It can be a proverbial crap shoot as any single-elimination baseball tournament is bound to produce; however, defending sectional and group champions are still among those teams to point to as the NJSIAA baseball state tournament approaches with the cutoff on May 18, seeding on the 20th and the start of action soon to follow.
Defending group champions such as Gloucester Catholic in Non-Public B, Don Bosco Prep in Non-Public A, Ridgewood in Group 4 and Morris Knolls in Group 3 remain solid bets to be very much in the mix for a state title once again; however, as outstanding 2023 teams such as Millburn – vs. Knolls in a Group 3 semifinal – and Cranford – vs. North Hunterdon in a North 2, Group 3 semi – both discovered, nothing is ever even near-certain in a 7-inning ball game where a hot pitcher and perhaps one bad inning can end anyone’s season in rapid order.
Teams are currently jockeying for position in terms of power points before that May 18th cutoff. The non-public tourney begins Wednesday, May 22, and the publics start on Thursday, May 23.
The one caveat to be aware of in this season’s state tourney is that there is a long layoff built in between the first and second rounds (May 22 and 28th for the non-publics and May 23 and 29th for the publics) which is built around the Memorial Day weekend, which means teams will be able to throw their No. 1 starter in its first two state tourney contests, if it so desires to follow that plan.
The state sectional finals for non-publics are June 1 and June 3 for publics, with the publics’ state semis on June 5. The overall state finals are Thursday June 6 for non-publics and Saturday, June 8 for publics, with all six games at Veterans Park in Hamilton.
As the various state sections continue to take shape while many teams are fully concentrated on nailing down conference and county titles, here is a look at some of the teams to keep an eye on in the upcoming NJSIAA tourney:
Group 4: Favorite: Ridgewood
Among others to watch: Bridgewater-Raritan, Livingston, Eastern, Old Bridge
The Maroons roared to Group 4 title last June and veteran coach Kurt Homman, one of the best in the business, has another strong team with top pitchers such as Vincent Luther and sophomore Kellen Komline to help them make another deep run in what could be an intriguing N1G4 section.
Livingston has the deep pitching staff a team needs in the states with juniors Julian Schultz, Max Peri and an emerging Jackson Becker along with sophomore Adam Goldberg.
N1G4 has had its share of excitement the past few years with Ridgewood winning in 2019 and 2023, Montclair in 2021 and Livingston in 2022.
The Mounties, who may be tested without real pitching depth, do have a deep lineup and a top all-around player in pitcher-infielder Benjamin St. Pierre.
Bridgewater-Raritan is one of the teams to watch in a strong N2G4, while Westfield, Scotch Plains and Ridge could all be among the teams to watch.
Group 3: Favorite: Morris Knolls
Among others to watch: Ramapo, Mainland, Randolph, West Essex
Occasionally a team with double-digit losses winds up making a tremendous state tourney run which was the case for Morris Knolls in 2023 as coach Eric Mindrebo’s Golden Knights swept through N1G3, upset Millburn in the Group 3 semis and then knocked off Mainland in the state final. |
