By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
The high school baseball season goes by quickly these days, and we’re about to see who is playing their best ball at the right time, as the NJSIAA state playoffs kick off today throughout South Jersey.
Here’s a quick look at each of the six South Jersey sectional tournaments, the top dogs and which teams are looking to make a run (and capable of it) to knock off the favorites.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1
The Top 5: Audubon, Schalick, Pennsville, Pitman, Maple Shade.
The rest of the field: Woodstown, Riverside, Palmyra, Buena, Glassboro, Haddon Township, Clayton, Gateway, Salem, Wildwood, Paulsboro.
THE SKINNY
As usually, Group 1 is a top-heavy bracket, with Audubon and Schalick the clear favorites. Audubon has some impressive wins, including over the likes of Egg Harbor Township, Kingsway, West Deptford, Sterling and Haddonfield. The Green Wave have the best pitching in the section, as they’ve pitched to a 1.90 ERA in more than 150 innings. They don’t strike out a ton of batters, but they average just 2.4 walks issued per game, so opposing teams are going to have to earn it against Audubon. Senior Gabe McCracken owns a 0.32 ERA in a team-high 44 innings. Schalick’s only losses are to Haddonfield and Pennsville, and the Cougars can really pitch, too. They own a 1.58 team ERA and senior Luke Pokrovsky is one of the best around, with 79 strikeouts in 39 innings.
WHO CAN MAKE A SURPRISE RUN?
Watch out for No. 6 Woodstown. The Wolverines have hung tough this year against teams like Overbrook, Pitman, Delran and Schalick, and they have a lot of arms they can throw out there to try to keep games close. Coach Marc DeCastro has used 14 pitchers this year and the team has a 3.35 ERA.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2
The Top 5: Haddonfield, Haddon Heights, Cedar Creek, Sterling, West Deptford.
The rest of the field: Collingswood, Overbrook, Barnegat, Lower Cape May, Gloucester, Middle Township, Medford Tech, Pennsauken Tech, Manchester Township, Seneca, Oakcrest.
THE SKINNY
The title runs through Haddonfield, as the Bulldawgs have proven to be one of the best teams in the state. Their only loss since late April was to Mainland Regional in the Diamond Classic championship, and Haddonfield has outstanding pitching with senior Martin Foust and juniors James Rowe and Will Solak. The other teams in the bracket will be hard-pressed to match Haddonfield’s Big 3. Haddon Heights has been struggling of late, having lost 7-of-9 coming into the playoffs, so they’ll have to find a way to turn things around. The Garnets don’t have a high-average offense, but they walk a lot and steal bases, which comes in handy in tight playoff games.
WHO CAN MAKE A SURPRISE RUN?
No 6 seed Collingswood has wins over Cedar Creek and Haddon Heights this season, and has some impressive wins over the likes of Timber Creek, West Deptford, Pitman and Audubon, and the Panthers have lost just twice since the final week of April. They’ve already beaten Cedar Creek once, so if they see the No. 3 Pirates in the second round they won’t be intimidated.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 3
The Top 5: Mainland Regional, Toms River East, Delsea Regional, Clearview Regional, Toms River South.
The rest of the field: Shawnee, Hammonton, Cherry Hill West, Ocean City, Camden Tech, Moorestown, Absegami, Lacey Township, Highland, Timber Creek, Deptford.
THE SKINNY
Check out that Top 5, that’s some serious baseball pedigree there! Two Toms River teams, Delsea, Mainland and Clearview — this bracket is going to be a slugfest. Nobody is going to be a pushover in this field, and a team is going to have to be focused and pitch well for two weeks to come out as champion. Mainland won the Diamond Classic, Delsea has been one of the best teams in the state all season and has a potential high MLB draft pick in senior lefty Frank Cairone, and Toms River East is coming off a Shore Conference Tournament championship. Expect some nail-biters and maybe even some extra-inning games.
WHO CAN MAKE A SURPRISE RUN?
The bracket sets up well for Toms River South. Yes, legendary coach Ken Frank is no longer leading the program, but there’s something about that maroon-and-gray uniform when it comes to the state playoffs. Two of the Indians’ three losses in the last five games have come to CBA and Toms River East, by a combined three runs. The Indians hit close to .300 as a team and although they don’t steal much, they get a lot of runners on base, including more than 100 this season via walk or hit by pitch. They average more than 11 baserunners per game, and they wouldn’t have to see a top-three seed until potentially the semifinals.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 4
The Top 5: Cherokee, Eastern, Rancocas Valley, Kingsway, Lenape.
The rest of the field: Vineland, Central Regional, Howell, Millville, Egg Harbor Township, Southern Regional, Cherry Hill East, Toms River North, GCIT, Williamstown, Washington Township.
THE SKINNY
Cherokee has by far the best pitching in this bracket with senior lefty standouts Henry Radbill (Rutgers) and Brett Gable (Harvard), as each has better than 60 strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA this season. The Chiefs have lost 3-of-4 after starting the season with an eye-popping 20-game winning streak, but expect them to get back on track for states. They are too good to stay in a funk for long. There are some really talented teams in this bracket, as is usually the case in Group 4, and the team that hits the best will likely win this section. You have to bring the bats against the big boys!
WHO CAN MAKE A SURPRISE RUN?
Kyle Jones’ Vineland Fighting Clan, the No. 6 seed, is smarting from a recent loss to Southern Regional, and they’d love to get some payback against the Rams in the opening round. Vineland has some really good wins this year, including against St. Augustine Prep, EHT, Lenape, Ocean City and Absegami, and they won the Cape-Atlantic League a year ago, so they have some championship experience. They don’t have a dynamic offense, but the middle of the order has some thump with guys like Kyle Lamanteer and Mario Toro, who have combined for five home runs, eight doubles and 21 RBIs. Vineland will go as these two go, at the plate and on the mound.
NON-PUBLIC A SOUTH
The Top 5: CBA, Red Bank Catholic, St. Augustine Prep, St. Joseph-Metuchen, Immaculata
The rest of the field: Union Catholic, Notre Dame, Paul VI, St. John Vianney, Donovan Catholic, Pingry, Camden Catholic.
THE SKINNY
You have some of the state’s best in the top three with schools such as CBA, Red Bank Catholic and St. Augustine Prep, and it will likely be one of these three teams hoisting the trophy. CBA and RBC did battle in the Monmouth County Tournament final, with RBC coming out on top in an 8-3 win, and two of the Colts’ four losses this year have come against RBC. Can the Hermits crash the party? They certainly have the offensive firepower to do so, but will need some pitchers to step up behind senior Jameson Dobis in order to defend their title.
WHO CAN MAKE A SURPRISE RUN?
It’s really hard for a lower seed to break through in this bracket, but don’t county out No. 9 Paul VI. The Eagles have a sub-3.00 team ERA and generally play pretty good defense. They’ve had a down year offensively, but Mason Myers (Coastal Carolina commit) and Nick Sheer have combined for 34 RBIs and both are hitting above .300. If they get hot they can carry an offense for a week or two.
NON-PUBLIC B SOUTH
The Top 5: Gloucester Catholic, Bishop Eustace, Doane Academy, Ranney School, Holy Spirit.
The rest of the field: Princeton Day, St. Joseph Academy, Holy Cross, Moorestown Friends, St. Rose, Wildwood Catholic
THE SKINNY: Gloucester Catholic and Bishop Eustace are two of the top parochial schools in the state and both have outstanding, high level arms at the top of their rotations. It’s going to be really tough for anybody on the outside of the top 2 to crash the party and make it to the finals.
WHO CAN MAKE A SURPRISE RUN?
Holy Spirit has lost four straight, and scheduled a playoff tune-up against St. Augustine Prep today, so things aren’t getting any easier for Steve Normane’s group. But the Spartans play a tough schedule and that should have them prepared for states. They’ve taken on teams like West Deptford, Ramapo, Lenape, EHT and Hammonton, and have 14 wins playing in a tough Cape-Atlantic League. They pitch to a sub-2.00 team ERA, and will need some big performances from seniors such as Bernie Hargadon, Doug Schuster, Ryan Mallen and Gavin Cohen to jumpstart the offense.
