Baseball NJSIAA Tournament Preview: The Shore in Group 4
Group IV looks a lot different than it did just a year ago and compared to what it was back in 2021, it is almost unrecognizable. Central Jersey Group IV has a much different complexion than it did a few years back and to put it bluntly, it is a much a weak section compared to what we’re used to seeing. Three out of the last four champions in the section – Middletown South (2021), Howell (2022) and Jackson Memorial (2024) – are no longer in the section, with Middletown South and Jackson Memorial sliding down to Central Group III and Howell moving south to Central Group IV. Old Bridge is not as loaded as it was when it won the 2023 sectional title, but remains a No. 2 seed and a viable contender, while programs like Manalapan, Monroe and Marlboro have not had seasons that live up to their typical expectations.
Down seasons for those teams have opened the door for teams like Edison, Hightstown and New Brunswick to move to the forefront of the Central Jersey section, which could mean those teams are in for special seasons or the traditional teams having off years are gearing up to play the role of spoiler.
In South Jersey, the names look familiar but the depth of the section does not have the same feel as it usually does. South Jersey is routinely home to contenders up and down the bracket, but this season, two teams stand above the rest. With that said, there are some quality teams beyond the top two that are capable of getting hot for a four-game run. In that sense, it is the same Group IV that we are used to.
Central Jersey Group IV
Shore Teams in the Field: No. 8 Freehold Twp., No. 10 Manalapan, No. 16 Marlboro
Top Seed: Hunterdon Central
Defending Champion: Jackson Memorial
Favorite: Hunterdon Central. An 8-2 stretch over their final 10 games heading into the state tournament has punctuated a solid regular season for a Red Devils program that routinely finds itself among the contenders of whatever Group IV section holds Hunterdon Central in a given year. The Red Devils boast a trio of future college pitchers atop their rotation in Siena commit Ryan Lundari, Binghamton commit Soren Gregor and Montclair State commit Anthony Petino. The draw could have been kinder: Marlboro is a No. 16 seed that played a very hard schedule, while potential second-round opponent and No. 9 Hillsborough has already beaten Hunterdon Central. Despite that, the Red Devils are the class of the section as the tournament begins and any team that wants that label will have to earn it over the next two weeks.
Dark Horse: No. 12 Montgomery. Any number of double-digit seeds in this bracket are capable of making it to the second week of the tournament, including Marlboro as the No. 16 seed. Montgomery, however, stands out because the Cougars should be considered the favorite in the first round at New Brunswick, which feasted on a light schedule this season to get to 15-2. It’s not to say the Zebras can’t advance – they can – but it would be an upset for Montgomery not to get a shot at No. 4 Hightstown in the sectional quarterfinals. No. 13 Princeton poses a mild threat to the Rams, which handled the Little Tigers during the regular season in CVC league play.
No. 11 Franklin is another Skyland Conference team that could make a run and the Warriors are actually playing well heading into the tournament. Had Franklin been the No. 12 seed, it would have been in even better position to make a push into the quarterfinals, but as it is, the Warriors will still have a good opportunity while matched up against No. 6 East Brunswick and, potentially, No. 3 Edison in the quarterfinal.
As for Marlboro, the Mustangs have had a rough year for a program that is used to, at the very least, playing around .500 baseball while competing against Class A North competition. Some good signs for the Mustangs, however, is they have a win over Red Bank Catholic and, up until their last game vs. Shore Regional, they did not have a loss via the 10-run rule. It is hard to fathom a team that has won five games all season winning four in a row to claim a sectional title, but Marlboro has seen tough competition throughout the year and will be competing in a section that is as winnable than it has ever been.
Bracket Breakdown: The most likely championship game in Central Group IV is a chalk final of Hunterdon Central and No. 2 Old Bridge – the latter of which is the only sectional champion in the last four years to still reside in Central Group IV. With that said, Old Bridge will have to survive potential challenges vs. either Manalapan or No. 7 Monroe and a team from the Edison-East Brunswick-Franklin trio. Edison has one of the sections best pitchers in Connor Murphy who pitched seven strong innings in a 12-inning win over Old Bridge in the GMC Tournament – in which Edison lost in the championship game to St. Joseph of Metuchen. The Eagles can roll the dice and save Murphy for the quarterfinals and still get by No. 14 Sayreville, which would give them a chance to throw Murphy in back-to-back rounds.
Manalapan is probably the Shore’s greatest hope for a champion in Central Group IV. The Braves have had a disappointing season by their standards up to this point, stemming from an offense that averages just 3.36 runs per game and has just nine extra-base hits in 25 games, including zero home runs. The pitching, however, has the potential to carry the Braves on a long ride to end the season, led by right-hander Leo Vitale. Quinnipiac commit Kevin Rusinak is also capable of quieting a good lineup, so the Braves will have a real chance to throw a one-two punch at Monroe and Old Bridge in the first week of the tournament. Staying away from Hunterdon Central until the final also helps, but a potential run of Monroe, Old Bridge and Edison would not be easy either. Both Old Bridge and Monroe can counter with solid duos on the mound – the Knights with Justin Hascup and John Smith and Monroe with sophomores Ben Faigin and Ryan Desmond.
Freehold Township is the Shore’s best seed in the section and will have a very good chance to hold serve at home in the first round with junior Jackson Redmond on the mound. The challenge for Freehold Township is its draw, which likely requires the Patriots to beat Hillsborough and Hunter Central in the first two rounds. In years past, Freehold Township might have entered the tournament with a worse seed, but with better prospects because of a Class A North schedule that prepared the Patriots for anything. Divisional realignment moved Freehold Township out of Class A North, so this year’s team has not been through the battles that Patriots teams of recent vintage have seen.
Championship Prediction: Hunterdon Central over Old Bridge. The pick is by the book, but this bracket could get turned upside-down in a hurry thanks to a team like Hillsborough, Manalapan, Franklin, Marlboro or all of them at once. Still, the top two seeds have had steady seasons and have enough pitching to avoid catastrophe this week as long as their respective offenses give them some support. In the state tournament, however, “steady” gives way to the hot team and if one of those resides in this section – be it a double-digit seed like Franklin, Manalapan or Montgomery, or a higher seed like Hightstown or Monroe – no other team would be safe.
South Jersey Group IV
Shore Teams in the Field: No. 7 Central, No. 8 Howell, No. 11 Southern, No. 13 Toms River North
Top Seed: Cherokee
Defending Champion: No. 2 Eastern
Favorite: Cherokee. Losing three out of four games to end the regular season is not an ideal way for Cherokee to enter the NJSIAA Tournament, but when you consider that before that stretch, the Chiefs were 20-0, they still remain the team to beat in South Jersey Group IV. Cherokee is as loaded on the mound as any public school team in the state, led by a pair of Division I left-handers in Rutgers commit Henry Radbill and Harvard commit Brett Gable, plus LaSalle commit Josh Litsky from the right side. Eastern will have something to say about Cherokee taking its title but the Vikings have already seen enough of Radbill, who in 12 innings vs. Eastern this season has allowed only four hits and three walks while striking out a whopping 27.
Dark Horse: No. 14 Gloucester Tech. There are a number of viable double-digit seeds in the South Group IV field, including dangerous first-round road teams Southern and No. 12 Cherry Hill East. Gloucester Tech, however, is the most intriguing of the double-digit seeds. The Cheetahs are 7-3 since starting the season 3-9 and while the strength of their wins this season is not especially impressive, they do have a game-breaker on the mound in Notre Dame commit Andrew Valay. No. 3 Rancocas Valley enters the tournament at just 12-11 overall, so throwing Valay against the Red Devils gives Gloucester Tech a legitimate chance at a first-round upset.
Southern, meanwhile, has already beaten Vineland this season when the Fighting Klan pitched one of its top two pitchers in Mario Toro. The Rams did not throw Tyler McLeod in that game, so they could have an even greater edge this time around. If McLeod delivers for Southern and Valay for Gloucester Tech, an 11-vs.-14 matchup in the second round is a real possibility and both teams would be happy to take their shot against one another with a spot in the semifinals on the line – even if neither has its ace available.
Cherry Hill East features a pair of quality pitchers atop its rotation in senior Austin Hanni and sophomore Mike Fekete – both of whom have over 40 innings and 50 strikeouts on the season. That not only gives the Cougars a shot to beat 11-13 No. 5 seed Lenape in the first round, but also a chance to beat either No. 4 Kingsway or Toms River North in the quarterfinals.
Bracket Breakdown: South Jersey Group IV is one of the more top-heavy brackets in the state, with Cherokee and Eastern standing as the well-rounded favorites and every other team in the bracket hovering around .500 or worse. Because there is so much parity outside the top two, there is potential for some wild upsets by the seeding throughout the first two rounds, but anything outside of a loss by Cherokee or Eastern shouldn’t really be seen as a major upset.
The one exception is Kingsway, which is a 17-6 team that used to making deep runs in the state tournament and managed to avoid a team with a dominant pitcher in its first game. Toms River North has mounted some tough challenges to high-level teams during the season, but the Mariners do it with a team approach on offense and defense that will likely feature multiple looks on the mound.
Outside of No. 15 Williams town and No. 16 Washington Township, the four teams that got the toughest draws are the Nos. 7-through-10 quartet of Central, Howell, No. 9 Millville and No. 10 Egg Harbor. All four will likely have to put their best foot forward to win in the first round, then turn around and face one of the top seeds on Thursday should they survive. Central looks most equipped to handle the task, with left-handed ace Vinny Berardi a possible neutralizer against Eastern in a potential quarterfinal game. Again, though, the Golden Eagles have to get past Egg Harbor and the safe play is for Berardi to pitch in round one and lean on either Chase Macri or Tyler Woemer – both of whom have had solid seasons – should Central advance.
Howell has won a Group IV championship within the past three seasons and the Rebels did it with a group of pitchers who did not offer dominant stuff but all stepped up and performed when it was their turn. The pitching staff is similarly-constructed this season, but neither that pitching staff, not the offense supporting it has been as consistent as what the 2022 championship team produced. Howell should benefit from a first-round home game vs. Millville, but the challenge of beating Cherokee – the team the 2022 Howell squad beat in the Group IV semifinal – might be more than the Rebels can muster. They sure would love a chance, though.
Championship Prediction: Cherokee over Eastern. The top two teams in this bracket look like more than any of the others can handle and once the final is set, Cherokee looks to be a cut above Eastern. Sleep on the Vikings at your own risk, though: Eastern knows how to battle a tough pitcher and fight for runs while stealing outs along the way – the result of a long history of June success under veteran coach Rob Christ. After all, in one of those dominant starts by Radbill, Eastern won the game in 10 innings, 2-1, on May 19.
