Diamond Dreams: Shore Final Four Chases the Trophy in Baseball SCT Semifinals

Shore Conference Tournament Semifinals

Thursday, May 21, 2026

Rain Date: Friday, May 22

The 2026 Shore Conference Tournament has one of a kind through the first three rounds of the tournament and the semifinals on Thursday offer two more chances for a double-digit seed to buck the bracket and continue their championship march. Central’s run to the 2018 final was the last time a double-digit seed reached the championship game, when the Golden Eagles were the No. 12 seed. Both No. 15 Colts Neck and No. 17 Freehold Township have Central beat in that department to this point and neither will have a top-four seed in the tournament to get through to reach Sunday’s final at Lakewood.

All four semifinalists have been to the championship game, although it has been a while for three of them. Christian Brothers Academy won the 2024 title and its eight championships are the most of any program in the history of the tournament. The Colts also entered the season as the No. 1 seed and are the lone representative from the Class A North division, so while a victory would be an outstanding achievement for a team that has been weighed down by injuries this season, it would represent the status quo result should it come to fruition for CBA.

Colts Neck has not been to the final since winning it all in 2007, when Major League Baseball veteran pitcher Anthony DeSclafani helped lead the Cougars to the program’s first and only conference title.

Rumson-Fair Haven and Freehold Township also have one trip to the final each and the No. 5 Bulldogs are the lone team remaining that has never won the SCT. Last year, Brick Memorial was the first first-time champions since Colts Neck won the title in 2007 and Rumson could make it two in a row if it can win two more games. First, the Bulldogs will have to clear a red-hot Freehold Township team to reach the final for the first time since 2008, they lost to Toms River South.

Then there is Freehold Township, which could shatter precedent if the Patriots can win the title as a No. 17 seed. Freehold Township’s only appearance in the final came all the way back in 1985, which was only the sixth year of the Shore Conference Tournament and it ended with the Patriots defeated Red Bank Catholic.

The SCT has been full of surprises to this point and the next two rounds offer the possibility of three unique champions: a first-time champion (Rumson); a No. 15 seed that has not won it since 2007; and a No. 17 see that has gone 41 years without an SCT crown. On the other side of the narrative, the distinct possibility remains that CBA – the preseason No. 1 team that has won more titles than any other program – prevails.

 

Clash of the Colts in Lincroft

No. 15 Colts Neck at No. 6 Christian Brothers Academy, 1 p.m.

Both Colts Neck and CBA entered the Shore Conference Tournament hoping for more out of their regular seasons, but have made up for whatever shortcomings befell them before the SCT by playing their best baseball over the last two weeks. Colts Neck is coming off its two best wins of the season, both in the quality of opponent and the manner in which the Cougars won the games. They jumped out to an early lead at Point Pleasant Beach in the round of 16 and sewed up a 7-3 win over the No. 2 seed in the tournament with Ryan Rude pitching the first four innings and senior Ryan Spencer finished the game with three perfect innings. Spencer then picked up the win with 4 1/3 innings of relief against Howell, but the lead story was a pair of two-run home runs in the top of the seventh inning by Rude and Joe Pignatelli that erased a 5-2 deficit. After Howell tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, Colts Neck won the game on a wild pitch, with Spencer closing out the 7-6 win.

Spencer has pitched in each of Colts Neck’s last four games and either saved (three) or won (one) all four. With 77 pitches against Howell, Spencer will not be available on Thursday, but if rain pushes the game to Friday, he can throw up to 79 pitches. With Spencer ineligible, Rude and Jack Dugo will be Colts Neck’s two foremost pitching options.

CBA’s two wins were not quite as memorable as Colts Neck’s, but they were no less impressive. The Colts are averaging nearly nine runs per game during a 7-1 stretch and have outscored their two SCT opponents by a combined score of 24-4. While the entire lineup has been swinging hot bats, no player has had more to do with CBA’s turnaround than Jayden Matejicka. The senior centerfielder was hitting .100 through the first 13 games and after going 2-for-4 with four RBI and four stolen bases in a quarterfinal win over Point Boro, he is hitting .577 (15-for-26) to raise his season average to .370. Junior Dylan Reynholds (.520), senior Colin Hoverter (.458), and senior Jared Matejicka (.455) are all hitting better than .450 with at least 22 at-bats over the last eight games.

“It’s all about confidence,” Matejicka said. “We have really bonded with each other these last couple of weeks and we’re playing for the team. No one is playing for themselves. It’s about playing for the whole team.”

CBA’s pitching situation has been volatile for most of the year due to injuries, but coach Marty Kenney Jr. will have a simple call to make Thursday, when senior left-hander Danny DiTullio is set to pitch. DiTullio is a two-time All-Shore pitcher for the Colts and he has done some of his best work over the years in tournament play. A year ago, he threw 28 2/3 tournament innings with a 1.73 ERA, which accounted for more than half his season total of innings and was 0.74 runs better than his season-long ERA.

The last time these two teams met in the Shore Conference Tournament, CBA walked off with a 2-1 win in 10 innings to advance to the SCT semifinals, with then-sophomore Jared Matejicka delivering the game-winning hit.

“That was a fun game,” Jayden Matejicka said, recalling his brother’s walk-off hit. “I know a lot of those guys over there. They have a good team, so I’m expecting another great game.”

The latest installment of CBA-Colts Neck in the Shore Conference Tournament could come down to the weather, with Spencer lurking if the game is pushed to Friday. Whatever day the game is played, DiTullio will be an ideal way for CBA to deal with a senior-heavy Colts Neck lineup, with senior Declan Doogan ready to pitch in relief.

The Pick: CBA, 4-3

 

 

Bulldogs vs. the Underdogs

No. 17 Freehold Township at No. 5 Rumson-Fair Haven, 2 p.m.

The last time Freehold Township and Rumson played one another, the Bulldogs handled Freehold Township, 8-1, to complete a regular-season sweep of the Patriots. The loss was part of a 1-5 start for Freehold Township and although the Patriots won enough between those first six games and the cutoff date on May 9 to make the tournament, they did not fair well against teams of Rumson’s caliber.

All that has changed over the last week. Freehold Township has taken down three “A” Division teams to reach the semifinals of the SCT for the first time in 20 years. The Patriots beat two Class A South teams in Southern and Toms River East behind shutout performances by senior ace Jackson Redmond and in between, they won an extra-inning round-of-16 game at Red Bank Catholic, 13-10, to beat the No. 1 team in the tournament in stunning fashion.

Redmond fired 92 pitches in the win at Toms River East on Monday, which is two pitches over the number that would allow him to pitch on Friday should the game Thursday be postponed due to weather. That takes Redmond out of the equation for the semifinals, which did not stop Freehold Township from knocking off Red Bank Catholic last weekend. The Patriots have scored 20 runs over the last two games, although all seven vs. Toms River East came in the first inning. Junior Nick Stabile, senior Nick Schicchi and sophomore Kobe Dancel have had big tournaments at the plate, with Stabile slamming four extra-base hits during the tournament and Schicchi hitting .667 (6-for-9).

On the mound, Freehold Township will likely go back to the committee effort that got the Patriots through their eight-inning win vs. RBC. Sophomores Ryan Van Kleef and Bradley Santoro were effective over multiple innings and junior Dylan Ford was sharp in one inning of work. Senior left-hander Cameron Chiapuzio and junior left-hander Julian Polo were not as effective, but both have had quality outings this season and could get the call at some point in the semifinals again.

Rumson will not have the pitching services of junior left-hander Cooper Jones, who needed 103 pitches to get through five innings in Rumson’s 7-4 win at Ranney on Monday. Junior right-hander Hunter Beattie threw 36 in two strong innings and will likely be ready to come in as a reliever along with senior left-hander Max Hinchliffe. Sophomore Brady Williams would be the logical starter after he worked the first three innings of Rumson’s see-saw, 9-8 win over Toms River South in Saturday’s round of 16. If Rumson coach Owen Stewart is looking to play the hot hand, the goal may be to get the game to Beattie after starting with Williams, who boasts a 1.63 ERA and 52 strikeouts against nine walks in 38 2/3 innings. The Patriots have not seen Williams this season, while Beattie pitched out of the bullpen in both games vs. the Patriots. Beattie threw two-third of an inning in a 5-4 win at Freehold Township and three innings in Rumson’s 8-1 win over the Patriots on April 8 in Rumson, with senior Lucca Strome closing out that home win with two perfect innings and four strikeouts.

Rumson’s lineup has come up in the clutch over the last two games, including homers in back-to-back games by junior outfielder Casper Billington. With those two home runs, Billington is on the heels of Brick Memorial senior Dan Golembiewski (nine home runs) for the Shore Conference lead. If Freehold Township’s bats stay hot, Rumson has the ammo to match the Patriots, but with Williams on the mound, putting up another big number will be a tall order for the No. 17 seed.

The Pick: Rumson, 6-2

 

Quarterfinal Picks Record: 3-1

2026 SCT Picks Record: 15-6