Point Beach, Middlesex Meet Again with Central Group 1 Title at Stake
NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I Sectional Championship
Thursday, June 5, 2025
No. 2 Point Pleasant Beach (20-7) at No. 1 Middlesex (20-5), 4 p.m.
Point Beach at a Glance
Head Coach: Angelo Fiore
Last Sectional Title: 2024
Last Sectional Final Appearance: 2024
Road to the Final: Defeated No. 15 Henry Hudson, 13-0; No. 7 South Amboy, 12-2; No. 6 Delaware Valley, 5-0
Projected Lineup (with stats)
Tommy Conroy, Jr., P (.398, 35 H, 6 2B, 1 HR, 40 R, 13 RBI, 21 SB)
Brody Powers, So., 2B (.395, 35 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 23 R, 23 RBI, 6 SB)
Noah Banick, Sr., 1B (.250, 22 H, 6 2B, 1 HR, 25 R, 26 RBI, 1 SB)
Danny Lubach, Jr., C (.512, 44 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 9 R, 46 RBI)
Dan Storch, Sr., CF (.319, 29 H, 9 2B, 2 3B, 23 R, 20 RBI, 14 SB)
Carson Pfeifer, So., 3B (.305, 25 H, 1 2B, 17 R, 20 RBI, 2 SB)
Dan Coleman, So., RF (.338, 26 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 16 R, 11 RBI, 2 SB)
Antonio Acevedo, Jr., SS (.271, 23 H, 12 2B, 24 R, 15 RBI, 5 SB)
Chris Napolitano, Sr., DH (.329, 23 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 17 R, 10 RBI, 1 SB)
DH for: Dylan Ryan, Jr., LF
Probable Starting Pitcher
Tommy Conroy, Jr., LHP (2.22 ERA, 41 IP, 43 H, 20 BB, 52 SO) – 110 pitches available
Available Relief Pitchers
Noah Banick, Sr., LHP (4.98 ERA, 39.1 IP, 41 H, 33 BB, 54 SO) – 110 pitches available
Antonio Acevedo, Jr., RHP (3.57 ERA, 15.2 IP, 12 H, 8 BB, 12 SO) – 110 pitches available
Thomas Slobiski, Fr., RHP (2.66 ERA, 23.2 IP, 24 H, 4 BB, 10 SO) – 110 pitches available
Ineligible Pitchers
Bennett Moberg, Jr., RHP
Middlesex at a Glance
Head Coach: Blaze Iannetti
Last Sectional Title: 2021
Last Sectional Final Appearance: 2023
Road to the Final: Defeated No. 16 Keyport, 10-0; No. 9 South Hunterdon, 8-1; No. 4 Shore, 10-0
Projected Lineup (with stats)
Dom Parenti, Sr., SS (.345, 29 H, 8 2B, 1 HR, 26 R, 15 RBI, 12 SB)
Dylan Ianiero, So., RF (.329, 23 H, 11 R, 12 RBI, 4 SB)
Dominic Long, So., P (.380, 30 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 17 R, 15 RBI, 7 SB)
Owen Reynolds, Sr., 1B (.333, 8 2B, 1 HR, 21 R, 16 RBI, 4 SB)
Luke Jones, So., DH (.253, 21 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 19 R, 15 RBI, 6 SB)
Marcus Lavornia, Jr., 2B (.319, 23 H, 1 2B, 15 R, 12 RBI, 10 SB)
Sean Hughes, Jr., 3B (.254, 17 H, 6 2B, 14 R, 12 RBI, 3 SB)
Chris Kozak, Jr., CF (.282, 20 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 15 R, 16 RBI, 3 SB)
James Matula, Jr., LF (.290, 9 H, 1 2B, 4 R, 6 RBI, 2 SB)
DH for: Dan Ianiero, So., C
Probable Starting Pitcher
Dominic Long, So., RHP (9-0, 1.47 ERA, 62 IP, 47 H, 26 BB, 61 SO) – 110 pitches available
Available Pitchers
Dalton Michael, Jr., LHP (2-0, 2 saves, 2.06 ERA, 17 IP, 9 H, 8 BB, 9 SO) – 110 pitches available
Ineligible Pitchers
Chris Kozak, Jr., RHP
Central Jersey Group I’s best rivalry resumes on Thursday and after last year’s sectional semifinal classic between Point Beach and Middlesex, the two teams are set to meet in the sectional championship game for the fifth time in the last six state tournaments.
Last year, Middlesex appeared poised to end Point Beach’s two-year reign by reclaiming the mantle for itself. The Blue Jays held a 3-1 lead and were one strike away from eliminating Point Beach, when the Garnet Gulls started a two-out rally that ended with Dan Lubach hitting a game-winning RBI single that capped a dramatic seventh-inning comeback and a 4-3 win.
The Garnet Gulls went on to beat Shore Regional to capture their third straight sectional title and later reached the overall Group I final for the first time in program history, which they lost to Pompton Lakes.
After last year’s 14-4 loss in the Group I final and with most of last year’s roster back, Point Beach also has unfinished business. That business, however, runs through a motivated Middlesex team that will be on its home field for the championship game for the first time since 2022, when Point Beach broke through and beat Middlesex for its first ever sectional title.
Dueling Dynasties
Point Beach has unquestionably taken over as the team-to-beat in Central Jersey Group I – a distinction long held by a Middlesex program that won four straight sectional championships from 2017 to 2021 and six and eight seasons from 2013 to 2021. With that said, Middlesex has the players to match up with Point Beach this year and beyond, with both teams still boasting rosters full of players with at least another year of high school left beyond 2025.
For Point Beach, seniors Noah Banick, Dan Storch and Nick Napolitano are on their last run with the team, with Banick a four-year starter and Storch coming on as a starter as a sophomore and turning himself into a middle-of-the-order bat. Napolitano is getting his first taste as a starter this season and has been a productive No. 9 hitter.
The rest of the Point Beach lineup is made up of juniors and sophomores, led by Thursday’s likely starting battery. Lubach is having another ridiculous season at the plate while also playing behind it on defense. The junior backstop is six hits away from a 50-hit season and four RBI away from a 50-RBI season – single-season milestones he is pursuing even as Point Beach played a considerably harder schedule this season after moving out of the Shore Conference Class B Central.
Lubach’s classmate, left-hander Tommy Conroy, is the likely starting pitcher for Thursday. Conroy is a centerfielder when not on the mound and will lead off on offense, so he will be as integral as any player wearing red on Tuesday.
As for the rest of the lineup, junior shortstop Antonio Acevedo is another two-way talent who could serve as closer on the mound. The sophomore trio of second baseman Brody Powers, third baseman Carson Pfeifer and rightfielder Dan Coleman has delivered throughout the season as well, with both Powers and Pfeifer in their second year as starters.
On the Middlesex side, the Blue Jays start just two seniors: shortstop and leadoff hitter Dom Parenti and cleanup hitter Owen Reynolds. Their top two pitchers are junior Chris Kozak and sophomore Dominic Long – the latter of whom will get the ball Thursday vs. Point Beach. Long has tackled some big-name opponents on the way to his 9-0 record, which includes wins over both North Jersey Section 2 Group III finalists (Colonia and South Plainfield) as well as perennial powerhouse Delbarton.
If Point Beach can drive Long’s pitch count up, the Garnet Gulls would appear to hold the bullpen edge – at least in quantity. Junior left-hander Dalton Michael is likely the only pitcher coach Blaze Iannetti has any designs of using outside of Long. Point Beach, meanwhile, has Banick, Acevedo and freshman Thomas Slobiski all ready to go and with big-game experience on their respective résumés.
Prediction
Middlesex definitely feels like it owes Point Beach some payback and Long will be on the mound to face the Garnet Gulls for a second straight year after he could not finish the game before hitting his 110-pitch limit.
Point Beach, meanwhile, is two wins away from getting another crack at the Group I final, where the Garnet Gulls, by their own admission, did not play up to their standards a year ago. As is the case in most sectional final, both teams are highly motivated and what makes this game unique is how capable both are to go with that motivation.
Middlesex has a lot going for it, but just as 2017 through 2021 was the era of the Blue Jay, it still feels like we are in the era of the Beach.
The Pick: Point Beach, 3-1
