VIDEO, PHOTOS: Middle ends nomadic season with playoff defeat; young team’s future appears bright

Posted: May 28th 2026

Middle Township's Tommy Yarson makes a catch of a popup as teammate Nick Matteucci peels away from the play.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

WILDWOOD – A nomadic season that saw the Middle Township High School baseball team play all of its games away from home came to a close Thursday afternoon.

The Panthers, seeded eighth in the South Jersey Group II Tournament, dropped a 9-3 decision at the hands of No. 9 Manchester Township. The contest was played at Maxwell Field, the regular home of the Wildwood High School baseball team.

Middle, which finished at 10-13, was left without a home facility this spring due to renovation work being performed on the fields at the Clarence Davies Sports Complex. As a result, Middle practiced on a makeshift field behind the high school and played most of its designated home games on the field of its opponent. The team was able to play a handful of home games at Maxwell Field.

In Thursday’s playoff game, Manchester (9-17) jumped in front for good in the opening inning, scoring three times. The Hawks added two more in the third before Middle got on the board on an RBI single by Mikey Fritsch in the fourth that scored Ryan Murray. Manchester, however, scored two more times in the sixth to extend its lead to 8-1, before Middle got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the inning on an error and an RBI ground out by Joe Eisele that scored Fritsch.

Manchester concluded the scoring with a run in the seventh.

Fritsch had a pair of hits and Kyle Mick posted a hit and walk for Middle.

The Panthers should be positioned for improvement next spring. The team will be back at its regular home facility and is expected to return all of its players. This season’s Middle team featured no seniors, and many of the regular contributors were sophomores and freshmen.