.st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Reed Becker | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comEva Munoz hit an RBI groundout for East Brunswick in the bottom of the seventh inning in walk-off fashion in its 5-4 win over Spotswood at the Carteret Conquers Cancer Tournament in Carteret East Brunswick trailed 4-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning before scoring two runs to win the game Christina Lee led East Brunswick by going 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored Munoz and D’Liah Kercado each contributed with an RBI Anabella Stagliano pitched a complete game while striking out 10 walking just one and allowing four runs on eight hits Gabrielle Hill led Spotswood by going 3-for-4 with a home run East Brunswick (14-1) will travel to face Woodbridge on Monday while Spotswood (7-9) will host East Brunswick again on Tuesday Reed Becker can be reached at rbecker@njadvancemedia.com The N.J. High School Sports newsletter is now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now! 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All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices CARTERET — After suffering its first setback of the season in a heartbreaking one-run,10-inning loss at South Brunswick Thursday night the East Brunswick High School softball team reacted nonchalantly on its bus ride home They appeared unfazed and unbothered,” coach Kevin Brady said ‘Should they be angrier?’ But you know what I preach that there’s always another opportunity and they seemed to take that to heart.” Taking the field with a blemish on its record for the time Saturday rallying for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge Spotswood 5-4 at the Carteret Conquers Cancer event at the Carteret Civic Center Eva Munoz’s one-out grounder plated Makenna Gay to improve East Brunswick’s record to 13-1 and make a winner out of Bella Stagliano struck out 10 without walking a batter against one of the GMC’s most dangerous lineups “I know a majority of the girls on (Spotswood) they’re very good and I pay them respect,” Stagliano said “I just need to trust myself and trust my coaches and trust my catcher I think it helps me overcome facing batters and going against good hitters Even when they hit a good ball I just go on to the next play.” More: Softball Player of the Week: J.F. Kennedy’s Lorelei Lorentzen wins honors for Week 4 More: Softball roundup: Daily May results, links for Skyland Conference, GMC, area Union County East Brunswick managed to withstand another assault from Spotswood’ s Gabrielle Hill Hill had a hand in three of the Chargers runs staking them to a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the third an RBI single to plate Delanie DiStefano in the fifth and giving Spotswood (6-9) a brief lead in the top of the seventh by igniting a two-out rally with a double later scoring on a single to right by Juliana Ziegler But the Bears’ resiliency has been a trademark of its splendid campaign and their ability to respond was a key factor in Saturday’s outcome East Brunswick answered Hill’s solo shot by scoring twice in the bottom of the third and scored on Christina Lee’s first of three singles Spotswood knotted the score in the top of the fifth inning on Hill’s run-scoring single after DiStefano successfully bunted with two strikes but the Bears responded once again as Rachel Gerould stroked a lead-off triple and scored on D’Liah Kercado’s single up the middle there are kids who seek the big at-bat,” said Brady the outs get harder to make when you know it’s closing up the game Getting that third out is a mental and physical challenge that the special ones always get.” Spotswood tied the score in the sixth as Reese Cunningham doubled and scored on a single by freshman pinch-hitter Gabby Sannwaldt Gay then crossed the plate with the winning run on another grounder by Munoz Spotswood received an impressive pitching performance from senior Lily Cunningham who has taken over in the circle for All-Area selection Ava Mormile Mormile is sidelined indefinitely with a foot injury Though these teams are no longer competing in the same division the victory had special meaning for the Bears who had lost six in a row to their nemesis and hadn’t defeated the Chargers since 2021 The Bears (14-1) had a much easier time in its second game of the day striking for seven runs in the first inning against their injury-depleted in-town rival Lee continued her scorching day by going 5-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs to finish the afternoon with hits in eight consecutive at-bats The freshman improved her record to 4-0 with a three-hitter striking out nine of the first 10 batters she faced and hitting the other She wound up striking out 10 without issuing a walk East Brunswick got contributions from up and down its roster as Emma Turzani doubled twice and Hailey Brenes contributed a double and a triple East Brunswick Magnet (4-10) played the game without its regular battery of pitcher Bella Serronico and catcher Makayla Caban Serronico was struck in the face by a line drive while playing third base in the Tigers’ early game against Carteret while Caban has an injured thumb and was limited to serving as designated player Sebby Saracino (2) of Spotswood scores the game tying run in the bottom of the fifth inning during the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 2 baseball semifinal between Spotswood and Delran at Spotswood High School in Spotswood .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Matt Cosentino | For NJ Advance MediaSebby Saracino hit a two-run double to highlight a five-run fourth inning as Spotswood defeated South Plainfield 8-4 at the E4M Invitational in Spotswood John Lubin and Leo Carone had RBI singles in the fourth as the Chargers (11-6) broke open a close game in six innings for the win and Will Buchan closed the game out with a scoreless seven The N.J. High School Sports newsletter is now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now! SPOTSWOOD – Immaculate Conception School (ICS) may be closing at the end of the school year due to low enrollment Parents were delivered the news Tuesday night in an emergency meeting at the Manalapan Road school The meeting was a follow-up to a similar gathering in December chancellor and spokesperson for the Diocese of Metuchen which oversees the school that aimed to address “the extremely low enrollment in the school and to develop marketing and other strategies to boost enrollment." ICS currently serves 89 students in grades pre-K-8 Enrollment has been on a steady decline over the past five years The school served 194 students in the 2021-22 school year Only 38 students are registered for the next school year Kearns said that a final decision on the school’s fate hasn’t been made but will be decided “relatively soon.” An online petition to save the school asks the diocese to revaluate its decision to potentially close Spotswood has fostered over 60 years of excellence in outstanding academics," wrote Kimberly Tinger-Jaeger "The devoted teachers and staff are committed to the growth and development of each and every student while promoting a value-oriented learning environment This petition calls for the Diocese of Metuchen Office of Schools and Bishop James F Checchio to allow ICS to remain the center of the local community." More: Easter 2025: When is Easter Sunday and why does it change every year? has made Catholic education a priority and has been loath to close any diocesan schools only 38 students are enrolled to attend the school next year With such low numbers it begs the question if Immaculate Conception could even continue to operate as a school Would the same be beneficial to the remaining students?" Kearns said Our Lady of Victories School in Sayreville in 2022 was the last diocesan school to shutter ICS opened in September 1960 with an enrollment of 198 students in grades 1-3 led a faculty of two Felician nuns and two lay teachers The school expanded to full elementary size in 1961 with an enrollment of 539 In grades K-8 A two-story annex comprised of 12 more classrooms was added in 1965 A pre-K​ program for 3- and 4-year-old children opened in 1994 The petition asks the ICS community be given "ample time to lobby for Immaculate Conception School’s growth and rebuild by encouraging increase in admissions and fundraising for the school." "ICS has not only given my granddaughter a wonderful place to learn and grow in her academic career but it has guided our whole family to renew and return to our faith," wrote Theresa Santiago email: cmakin@gannettnj.com Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin please subscribe or activate your digital account today NJ — A Piscataway Township police officer was arrested on Thursday .. NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kris Kolluri and advocates for individuals with .. The previous book in the Pentecost and Parker series ended on a cliffhanger with Will Parker coming back to 1948 New York City after a well-earned vacation celebrated private investigator Lillian Pentecost Lillian is being arrested for the murder of Jessup Quincannon Jessup had been a millionaire philanthropist with an unhealthy obsession with murder He’d curated a collection of infamous evidence and crime-related memorabilia he called the Black Museum opening it to viewers whom he thought similarly enthusiastic about violent death He’d mistakenly assumed that Lillian was one of these people she had done everything in her power to stop him from being able to illegally collect more of these morbid items and hadn’t been at all subtle about her efforts So receiving a last-minute invitation to one of his latest gatherings had been something of a surprise as he had somehow acquired a paint set related to the violence-soaked death of her own mother and was holding it over her head But someone then shot Jessup to death in circumstances which made it seem that Lillian could have been the only possible perpetrator who’s long been privy to the ravages that multiple sclerosis has inflicted on her boss is beside herself with not only worry but guilt: She certainly wouldn’t be in jail accused of murder [Lillian’s father] reached up and took my hand “I made a thousand choices leading up to what happened with my wife,” he said “I know because I’ve had time to count them Wondering what I could have done differently that would have resulted in her being alive today Family and friends will provide more than just moral support as Will attempts to clear Lillian’s name she at least has allies in her girlfriend Holly Quick and in Dolly Klinghorn the shrewd widow who took over an associated detective agency after the death of her husband Darryl even as an ailing and understandably anxious Lillian applies her own formidable brain power to the task of figuring out who framed her for Jessup’s murder But it’s another conundrum that soon begins occupying Lillian’s mind as her interactions with her fellow inmates put her own fixations into sharp focus After one incarcerated young woman thanks her for helping prove her sister’s innocence Lillian is appalled to realize that while she can remember the case clearly she can’t for the life of her remember the client: I would discount this as an isolated incident but I have spent the last hours thinking about the women who have taken advantage of our open house to bring their troubles to me I remember the problem but not the individual Is this the common vagaries of human memory Or is it the multiple sclerosis beginning to peck away come to value the puzzle more than the people Am I more akin to Jessup than I would like to believe more dramatic – than previous installments of the series Dead In The Frame is also my favorite so far as Will and Lillian work through their separate challenges to get to the truth Stephen Spotswood immersed me so fully in their angst and emotion that I ended up smacking myself on the forehead at not figuring out whodunnit sooner so invested was I in the interior lives of our two main characters I’m also really excited to see what happens next as secrets from Lillian’s past are finally brought to light And with its firm grounding in post-World War II history and strong advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community this is a mystery series at once classic yet still perfect for socially aware 21st century readers A new murder mystery that involves martinis Kelly Mullen has a fresh take on the cozy mystery in her premiere novel This Is Not a Game Over the course of 24 hours a woman and her granddaughter progress from guests at a cocktail party to amateur sleuths hunting… When something is described to me as a metaphysical mystery I know I’m going to be either highly entertained by intelligent storytelling (as I was here) or incredibly bored by self-conscious navel-gazing (which I thankfully wasn’t) while reading Sara Gran’s first short story collection The last thing that cheesemonger Willa Bauer expects when she goes to the grand opening of Yarrow Glen California’s new cake store is to run into her ex-fiance and ex-best friend Pearce Brenner and Riley Stephens broke her heart a decade ago when the two fell in love while all three were working to open… yet another pandemic has sent the world into lockdown Those who survive emerge with a renewed lease on life seeming almost enlightened as they shed their most negative feelings and embrace happiness instead Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInRICHMOND (WHSV) - Cam Pacheco scored a game-high 23 points and Spotswood defeated Hopewell 57-50 in the VHSL Class 3 State Championship Erasing an eight-point third quarter deficit Spotswood briefly took a 38-36 lead late in the third quarter before Hopewell’s Nick Byrd tied the game 38-38 with less than 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter the Trailblazers outscored the Blue Devils 19-12 Camden Langridge was another key contributor for the Trailblazers including a critical three-point play with less than three minutes left in regulation that gave Spotswood a four point lead Stephon Cherry led Hopewell with 22 points and six rebounds Deshawn Spellman was the other scorer in double figures for the Blue Devils with 12 points its their first state championship in boys basketball since 1993 Carter Cumiskey (31) of Spotswood pitches during the baseball game between South River and Spotswood at Edward A NJ on 4/23/24.Scott Faytok | NJ Advance Media .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Mak Ojutiku | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comFreshman Tyrus Lazar delivered an extra-innings walk-off hit to push Spotswood to a 3-2 win over Colonia Lazar came up big for the Chargers (10-3) in the eighth inning by driving Gavin Romeo home off a 1-out double Spotswood struck first by scoring two runs in the opening inning but Colonia (10-3) tied the game with a pair of runs in the fifth Seton Hall commit Carter Cumiskey gave up four hits over seven innings while striking out five and conceding one earned run Senior right-hander Will Buchan earned the win by stranding a go-ahead run at third base in the top half of the eighth Romeo led the Chargers on offense with two hits and two RBI to go along with his walk-off run while John Lubin went 2-for-2 with a triple Patriots ace and Monmouth University commit Cory Pascarella recovered after giving up his first two runs of the season in the opening inning by finishing with 12 strikeouts and two walks Pascarella entered the game with 27 strikeouts on 49 innings with six hits and no runs conceded The Chargers and Patriots will face each other again on Thursday and the winning team will walk away with a second place finish in the GMC White Division Colonia’s loss ended the team’s hope of sharing the division crown with St 1/17Baseball: Middlesex at Spotswood, 4/22/25.st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Brian Bobal | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comIt was time for Carter Cumiskey to inflict some payback. Just a year ago, he got the ball in the opening round of the GMC Tournament against Middlesex and was outdueled by Chris Kozak in an eventual 8-0 loss. Kozak threw a two-hit shutout, while Cumiskey allowed five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. The rematch took place on Tuesday and it did not disappoint. Seven innings were not enough and Cumiskey hit his limit after eight and took care of business at the plate in the ninth with a walk-off double that powered Spotswood to a 1-0 win over Middlesex in Spotswood. “I’ve never gone eight innings before and my teammates, they just kept fighting,” Cumiskey said. “(Will Buchan) came back in, threw almost a 1-2-3 inning. The team in the other dugout was very good. They did not make errors. They took a lot of great swings and their pitcher was immaculate. He went into the ninth inning with under (90) pitches, so that’s pretty insane. It felt amazing, though, finally getting a clutch hit for my team.” It felt like a matter of when, not if, Cumiskey was going to eventually make a difference at the plate. After all, he’s just 12 days removed from joining the 100-hit club. He came up empty in his first three at-bats before finding a hole on the right side of the infield and the ball rolled all the way to the wall, allowing Ryan Orth to come around from first to score. “I hit that ball very hard,” Cumiskey said. “I got a really good swing on it and the second baseman was just a little too far over the right and it made its way to the wall. We had one of our fastest runners first. I knew it was game over.” It was only the fifth hit Kozak allowed in the game and the 95th pitch of his outing. It’s the second time in a row he’s gone the distance, though the 8 1/3-inning start was the longest of his career, and both times his team took a 1-0 loss. “He’s an excellent pitcher, especially at this level, and I just think he’s going to keep getting better and better,” said Spotswood head coach Glenn Fredricks. “This was actually a revenge game for Carter because Kozak came in here as a sophomore last year and knocked us out of the tournament with us as the higher seed. He didn’t blink. He came in here and they ate us up.” “So I challenge each and every one of these kids. Our season was literally on the line coming into this series, and I just keep trying to tell our bunch that we’re the ones that believe in ourselves. It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks of us. As long as we believe in what we can do as a team, we’re going to accomplish what we set out to do.” Middlesex, which was looking to bounce back from a 10-8 loss to Spotswood on Saturday, knocked on the door often, but anytime Cumiskey flirted with danger, he got out of it. It was a drastic shift from the first matchup, where both teams totaled 18 runs and 26 hits. The top five hitters in the lineup for Middlesex (6-4) went a combined 14-for-22 in Saturday’s game but were 3-for-20 on Tuesday. The team stranded six runners in scoring position and 10 overall. Cumiskey collected seven strikeouts, three of which came in an eighth inning where he was battling the pitch count. He had 87 through seven and finished with 106, four below the limit. He allowed six hits. “I was very shaky at the beginning of the game, so I definitely lost a lot of pitches in the first half of the game,” said Cumiskey, a Seton Hall commit. “But in the last innings I pitched, I knew we were going to come back out and I knew Will was going to shut it down. I felt amazing. It was my turn to pass the ball to him, and I knew he was going to do it.” Buchan did allow a single in the ninth, but worked around it to set the table for Cumiskey’s heroics in the home half of the frame. Spotswood (6-5) has now won consecutive games after a three-game losing skid and has kept pace in the GMC’s White Division race, though it’s still looking up at Colonia and St. Thomas Aquinas at the top. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Bobal (@brianbobalhs) Brian Bobal may be reached at bbobal@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @BrianBobal The N.J. High School Sports newsletter now appears in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now! Follow us on social: Facebook | Instagram | X (formerly Twitter) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brian Bobal (@brianbobalhs) Carter Cumiskey (31) of Spotswood tries to put the ball in play during the baseball game between South River and Spotswood at Edward A .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Reed Becker | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comCarter Cumiskey went 4-for-4 with a home run three runs scored and five RBIs in Spotswood’s 13-5 victory over North Brunswick in North Brunswick Mike Palumbo and Tyrus Lazar each contributed with two RBIs Spotswood (8-5) extends its winning streak to four games and will travel to Margate to face Williamstown in the Downbeach Coaches vs while North Brunswick (1-9) will host Steinert on Saturday SPOTSWOOD – Former Board of Education President Rich O'Brien overwhelmingly turned back embattled Mayor Jacqueline Palmer’s bid for reelection who ran under the "Together for Spotswood" banner who ran under the "Proven Record of Stabilizing Taxes" banner O'Brien is a safety monitor for Spotswood Public School District He was a member of the Spotswood Board of Education from 2003 to 2010 and served as president He also served as chairman of the Spotswood Recreation Department where he was an appointed member for 21 years Palmer became Spotswood's first woman mayor in 2020 when she defeated Councilman Larry Kraemer by a 2-to-1 margin More: NJ election results 2024: Most races called in Central Jersey Her first term as mayor has been marked by controversy as the borough has become embroiled in lawsuits filed by members of the police department including Chief Philip Corbisiero and Capt accusing her of interfering in the police department former Mayor Edward Seely and Councilman Andrew Zaborney defeated Dan Hurley Zaborney received 1,909 and Hurley received 845 Councilman Edward Lesko did not run for reelection Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com please subscribe or activate your digital account today who has led day-to-day operations of RFG for the past nine years Ala.-based hybrid RIA platform with about $5 billion in client assets who has led the firm since its founding in 2003 White will transition to an executive chairman role he will continue to provide guidance and insight ensuring that the company’s vision and values are upheld as we move forward,” according to a company statement His willingness to embrace change has been instrumental as we have reinvented ourselves through digital transformation and innovation Bobby’s leadership has set a strong foundation for the company and his influence will continue to be felt.” RFG Chief Investment Officer Rick Wedell will take over as RFG’s president while retaining his CIO duties Spotswood joined RFG in 2015 and became president in February 2016 She has led the firm’s day-to-day operations for the last nine years she was a portfolio manager and director of long-only equity strategies for Symphony Asset Management she was an investment banker with Volpe Brown Whelan & Co Related:Hybrid RIA RFG Advisory Takes First Outside Capital With Long Ridge Investment In March, RFG hired Abby Salameh as its new chief behavioral officer and Kenneth Kim who previously led corporate development and strategy for FNZ’s North America region Diana Britton is the Executive Editor of WealthManagement.com, covering independent broker/dealers and RIAs from all angles. She's also the host of The Healthy Advisor a podcast focused on advisor health and wellbeing RIA Edge 100: Growing Rapidly but Responsibly What truly sets peak performing retirement plans apart Tech Stacks & Growth Strategies for Future-Ready Advisory Firms Ask the Experts: Grow Your Practice with Philanthropy: Comparing DAFs and Private Foundations See how advisors are combining active and passive strategies for optimal portfolio results Registered in England & Wales with number 01835199