield 4, (14) Manasquan 2

Cullen Condon turned in another strong outing and Manasquan struck for two runs in the top of the first inning, but the Tigers (20-4-1) responded with two in the bottom of the inning and two more late to deny the Warriors (6-15) in the opening round.

Condon allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk over six innings while striking out six and throwing 90 pitches. In his previous outing, Condon pitched a one-hitter with 16 strikeouts in a win over Matawan.

Both Manasquan runs in the first were unearned, with Condon picking up an RBI on a fielder's choice.

(11) Raritan 9, (6) Delaware Valley 3

Chris Gonzalez pitched six innings to earn the win and combined with Alex Dekis to drive in seven runs as the Rockets (10-9) picked up a first-round win over the Terriers (14-4).

Alex Dekis went 3-for-4 with four RBI while Gonzalez was 1-for-3 with three RBI in Raritan's 13-hit attack. Ben Hutchins was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, Rob Scarola went 2-for-5 with a triple and a run scored and catcher Justin Kilyk went 2-for-3 with a triple for Raritan.

Gonzalez allowed three runs on five hits with four walks and seven strikeouts while throwing 112 pitches in his six-inning outing. John Molnar closed out the win for the Rockets with a scoreless seventh.

(2) Governor Livingston 11, (15) Shore 1 (5 Innings)

Shore (6-17) pulled within 4-1 in the top of the fifth inning, but the Highlanders (17-4) ended the game with seven runs in the bottom of the inning to advance to the sectional quarterfinals Saturday against No. 10 Holmdel.

Central Jersey Group I

(6) Point Beach 13, (11) Keyport 0 (5 Innings)

James Larsen struck out nine and allowed two hits in four scoreless innings while catcher Dave Terra-Nova went 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBI to lead the Garnet Gulls (12-7) to a first-round win over the Red Raiders (7-7).

Phil Trebour went 1-for-3 with a double and three RBI, while Alec Glen (two RBI) and Andrew Banick (one RBI) each went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Hunter Alia also went 1-for-3 with a double and three runs for Point Beach, which will host No. 14 Riverside in Saturday's sectional quarterfinal round.

Jack DiPaolo took the loss on the mound and went 2-for-2 with a double to lead Keyport.

(2) New Egypt 11, (15) Henry Hudson 0 (5 Innings)

Justin McKnight threw four scoreless innings with four strikeouts and went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI to lead the Warriors (12-7) to a first-round win over the Admirals (2-14), setting up a quarterfinal match-up with No. 7 Burlington City.

South Jersey Group IV

(3) Clearview 2, (14) Toms River North 0

Julian Costa pitched a four-hit shutout with seven strikeouts to outduel Brandon Valles and give the Pioneers (14-6) a tight win over the Mariners (7-11) to advance to the sectional quarterfinal Saturday against No. 6 Egg Harbor.

Valles allowed two earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out six to give his team a chance, but Toms River North could not muster the necessary offense against the Clearview ace.

Valles, Nick Mortellito, Dom Saldida and Ryan Baker each went 1-for-3 to account for the four Toms River North hits.

(5) Jackson Memorial 3, (12) Brick Memorial 1

Junior Zach Crotchfelt allowed one hit over 5 2/3 scoreless innings before hitting the single-game pitch limit and senior Ty Beck shut the door on a Jaguars (16-6) win over the Mustangs (12-10) to advance to the quarterfinal round Saturday at No. 4 Kingsway.

Crotchfelt struck out 10 but walked seven, which drove his pitch count up to 110 with one out still to be recorded in the sixth. Beck got out of the inning via a strikeout and after giving up a leadoff home run to Max Cala to start the seventh, he struck out the next three batters to end the game.

Beck was 2-for-3 with a run scored on a second-inning double by sophomore Charlie Meglio, Crotchfelt finished 1-for-3 with the first run scored of the game on a wild pitch, and junior Chris Cartnick belted a solo home run in the fourth to put Jackson Memorial up, 3-0.

Joey Nolan had the lone hit off Crotchfelt, while senior Cole Manfro took the loss on the mound. Manfro allowed two earned runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts while throwing 109 pitches.

(10) Lenape 10, (7) Howell 7

Howell (14-10) scored five runs in the fourth inning and brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh to nearly erase an 8-0 deficit, but the early hole was too deep to climb out of in a loss to the Indians (13-10).

Vin Impresa went 3-for-4 with two doubles, including a three-run double to cut Lenape's lead to 8-3. Ryan Behnken drove in runs in both the fourth and seventh innings and Thomas Strauch blasted a solo home run to cut Lenape's lead to 10-6 in the seventh.

Behnken's RBI single in the seventh made it 10-7 and loaded the bases with two out, but Lenape pitcher Kyle Mullville induced a game-ending ground ball to shortstop.

Losing pitcher Daniel Furlong also went 3-for-4, while Strauch and Antonio Gatti each finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Nick Gomes also went 1-for-3 with an RBI for Howell.

(2) Cherokee 5, (15) Southern 0

Jackson Edelman pitched a three-hit shutout with six strikeouts and two walks as the Chiefs (15-8) blanked the Rams (5-14) to advance to the sectional quarterfinal Saturday against No. 10 Lenape.

Nick Desiderio took the loss for Southern, surrendering three earned runs on six hits and four walks while striking out four in 5 2/3 innings.

Xavier Hendricks (1-for-3), Killian Horne (1-for-3) and Stephen Stafford (1-for-2) accounted for the three Southern hits.

South Jersey Group III

(3) Central 9, (14) Seneca 4

Evan Agrapides and Shane Sajewicz both homered and Agrapides and Cristian Soto each finished 3-for-3 as Central (13-8) swung its way past Seneca (8-13) in a battle of the Golden Eagles.

Agrapides drove in two and scored three runs, Sajewicz finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and Soto doubled and drove in a run to lead Central's attack. Billy Sottilare also went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored.

Jeremy Bruner allowed two runs in four innings and 64 pitches to earn the win and Connor Shea finished up the game for Central with two innings of work.

(7) Lacey 4, (10) Toms River South 3 (8 Innings)

Junior Mike Todaro drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Lions (11-8) outlasted the Indians (9-11) in extra innings to advance to the sectional quarterfinal Saturday at No. 2 Ocean City.

Both Todaro and senior Josh Fracasso went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Lacey and sophomore Zack Mohr singled and stole second base ahead of Todaro's game-winning hit in the eighth.

Senior Nick Zarycki earned the win with five innings of relief of starter Jacob Bowles, who threw 80 pitches in five innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out three.

Toms River South tied the game in the top of the seventh on an RBI groundout by Tyler Madeo after Mike Erli led off the inning with a pinch-hit walk. Ryan Mackle singled to set Toms River South up with runners at the corners but Donnie Kirk secured the second out on a shallow fly ball and threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate to end the threat.

(6) Hammonton 10, (11) Toms River East 0 (5 Innings)

David Humphries pitched a five-inning two-hitter and the Blue Devils (13-7) banged out 14 hits to overwhelm the Raiders (6-11) and advance to the sectional quarterfinals Saturday against at No. 3 Central.

Jared Beebe was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI, D.J. Adamucci went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI and Lucas DeStefano belted a two-run home run to lead the Hammonton offense.

Bobby Sabatino and Mike Florie picked up the two Toms River East hits and Florie took the loss, pitching one inning before turning it over to Aidan Gallipoli for the final three.

South Jersey Group II

(4) Barnegat 10, (13) Middle Twp. 0 (6 Innings)

Pitching

Top Hitters

(12) Manchester 3, (5) Haddon Heights 1

Manchester scored three runs with two out in the top of the sixth inning and junior Mike Damato finished a three-hitter on the mound as the Hawks edged the Garnets on the road to earn a quarterfinal showdown with Class B South rival Barnegat.

Justin Renzi tied the game with an RBI single to score Blake Warren and the Hawks took the lead when Joe Sclama was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Chris Grille. Both Warren and Grille singled to start the rally - Warren with one out and Grille with two.

Keith Fallon capped the rally by drawing a bases-loaded walk to score Renzi.

Barnegat defeated Manchester in both regular-season meetings between the Class B South adversaries, both of which were high-scoring, closely-contested games that ended with final scores of 12-8 and 7-6.

Pitching

Top Hitters

South Jersey Non-Public B

(9) St. Rose 11, (8) Timothy Christian 1 (5 Innings)

Tommy Turnbach went 4-for-4 with a home run, double and five RBI while Jack Lomerson and Tallarico combined on a one-hitter to lead the Purple Roses (5-16) to a first-round win, earning them a quarterfinal trip to top-seeded Gloucester Catholic.

Jack Crawford was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI and Shane Killeen went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI for St. Rose. Matt Gowen (1-for-2, double) and Ryan Rogers (1-for-4, triple) each added an extra-base-hit and a run scored in the win.

Lomerson allowed one run on one hits and seven walks over four innings while striking out nine to pick up the win. Tallarico pitched a perfect fifth with a strikeout to close it out.