VIDEO, PHOTOS: Wildwood posts first 20-win season in 11 years by breezing to opening-round playoff win

Posted: May 26th 2026

Wildwood's Gianni Troiano rolls into second base with one of his three doubles in a state playoff victory over Paulsboro Tuesday.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

WILDWOOD – The Wildwood High School baseball team is now playing with house money.

The Warriors, thought prior to the season to be facing a rebuilding campaign with a young team this spring, are now through to the second round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs after a thorough 10-3 victory over Paulsboro in an opening-round game Tuesday.

Also of note, the win improved Wildwood to 20-9 on the season, marking the first time in 11 seasons that the program has won at least 20 games.

The fifth-seeded Warriors will next play Friday in the second round. They’re awaiting the winner of a game scheduled for Wednesday between No. 4 Maple Shade and No. 13 Riverside. If Maple Shade wins, Wildwood will travel. If Riverside pulls an upset, the Warriors will play at home.

Wildwood was never seriously challenged against 12th-seeded Paulsboro. The Warriors scored three times in the first inning on RBI singles by Nolan Mawhinney and Will Auty and an RBI groundout by Michael McWade. They then added two more runs in the second on an RBI double by Gianni Troiano and an RBI single by Michael Blanda.

Meanwhile, Auty tossed four hitless innings on the mound, striking out six against no walks. He gave up one unearned run.

Wildwood scored three more times in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by another RBI double by Troiano.

Paulsboro got some momentum going in the fifth on a two-run double by Kayden Weber that reduced its deficit to 8-3, but Wildwood halted any thoughts of a comeback by scoring two more times in the sixth, with one of the runs coming across on an RBI hit by Michael Sciarra.

Wildwood, which features no seniors and at least three freshmen in the regular starting lineup, got four hits, including three doubles, four runs scored and two RBI from Troiano to lead the offense. Blanda added three hits and two RBI and Mawhinney chipped in two hits and two RBI.