2024 New Jersey Baseball Group 1 State Tournament Preview

by NJ Athletics

The Group 1 State Tournament kicks off with an intense semifinal matchup between Dayton Bulldogs vs Pompton Lakes Cardinals. Both teams have showcased remarkable skills this season, with Pompton Lakes holding a 24-4 record and Dayton at 17-11. Point Pleasant Beach takes on Gloucster on the other side of the brakcet. The Garnet Gulls hold an impressive 24-4 record, while Gloucester comes in at 22-7. Both of these games are expected to be tight contests given their strong performances and high stakes.

Dayton vs Pompton Lakes

Pompton Lakes

  • Season Record: 24-4, 9-2 NJIC - Colonial
  • Key Wins: Pequannock, St. Mary's, Wallkill Valley
  • Recent Performance: The Cardinals have been dominant lately, entering this matchup on a 5-game win streak. They only allowed 5 runs in that span, scoring an impressive 43 runs themselves. The Cardinals are coming off the heels of their biggest win of the season, defeating  Pequannock 5-0 in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 finals.
  • Key Players: Shortstop Vinnie Stigliano has been nothing short of fantastic for Pompton Lakes this season. Stigliano is batting . 459 with 31 RBI and 17 stolen bases. Senior Tyler Benway has also been a key offensive player, batting .386 and driving in 25 runs of his own Benway also acts as the ace of this pitching staff, holding a 1.25 ERA with a whopping 82 strikeouts.

Dayton

  • Season Record: 17-11, 6-5 in UCC - Mountain
  • Key Wins: Brearley, Woodbridge, Elizabeth
  • Recent Performance: The Bulldogs currently hold a  7-game win streak, and are looking to extend that to advance to the Group 1 Finals. Dayton enters this matchup with great momentum, after defeating Brearley 4-0 in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 Finals. 
  • Key Players: Junior, Frank Dasti, has been pivotal to Dayton's success this season. Dasti holds an astounding 1.89 ERA, along with 39 K's. On the other side of the ball, Dasti is smashing the ball, batting .494 and driving in 21 runs in the process. Peter Ramirez (.396) and Brandyn Bernknopf (.300) have also contributed greatly offensively, both tying each other for a team-high 22 RBI's.

 

Gloucester vs Point Pleasant Beach 

Gloucester

  • Season Record: 22-7, 4-2 Colonial - Patriot
  • Key Wins: Woodstown, Pitman, Haddon Heights
  • Recent Performance: The Lions are coming off back-to-back nail biters in the South Jersey Group 1 Tournament, where they won both games 5-4 and took home the championship. Gloucester scored 2 runs to walk it off in the bottom of the 7th inning against Woodstown, securing their spot in the Group 1 Tournament. 
  • Key Players: Seth McCormick has been a key piece on the offensive end for Gloucester. The senior is hitting  .404 along with a team-high 29 RBI. McCormick gets it done on both sides of the ball, as he holds a 1.24 ERA along with 62 K's. Jacob Zearfoss has also given the Lions consistent production, batting .400 and driving home 22 runs. 

Point Pleasant Beach

  • Season Record: 24-4, 14-0 in Shore - B Central
  • Key Wins: Shore, Donovan Catholic, St. Rose
  • Recent Performance: Point Beach has been on top of their game all season, only losing 4 games. Their most recent win came by way of a 6-0 dominant performance over Shore in the  Central Jersey, Group 1 Championship. Although the Garnet Gulls slipped late in the season, dropping 3 of their last 5 regular season games, they got back on track right in time for the postseason. 
  • Key Players: Daniel Lubach has put up absurd numbers this season, hitting .519 along with 41 RBIs. Junior 1B,Noah Banick, has been just as impressive, carrying a .505 batting average and 40 RBI. Ryan Doyle has been a true ace, holding a sub-1 ERA, while striking out 64 batters on the season in only 44 innings. 
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