June 1, 2026- Friday, May 29 was a heart-stopping day of local baseball if you're a fan of Toms River teams.
High School East defeated Shawnee in extra innings on a walkoff hit from Lucas Melton that scored Joey DiMeo. Liam Scallon threw five shutout innings and Jonathan Pallman earned the win in a game that was full of drama and close plays. In the end, it was a 2-1 win for the Raiders, who advance to play Mainland on June 3 in the semifinal round of the South Jersey Group 3 NJSIAA state tournament.
As for South? All the Indians did was upset the no. 5-ranked team in the state and the tourney's top seed.
Senior Canaan Sanzone threw out the would-be tying run from centerfield in the ninth inning, securing a 4-3 win over Clearview. Jake Gallagher had scored the go-ahead run in the top of the inning. Senior Evan Schmidt was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, helping to lead the offense.