OIB Ortho Baseball Scoreboard Tuesday, June 3
Shore Conference Baseball Scoreboard
Presented by OIB Ortho
Tuesday, June 3
NJSIAA Tournament
Sectional Semifinals
Central Jersey Group 3
(2) Brick Memorial 8, (6) Middletown South 6
Brody Moore lasted only three innings on the mound and ended his outing on the mound with his team trailing, but helped lead the turnaround at the plate with three RBI as the Mustangs erased an early four-run deficit to deny the Eagles and reach their first sectional final since losing in the Central Jersey Group IV championship game in 2013.
Middletown South scored four runs in the first three innings off Moore to lay claim to a 4-0 lead. Junior centerfielder Jack Concordia led off with a single and scored on an RBI infield single by senior Pat Dempsey in the top of the first and made it 2-0 in the second when he sliced an RBI double down the leftfield line to score senior Jack Buono, who also doubled to lead off the inning.
Shortstop Brendan Sliva led off the top of the third with Middletown South’s third double in the three innings and scored on an RBI single by junior second baseman Jack Dougherty, who later scored on an RBI single by Buono to put the Eagles on top, 4-0, by the middle of the third inning.
Brick Memorial mounted its comeback during the bottom of the third and fourth innings. Middletown South starter Peter DeNicola hit back-to-back batters with one out in the third and when both teams made a mistake on Brayden Nalducci’s line drive into centerfield, the Mustangs had the bases loaded with one out. Concordia deked Brick Memorial first baseman Dan Golembiewski — the runner at first — into thinking he would catch the ball and when it one-hopped to him, he had enough time to throw Golembiewski out at second, his throw was on target, but Dougherty could not squeeze it and Golembiewski made it into second safely, as did courtesy runner Matt McGlynn at first base and Nalducci at first.
Senior centerfielder Jimi Popp got Brick Memorial on the board with an RBI single to score a run, the Moore, lined a two-run single into right-centerfield to pull the Mustangs within 4-3.
Middletown South got a run back in the top of the fifth against Brick Memorial junior left-hander James Martin on a misplayed pop fly that still turned into a fielder’s choice out at second base, but allowed senior Mike Frandsen to score from third.
With two out in the bottom of the fourth, junior catcher Joe McGlynn struck back with an RBI single to cut Middletown South’s lead to 5-4. Courtesy runner Matt McGlynn stole second and took third on a wild pitch before Golembiewski drew a walk. Nalducci then ripped an RBI single through the middle to score the tying run.
After Golembiewski and Nalducci executed a double-steal, Popp cashed in with a single back through the middle to score both runners and give Brick Memorial its first lead, 7-5. Popp then stole second and was running on the pitch when Moore hit a line drive right in front of him through the left side to score the run and make it 8-5, Brick Memorial.
After a leadoff walk in the top of the fifth by Martin, sophomore Zach Pirnik — the winning pitcher in Brick Memorial’s prior three games — took over and worked his way through the inning without allowing the inherited runner to score. Pirnik then pitched a clean sixth inning, setting up Nalducci to pitch the seventh in search of his fourth save — all in the last 16 days.
Middletown South authored a threat against Nalducci with a leadoff walk by Dougherty and a one-out double by Buono that put runners on second and third. Nalducci and his defense traded a run for an out when senior third baseman Vinny Alcure hit an RBI ground out to second baseman Dan Popovitch for the second out. Nalducci then struck out the final batter of the game on a 1-2 curveball to send Brick Memorial through to the final while denying Middletown South its second straight appearance in a sectional final.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Midd South (15-11) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| Brick Mem (22-6) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 8 | 2 |
Pitching
| Middletown South | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Peter DeNicola | 2.1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 53 |
| Michael Zena (L, 4-4) | 1.1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 35 |
| Ben Shea | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| Brick Memorial | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Brody Moore | 3 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 78 |
| James Martin (W, 1-1) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 33 |
| Zach Pirnik | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 27 |
| Brayden Nalducci (SV, 4) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 21 |
Top Hitters
| Middletown South | Game Stats |
| Jack Concordia | 2-5, 2B, R, RBI |
| Jack Buono | 3-4, 2 2B, R, RBI |
| Jack Dougherty | 1-3, BB, R, RBI |
| Brendan Sliva | 1-4, 2B, R |
| Mike Frandsen | 1-3, BB, R, 2 SB |
| Pat Dempsey | 1-3, BB, RBI |
| Vinny Alcure | 1-4, RBI |
| Brick Memorial | Game Stats |
| Jimi Popp | 2-3, R, 3 RBI, SB |
| Brody Moore | 3-3, 3 RBI |
| Brayden Nalducci | 1-4, 2 R, RBI |
| Joe McGlynn | 1-2, BB, HBP, RBI |
| Tyler Garbooshian | 1-4, 2B |
South Jersey Group 3
(5) Toms River South 4, (9) Ocean City 3
Junior Brett Rankin hit a tie-breaking RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning and sophomore Aiden Moylan pitched two innings to earn the save, protect a win for senior right-hander Aiden Lynch and send Toms River South (18-9) to the sectional final for the first time since winning the second of its consecutive Group III state titles in 2003.
Toms River South grabbed the lead on a two-run single by junior Ben McEwan in the bottom of the third inning before Ocean City (14-12) countered with two in the top of the fifth against Lynch.
Rankin then singled in the go-ahead run to make it 3-2 in the fifth and the Indians added what proved to be the winning run on an RBI fielder’s choice ground out by senior Ruben Febres.
Moylan gave up a run in the top of the seventh and Ocean City had runners on second and third with two out, but the sophomore left-hander recorded the final out to send the Indians to Thursday’s final.
Toms River South will travel across town to play No. 2 Toms River East in the championship game, which will mark the first time the two Toms River rivals have met in a sectional final. Toms River East beat Toms River South on May 23 in a regular-season game by scoring six runs in the final two innings, including four in the bottom of the seventh to walk off with an 8-7 win.
(2) Toms River East 2, (6) Shawnee 0
Toms River East broke through for two runs with the help of two errors and a wild pitch and the Raiders pitched their third straight shutout of the tournament to top the Renegades and reach the sectional final round for the first time since winning the South Jersey Group IV championship in 2006.
Junior right-hander Mason Pentz limited Shawnee to four hits over six scoreless innings before turning the seventh inning over to senior Dan Nafziger for the final three outs. Nafziger worked around a leadoff walk by striking out the next two batters and inducing a game-ending fly out to rightfielder Lucas Melton for the final out.
Joey DiMeo led off the lone run-scoring inning of the game with a ground ball that resulted in the first error of the inning and one of four in the game by Shawnee. DiMeo then stole second base and moved into third on a sacrifice bunt by senior Gavin Toth. Shawnee intentionally walked Matt Ferrara and when Shawnee left-hander and West Virginia commit Tim Dougherty tried to pick him off, his throw to first missed the mark and allowed DiMeo to score the game’s first run.
Ferrara advanced to second on the error, stole third and scored on a wild pitch with two out to make it 2-0.
Toms River East has yet to allow a run during the state tournament, with three pitchers combining for 17 scoreless innings. Pentz has accounted for 10 of those innings, with Nafziger posted six scoreless over the last two games. Chase Rubin also threw a scoreless inning in Toms River East’s 16-0 win over Timber Creek in the first round.
With its win, Toms River East will host crosstown rival Toms River South in a historic championship game between to programs that have deep ties that go beyond just the “Toms River” in their names. For three concurrent decades, Toms River South and Toms River East were coached by brothers Ken and Bill Frank, with Ken Frank winning 934 games for Toms River South before retiring at the end of last season and Bill Frank winning 520 at Toms River East during his 30 years as head coach. Both baseball fields at the two high schools are named in honor of the Frank Brother that coached the team that played on them.
On top of the connection between the former coaches, the two current coaches are closely connected as well. Jim Rankin is in his first season as head coach at his alma mater, Toms River South, and Toms River East coach Keith Smicklo — also a graduate of the school at which he currently coaches — was Rankin’s assistant at Jackson Liberty High School until he took the Toms River East job in 2018.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Shawnee (14-12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| TR East (19-6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Pitching
| Shawnee | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Kayden Maybury | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 55 |
| Tim Dougherty (L, 2-1) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 53 |
| Andrew Tenet | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Toms River East | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Mason Pentz (W, 6-1) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 94 |
| Dan Nafziger (SV, 1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
Top Hitters
| Shawnee | Game Stats |
| Chase Kowal | 1-2 |
| Mak Heino | 1-2 |
| Toms River East | Game Stats |
| Joey DiMeo | 1-3, BB, R, 2 SB |
| Dan Nafziger | 1-2, BB |
| Gavin Toth | 1-2, 2 SB |
Central Jersey Group 2
(1) Governor Livingston 3, (5) Raritan 2
Trailing by two runs and down to their final strike, the Highlanders rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to again avoid an upset against a Shore Conference opponent while keeping their undefeated season alive and dealing the Rockets a heartbreaking end to their breakthrough season.
A week after erasing a 5-1 deficit to beat Point Pleasant Boro, 7-6, in walk-off fashion, Governor Livingston waited until the final inning to make its move. Junior left-hander Will Meehan, who did not pitch last week due to a sore pitching elbow, took the ball for 113 pitches on Tuesday, which carried Raritan to within two outs of the colossal upset.
Stetson commit Matt Diskin led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, but Meehan retired the next batter on a pop-up to senior shortstop Travis Evernham. At that point, senior Alan Warren took over on the mound and the Rockets were in good hands with the senior right-hander, who entered Tuesday with an 8-1 record and a 1.25 ERA in a team-high 56 innings.
Warren struck out the first batter he faced to move within one out of the save and Raritan’s first trip to a sectional final in four years. University of Virginia commit and junior shortstop Zach Geertsma took a walk to put the tying run on first, but Warren responded by jumping ahead in the count against Michael Novotny, 2-2.
Novotny, however, poked a single through the middle to score Diskin from second and allow Geertsma to reach third as the tying run, with the winning run now on first base.
On a 2-1 pitch one batter later, Mike Basile stroked a double to leftfield, scoring Geertsma with the tying run and moving Novotny to third as the winning run. Warren then hit Anthony DeNora with a 3-1 pitch to load the bases and bring up Ryan Pappas, who jumped on the first pitch he saw for a game-winning single through the middle.
Raritan struck first in the top of the first, when the first four batters of the game reached against Governor Livingston junior Keith Mann. Junior Antonio Lamberti drew a lead-off walk, followed by back-to-back singles by senior Jobby Dekis and Meehan. Senior catcher Matt Melendez then took a 3-2 out of the zone for an RBI walk that opened the scoring.
The Rockets added to their lead in the top of the third on a clutch, two-out, RBI double by Alan Warren to push Lamberti across the plate for the second time in the first three innings.
Governor Livingston will host No. 2 Robbinsville Thursday in the sectional championship game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Raritan (20-8) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Gov. Livingston (25-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
Pitching
| Raritan | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Will Meehan | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 113 |
| Alan Warren (L, 8-2) | 0.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 25 |
| Governor Livingston | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Keith Mann | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 73 |
| Aidan Feldman (W, 1-0) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
Top Hitters
| Raritan | Game Stats |
| Alan Warren | 2-3, 2B, RBI |
| Antonio Lamberti | 1-2, BB, 2 R |
| Jobby Dekis | 2-3 |
| Will Meehan | 1-3 |
| Governor Livingston | Game Stats |
| Matty Diskin | 2-3, 2B, R |
| Mike Basile | 1-4, 2B, RBI |
| Michael Novotny | 1-4, R, RBI |
| Zach Geertsma | 1-3, 2B, BB, R |
| Ryan Pappas | 1-3, BB, RBI, SB |
| Alex Adornato | 1-1, BB, HBP |
Central Jersey Group 1
(2) Point Beach 5, (6) Delaware Valley 0
Brody Powers, Noah Banick and Dan Lubach his consecutive run-scoring hits in the bottom of the first to back junior Bennett Moberg, who fired 6 2/3 shutout innings to pitch the Garnet Gulls past the Terriers and back to the Central Group I final for the sixth straight season.
For the fifth time in those six straight championships games, Point Beach will play Middlesex for the sectional title. The Garnet Gulls will make the trip to top-seeded Middlesex for Thursday’s final — Point Beach’s first trip to the Blue Jays’ home field since Point Beach won its first sectional title there in 2022.
Tommy Conroy led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored the game’s first run on an RBI double by Brody Powers — the lone extra-base hit of the game for either team. Banick followed with an RBI single and moved up to second base on the throw home, then scored on Lubach’s single through the middle for a 3-0 Point Beach lead before Delaware Valley starter Brady Reardon recorded a single out.
Point Beach added a pair of runs in the third inning, with Powers scoring on a wild pitch after he was hit by a pitch and Banick scoring following an errant throw to third base after he reached on a single.
Moberg recorded two outs in the top of the seventh inning before reaching the single-game pitch limit of 110. Banick took over and struck out the lone batter he faced on three pitches to nail down the victory. With the win, Point Beach reached the 20-win mark for the fourth consecutive season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Del. Valley (11-12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Pt Beach (20-7) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 7 | 1 |
Pitching
| Delaware Valley | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Brady Reardon (L, 2-4) | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 100 |
| Point Beach | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Bennett Moberg (W, 7-1) | 6.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 110 |
| Noah Banick | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Top Hitters
| Delaware Valley | Game Stats |
| James Hintenach | 1-3 |
| Chris Cialone | 1-3 |
| Point Beach | Game Stats |
| Noah Banick | 2-3, 2 R, RBI |
| Brody Powers | 1-2, 2B, HBP, 2 R, RBI |
| Dan Lubach | 1-3, RBI |
| Tommy Conroy | 1-2, BB, R |
| Chris Napolitano | 1-2, BB |
(1) Middlesex 10, (4) Shore 0 (6 Innings)
| Shore (14-10) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Middlesex (20-5) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | X | 10 | 11 | 0 |
Pitching
| Shore | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Ryan Barham (L, 4-4) | 5.1 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 101 |
| Luce Moccia | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Middlesex | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | PC |
| Chris Kozak (W, 6-4) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 76 |
Top Hitters
| Shore | Game Stats |
| Braden Calendriello | 1-1, HBP |
| Trevor Doremus | 1-3 |
| Middlesex | Game Stats |
| Dom Parenti | 3-4, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB |
| Owen Reynolds | 2-3, R, RBI, SB |
| Dominic Long | 1-2, BB, 2 R, SB |
| Dylan Ianiero | 1-4, 3 RBI |
| Sean Hughes | 1-3, R, RBI |
| James Matula | 1-3, BB, SB |
| Chris Kozak | 1-3, R |
