Crazy Eight: Previewing a Wide-Open Shore Conference Tournament Baseball Quarterfinals
Shore Conference Tournament Quarterfinals
Monday, May 18, 2026
No. 5 Rumson-Fair Haven at No. 4 Ranney, 4 p.m.
Two of the final four teams in the Monmouth County Tournament play for a spot in the Shore Conference Tournament final four 16 days after Ranney beat Rumson, 2-0, in the MCT semifinals on the way to winning the tournament. The Panthers will once again send freshman Jake Abrams to the mound after he pitched a three-hit shutout against the Bulldogs a little more than two weeks ago, while Rumson will have senior left-hander Cooper Jones available for 107 pitches after he threw 43 in three innings of relief in Saturday’s 9-8, walk-off win over Toms River South.
The difference between the MCT semifinals and Monday’s game is the venue, with Ranney now hosting. The Panthers have a notoriously hitter-friendly home field, as well as a lineup that does damage on all fields. Ranney is only 4-4 at home and with an overall record of 11-10 against a stacked schedule, the Panthers have not been any tougher or any easier to beat on their home field. The x-factor Monday will be Rumson’s hitters getting a second look at Abrams. Do the Bulldogs make an adjustment or does Abrams continue to have their number? The Pick: Rumson
No. 14 Point Pleasant Boro at No. 6 Christian Brothers Academy, 4 p.m.
The bracket was set up to create an SCT rematch between Brick Memorial and CBA after Brick Memorial shocked CBA and Red Bank Catholic in the final two rounds to win last year’s tournament. Point Boro crashed the party by beating a Mustangs team that was 11- in its previous 12 games, led by another stellar pitching performance. Junior Landon Hoyle kicked off the SCT with a one-hitter vs. St. John Vianney, then senior John Loizos limited Brick Memorial to three runs – all on Dan Golembiewski’s eighth homer of the year – to lead the Panthers to the quarterfinals. Point Boro has Hoyle available again for CBA, with an army of solid arms and a deep, balanced lineup backing him up.
CBA has dealt with a litany of injuries throughout the season and that problem is ongoing in the pitching staff, with Virginia-bound left-hander Sean Loggie out all year and Michigan commit Dylan Iwanyk out of action since May 1 as a pitcher and May 5 at the plate. Fortunately for the Colts, they roster plenty of capable arms to step up and a lineup that is currently on fire. Since a 13-0 loss to Red Bank Catholic on April 27, the offense is averaging 8.4 runs with a 6-1 record. During that stretch, Jayden Matejicka is hitting .591 (13-for-22) with seven extra-base hits with 11 runs scored and 11 RBI, raising his season average from .100 to .357. The Pick: CBA
No. 15 Colts Neck at No. 7 Howell, 4 p.m.
Colts Neck has had no problem winning games this season, but the Cougars lost a few games to the wrong teams during their season and sank to the No. 15 seed. On Saturday, they reminded the rest of the Shore Conference that they are capable of a deep tournament run by taking it to No. 2 seed Point Pleasant Beach, 7-3. They have hitters who have played and delivered in big games, just like centerfielder R.J. Conover did with his three-run homer in the first inning Saturday. Ryan Rude pitched another solid game on Saturday, only getting beat by Point Beach star catcher Dan Lubach. Ryan Spencer then came in and was dominant in relief for the third time this week, which suggests Monday’s script will again be Jack Dugo to start and Spencer to close it out. With as well as Spencer pitched on Saturday – three perfect innings with three strikeouts on 34 pitches – he could even get the start.
Outside of Ranney, no team in the Shore has played better tournament baseball than Howell, which is 4-1 in tournament play this season and has crafted a deep, collaborative pitching staff to go with a well-rounded lineup. As great as that collaboration has been, every team needs a staff leader and that leader, Jackson Vetrano, gets the ball Monday at home with a chance to keep Howell rolling. While both teams have the pitching they want ready for Monday, Howell is usually a launching pad for hitters and after a more pitcher-friendly Saturday, a high-scoring game might be on tap for the quarterfinals. The Pick: Colts Neck
No. 17 Freehold Township at No. 8 Toms River East, 7 p.m.
The prime time game of the quarterfinals is in Toms River, where Toms River East hosts a Freehold Township squad coming off one of the biggest SCT upsets of the last decade. Normally, a team coming off a big upset has burned its best pitching, but that’s what made Freehold Township’s win over Red Bank Catholic so surprising: the Patriots did not have their Division I arm on the mound. On Monday, Seton Hall commit Jackson Redmond will be on the mound, which makes this game a pick-em despite Toms River East’s advantage in seed, venue and tournament experience. Redmond has been staggeringly economical in pitching five straight complete games, during which he has not walked a batter.
Toms River East will pose a greater threat as a lineup that anything Redmond has faced since Rumson beat Redmond and Freehold Township in early April. It took a pair of defensive miscues by Wall for the Raiders to advance out of the round of 16, so Toms River East’s hitters will be eager to get back in the box. On the other side, the Raiders has been highly reliable since they lost to Brick Memorial in the Ocean County Tournament semifinals. Toms River East is 6-2 since with a staff ERA of 1.96, with four of the 15 earned runs coming in one inning at Red Bank Catholic when the Raiders went deeper into their staff to close that game. James Whalen has found a rhythm on the mound and Jonathan Pallman has appeared in relief in each of the Raiders’ last two games with a chance to pitch again on Monday. Redmond will be the best pitcher on the field, but Whalen and Pallman are capable of matching zeroes if the Raiders lineup takes a while to figure out the Patriots ace. The Pick: Toms River East
Round-of-16 Picks Record: 5-3
2026 SCT Picks Record: 12-5
