NJSIAA Group 1 Final Preview: Point Beach Returns for Redemption

NJSIAA Group I Championship

Sunday, June 14, 2026

At Rutgers University

4 p.m.

Point Pleasant Beach vs. Pompton Lakes

 

Teams at a Glance

Point Beach (19-6)

Head Coaches: Angelo Fiore and Joe Mazza
Group Championships: None
Group Final Appearances: 1 (2024)

Road to the Final

First Round: Tommy Conroy and Antonio Acevedo combined on a five-inning no-hitter with 12 strikeouts, one walk and a hit batter as the Garnet Gulls handled No. 14 South Amboy. Conroy also went 2-for-2 with a double, walk and two runs scored, while senior catcher Dan Lubach led the offense with a homer and three RBI as part of a 3-for-3 game. Junior Brody Powers also drove in three runs in a 1-for-3 day with a double while Carson Pfeifer (triple) and Thomas Slobiski (double) each went 1-for-3 with an extra-base hit and an RBI.

Quarterfinals: Powers drove in three in going 1-for-3 with a double and senior Bennett Moberg fired five strong innings to earn the win in an 11-1 Point Beach win in five innings. Pfeifer was also 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI and senior Dylan Ryan also doubled and drove in a run.

Semifinals: The Garnet Gulls made it three straight mercy-rule victories in five innings by hammering No. 2 Piscataway Magnet, 14-2, on the road. Lubach belted his second home run of the tournament in going 2-for-4 with two RBI and Conroy went 2-for-3 with two RBI while earning the win on the mound with two hitless innings. Powers doubled for the third straight game in going 1-for-2 with two RBI and the bottom of the Point Beach made an impact, with sophomore Thomas Slobiski going 1-2, with an RBI and classmate Davin Marquez finishing 1-for-1 with three runs scored and an RBI.

Sectional Final: Conroy took over at the plate and on the mound, driving in three runs during a six-run third inning and pitching two scoreless innings on the mound behind five from Moberg as the Garnet Gulls handled No. 5 Shore, 9-1, to claim their fourth sectional title in the last five years. Conroy hit a solo home run to make it 3-1, then hit a two-run single to cap the rally and put Point Beach up, 7-1. Point Beach got on the board with an RBI single by Ryan in the bottom of the second and benefitted from three bases-loaded walks by Shore. Moberg needed just 66 pitches to work through five innings, during which the right-hander allowed one run on three hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

Group Semifinal: A 4-3 deficit heading to the bottom of the third inning was the latest deficit Point Beach faced and South Jersey champion Woodstown later pulled within 7-6 in the top of the fifth, but the Garnet Gulls scored eight unanswered runs to run away with a 15-6 victory. Freshman Mason Sesny went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBI, Powers was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI and Pfeifer capped Point Beach’s seven-run fifth inning with a grand slam. Conroy picked up his ninth win by pitching four innings with eight strikeouts and also went 2-for-2 with three walks and three runs scored.

Projected Lineup

Tommy Conroy, Sr., CF (.453, 34 H, 6 2B, 3 HR, 32 R, 19 RBI, 13 SB)

Mason Sesny, Fr., 2B (.268, 22 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 18 R, 13 RBI, 5 SB)

Dan Lubach, Sr., C (.534, 39 H, 4 2B, 8 HR, 18 R, 29 RBI, 4 SB)

Brody Powers, Jr., LF (.367, 29 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 19 R, 34 RBI, 7 SB)

Carson Pfeifer, Jr., 3B (.350, 28 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 17 R, 18 RBI, 2 SB)

Antonio Acevedo, Sr., SS (.261, 18 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 21 R, 18 RBI, 8 SB)

Thomas Slobiski, So., DH (.403, 25 H, 6 2B, 13 R, 19 RBI, 2 SB)

Dylan Ryan, Sr., 1B (.275, 11 H, 1 2B, 13 R, 11 RBI, 2 SB)

Davin Marquez, So., RF (.400, 4 H, 5 R, 4 RBI, 4 SB)

 

Projected Starting Pitcher (2026 Stats)

Bennett Moberg, Sr., RHP (7-2, 56.1 IP, 51 H, 25 BB, 50 SO, 3.11 ERA)

 

Available Relief Pitchers (2026 Stats)

Tommy Conroy, Sr., LHP (9-0, 47.1 IP, 35 H, 15 BB, 49 SO, 1.92 ERA)

Antonio Acevedo, Sr., RHP (2-2, 2 saves, 29 IP, 35 H, 17 BB, 28 SO, 3.38 ERA)

Thomas Slobiski, So., RHP (1-2, 1 save, 29.1 IP, 21 H, 21 BB, 28 SO, 1.43 ERA)

 

Pompton Lakes (22-7)

Head Coach: Mike Riordan
Group Championships: 1 (2024)
Group Final Appearances: 3 (2024, 2013, 2012)

Road to the Final

First Round: Senior Jon Popovich pitched a one-hit shutout with seven strikeouts on 64 pitches and the Cardinals blanked No. 13 Kinnelon, 3-0. Popovich went 2-for-2 with an RBI as well and senior shortstop Tim Riche was 3-for-3 with a double to lead the offense.

Quarterfinals: Riche rolled through five shutout innings on 55 pitches and Pompton Lakes exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to turn a one-run game into a five-inning run-rule result. Junior Chad McConnell led the offense with a 3-for-4 game at the plate with two doubles and three RBI.

Semifinals: After his team squandered a four-run lead in the bottom of the fifth, junior Frank Berens hit a go-ahead, two-out RBI single in the top of the seventh and Popovich shut down Wallkill Valley in the bottom of the inning to close out a 5-4 win over the No. 1 seed in the North Jersey Section 1 Group I bracket. Popovich pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win and Ryan Miceli and Luke Porcelli each had two hits with an RBI in leading a balanced offense.

Sectional Final: Popovich continued his lights-out state tournament with seven more scoreless innings in a three-hitter, which carried Pompton Lakes to a 3-0 win over No. 7 Waldwick for its second sectional title in three years. The Cardinals scored a run in the second and two more in the third with the help of three Waldwick errors and the production was plenty for Popovich to pitch his team to the North Jersey 1 Group I finish line.

Group Semifinal: Riche gave up the lead on the mound by allowing two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but bounced back by hitting the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the seventh, then retiring the top of the Cedar Grove order in the bottom of the inning to close out a 3-2 win over the Panthers. Riche pitched a four-hitter with eight strikeouts and finished 3-for-4 with an RBI at the plate. Jonah Carbon and Ryan Miceli each went 2-for-4 in the game and Popovich again made his presence felt with a game-tying sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh before Riche delivered the tie-breaking RBI single one batter later.

 

Projected Lineup (2026 Stats)

Jonah Carbon, Jr., CF (.427, 38 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 31 R, 17 RBI, 17 SB)

Chad McConnell, Jr., LF (.326, 29 H, 10 2B, 22 R, 17 RBI, 6 SB)

Ryan Miceli, Sr., 1B (.421, 40 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 26 R, 31 RBI, 2 SB)

Jon Popovich, Sr., P (.330, 29 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 17 R, 21 RBI, 2 SB)

Tim Riche, Sr., SS (.414, 36 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 20 R, 18 RBI, 8 SB)

Luke Poricelli, So., RF (.333, 23 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 21 R, 15 RBI, 3 SB)

Cade Tuozzolo, So., 2B (.311, 23 H, 1 2B, 12 R, 18 RBI)

Mike Riga, Jr., 3B (.328, 20 H, 3 2B, 11 R, 12 RBI, 3 SB)

Kyle Lappe, Sr., DH (.263, 5 H, 2 2B, 4 R, 5 RBI)

DH for: Dylan Hazen, So., C

 

Projected Starting Pitcher (2026 Stats)

Jon Popovich, Sr., RHP (8-3, 64.1 IP, 69 H, 18 BB, 65 SO, 2.50 ERA)

 

Relief Pitchers (2026 Stats)

Tim Riche, Sr., RHP (7-2, 56 IP, 27 H, 23 BB, 54 SO, 2.62 ERA)

Case Tuozzolo, So., RHP (4-0, 28 IP, 23 H, 8 BB, 16 SO, 1.50 ERA)

 

No Time Like the Present

Dan Lubach and Tommy Conroy have been four-year starters during Point Beach Baseball’s best four-year stretch ever and despite all the wins they have piled up since the start of the 2023 season, there is one loss that still gnaws at them.

On Sunday, Lubach, Conroy and teammates Antonio Acevedo and Brody Powers have a chance to right a wrong when their Garnet Gulls meet Pompton Lakes in a rematch of the 2024 Group I championship game. It was the first state final ever for the Point Beach program and Pompton Lakes steamrolled the Gulls, 14-4, in a game that suggested Point Beach was not quite ready to conquer an entire NJSIAA group.

“I look back at that game as a few missed opportunities,” said Lubach, who was a full-time varsity catcher for the first time that season. “It just didn’t go our way. I remember walking back to the team huddle and looking at that scoreboard. I actually have a picture of that scoreboard that I looked at this morning (prior to Monday’s Group I semifinal). I want to get back there and get our get-back on those guys.”

Two years later, all signs indicate Point Beach is ready. Four of its current leaders were starters as underclassmen two years ago and have a supporting cast that has developed by the standards set by that quartet.

“It’s meant to be,” Lubach said. “We get our chance to get back at them after two years. I’m stoked.”

More than that, however, the Garnet Gulls are ready because of their schedule. Two years ago, Point Beach played mostly small schools and challenged itself with a larger program on occasion. Over the last two seasons, those cakewalk games have dropped off the schedule and over the course of the current season, Point Beach did not play a Group I team until the first round of the NJSIAA Tournament.

Not only did Point Beach play some of the Shore Conference’s most accomplished programs with significantly larger enrollments in 2026; the Garnet Gulls beat them. Point Beach won the Shore Conference Class A South division championship outright as a Group I school, beating out the likes of Group III finalist Brick Memorial, Wall (Group II), Toms River East (Group III), and the Group IV duo of Jackson and Southern. Point Beach even swept both Wall and Brick Memorial, the latter of which will play for the Group III title two games prior to Point Beach’s championship game at Rutgers. Two years ago, by comparison, Point Beach shared a division with St. Rose, Long Branch, Keyport, Keansburg, Henry Hudson and Asbury Park.

“The opportunity to play in A South this year might be the reason we’re back in the state final,” Lubach said. “We got challenged all year playing top teams in the state and definitely in the Shore Conference. We’re ready for it.”

Beyond the division schedule, Point Beach kept challenging itself. The Gulls beat the likes of Red Bank Catholic, Ranney, Point Pleasant Boro and Bayonne as part of its regular-season out-of-division schedule.

“Our preparation this year has been a lot different than two years ago,” Point Beach coach Angel Fiore said. “Two years ago, we played in the B Central division and we had to pick up good non-division game. Here, we have been playing an incredible schedule the entire year. These guys are just built different right now and I really believe that’s a testament to playing in A South and playing the schedule we played.”

Getting humbled has also been part of Point Beach’s journey back to the state final. The Garnet Gulls were loaded with championship experience last season, but lost to Middlesex in the Central Jersey Group I championship game. That loss added to the sense of urgency this season, when Point Beach has more senior production than in any of its other championship seasons.

“Bennett’s our horse right now,” Fiore said. “He will have five days to heal up and get ready to start and we’ll have Tommy in relief. When you have Bennett on the mound, it puts our best defense out there. And Tommy doesn’t break. You give him any pressure situation, he is going it handle it.”

With the regular-season competition upgrade, Point Beach has now found the postseason to be a cakewalk – at least through five games. The Garnet Gulls have outscored opponents by a combined score of 59-10, with eight runs as the closest margin of victory. The road to the Central Jersey Group I final was favorable for Point Beach, which faced two double-digit seeds and a No. 2 seed in Piscataway Magnet with a win total inflated by a soft schedule. After that, however, the Garnet Gulls dominated two proven teams in Shore Regional and Woodstown, with 24 combined runs in the two victories.

Now, Point Beach has one more test to pass before raising its first ever group championship trophy and it will once again lean on Lubach and Conroy to lead the way. Lubach is having another brilliant season, both behind the plate in his catcher’s gear and at the plate with a bat in his hands. If his batting average on Sunday is better than .500, he will finish the season as the Shore Conference batting champion – a rare feat for a player in an A division.

“I’m just trying to have as much fun as I possibly can,” Lubach said. “I might never get to run on the field with these guys again, to I’m just trying to live in the moment and enjoy it all.”

Conroy, meanwhile, will be ready for anything, as usual. Fiore’s script has been to start Conroy in centerfield with senior right-hander Bennett Moberg on the mound, then go to the left-hander Conroy as the first pitcher out of the bullpen. That approach gives Point Beach its best defense behind Moberg, whose numbers are not as clean as those of Conroy, but has pitched and thrived in most of Point Beach’s biggest games – including complete-game victories over Wall and Ranney.

“Tommy and Danny came into a winning program and I think those first two years, they won sectional championships and started to think, ‘Hey, this is normal around here,’” Fiore said. “Last year was a little of that humble pie when we got it handed to us up there at Middlesex. They felt that sting a little bit and came back ready this year. Yes, we had to go through the gauntlet, but they came out of that as the A South champions and emerged as that better, more focused team that understands what it feels like to lose in a tournament.”

Acevedo would be the third option on the mound, having closed out five saves over the past two seasons. Like Conroy, Acevedo plays a premium position on defense, but even if he has to move off shortstop to pitch, Point Beach has a capable alternative alignment, with freshman Mason Sesny shifting from second base to shortstop and Powers moving from corner outfield to second base.

Sesny has held his own hitting in the No. 2 spot as a freshman between Conroy in the leadoff spot and Lubach at No. 3 as a left-handed bat who makes frequent contact. Powers and fellow junior Carson Pfeifer have been on fire at the plate during the state tournament, with Pfeifer playing the role of breakout star as a junior.

“He has been playing extraordinary,” Fiore said of Pfeifer. “He has just been a dog, so I’m real happy for him.”

The bottom of the order has given teams no breaks either, with sophomore Thomas Slobiski hitting over .400 on the season and both Dylan Ryan and sophomore Davin Marquez delivering key at-bats throughout the Group I run.

“It’s the seven, eight, nine – that’s where the difference is in a lot of these games,” Fiore said. “Our seven, eight and nine have been coming through in all these games. If you look at the best games we have played, it’s when we are executing in those spots. Getting on base, timely hitting, doing something that’s productive that gets us to the top of the order, where Conroy, Lubach and those guys can do a lot of damage.”

 

Single-Minded Opponent

In Pompton Lakes, Point Beach will face a team with only one starter from 2024 still on the roster and that is likely starting pitcher Jon Popovich. Popovich and fellow senior right-hander Tim Riche have carried the pitching load and also play shortstop in place of the other when not on the mound.

As for the offense, the Cardinals are a team of mostly singles and doubles hitters that string hits together to score runs. During the five rounds of the NJSIAA Tournament, 36 of Pompton Lakes’ 40 hits have been singles and the other four are doubles. The Pompton Lakes lineup has not produced an extra-base hit in any of the last three rounds of the state tournament and the Cardinals have scored a total of 11 runs in those games.

By comparison, Point Beach has scored at least nine runs in every game this postseason and 18 of their 57 hits over the last five games have gone for extra-bases, including four home runs and a triple to go with 13 doubles.

The home run will likely not be in play while the teams compete on a college-sized field, but Lubach has displayed the power required to leave the yard. More than likely, though, a big hit in the game is going to be a single with runners in scoring position or a line drive into the gap.

 

Prediction

Few Group I teams over the years have been more battle-tested than Point Beach has, but there is still the matter of finishing the job. If there is one concern for the Garnet Gulls, it is that they have not been in a tight game in a while and a close game in the late innings could favor a Pompton Lakes team that has won four of its five tournament games by a margin of three runs or fewer, including one-run victories in two of the last three rounds.

Point Beach has dropped two tournament games this season – to Southern in the Ocean County Tournament and to Colts Neck in the Shore Conference Tournament, but the Garnet Gulls also won a de factor Class A South championship game over Wall just days after losing to Southern in the OCT. They have been prone to mistakes on defense and on the base paths, but Point Beach has consistently made up for it with its ability to apply relentless pressure on opposing pitchers and the defenses behind them with its powerful, athletic, lengthy lineup.

“I think where we have been able to execute and be better at than other teams is we have been able to dial up the tempo and put speed out there,” Fiore said. “That’s been a deciding factor against a lot of teams we have played in Group I. The speed has been a little bit too much for them.”

That mentality will serve Point Beach as it looks to finish off its first state title ever and as long as the Garnet Gulls don’t go too fast for their own good, they have an edge over Pompton Lakes. A close game could indeed favor the Cardinals, but keeping it close vs. Point Beach has not been easy.

The Pick: Point Beach, 7-2