UNION COUNTY, NJ — As the baseball Union County Tournament was scheduled to continue Wednesday, May 14, with the four quarterfinal games to be played at the higher seeds, one of them was out to make program history.
For top-seeded Governor Livingston High School, this is its fourth opportunity to repeat as champions for the first time.
Governor Livingston won the crown for the first time in 2016, after numerous trips to the final over the years didn’t work out.
The Highlanders then won the championship again in 2018, 2021 and last year.
This year’s quarterfinal matchup at home against Arthur L. Johnson High School turned out to be eerily similar to Governor Livingston’s quarterfinal round clash in 2017, the first attempt the Highlanders had to winning back-to-back crowns.
Here’s a bit clearer look:
2017: Governor Livingston is ranked No. 1 in the state for the first time and is 15-0 and the top seed in the UCT. The Highlanders then lost at home to Arthur L. Johnson 9-5 in the quarterfinal round and did not repeat and also dropped from being No. 1 in the state. Governor Livingston did bounce back to win the Central Jersey, Group 2 sectional state championship in 2017 and in dramatic fashion. At home against South Plainfield High School in the final, the Highlanders, who trailed 5-3, scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh – senior Dan Baroff had the game-winning hit – to beat the Middlesex County school, 6-5. Governor Livingston was then defeated by South Jersey, Group 2 sectional state champ Manasquan High School, 2-1, in the Group 2 semifinals.
2025: Governor Livingston is ranked No. 2 in the state and began this week 18-0 before scheduled Union County Conference–Watchung Division games at Union Catholic High School on Monday, May 12, and at home vs. Scotch Plains–Fanwood High School on Tuesday, May 13. The Highlanders began the week 10-0 in the division and already clinched the division title outright because the other six teams in the division had at least three losses and Governor Livingston only had two division games to go, the Union Catholic and Scotch Plains games this week. In the UCT, again, in the same manner as 2017, it was to be Governor Livingston hosting Artrhur L. Johnson in the quarterfinals as the top seed, with a high state-ranking and, possibly, with an undefeated record again. Arthur L. Johnson is guided by head coach Dave Kennedy, who led the Crusaders to the 2019 UCT championship game. As a junior right-hander for Glen Ridge High School in 1987, Kennedy shut out Irvington High School, 4-0, in the Greater Newark Tournament championship game.
The semifinals are scheduled to be played once again on Arthur L. Johnson’s field turf field at its high school in Clark on Saturday, May 17.
The final is set for Monday, May 19, at Kean University’s field in Union.
Game times for the semifinal and final matchups were not announced as of Monday, May 12.
In quarterfinal round play on Saturday, May 10, six of the higher-seeded teams won at home and there were four shutouts and three other games where the team that lost scored just one run.
The lower-seeded teams that won on the road were, on the top side of the bracket, ninth-seeded Arthur L. Johnson downing eighth-seeded Summit High School, 9-8, and, on the bottom side of the bracket, 10th-seeded David Brearley High School beating seventh-seeded Scotch Plains–Fanwood, 3-1.
David Brearley was to next play at second-seeded Westfield High School in one of the quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 14. The Bears are guided by head coach Dave Kaplow, who is a former Westfield standout. Last year, David Brearley reached the North 2, Group 1 sectional state championship game, falling to Jonathan Dayton High School.
The other two quarterfinal matchups included fifth-seeded Cranford High School at fourth-seeded Elizabeth High School on the top side and sixth-seeded Oratory Preparatory School at third-seeded Union Catholic High School on the bottom.
2025 UCT baseball
Seeds: 1-Governor Livingston. 2-Westfield. 3-Union Catholic. 4-Elizabeth. 5-Cranford. 6-Oratory Prep. 7-Scotch Plains–Fanwood. 8-Summit. 9-Arthur L. Johnson. 10-David Brearley. 11-Jonathan Dayton. 12-New Providence. 13-Union. 14-Plainfield. 15-Rahway. 16-Linden.
First round
Saturday, May 10
Governor Livingston 33, Linden 0 – at Governor Livingston
Arthur L. Johnson 10, Summit 0 – at Summit
Elizabeth 10, Union 0 – at Elizabeth
Cranford 8, New Providence 1 – at Cranford
Westfield 17, Rahway 0 – at Westfield
David Brearley 3, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 1 – at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
Union Catholic 12, Plainfield 1 – at Union Catholic
Oratory Prep 4, Jonathan Dayton 3 – at Oratory Prep
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, May 14
Top side of bracket
9-Arthur L. Johnson at 1-Governor Livingston
5-Cranford at 4-Elizabeth
Bottom side of bracket
6-Oratory Prep at 3-Union Catholic
10-David Brearley at 2-Westfield
Semifinals
Saturday, May 17
Quarterfinal winners at Arthur L. Johnson, TBA
Finals
Monday, May 19
Semifinal winners at Kean, TBA
Photo by JR Parachini