Baseball NJSIAA Tournament Preview: The Shore in Group 3

The NJSIAA Group III Tournament has become a stomping ground for the Shore Conference, with an overall champion in the past three years (Middletown North in 2022), Central Jersey champions in three straight years from 2021 to 2023 (Colts Neck in 2021 and Middletown North the next two seasons), an overall Group IV champion from four years ago (Middletown South), and a defending Group IV sectional champion (Jackson Memorial) moving down a group this season.

Middletown North and Matawan have moved from Central Jersey to North Jersey Section 2, but there are still a long list of contenders from the Shore in Central Jersey. Aforementioned Colts Neck and Middletown South remain sectional championship contenders in Group III, with Middletown South getting all the way to the Central Jersey final a year ago. Jackson Memorial brings its proven championship core to the dance, while Brick has emerged as a hard-hitting contender from Ocean County.

In South Jersey Toms River South has returned to prominence as a No. 5 seed in the section, positioning the Indians to win its first state tournament game since 2017 — the last year they were a legitimate contender to win a state championship.

Above all other teams, though, Brick Memorial and Toms River East carry with them the highest hopes of all the Shore teams. Both teams have already won championships this season — Toms River East the Ocean County Tournament title for a second straight year and Brick Memorial the Shore Conference Tournament for the first time in program history — and are the No. 2 seeds in the two sections. Brick Memorial is looking to end a 10-game losing streak in state tournament play, which seems elementary at this point given how good the Mustangs have been. The Raiders, meanwhile, will be the Shore’s representative in a South Jersey bracket with two other powerhouse teams at the top.

 

North Jersey Section 2, Group III

Shore Teams in the Field: No. 8 Middletown North, No. 15 Matawan
Top Seed: Colonia
Defending Champion: Randolph

Favorite: No. 4 North Hunterdon. Colonia’s pitching staff has put up eye-popping numbers against a light schedule, No. 2 Millburn has played a challenging schedule that has saddled the Millers with 15 losses heading into the tournament and No. 3 South Plainfield is a well-rounded team with a favorable draw. Despite the appeal of those top three seeds, North Hunterdon looks like the team to beat at the start of play in the state tournament. Led by junior Duke commit Alex Famolari, the Lions have the sort of imposing pitching on the mound that can shut down a deep lineup and they also enter the state playoffs coming off a championship victory in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament. North Hunterdon should survive the first week, which would set up Famolari to face Colonia, should the top-seeded Patriots reach the sectional semifinals.

Dark Horse: No. 7 Somerville. The winner of No. 9 Summit vs. Middletown North in the first round will have a shot at knocking off Colonia in the quarterfinal, but the two teams will likely have to beat one another up just to get there, while Colonia can load save plenty of pitching to deal with its Thursday opponent. Somerville has a friendlier first-round draw, which means the Pioneers should have ace Ryan Ciesla ready to tackle No. 2 Millburn, assuming the Millers can by a tricky first-round game against a Matawan team that has a legit masher in Bryan McCartin at the top of the lineup and a capable No. 1 starter in Jayce Thoroughman. With Colonia and North Hunterdon on the top half of the bracket, a team outside the top four is more likely to come from the other side of the field, hence Somerville’s rosy outlook.

Bracket Breakdown: The top four seeds appear to be well set-up to reach the sectional semifinals, but aforementioned Somerville, No. 6 Cranford and Middletown North have to be taken seriously. Cranford, in particular, is looking at a draw that sets the Cougars up to get to the second week of the tournament. Middletown North won back-to-back sectional championships in Central Jersey Group III with this group of seniors as underclass contributors in 2022 and 2023, but got rocked in last year’s first round by Colts Neck. If the Lions can fight their way past a solid Summit squad in the first round, they will post a challenge to Colonia in the quarterfinals. Middletown North has not relied on any one pitcher this season, but Zach Hampton has big-game experience, Seamus McCabe has been the steady had as the innings leader and both Alipio Figueroa and Louis Romeo have been clutch out of the bullpen.

Championship Prediction: North Hunterdon over South Plainfield. The bottom of the bracket is wide open, with the winner of South Plainfield and Cranford in the quarterfinal looking particularly appealing. On the other side of the bracket, a Colonia vs. North Hunterdon sectional semifinal could be the best game in the state that day, with Famolari likely to pitch for the Lions and Colonia armed with two co-aces in Seton Hall commit Colin Kroner and hard-throwing senior Cory Pascarella. In the end, though, North Hunterdon is the hot team with a big upside arm, so the Lions are the safest bet in a field with multiple potential favorites.

Central Jersey Group III

Shore Teams in the Field: No. 2 Brick Memorial, No. 5 Jackson Memorial, No. 6 Middletown South, No. 7 Colts Neck, No. 8 Brick, No. 15 Freehold Boro, No. 16 Red Bank
Top Seed: Northern Burlington
Defending Champion: Allentown

Favorite: Northern Burlington. The Greyhounds have been a juggernaut in 2025, with their only two losses coming against two state-ranked teams in No. 9 Gloucester Catholic and No. 16 Mainland. Northern Burlington has no less than five pitchers worthy of big innings in the state tournament, led by Rowan commit Luca Mannino, sophomore standout Logan Downey and Rutgers commit Cole Marchetti. Mannino and Marchetti have also posted major numbers at the plate, with Nick Dombroski and his 19 extra-base hits (12 doubles, six homers) leading the way.

Dark Horse: No. 10 Steinert. Steinert is always a threat to claim a sectional championship and as a No. 10 seed, the Spartans will be dangerous in the bottom half of the bracket. They have already beaten first-round opponent Colts Neck this season and as outstanding as potential quarterfinal opponent Brick Memorial has been this season, the Mustangs have not won a state playoff game since 2013 and will have to put that drought behind them first. Steinert’s side of the bracket is by no means easy, but it is preferable to having to deal with Northern Burlington, No. 4 Lawrence and Jackson Memorial on the other side. Spartans ace Mason Grant already shutout Colts Neck on April 17 and junior Joe Maglione (four walks in 34 innings) and sophomore Kris Simonka are dependable options to face Brick Memorial should Steinert knock off Colts Neck again.

Bracket Breakdown: As dominant as Northern Burlington has been, the Greyhounds are sure to have their hands full in a section with a long list of quality contenders. Lawrence is desperate for a title after losing in the 2023 sectional final to Middletown North and falling to Allentown in last year’s sectional semifinal – both heartbreakers. The Cardinals are also coming off a Colonial Valley Conference Tournament title.

Even before a potential Northern Burlington-Lawrence showdown in the semifinals, the Cardinals will have to deal with likely have to deal with defending Central Jersey Group IV champion Jackson Memorial, which invades Group III this year with a team that has several impact players from last year still on the roster: catcher Tyler Huzzy, shortstop Jack Osmond, third baseman Brady Wendell, second baseman Dane Jorgensen and pitchers Matt Colaneri and Danny Hutchinson. Northern Burlington, meanwhile, will have to contend with the Brick-Hopewell Valley winner, with the Green Dragons looking to build on their recent Class C South championship clinching celebration in what has been the program’s best season in 14 years.

Brick Memorial is the favorite on the other side of the bracket, but will have to navigate a number of land mines. Freehold Boro has been a sneaky team that has given quality opponents trouble on occasion, so the Mustangs will have to temper the SCT championship celebration to be ready for the Colonials. After that, it is the winner of Colts Neck-Steinert, which will rival Brick-Hopewell for the best game in the CJ III first round. Brick Memorial’s strength is its pitching depth, with three excellent options in Brody Moore, Zach Pirnik and Brayden Nalducci – with the latter closing each of Brick Memorial’s last four wins.

Middletown South is a Shore Conference sleeper in Central Group III after suffering a gut-wrenching loss in the Central Group III sectional final vs. Allentown a year ago. The Eagles’ pitching has been a work in progress all season, but it has looked better in the last two weeks, especially with senior Will McCarthy finally healthy and showing it with five strikeouts over two innings in a bullpen appearance last week. The Eagles have a capable lineup led by resurgent senior shortstop Brendan Sliva, but the pitching will be an x-factor as they attempt to reach week two of the tournament by surviving a first-round test from No. 11 Nottingham and, likely, a long trip to No. 3 Delran in the sectional quarterfinals.

Freehold Boro and Red Bank are the Shore’s long-shots in the section, with both teams facing off against two of the state’s better public school teams to date. Red Bank’s hope lies in ace Will Marziarz, who is capable of keeping the Bucs within striking distance, but scoring against Northern Burlington’s staff will be a challenge.

Championship Prediction: Northern Burlington over Brick Memorial. This appears to be the year Brick Memorial finally ends its 10-game losing streak in the NJSIAA Tournament, which includes nine consecutive first-round losses. The Mustangs have too much firepower for Freehold Boro as long as its pitching can hold up after extending itself in Sunday’s win over Red Bank Catholic in the SCT final. Like Northern Burlington, Brick Memorial has the pitching depth to handle this schedule, which requires teams to have at least three quality pitchers to get through a week. When it comes to the final, the Greyhounds deserve to be dubbed the favorite in the section after a 22-2 season heading into the state tournament, but Brick Memorial will certainly pose a threat if it is indeed the Mustangs stepping off the bus to play the No. 1 seed on June 5.

South Jersey Group III

Shore Teams in the Field: No. 2 Toms River East, No. 5 Toms River South, No. 13 Lacey
Top Seed: Mainland
Defending Champion: No. 3 Delsea

Favorite: Mainland. The Mustangs are a nine-loss No. 1 seed, which is the result of a team that does have some vulnerabilities, but has also tested itself against a high-level schedule. Joe Smith – a former assistant under Ken Frank at Toms River South – elevated Delsea over the last decade and is in his first year at the helm at Mainland, which already had an established reputation as a Group III contender before Smith’s arrival. The Mustangs just saw a nine-game winning streak end vs. St. Augustine in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament final, which came after they won the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic by beating Delsea and red-hot Haddonfield in back-to-back games to wrap up the title. Miami commit Jake Lodgek heads up a rotation that has not been untouchable, but has quality options after its high-major ace – including Finnegan Haines (62 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings).

Mainland might not been all that far ahead of either Toms River East or Delsea on the list of contenders, but getting the No. 1 seed and avoiding one of the other top three seeds until the final represents Mainland’s edge over the other top seeds in the bracket.

Dark Horse: Lacey. The Lions don’t have a hammer at the top of their rotation to bludgeon an opponent in the first round, but the Lions have a few options who have turned in some big-time performances and a first-round match-up that is not impossible. Clearview ace Tyler Bell is not a heavy strikeout pitcher and its best swing-and-miss starter is a freshman in Josh Yurgin who has been both outstanding and hittable at times. If Lacey can upset Clearview, it would likely face a Toms River South team it already beat once this season, so the path to the sectional semifinal, while difficult, is also manageable for the Lions, led by one of the Shore’s best hitters this season in Brayden Messina (.537 average, eight doubles).

A team to watch on the other side of the bracket is No. 11 Moorestown. The Quakers can throw ace Travis Jerell in the first round against No. 6 Shawnee, which will have to decide if it is best to counter Jerell with No. 1 starter Andrew Tenet or save Tenet for a potential Thursday date with Delsea and roll the dice with the rest of the staff vs. a competent Moorestown lineup that will be gunning for the first-round upset.

Although No. 14 Highland has a tall task against Delsea in the first round, the Tartans have a quality No. 1 option on the mound in junior Mike Romsteadt, who has posted a 69-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 1.37 ERA in 41 innings.

Bracket Breakdown: Toms River East enters the state tournament as one of the Shore’s best hopes to win a sectional title, although it will likely require the Raiders to beat two of the best teams in the state to pull it off. The Raiders will have to be on alert for a letdown in the first two rounds and if they can come out sharp in week one, there is not a team among the trio of No. 7 Hammonton, No. 10 Camden Tech and No. 15 Timber Creek that should beat the Raiders. Assuming it makes it to week two, Toms River East will have its pitching in order for a likely showdown with Delsea, who will have to decide if it wants to unleash Coastal Carolina commit Frank Cairone (82 strikeouts, 0.37 ERA in 38 innings) on the Raiders or save its ace for a potential sectional final vs. Mainland.

As much as Delsea would like to throw Cairone in any big game, the Crusaders have won plenty of games without its fireballer on the mound during a 20-4 season. In fact, Nick Mokienko leads the team in innings with 48 1/3 and also boasts a 0.43 ERA, so whichever starter Delsea selects for the sectional semifinal round, there will be a good one ready to go – either in relief or in the next round.

Toms River South is hoping for its deepest run in the state tournament since reaching the Central Group III semifinals with a 22-5 team in 2017. Since that heartbreaking loss in 2017, Toms River South has been eliminated in the first round in six straight seasons, so getting off the schneid will be the first order of business for the Indians and an other feather in the cap of Jim Rankin in his first year as head coach of his alma mater. With senior Aiden Lynch and sophomore left-hander Aiden Moylan, the Indians have two quality starters to pair with some bullpen depth against what should be a manageable first week against No. 12 Absegami, followed by a potential quarterfinal against either Clearview or Lacey.

Championship Prediction: Delsea over Mainland. With two lockdown pitchers leading the rotation and a recent tradition of postseason excellence, the Crusaders will be hard to beat in this section. They will likely have to overcome going on the road for both the semifinals and the final, but a team would take pitchers like Cairone and Mokienko over home field advantage any day of the week. Toms River East will be hard to beat with Dan Nafziger (7-0) on the mound and if Lodgek is available in the final for Mainland, he cancels out his counterpart on the mound, but Delsea’s opponents are not going to have it easy at the plate in any inning this postseason.