Belleville HS baseball team defeats rival Nutley, 3-0, behind two-hit shutout by Sean Walsh, in regular-season finale; Bucs seek strong run in the postseason

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Belleville High School baseball team finished a successful regular season.

The Bucs had their biggest win of the season when they defeated rival Nutley, 3-0, Saturday, May 18, at the Park Oval in Nutley.

Belleville improved to 15-9-1 overall on the season.

Sophomore Sean Walsh pitched a complete-game shutout with five strikeouts, allowing just two hits, to lead the Bucs. “Sean came into the game with only 87 pitches of eligibility,” said Belleville head coach Joe Sorce. “He was able to go the distance with 81 pitches. Sean has been our guy on the mound all year and he answered the bell against Nutley.” 

Sophomore Crismel Deleon hit a solo home run to put the Bucs ahead, 1-0, and senior Santiago Nunez hit a two-run single in the sixth for insurance.. “Santiago has come up with big hits all season for us in clutch moments,” said Sorce.

The Bucs had a busy week. They also defeated East Orange Campus on Monday, April 13. After losing at Bloomfield, 4-3, Tuesday, May 14, in a tough game, the Bucs defeated Shabazz on Wednesday, May 15, in Newark. They lost to Jefferson, 8-0, Friday, May 17, at home, before shutting out Nutley. 

The Bucs are looking to make a strong run in the postseason. They unofficially gained the No. 9 seed in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 state tournament and will visit No. 8 seed Cranford in the first round on Thursday, May 23.

“This week, we will have three good practices before going to play Cranford on Thursday,” said Sorce. “Cranford will be a tough opponent, they always have a lot of good players and are very well-coached. I’m confident that our guys will be ready to play.”

Note – Walsh was rewarded by the Essex County committee for the Quad County  Underclassmen All-Star Game by being selected as a pitcher for Essex County. The game will be played on Wednesday, June 26, at Community Park in North Brunswick.

Photo by Joe Ragozzino