WRSU’s “Last Dance” World Series coverage wraps up with Friday’s championship

Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton, shown above, will host the Last Dance World Series championship game Friday night. WRSU will have wall-to-wall coverage beginning at 6:30 pm.

The New Jersey Last Dance World Series high school baseball tournament reaches its culmination this Friday, with the championship game in Trenton. WRSU Sports will broadcast the title game live from Arm & Hammer Park in the state capitol.

Chris Tsakonas and Corey Jason will call all the action as the Jackson Jags take on Cougar Baseball, the team from Cranford. Jackson won the South title Wednesday night at First Energy Park in Lakewood, while the Cougars won the North title at Skylands Stadium in Sussex.

First pitch is set for 7 pm, but coverage will begin at 6:30 pm with interviews and analysis leading up to the final game of the Last Dance tournament.

With their sports broadcasting season coming to a premature end in March in the middle of a historic run to the NCAA Tournament for the Rutgers men’s basketball team, members of the WRSU Sports Department got behind the mics at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater for their first live play-by-play in 129 days when the tournament began two weeks ago.

And their coverage has been in demand, with high listenership due to Governor Phil Murphy’s restrictions limiting outdoor gatherings to 500 people.

The brainchild of St. Joe’s Athletic Director Mike Murray, the tournament features over 200 teams from around the state, which closely resemble New Jersey high school teams. But the squads have no affiliation with their high schools. It was seen as an opportunity to replace – in some small way – the season that was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for seniors who lost out on their final year of high school ball.