LAKEWOOD – There was a time when Christian Brothers Academy was on the bubble to make the 24-team Shore Conference field. The Colts not only got in but put on a dominant display, becoming the first team to win the Shore final via mercy rule, with a 12-0 drubbing of Rumson-Fair Haven to claim the program’s ninth Shore Conference title.
The Colts, entering as the No. 6 seed and riding an eight-game win streak, were dominant from start to finish at ShoreTown Ballpark, pounding out 12 hits and taking advantage of six Bulldogs errors while junior left-hander Dan Pardini was nearly untouchable on the mound.
Pardini, who missed over a month of the season with an ankle injury, was everything CBA needed in the title game. The Penn State commit turned in one of the finest performances in Shore Conference championship history, going six innings and allowing just two hits, one walk, and striking out eight, and retiring 10 consecutive batters at one point.
“It’s crazy. We’ve been rolling ever since that St. Peter’s game,” Pardini said after the championship. “We have just been so hot, and if you were to take us from the first game of the season to now, it’s just a night and day difference. It comes from our practicing, our work outside of practice and during practice. It’s just tremendous, our coaching.”
For Pardini, the performance was the culmination of an inspiring journey back from injury. “It’s just a blessing. I’ve been trying my best to work on my command and it’s just been an honor to see it translate in the game,” he said. “This place, I call these people my family. I don’t even know what to say right now, but it’s the best feeling ever.”
The Colts stranded two runners in the first and had a runner thrown out at the plate but got going in the second with three runs. Then the dam broke with a six-spot in the fourth. Ryan Wetmore delivered the biggest blow of the frame, crushing a two-run double to left field that pushed the lead to 7-0.
“We’ve been hitting this whole tournament and it’s really just the guys. It’s the juniors and even the seniors,” Wetmore said. “They want to do it for themselves. They want to do it for the guys that are leaving so that they can have one more. Because we had that my freshman year, their sophomore year.”
Jayden Matejicka reached base all five times he came to the plate, going three-for-three with two runs. Alex Fiore was equally locked in at the plate, going three-for-three with an RBI single in the second inning that pushed the lead to 2-0.
“We’ve had some bumps throughout the road, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” Fiore said. “This place, I call these people my family. It’s just contagious. I don’t even know what to say right now, but it’s the best feeling ever.”
CBA tacked on three more in the sixth to set the stage for Pardini to close it out. CBA moves to 15-8 and carries a red-hot eight-game winning streak into the state playoffs. Even without top pitchers Sean Loggie and Dylan Iwanyk, who are on the shelf due to injuries, CBA has proven it still has the firepower to make a deep run.
Rumson-Fair Haven reached the Shore baseball final for the second time in school history. The 20-6 Bulldogs are the top seed in Central Jersey Group 2 and could be on a collision course with second-seed Governor Livingston in the section final. The Highlanders are the three-time defending state champs.
The article originally appeared in the May 28 – June 3, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
