Blue Devils advance to championship game after 14 innings

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Anthony Morgenstern (jumping) of Palmyra does not like the call that he was out at first base. Ryan Barham (14) of Shore Regional is the happy with the call, which occured during the extra innings.

High School baseball games are normally seven innings. But on Friday, May 31, the Blue Devils of Shore Regional High School needed 14 innings to get the 1-0 win over Florence in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 semifinals.

“We completely relied on our pitching and defense to win this game,” said Jay Kuhlthau, head coach of the Blue Devils. The win came in the bottom of the 14th inning when junior Josh Moeller hit an RBI single to score his teammate C.J. Sears. “It was a test of character, that will give us a lot of momentum as we head into Monday’s sectional final.” Kuhlthau added that the last time Shore Regional was in a sectional finale was 10 years ago in 2014.

The Blue Devils entered the 2024 tournament as the two seed. In the opening round they easily beat Keyport 10-0, which set-up a 13-1 quarterfinal victory over tenth seed Palmyra.

In the win over Palmyra the Blue Devils started off red hot as they had seniors EJ Stefanelli and CJ Sears hit back-to-back home runs. Stefanelli hit a second home run and went 3-for-3 with two hits (homeruns) and six RBIs.

In the semifinal win over Florence, Joey Santi, the senior captain, was on the mound. He threw 8.1 innings with 12 strikeouts and only allowed two hits, while also going 3-for-6 at the plate with a double.

Also getting some action as pitcher was Sears who threw 1.2 innings. Finishing the game on the mound was sophomore Andrew Barham, who went four innings earning the win. “CJ started the 14th-inning rally with a big single before Andrew Barham executed a perfect sacrifice bunt that went as a hit. And then Josh Moeller finally got the big base hit to win the game,” Kuhlthau said.

Coach added that reaching the sectional final for the first time in ten-years is a tremendous accomplishment. “However, the job is not finished by any means. Point Pleasant Beach, the number one seed and rightly so, as the defending Central Jersey, Group 1 champions is our focus now,” add Kuhlthau. He anticipates that it will be a great game. “Win or lose, this is a game that our players will remember for the rest of their lives.”

Shore Regional will enter the sectional final with a 16-8 overall record and were 7-5 in the Shore Conference A Central division, which was good for third position. At the top of the division is Wall and Red Bank Catholic.

Point Beach is currently 23-4 overall and are undefeated at 14-0 in the B Central division. Their run through the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 tournament this year started off with an 8-1 win over 16 seed Somerset Tech. Quarterfinals had they beating eight seed Henry Hudson 15-2. They had a very close semifinal game, beating fifth seed Middlesex 4-3.

The NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 sectional final will be played on Monday, June 3, 2024 at Point Beach with a 4:00 p.m. start.

More Photos of this and other games can be viewed at www.Facebook.com/TheLinkSports