Baseball NJSIAA Tournament Preview: The Shore in Group 1
After a long run of Group I dominance by Middlesex, Point Pleasant Beach finally unseated the Blue Jays as Central Jersey champions in 2022, but that has not meant immediate domination of Group I as a whole for Point Beach. The Garnet Gulls out on a mission for a fourth consecutive sectional championship and, perhaps more notably, their first ever overall Group I championship.
In each of the first two years of this championship run, Point Beach lost in the Group I semifinal before finally breaking through and reaching the Group I final in 2024 for the first time in program history. After losing last year’s championship game to Pompton Lakes in a one-sided game, the Garnet Gulls now want to finish the season with a win and they remain the Shore’s best candidate to do just that in Group I.
Point Beach, however, is not the only candidate. Shore Regional lost to the Garnet Gulls in the Central Group I championship game a year ago and despite graduation most of the starting lineup and pitching from that team, the Blue Devils have reloaded and will be among the contenders in Central Jersey again this season as they set out to win their first overall Group I title since 2014.
Elsewhere around the Shore: New Egypt prepares for its first state tournament as a Shore Conference team; Keansburg hopes it has some more magic left after ending a 28-year division title drought during the regular season; and Keyport and Henry Hudson will try to shock the state against the top two seeds.
Central Jersey Group I
Shore Teams in the Field: No. 2 Point Pleasant Beach, No. 4 Shore, No. 12 New Egypt, No. 14 Keansburg, No. 15 Henry Hudson
Top Seed: Middlesex
Defending Champion: Point Beach
Favorite: Point Beach. As the three-time defending champion, Point Beach has earned the mantle of best program in Central Jersey Group I right now. The Garnet Gulls rake 1-through-9 in their lineup and they have a wealth of big-game experience on the roster in the form of seven returning starters from last year’s 25-win Group I runner-up. If there is a concern this season that was not as much of one a year ago, it’s on the pitching staff, where the Garnet Gulls have missed 2024 graduates Ryan Doyle and Liam Dolan. Tommy Conroy has been Point Beach’s most consistent starting pitcher throughout the season and Noah Banick has some big-game performances on his résumé, but the rest of Point Beach’s options beyond closer Antonio Acevedo are unproven in postseason play. Junior Bennett Moberg and freshman Thomas Slobiski have shown promise throughout this season and are likely to face some key batters during Point Beach’s run, so the pitching is more of an unknown than an explicit weakness. It also helps that the offense – led by catcher Dan Lubach, Banick Conroy and second baseman Brody Powers – is even better than it was a year ago.
Dark Horse: No. 6 Delaware Valley. In a section that appears to be laid-out for the top four seeds and without a team in the 7-to-16 range likely to win more than one game, we are left looking for either a) the highest-numbered seed that has a good chance to win one game or b) the most likely team outside the top four to reach the sectional semifinal. Delaware Valley fits the second criteria: the Terriers dropped into Group I after cutting their teeth in Group II over the years and now, they have enough experience against good competition to take on the Central Group I section. On the downside, the Terriers have lost four straight and six of seven heading into the tournament, but will have a chance to get straightened out against Somerset Tech in round one before a likely matchup with No. 3 Middlesex. The Blue Jays remain the likeliest semifinalist to emerge from that cluster but Delaware Valley could pose problems for the No. 3 seed, particularly if junior Dylan Rasimowicz is available to pitch.
While Delaware Valley looks like a possible semifinal sleeper, New Egypt is well-positioned to win a game. Junior ace Nolan Arnold has given the Warriors a chance to hang with several of the better teams on New Egypt’s schedule and he will give his team a similar opportunity in a first-round game at No. 5 Florence. Arnold might also be the kind of pitcher it takes for New Egypt to knock off Shore in a potential quarterfinal, but the Warriors would sign for a chance to piece the game together if it means Arnold pitches them to a first-round win.
Keansburg went 9-3 during the season and won its first division championship since 1997 but sank to the No. 14 seed because it only played 12 games – four short of the state minimum. That might mean the Titans are a sleeper in the first round as well, but the fall to No. 14 might be tough to work through. Sophomore Mikey Clayton can take the ball against Metuchen in the first round and potentially keep his team in the game, but the Bulldogs will be among the three best teams Keansburg has seen all season, along with Ocean and Raritan – both of which beat Keansburg by 10 runs. With Keansburg in the middle of its best season in almost three decades, they cannot be counted out and if Clayton can somehow lead the Titans to a round-one upset, the bracket could open up for them – at least within the first two rounds.
Bracket Breakdown: While Florence and Delaware Valley possess a kernel of semifinal potential, Central Jersey I looks like it will come down to the top four seeds. Middlesex battled their way to the No. 1 seed, which may have been the byproduct of Point Beach playing a tougher schedule and swallowing a few more losses than has been normal over the last two season. Still, the Garnet Gulls are in good position as the No. 2 seed in the section and will not be surrendering any clear pitching advantage to Middlesex in a potential semifinal, which will be in Point Pleasant if the two teams can advance through the first week.
On the other side of the bracket, Middlesex will have to get through Shore after the Blue Devils took down the Blue Jays on the road in last year’s sectional semifinal round. Shore has a much different roster this season, but has had a number of new starters step up and some returning ones step forward into greater roles. The result has been a lineup that can put runs on the board Andrew and Ryan Barham, catcher Riley Smaltini and junior Liam Hennelly, while the pitching has been more of a wild card. Ryan Barham has been Shore’s most consistent starter, with Hennelly regaining his form after he was hit in the face by a line drive in April. It will take more than two pitchers to get through the tournament, but the Blue Devils should roll through the first two rounds and be primed for a return trip to Middlesex.
Championship Prediction: Point Beach over Middlesex. If the Blue Jays are poised to return to the top of Central Jersey Group I after conceding the title to Point Beach in each of the past three seasons, it will be their pitching that makes the difference. Junior Chris Long and sophomore Dominic Long have both been better than any pitcher on the other three top-four seeds, so it will be a matter of the Middlesex offense keeping pace with Shore and, potentially, Point Beach – both of which have been more explosive than Middlesex’s lineup. For Point Beach, its x-factor will be on defense. The pitchers will have to stay in the zone, which likely means contact, which means the Garnet Gulls will have to get the best version of its defense. If that’s what it comes down to, Point Beach should feel good about its chances.
