Devils take down Raiders 11-1

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Riley Smaltini of Shore Regional had a great start to the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 playoofs. He went 3-4 at the plate with two doubles and a homerun in the 11-1 win over Piscataway Magnet.

Tuesday afternoon the Blue Devils of Shore Regional, the number four seed in the 2025 NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 1 baseball tournament, hosted 13 seed Piscataway Magnet in the opening round.

Starting on the mound for Shore Regional was Ryan Barham . It took him a few batters to settle into his groove as Piscataway Magnet had their first two batters reaching base. Then it was all heat by Barham, who fanned the next three Raiders.

Shore then demonstrated their offensive strength as they scored six unanswered runs in the bottom of the first inning. They had great situational hitting and base running. The Blue Devils added two more runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth inning. Shore took the 11-1 win and advances to the quarterfinals where they will host 5th seed Florence on May 29.

“In regards to the game, the coaching staff is very proud of the team’s effort today. We are honored to have the four seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 1 playoff bracket,” said Jay Kuhlthau, head coach of Shore Regional.

Kuhlthau stated that he and his Blue Devils wanted to prove they deserved the four seed. “We have said all season that pitching needs to set the tone, Ryan Barham absolutely did that today with five innings of work,” said Kuhlthau. Over the five innings, Barham, struck out 12 batters, only allowed three hits and one run that was plated in the fifth inning. “Luce Moccia was impressive in his one inning pitched, which included one strikeout.”

The Blue Devils had a total of 22 at bats, with 11 runs on seven hits and 10 RBIs. “Offensively, we have had a different player step up each game, and today it was Riley Smaltini and Andrew Barham who shoulder the load,” Kuhlthau said.

Riley was 3-4 with two doubles, one home run, four RBI and two runs scored. Andrew Barham was 2-3 with four RBIs and one run scored. Liam Hennelly also chipped in going 1-2 with 1 RBI and three runs scored. “Today was a great day to be a Blue Devil, and we look forward to our next game on Thursday, the quarterfinals,” added Kuhlthau.

With the victory, Shore Regional is now 13-9 overall this season. They finished 6-6 in the B North division of the Shore Conference. In the NJSIAA playoffs, receiving top seed in the Central Jersey, Group 1 bracket is Middlesex and Point Pleasant Beach is number two and getting the third seed is Metuchen. There were 16 teams to start the tournament.

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