State Championships Return to Bainton Field
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association will stage its public baseball championships on June 14 at Rutgers’ Bainton Field in Piscataway, gathering four teams from Bergen and Passaic counties.
Pompton Lakes, the Group 1 champion, is scheduled to meet Point Pleasant Beach in the Group 1 final, while Ramsey, representing Group 2, will face Governor Livingston, the two‑time defending champion seeking a sixth state crown.
Old Tappan, chasing its second title since 2008, squares off against Brick Memorial in the Group 3 final, and Ridgewood, aiming for a third state championship, takes on Kingsway in the Group 4 showdown.
The tournament revives a format first introduced in 1971, when the NJSIAA debuted seven group finals that included Parochial A, B and C divisions, a structure that has evolved into the current four‑group arrangement.
North Jersey programs have captured four state titles on two separate occasions — 1976 and 2019 — underscoring the region’s historical impact on the championship landscape.
Key Players to Watch
Among the standout athletes to watch are Selden Kolkebeck, Anthony Onnembo, Kotaro Kim, Hudson Feeney, Jon Popovich, Tim Riche, Joe Scarnecchia and Michael Novotny, each of whom has played a pivotal role in their team’s journey to the finals.