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Beach Bats, Dominant Pitching Power Jersey Shore in Carpenter Cup Opener

Matt Manley|June 9, 2026|Last Updated June 9, 2026

CAMDEN — Less than 24 hours after hitting their high school team to a state final, Point Pleasant Beach standouts Brody Powers and Dan Lubach delivered the decisive swings in a 5-1 win for the Jersey Shore Carpenter Cup squad over Lehigh Valley in the opening round of the 2026 tournament.

Powers smoked a two-run double to extend the Shore’s lead to 3-0 in the top of the third and Lubach slammed an RBI double off the right-centerfield fence for a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth. On Monday, Powers went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI while Lubach was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI in Point Beach’s 15-6 win over Woodstown in the NJSIAA Group I semifinal. Point Beach will play for the Group I title Sunday at Rutgers University against Pompton Lakes High School.

Jersey Shore added a fifth run thanks to another Monday hero from a state finalist from the Shore. Brick Memorial senior Brody Moore, who hit the game-winning RBI single in the Mustangs’ 2-1, walk-off win over Delsea in Monday’s Group III semifinal, singled with one out in the top of the fifth, advanced to third base on two passed balls, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Wall sophomore Luke Dana.

Dana and fellow Wall sophomore Jackson Soos made an impact Tuesday, with Soos going 1-for-1 with a walk and a run scored while starting the game at shortstop.

The production from the three championship-bound players from Ocean County backed up a trio of Monmouth County arms that dominated over the first six innings. Raritan senior and Boston-College-bound left-hander Will Meehan started the outing with two scoreless innings, during which he allowed one hit and struck out five without allowing a walk. The two-inning sample was Meehan’s first in-game action since he pitched a 16-strikeout no-hitter in a 2-0 Rartian win at Delran in the first round of the NJSIAA Tournament.

St. Rose senior right-hander and University of Pittsburgh commit Peter Nolan followed Meehan with two scoreless innings of his own with four strikeouts around a pair of hits allowed. Like Meehan, Nolan did not issue a walk.

Holmdel ace and future Seton Hall right-hander Jack Vallillo took the ball for the fifth and sixth innings and retired all six batters he faced while punching out three. Even with Meehan pitching a no-hitter, Vallillo might have pitched the most memorable game of any Shore Conference pitcher in the NJSIAA Tournament when he threw a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts and two walks in 16th-seeded Holmdel’s 1-0 upset of No. 1 seed Rumson-Fair Haven in the first round of the Central Jersey Group II Playoffs.

Lakewood sophomore Abel Martinez closed out the victory in the seventh, during which he allowed a run on three walks, but struck out two and did not surrender a hit.

Jersey Shore will continue its quest for a seventh Carpenter Cup Classic championship Thursday against Mercer County at Dick Allen Field at FDR Park in Philadelphia. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

 

Box Score

Jersey Shore 5, Lehigh Valley 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Jersey Shore 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 5 6 0
Lehigh Valley 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 3

Pitching

Jersey Shore IP H R ER BB SO PC
Will Meehan 2 1 0 0 0 5 25
Peter Nolan 2 2 0 0 0 4 31
Jack Vallillo 2 0 0 0 0 3 27
Abel Martinez 1 0 1 1 3 2 28
Lehigh Valley IP H R ER BB SO PC
Cayden Vishnesky 2 2 1 0 0 4 32
Alejandro Cartagena 1.2 1 2 2 2 2 23
Cameron Pengelly 0.2 2 2 0 0 1 20
Zak Novak 1.1 0 0 0 0 2 18
Nolan Stem 1 0 0 0 0 1 20
Brayden Kashner 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 5

Top Hitters

Jersey Shore Game Stats
Brody Powers 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI
Dan Lubach 1-2, 2B, RBI
Jackson Soos 1-1, BB, R
Brody Moore 1-2, R
Dan Golembiewski 1-2
Jason Verderossa 1-1
Luke Dana 0-0, RBI
Lehigh Valley Game Stats
Jaxson Kreider 1-2, SB
Daifer Moreta 1-1
Braydon Green 1-1

 

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