#image_title

Run It Back: Ferrara Shines Again, Toms River East Repeats as OCT Champs

Matt Manley|May 7, 2025|Last Updated May 9, 2025

BAYVILLE — The last time Matt Ferrara played on Al Kunzman Field at Al Leiter Ballpark before Tuesday night, he smoked the go-ahead RBI double that clinched Toms River East its first Ocean County Tournament championship in 17 years.

One year later, Ferrara returned to star in another championship victory for the Raiders, but this time, he brought a new co-star with him.

Ferrara hit a game-tying home run in the third inning and a gave Toms River East the lead with a two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth to set the stage for classmate Dan Nafziger, who finished off a 10-strikeout complete game in a 3-1 Raiders win over top-seeded Brick Memorial Tuesday in the Ocean County Tournament championship game.

After helping Toms River East end a 17-year championship drought a year ago, Ferrara went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI and several sparkling defensive plays at shortstop to leave his mark on a second straight Toms River East OCT championship game. The Raiders are now the first team to repeat as OCT champion since Toms River North in 2017 and 2018.

“Obviously, we wanted to go back-to-back and we did,” Ferrara said. “I’m just proud we got the job done. We’re not done, but we’re done with this chapter.”

Nafziger, meanwhile, was slated to be the starting pitcher in last year’s Ocean County Tournament championship game against Jackson Memorial, according to Toms River East coach Keith Smicklo, but woke up feeling sick on the day of the final and was unable to pitch.

“He is a tough kid and I got a text from him at eight in the morning saying he didn’t feel great,” Toms River East coach Keith Smicklo said. “We had to make alternate plans at the last minute and Mason Pentz did an awesome job. When we got in the final this year, I told (Nafziger) we were giving him the ball and he was ready. He wanted it and he pitched unreal. We have seen that a lot this year and I think today, he really wanted this game after missing it last year.”

Not only was Nafziger physically well enough to take the ball Tuesday; he was at his absolute best. Facing a Brick Memorial team that entered Tuesday with all 10 starters — each of the nine batters plus starting second baseman Dan Popovitch — hitting at least .308 or better, the senior right-hander struck out a career-high 10 while limiting Brick Memorial’s relentless lineup to one run. Nafziger also did not sacrifice swing-and-miss stuff for command; he walked just one batter in the game, which raised his season-long total to seven free passes in 34 innings.

“I just had to throw my stuff,” Nafziger said. “It was fastball, slider, curveball, changeup — I was feeling it today. They were all out in front of my fastball, so I was really looking slider away, fastball inside. It’s one of the best lineups in the Shore and I did my job. I did exactly what I wanted and I hit my spots very well. Got the job done today.”

“I’m more confident in him than in anybody,” Ferrara said of Nafziger. “I’m glad he got the rock today and I’m glad he got the job done.”

Toms River East Dan Nafziger in his outing at Brick Memorial in April. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - TRE Dan Nafziger

Toms River East Dan Nafziger in his outing at Brick Memorial in April. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

Both Nafziger and counterpart Brayden Nalducci of Brick Memorial made big pitches throughout their respective outings while navigating a high volume of base-runners. Toms River East stranded 10 runners through the first five innings and was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position prior to Ferrara’s at-bat in the sixth inning. The one hit among those eight at-bats ended with Brick Memorial leftfielder Brody Moore throwing out courtesy runner Chris Tennaro at the plate on senior Mike Vaccarino’s single to left field, ending the top of the third inning with the game still tied, 1-1.

Toms River East threatened again in the top of the fifth, starting with an infield single by Ferrara, followed by a walk to Nafziger and a sacrifice bunt by Vaccarino to move runners to second and third with one out. Nalducci then walked freshman Carson Frazier to load the bases and Mustangs coach Evan Rizzitello pulled his starter to bring in sophomore left-hander Zach Pirnik to face left-handed-hitting junior Lucas Melton.

Pirnik fell behind Melton, 3-1, but induced a ground ball to first base that senior Dam Golembiewski scooped up and fired home for the force out for out No. 2 of the inning. Pirnik then coaxed an inning-ending fly out to keep the score, 1-1.

Nafziger, meanwhile, did not throw a pitch with more than one runner on base until the sixth inning. Brick Memorial aided that cause with a base-running mistake in the bottom of the fourth after catcher Joe McGlynn led off the inning with a double — part of a 3-for-3 day for the Brick Memorial backstop. Nafziger then struck out the next batter and rolled a ground ball to the left side of the infield, which shortstop Tyler Garbooshian fielded cleanly. McGlynn took off for third base and Garbooshian was all over it, throwing to Luke Douglass on the bag for the tag and the second out.

Raiders senior catcher Gavin Toth then threw out Justin Fabbricatore attempting to steal second base to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth inning, Toms River East finally cashed in following the 1-for-8 start with runners in scoring position. Sophomore third baseman Joey DiMeo slammed a double to the leftfield fence with one out in the top of the sixth inning and reached third base by tagging up on a fly-out to centerfield by Toth. With first base open and Ferrara already 2-for-3 with a home run, Brick Memorial opted to pitch to the University of Pittsburgh commit. Ferrara made the Mustangs pay by jumping on the first pitch from sophomore left-hander Zach Pirnik and ripping it through the left side to score DiMeo for a 2-1 Toms River East lead.

“I thought there was no way he (Pirnik) was going to throw to me, but he did,” Ferrara said. “I kind of knew he wasn’t going to give me anything flat, so I was kind of sitting on it, but mostly, I was just reacting. ”

A year ago, Ferrara came to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 4-4 game vs. Jackson Memorial in the OCT final and launched an opposite-field, two-run double to the fence in right at Kunzman Field, giving the Raiders a 6-4 lead. Toth would add a two-run homer to cap a four-run rally that gave the Raiders an 8-5 win.

“Whenever there is a big moment, Matty comes through,” Smicklo said. “It seems like when the lights come on, Matty plays. That’s kind of been his M.O.”

An intentional walk would not have yielded a better return for Brick Memorial, as both Nafziger and Vaccarino followed with singles, with Vaccarino’s line drive into leftfield scoring Ferrara from second base for a 3-1 lead.

“Danny is having a great year and Mikey is just as capable as anybody,” Smicklo said. “So if anybody wants to put (Ferrara) on, we’re very comfortable with the guys behind him.

In the bottom of the seventh, Luke Douglas stroked a two-out, two-strike single to centerfield to keep Brick Memorial’s hopes alive. Leadoff hitter Brody Moore then fouled off two two-strike pitches, but Nafziger pulled the string for a slider that got the swing-and-a-miss and the game-ending strikeout.

Toms River East’s defense was on-point all evening, not only in posting an error-free performance but by going above and beyond the call on several play — particularly Ferrara at shortstop. He made slick picks on short hops to record outs in the first and second innings, but his standout play came in the bottom of the sixth after his single gave the Raiders the lead. Ferrara made a sliding stop to his glove side and started a 6-4-3 double play that gave Nafziger the first two outs of the inning. The double-play proved crucial when Nalducci beat out an infield single and McGlynn ripped a single for his third hit of the day to put two runners on with two out. Nafziger reached back for a strikeout to end the threat.

“That double-play (Ferrara) made in the sixth, to me, that was the play of the game,” Smicklo said. “If that ball gets through, it’s a completely different game. For him to get his nose in there, give a good feed to Mikey and get him out, that was a huge play in the game.”

“You come into a game here and you can’t blame the field for anything,” said Ferrara of the field at Al Leiter Ballpark — a welcome setting for a senior shortstop who has battled with unpredictable hops on sparsely-manicured fields throughout his senior season. “Other fields around here aren’t super good, but this is almost perfect and I made the most of it.”

Brick Memorial broke through on Nafziger in the second inning with McGlynn again starting the rally and the bottom of the order delivering. McGlynn singled to lead things off and while he was erased on a fielder’s choice ground out, that left speedy senior centerfielder Jimi Popp at first base. Popp stole second base and came around on an RBI single by sophomore rightfielder and No. 8 hitter Mike Figner.

“I had to treat every inning like I was facing one-two-three (in the order),” Nafziger said. “They’ve got a lot of depth. Their only RBI was the number eight batter, so I really had to treat it like one-through-three every inning. I trusted my stuff, I trusted my approach and I trusted I could get it.”

Toms River East answered in the top of the third when Ferrara belted his second homer of the season — a solo shot that cleared the leftfield fence by approximately 40 feet.

“Got that 1-0 fastball and made him pay for it,” Ferrara said. “It was a clutch moment, but I knew we needed more runs.”

Toms River East senior Matt Ferrara in action at Brick Memorial in April. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com) - TRE Matthew Ferrara

Toms River East senior Matt Ferrara in action at Brick Memorial in April. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)

Tuesday’s game was the third meeting between the two Class A South foes and all three have been down to the wire. Toms River East stunned Brick Memorial, 10-9, in Brick on April 17 after trailing 5-0 after two innings and 7-3 after five, but the Mustangs earned the regular-season split with a 3-1 win at Toms River East, buoyed by a one-hitter by Moore.

Brick Memorial went on to win its first outright Shore Conference division championship since 1996 and first ever in Class A South, which also eared the Mustangs the No. 1 seed in the Ocean County Tournament.

Toms River East owns the season series at the moment, but there is potential for the Raiders and Brick Memorial to play at least one more time. Both teams figure to be top-five seeds in the Shore Conference Tournament and are both currently projected as high seeds in their respective NJSIAA Group III sections — Brick Memorial as the No. 3 seed in Central Jersey and Toms River East as the No. 2 in South Jersey.

“That’s what we wanted.” Nafziger said. “We wanted our division first, then to get here. We didn’t get it like we wanted to, so we really wanted to get this one here today.”

Toms River East celebrates is second Ocean County Tournament championship. (Photo: Matt Manley) - TRE OCT Champs

Toms River East celebrates is second Ocean County Tournament championship. (Photo: Matt Manley)

Box Score

Toms River East 3, Brick Memorial 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
TR East (13-4) 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 12 0
Brick Mem (13-5) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 2

Pitching

Toms River East IP H R ER BB SO PC
Dan Nafziger (W, 5-0) 7 8 1 1 1 10 104
Brick Memorial IP H R ER BB SO PC
Brayden Nalducci 4.1 7 1 1 5 3 94
Zach Pirnik (L, 4-2) 2.2 5 2 2 0 2 52

Top Hitters

Toms River East Game Stats
Matt Ferrara 3-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB
Joey DiMeo 1-4, 2B, BB, R
Mike Vaccarino 2-2, BB, RBI
Gavin Toth 1-5, 2B
Jax Buatez 2-3, BB
Dan Nafziger 1-2, 2 BB
Brick Memorial Game Stats
Joe McGlynn 3-3, 2B
Dan Golembiewski 1-3, 2B
Tyler Garbooshian 1-2, BB
Mike Figner 1-3, RBI
Jimi Popp 1-3, R

 

 

 

 

Related Articles