2026 - Game # 6 South Plainfield 4, Woodbridge 3

South Plainfield walks off Woodbridge with rally in the seventh

By 

• Advance Local Express Desk
• Will Harrigan | For NJ.com
  

  
  South Plainfield rallied late to edge Woodbridge 4–3 on Thursday, getting strong performance from Joe Stanzione help secure the win. Stanzione went 2‑for‑3 with an RBI and also earned the victory on the mound with a scoreless final inning.

  Woodbridge struck first with a run in the third and later tied the game 3–3 with a two‑run seventh, highlighted by RBI from Michael Gurovich and Billy Mansfield. The Barrons finished with eight hits but were hurt by six errors in the field.
  

  South Plainfield answered immediately in the bottom of the seventh, pushing across the decisive run after Andrew Bena and Ed Budzinski each reached base earlier in the game and combined for two RBI. Gabriel Garcia and Stanzione added key hits to support the offense.

  Bena delivered six strong innings, allowing just one unearned run while striking out two. Nick Lukachyk kept Woodbridge in it with six solid innings of his own, giving up only one earned run.

  South Plainfield improved to 3–3 with the walk‑off win, while Woodbridge dropped to 1–4 after its late comeback fell just short.
  South Plainfield walks off Woodbridge with rally in the seventh - Baseball recap - nj.com 

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Woodbridge (1-4)	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	8	6
South Plainfield (3-3)	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	4	5	1

WP: Joe Stanzione
LP: Michael Gurovich 

South Plainfield Batting

	AB	R	H	RBI	1B	2B	3B	BB	SB	SF	SH/B	ROE	AVG	SLG
Dom Massaro #6	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Chris Loniewski #15	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000
Aiden McCarthy #12	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Andrew Bena #19	3	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	.333	.333
Anthony Cicenia #11	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000
Ed Budzinski #3	3	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	.333	.333
Gabriel Garcia #16	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1.000	1.000
Joe Stanzione #4	3	0	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.667	.667
Alex Pigna #10	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	.000
Totals:	25	3	5	4	5	0	0	6	1	1	1	2	.200	.200

 South Plainfield Pitching

	W	L	PIT	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HB	PO	ERA
Andrew Bena #19	0	0	99	6	6	1	0	4	2	0	0	0.00
Joe Stanzione #4 (WP)	1	0	24	1	2	2	2	2	0	0	0	14.00
Totals:	1	0	123	7	8	3	2	6	2	0	0	2.00

TAPinto South Plainfield

South Plainfield Pulls Out a 4-3 Win over Woodbridge in the Bottom of the 7th

By Guy Kipp

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ — Baseball is a sport that's full of redeeming features.

Ed Budzinski and Chris Loniewski both benefited from the opportunities for redemption that the game offers.

Budzinski's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning gave South Plainfield a 4-3 victory over Woodbridge on Thursday afternoon.

Budzinski had misplayed a ball in right field earlier in the game, leading to Woodbridge's first run.

Loniewski, a junior catcher, had struck out looking with the bases loaded in the third inning. But he picked a runner off first base in the sixth inning, caught a runner stealing in the seventh inning, then started the game-winning rally with a sharply hit ball to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Woodbridge, after trailing, 3-1, rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh on RBI singles by Mike Gurovich with one out and Billy Mansfield with two out to tie the game, 3-3.

Loniewski led off the bottom of the seventh with a well-hit line drive that went off the glove of the Barrons' center fielder. Loniewski reached second on the play.

"I didn't feel it off the bat. I thought it was right to him, and then I saw him backing up and I said, 'Oh, I've gotta get on 2'," Loniewski said. "I was looking for a first-pitch fastball, got one, I missed it, and I got another one on 3-2 and I had to do some damage."

After Andrew Bena drew a walk, South Plainfield's courtesy runner for Loniewski was caught between second and third on a missed bunt attempt and was thrown out, but Bena moved up to second on the play.

With two out, Budzinski, a left-handed hitter, served a soft liner that was beyond the reach of Woodbridge's second baseman for a single that plated Bena with the winning run.

"We had a 2-2 count there. I was looking for a fastball, sitting on a fastball," Budzinski, a senior, said. "I got it. I just knew I had to do a job and got the job done. It's a great way to end the game there. That is the first time (I've ever had a walkoff hit) at any level. (This was) a huge win coming off a three-game losing streak. It's time to get it going."

Bena, a sophomore lefty, pitched well enough to win, and after six innings he left the game with a lead. He allowed six hits and an unearned run, walked four and struck out two. Nick Lukachyk, Woodbridge's starter, also went six solid innings and allowed only four hits and three runs, one of them earned. He walked five and struck out two.

"Bena pitched great. Every time he goes on the mound, we're confident," Budzinski said. "The whole team's confident. We're energetic, ready to go. We know we have a fair shot at winning every time he's on the mound."

South Plainfield broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the fifth inning. Aiden McCarthy led off with a walk, took second on a passed ball and then, when Loniewski hit a groundball to shortstop, Woodbridge tried to make a play on McCarthy at third and both runners were safe. Bena followed with an RBI single to right field, then Anthony Cicenia drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-1.

In the top of the seventh, Woodbridge started its rally with back-to-back walks to Xavier Diaz and Lukachyk. With Mike Gurovich at bat, Diaz broke for third and Lukachyk for second. Loniewski — who had picked a runner off first for the third out of the sixth inning — threw to second and nailed the trail runner as Diaz took third.

"I struck out with the bases loaded earlier in the game, and I needed to pick someone up in a tough situation there, and I had to come through," said Loniewski, who started at third base as a sophomore before going behind the plate this season. "I saw (the runner) out of the corner of my eye, made a quick transfer, I trusted my arm and just got there and (second baseman) Gabe Garcia made a nice tag. I knew I wanted to go up in the next inning and get on for the team, so I had to get us out of there. I caught my whole life. I actually had to learn third base last year. "

Loniewski added, "It's tough over here (on our home field), especially on our dirt with bad hops, but playing third last year just made me better for catching. I'm used to it. I was a little scrappy in the first couple of games, and now I'm starting to get everything back together. My blocking's been a lot better, and my arm's always been a good thing for me. I know I can throw kids out from my knees so I've been getting more comfortable with the one knee. I love catching. You're always involved in the biggest part on the field. I love being that guy."

Gurovich followed with an RBI single up the middle, then, with two out, Billy Mansfield hit a pop fly down the left field line that fell in for a game-tying RBI single. Mansfield was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Jack Kobylakiewicz also had two hits for Woodbridge.

South Plainfield will play at Woodbridge on Friday morning at 11 a.m.

WOODBRIDGE (1-4) 001 000 2 - 3 8 3
SOUTH PLAINFIELD (3-3) 000 120 1 - 4 5 1
WP-Stanzione
LP-Gurovich

Baseball: South Plainfield Pulls Out a 4-3 Win over Woodbridge in the Bottom of the 7th | Woodbridge/Carteret, NJ News TAPinto | TAPinto