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NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Semifinals

Central Jersey Group IV

(9) Marlboro 5, (12) Old Bridge 2

Senior Mark Capell blasted a long solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to jumpstart the Mustangs (15-8) and three pitchers brought Marlboro to the finish line in a win over the Knights (9-18), securing Marlboro's first trip to a sectional final since winning Central Jersey Group II in 1972.

Senior Alex Jankowski pitched five shutout innings to earn the win and after Jake Kalfayan got the first out of the sixth, sophomore Alex D'Ambrosio recorded the final five outs to nail down the save.

D'Ambrosio also delivered a big two-out, two-run single to center in the bottom of the fifth to stretch the Marlboro lead to 4-0 and the Mustangs added a third run in the fifth on a strike-out wild pitch with the bases loaded.

Marlboro got its second run in the fourth, when junior Julian Buchman ripped a lead-off double down the left-field line and scored on a wild pitch.

Marlboro will travel to play the winner of Wednesday's game between No. 3 Middletown South and No. 2 Hunterdon Central in Friday's scheduled sectional championship. Middletown South and Hunterdon Central started the game, but were suspended after one inning due to inclement weather.

Edit: This portion of the post was edited to reflect that Marlboro last played in a sectional final in 1972. It previously and incorrectly stated that Marlboro had never reached the sectional final round.

Central Jersey Group I

(6) Point Beach 7, (2) New Egypt 0

Senior Matt Van Brunt pitched 4 1/3 no-hit innings and went 3-for-4 with three RBI at the plate to lead the Garnet Gulls (15-7) past the Warriors (13-8) and into the sectional final for the second straight postseason.

Point Beach will learn its opponent for the sectional final on Wednesday, when top-seeded and defending champion Middlesex hosts No. 12 Florence.

Point Beach erupted for five runs in the top of the fifth inning to effectively put the game out of reach. Junior Phil Trebour singled home a run to make it 3-0, senior Alec Glen doubled in the fourth Point Beach run, junior Colin Matuschat doubled in two more runs and Van Brunt capped the rally with an RBI single.

The additional cushion allowed Point Beach coach Angelo Fiore to pull Van Brunt after he recorded the first out of the fifth inning on his 69th pitch. By staying under 71 pitches, Van Brunt is eligible to pitch in Friday's sectional final and can throw up to 81 pitches.

Van Brunt finished with four strikeouts and one walk before James Larsen came on to pitch the final 2 2/3 and complete a combined three-hit shutout.

Matuschat finished 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs and two RBI and Glen went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.

 

South Jersey Group III

(2) Ocean City 3, (3) Central 2 (11 Innings)

Gannon Brady hit a game-winning RBI double to score Ben Liebrand from first base with two out in the bottom of the 11th and the Red Raiders (17-7) knocked out the Golden Eagles (16-9) in a semifinal marathon.

Central used two-out magic of its own to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning and one out away from elimination. Billy Sottilare led off with a walk and Connor Shea reached on an error after dropping a sacrifice bunt, but Tom Finnegan retired the next two hitters on a popped-up bunt and a strikeout.

Shane Sajewicz then hit a ground ball past Finnegan and Shea beat the flip to second base as Sottilare tore around third base and chugged home with the tying run.

Central cut the deficit to 2-1 just one inning earlier, with Trevor Coltenback getting the Golden Eagles on the board with a sacrifice fly.

Shea took the loss despite throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings of relief before finally giving up his first run of the game with two out in the 11th. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out three in relief of starter Jeremy Bruner (4 1/3 innings, seven hits, two earned runs).

Sophomore Duke McCarron earned the win in relief by throwing 4 shutout innings with two hits and two walks allowed while striking out nine. Finnegan, meanwhile, allowed two unearned runs on only two hits while punching out 10 over seven innings.

 

Ocean County Tournament

First Round

(11) Toms River North 7, (6) Jackson Liberty 0

Jack Tava and Brenden Lavallee combined on a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts and two walks and the Mariners (8-11) blanked the Lions (10-9) to advance to the OCT quarterfinals against No. 3 Donovan Catholic.

Tava allowed two hits and two walks while striking out nine over six innings and Lavallee pitched a perfect seventh with three strikeouts to close out the win.

Dom Saldida led the offense by going 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI and Tava helped his own cause with a two-run double that opened the scoring in the top of the third.

Sean Mindas went 2-for-4 with two runs, Ryan Baker was 2-for-3 with a run and Nick Mortellito finished 1-for-3 with two runs for Toms River North.

Dan Keenan capped his memorable senior season for Jackson Liberty by going 1-for-3 with a double.

 

Suspended Games

NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Semifinals

Central Jersey Group IV

(3) Middletown South 0, (2) Hunterdon Central 0 (Suspended, Top 2nd; to resume Wednesday at 2 p.m.)

 

Central Jersey Group III

(1) Colts Neck 3, (5) Allentown 1 (Suspended, Top 3rd; to resume Wednesday at 3 p.m.)

 

Central Jersey Group II

(4) Voorhees 5, (1) Rumson-Fair Haven 2 (Suspended, Bot. 5; to resume Wednesday at 4 p.m.)

 

South Jersey Group IV

(5) Jackson Memorial 1, (1) Williamstown 0 (Suspended, Top 2; to resume Wednesday at noon)

 

South Jersey Group II

(12) Manchester 4, (1) West Deptford 1 (Suspended Top 5; to resume Wednesday at 10 a.m.)

 

Monmouth County Tournament

Round of 16

(16) Matawan 3, (1) Manalapan 0 (Suspended Top 5; to resume Wednesday at 

(12) St. John Vianney 0, (5) Freehold Twp. 0 (Suspended Bot. 1; to resume Thursday at 4 p.m.)

 

Postponements

NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Semifinals

Central Jersey Group II

(11) Raritan at (2) Governor Livingston - PPD, Wednesday, 2 p.m.

Ocean County Tournament

First Round

(13) Toms River East at (4) Brick Memorial - PPD, Wednesday, 3:30 p.m.

Regular Season

Non-Division

Donovan Catholic at Toms River South - PPD, TBA

 

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