UNION COUNTY, NJ — The best Group 1 baseball in the state may reside in Union County.
Since 2009, Group 1 schools David Brearley, Roselle Park, Jonathan Dayton and New Providence high schools have captured sectional state championships and have proven to be in the mix every year.
Now, these four teams advanced once again to quarterfinal round play, all in North 2, Group 1 this time, and all four will now seek to make it to another round, all of them scheduled on the road.
On Wednesday, May 29, David Brearley, Roselle Park, Jonathan Dayton and New Providence were the four road teams in the four North 2, Group 1 quarterfinal round matchups.
On the top side of the bracket, it was eighth-seeded Roselle Park at top-seeded Cedar Grove High School and fifth-seeded David Brearley at fourth-seeded Whippany Park High School. On the bottom side, it was sixth-seeded Jonathan Dayton at third-seeded Wood-Ridge Jr/Sr High School and seventh-seeded New Providence at second-seeded Verona High School.
The public school sectional semifinals are scheduled for Friday, May 31, and the finals for Monday, June 3, in the same manner as the previous rounds for all at the higher seeds.
The group semifinals are Wednesday, June 5. The semifinal sites are North 1 vs. North 2 at the home field of the North 2 champion and Central Jersey vs. South Jersey at the site of the South Jersey champ.
The group finals, the overall state championship games, are Saturday, June 8, at Veterans Park in Hamilton. They have been contested there every year now since 2018.
Round three for the non-public teams still alive is Thursday, May 30. The sectional finals are Saturday, June 1, at the higher seeds and the state finals Thursday, June 6, at Veterans Park.
In first round action at home in North 2, Group 1 play, it was Roselle Park defeating ninth-seeded North Arlington High School, 2-1; David Brearley besting 12th-seeded Weehawken High School, 12-0; Jonathan Dayton beating 11th-seeded Glen Ridge High School, 5-2; and New Providence ousting 10th-seeded Hoboken High School, 4-1.
David Brearley won Central Jersey, Group 1 in 2009 and Roselle Park captured North 2, Group 1 in 2011.
Jonathan Dayton won North 2, Group 1 in 2013 and 2014, while New Providence won North 2, Group 1 four years in a row in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. There was no baseball season in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Westfield High School last won North 2, Group 4 in 2019, after winning it the previous year and reaching the Group 4 final in Hamilton.
Governor Livingston High School is seeking to capture Central Jersey, Group 2 for the first time since the Highlanders won it in highly-dramatic, come-from-behind, bottom-of-the-seventh fashion in 2017 on senior Dan Baroff’s opposite field run-scoring hit to left field.
Cranford last won North 2, Group 3 in 2022 and then reached the Group 3 final at Hamilton.
No Union County team has won a state championship in Hamilton since the games were moved there from the three Toms River high schools. Westfield lost the Group 4 final in 2018, Cranford High School the Group 3 final in 2022 and New Providence the Group 1 final in 2021 and 2022.
Union County public school baseball still alive in states
Sectional Quarterfinals
Wednesday, May 29
North 2, Group 4
5-Phillipsburg at 4-Westfield
7-Hunterdon Central Regional at 2-Scotch Plains–Fanwood
North 2, Group 3
8-Cranford at 1-South Plainfield
6-Summit at 3-North Hunterdon Regional
North 2, Group 1
8-Roselle Park at 1-Cedar Grove
5-David Brearley at 4-Whippany Park
6-Jonathan Dayton at 3-Wood-Ridge Jr/Sr
7-New Providence at 2-Verona
Central Jersey, Group 2
8-Nottingham at 1-Governor Livingston
Union County non-public school baseball still alive in states
Sectional Quarterfinal
Non-Public, South A
Tuesday, May 28
7-Union Catholic at 2-St. Augustine Preparatory
Remaining state tournament schedule for public school teams
Sectional Semifinals: Friday, May 31
Sectional Finals: Monday, June 3
Group Semis at North 2 and South Jersey champ sites: Wednesday, June 5
Group Finals at Veterans Park, Hamilton: Saturday, June 8