One undeniable fact once the high school spring season hits mid-May is that the NJSIAA state tournament is not far off, and with the seeding meeting set for Tuesday (May19) and the action commencing right after Memorial Day, crunch time is near for so many teams with state championship hopes, including at least four public schools in Essex County.
Familiar rivals Verona and Cedar Grove in North 2, Group 1, and Caldwell and West Essex in North 2, Group 2, are all legitimate threats to capture a state sectional title as part of what appear to be fairly wide-open brackets that are already taking shape as the power point tabulations end this weekend and the NJSIAA assembles field on May 19.
The Non-Public state tourney starts Tuesday, May 26, and the publics commence the next day (Wednesday, May 27). Group finals for both the Non-Public (June 10) and public schools (June 14) are set for Rutgers University’s newly refurbished baseball complex in Piscataway.
While promising teams such as Nutley (currently the fourth seed in N1G3), West Orange (fourth in N1G4), Columbia (sixth in N2G4) and Seton Hall Prep (fourth in a loaded Non-Public, North A) all have opportunities to make some major noise in their sections, Verona, Cedar Grove, Caldwell and West Essex might have the best chances among Essex County participants.
Verona (14-6) is currently first in N2G1 and Hillbillies are coming off a strong finish last year when they reached the N2G1 final before running into Brearley’s ace left-hander Sean Budis, who is now at Boston College, and lost 8-0 in that title tilt.
The ‘Billies, guided by veteran coach Joe Phelan, retain a strong nucleus including position players such as veteran seniors in infielder Charlie Pepe and Mike LoCurto who support a strong pitching rotation that includes senior Connor Zimany (4-0, 2.39 ERA) and juniors Dom Kennedy (4-0, 2.39) and Drew Aromando (3-3, 3.57), who also leads the team in RBIs.
Cedar Grove (12-9), which is currently sixth in the power point standings in N2G1, perhaps flies under the radar a bit playing out of the Super Essex Conference’s third division, the Colonial; however, the Panthers are more than capable in a tournament setting as evidenced as their strong showing, albeit in defeat, in a 2-0 Greater Newark Tournament first round setback at third-seeded West Essex.
Junior Jack Velonas (2-5, 2.77) pitched a terrific game in that contest, and Coach Vin Corasco’s Panthers also have an experienced and effective southpaw in senior Xavier Andujar (3-2, 4.15 and with 45 K’s in 30 1/3 IP).
Cedar Grove lost a tight 9-7 N2G1 semifinal to Brearley in 2025.
Other teams to watch in N2G1 include an always-capable Hanover Park (12-7), which is presently in the No. 2 spot in terms of power points, No. 3 Hoboken and the defending sectional champion Brearley, which is at No. 4.
Looking at N2G2 Caldwell (16-3) is currently No. 1 in the power point standings. Coach Ryan Smith has guided the Chiefs to state sectional titles in both 2022 and 2024 and his current squad, despite a couple of hiccups in falling to seventh-seeded Nutley in the GNT quarters and then rival West Essex the next night at Yogi Berra Stadium, is well equipped to make a deep run in this season’s N2G2 field.
Caldwell’s strong pitching staff is led by junior Dan Vybihal (5-1, 1.89), who threw a no-hitter at Verona earlier this season, and up-and-coming sophomore Isaac Stern (5-1, 2.15) who has been a very pleasant addition to the varsity mound corps this spring.
