Wednesday, June 3, 2026

2026 - Game # 29 South Plainfield 4, Chatham 2 - NJSIAA Tournament, Semifinal Round, North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3

TAPintoChatham

McCarthy Pitches the Distance, Bena 2-Run Double in 7th Lift South Plainfield to 4-2 Win vs. Chatham in Sectional Semifinal

By Ed Barmakian

CHATHAM, NJ – A good start, a clutch finish and the pitching of senior left-hander Aiden McCarthy carried No. 4-seeded South Plainfield to a 4-2 baseball win vs. top-seeded Chatham in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 semifinal on Wednesday afternoon at CHS.

South Plainfield (17-11) had three hits in the first inning and two hits in the seventh and nothing in between. But the Tigers had McCarthy for all seven innings as the ace threw 94 pitches in recording his sixth complete game of the season, improving his record to 8-2.

Senior Ryan Bailey had three of the six hits vs. McCarthy and drove in both Chatham runs in the game, including an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth that tied the game at 2-2.

“We always play our best baseball with McCarthy on the mound,” South Plainfield coach Scott Gleichenhaus said. "He's been there all year for us. We just feel with him on the mound, we can beat anybody. Having the bull pitch the semifinal against the No. 1 seed was exactly what we wanted.
 
“Bena came through in the clutch with that ball down the line with runners on first and third. He's only a sophomore. Nerves of steel that kid. Iron in his blood.”

 
South Plainfield got off to a good start with a double, an infield hit and a hit-by-pitch that loaded the bases with no one out. Catcher Chris Loniewski then pulled the ball past the bag at third for a two-run single.


But senior left-hander Justin Zigon bore down to get out of the inning for Chatham with just the two runs scored and then retired the next eight batters in a row to take the game into the fourth. Junior right-hander Jack Hadzima came on to get the final out of the fourth for the Cougars and pitched scoreless, hitless ball into the seventh.

Chatham made it a 2-1 game in the bottom of the fourth when Dalton Loftin reached on an error and pinch-runner Tommy Sciacchitano stole second before scoring on Bailey's two-out single to right.

“You think about that, it could have changed the complexion of the game,” Todd Leathers, Chatham coach, said. “That's why baseball is great, it's such a metaphor for life. Sometimes those balls are caught and we're talking inches in this game, always. You saw that numerous times today. These guys had such a great season, losing stinks.”
 
The Cougars started at a disadvantage with leadoff batter and center fielder Owen Young out with an illness and left fielder and No. 2 batter Drew Speace (.405 average, 22 RBI) out with an injury sustained in practice earlier in the week.
 
“Unfortunately, Drew had a little injury the other day in practice and then that bug was going around and Owen wasn't there,” Leathers said. “Again, you rotate guys through. If those guys had been here, Bailey might not have had the opportunity he did. The beauty of a season like this, we moved a lot of people around. It's three months, six days a week. We know what they can do in practice. You always want to have the best. It's hard.
 
“We just didn't quite have enough. (McCarthy) is a really, really good pitcher. He was able to keep us off balance and make some pitches. It was a three-pitch mix, fastball, curveball., changeup and he could throw them in any count. We had a lot of weak fly falls and they made plays.”
 
Leathers said it will be to replace the seniors from this 20-win team, but noted that 17 players are returning.
 
“We got a taste of it, what it's like to be able to have a game at home and the crowd was awesome today,” Leathers said. “It was a great environment. Not the way you want to end it, but to have that support was great to see.”

McCarthy raised his record to 8-2 on the season. He has allowed one earned run in 14 innings in the state tournament, and has walked just 10 batters in 63 innings this season.

Bena is in line to be the starting pitcher in the sectional final on Friday at third-seeded Cranford. South Plainfield knocked Cranford out of the sectional tournament in each of the last two seasons.

Cranford beat North Hunterdon, 9-3, in the other semifinal game on Wednesday.

(Guy Kipp contributed to this report.)


SPTigerBaseball
@BaseballSPHS
Survive and advance !!!!! The Tigers are goin back the finals for the 3rd straight year. Once again Aiden McCarthy shoved. Another complete game & win number 8 for the Bull. His battery mate / fellow dude Chris Loniewski got the Tigers on the board early w/ a 2 run knock in the 1st. But it was Andrew Bena who was Mr. Clutch in the 7th, delivering a 2 run double down the left field line, breaking a 2-2 tie that would give the Tigers the lead/trip to the section finals @ Cranford on Friday at 3pm.


Andy Mendlowitz
MyCentralJersey.com

North 2 Group 3

No. 4 South Plainfield 4, No. 1 Chatham 2: Chris Loniewski had a two-RBI double in the first inning and Andrew Bena later added his own double that scored two runs as South Plainfield pulled the huge upset. The Tigers (17-11) will travel to No. 3-seeded Cranford in the final.

Baseball roundup, latest results for GMC and area Skyland and UCC

South Plainfield playing for NJSIAA sectional titles Friday after semifinal win.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 – (4) South Plainfield 4, (1) Chatham 2: Andrew Bena delivered the big hit for the Tigers (17-11) to upset the top-seed, while Aiden McCarthy once again proved why he’s the ace of the South Plainfield staff.

The Tigers took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first. After Dom Massaro reached on a dropped line drive hit to left field, McCarthy singled, Bena got plunked, and Chirs Loniewksi doubled, driving in two. Chatham cut the lead in half with a single to right field, then tied it in the top of the sixth on a double Ryan Bailey.

That’s when Bena came through. Massaro worked out a five-pitch, one0out walk. McCarthy beat out an infield hit. Then Bena doubled to left to score them both, giving the Tigers a 4-2 lead. That was all they’d get, as the next two hitters struck out, but with McCarthy on the mound, that was all they would need. He tossed a one-two-three seventh – a pop-out, strikeout, and another pop-out – to end the game, picking up his fifth win of the season, and sending South Plainfield to its third straight sectional title game.

The Tigers – who lost to Randolph in the final two years ago, but won at Colonia last year to take the title – will visit third-seed Cranford (20-9) in the North 2, Group 3 championship game. The Cougars were 9-3 winners at two-seed North Hunterdon Wednesday.

Click here to listen to South Plainfield head coach Scott Gleichenhaus talk about the win with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.


South Plainfield Finds Playoff Glory Versus Chatham

South Plainfield Tigers vs. Chatham Cougars

By

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but South Plainfield had no problem doing just that on Wednesday. They skirted past the Chatham Cougars 4-2. The victory was nothing new for the Tigers as they're now sitting on three straight.

South Plainfield's win bumped their record up to 17-11. As for Chatham, the loss snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 17-9 record.

Coming up, South Plainfield will take on Cranford on Friday. The Cougars' pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so the Tigers' hitters will have their work cut out for them. Chatham does not have any more games scheduled as of now.

Baseball Recap: South Plainfield Finds Playoff Glory Versus Chatham

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

South Plainfield (17-11)

2

0

0

0

0

0

2

4

5

1

Chatham (20-7)

0

0

0

1

0

1

0

2

6

0
WP: Aiden McCarthy    LP: Jack Hadzima

SOUTH PLAINFIELD BATTING

AB

R

H

RBI

1B

2B

BB

HBP

FC

AVG

SLG

Dom Massaro #6

4

2

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

.250

.500

Aiden McCarthy #12

4

2

2

0

2

0

0

0

0

.500

.500

Andrew Bena #19

3

0

1

2

0

1

0

1

0

.333

.667

Chris Loniewski #15

4

0

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

.250

.250

Anthony Cicenia #11

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

.000

.000

Ed Budzinski #3

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

.000

.000

Joe Stanzione #4

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

1

0

.000

.000

Alex Pigna #10

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

.000

.000

Gabriel Garcia #16

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

.000

.000

Totals:

26

4

5

2

3

2

3

2

3

.192

.269

SOUTH PLAINFIELD PITCHING

W

L

PIT

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HB

PO

ERA

Aiden McCarthy #12 (WP)

1

0

94

7

6

2

1

0

5

1

0

1.00

Totals:

1

0

94

7

6

2

1

0

5

1

0

1.00


SPTigerBaseball
@BaseballSPHS
On Wednesday, it didn’t take long for the Bull to make his presence known in Cougar country. Aiden McCarthy pulled out his old bag of tricks - got a few hits , scored 2 runs, tossed another complete game, picked up win number 8 & secured a bus ride to the section finals on Friday. Just another day in the Bullring for the Bull, who with this performance proves once again he is a True Maestro of the Diamond.
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