Four Bridgewater-Raritan High School teams competed in the quarterfinal round of their respective state sectional tournaments on a busy Wednesday, May 29.
The baseball and boys’ volleyball teams won, while the’ boys’ tennis and girls’ lacrosse squads were both eliminated in the quarterfinal matchups in the state sectional tournament.
The top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan boys’ volleyball and baseball teams earned the opportunity to play at home at least once more time after advancing to the state sectional semifinals with victories.
To start the day on May 29 at 12:30 p.m., the sixth-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan boys’ tennis team fell by a score of 5-0 against third-seeded J.P. Stevens High School at the Garden State Tennis Center in Edison. The Panthers finished their season as quarterfinalists in the North New Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Tournament. As that match went final at 2:30 p.m., the sixth-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan girls’ lacrosse team squared off against third-seeded Hunterdon Central Regional High School, ranked No. 4 in New Jersey. The Panthers got to within three goals in the third quarter before the Red Devils ended the game with eight unanswered goals to pull away for a 16-5 victory in Flemington.
Shortly after that game went final, at 4 p.m., the Panthers’ two remaining squads simultaneously continued their state tournament runs on the campus of Bridgewater-Raritan High School as the No. 1 seeds in their respective brackets. The Bridgewater-Raritan boys’ volleyball team, which is ranked No. 5 in New Jersey, improved to 23-4 after sweeping eighth-seeded Bloomfield High School, 2-0 (25-16, 25-16), in a rematch of last season’s sectional championship won by the Panthers. With its victory, the reigning sectional champion Bridgewater-Raritan advanced to the North New Jersey, Group 4 Tournament semifinals. It will host fourth-seeded Clifton High School on Friday, May 31, at Vaughn Stapleton Gymnasium.
But this will not be the only state sectional semifinal matchup on Friday on the campus of Bridgewater-Raritan High School, as the Panthers’ baseball team sealed a victory just a short time later.
The Bridgewater-Raritan baseball squad, which is ranked No. 4 in New Jersey and is coming off of its first Somerset County Baseball title since 1996, blanked ninth-seeded Edison High School by a score of 3-0 to cap off back-to-back shutout victories to open the state tournament.
With their win, the Panthers improved to 26-3 and extended their school record for most victories in a season. Bridgewater-Raritan will next serve as host to fourth-seeded Westfield High School in the semifinals of North New Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 on Friday, May 31, in Bridgewater.
