BELLEVILLE – In a quiet week due to the weather, the Belleville High School varsity baseball team lost both its games, but head coach Joe Sorce saw a few good things from his team.
On Monday, May 2, the Bucs lost at perennial powerhouse Seton Hall Prep, 5-0, in West Orange. The game was scoreless until SHP scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth. “Junior Brayan Villar pitched into the sixth inning and did a great job,” said Sorce. “He kept them off balance and showed a lot of poise.”
The Bucs lost to Columbia, 8-4, May 4, to move to a 2-14 record. Freshman Josh Rodriguez got his first start on the mound. “He threw the ball well and like Villar showed good poise against a very good team,” Sorce said.
The Bucs’ first-round home game against Newark Academy in the 84th Greater Newark Tournament was rained out on Saturday, May 7. The game will be played Monday, May 9, at 4 p.m. Belleville is the No. 11 seed. Newark Academy is the No. 6 seed, but can not host the game, “so they will be the home team at our field,” Sorce said. Villar will get the start. The winner will play the winner of No. 3 seed Nutley and No. 14 seed Glen Ridge in the quarterfinals on May 12. The Nutley-Glen Ridge also will be played May 9.
“It’s been a tough season for us to date but were very excited about the GNT,” Sorce said. “In my tenure as head coach, tournaments have brought out the best in our teams.”
The Bucs’ other games this week are:
Tuesday, May 10, at Montclair
Thursday, May 12, West Essex, home
Friday, May 13, at Livingston
The pitching matchups will depend on the outcome of the Bucs’ GNT game, said Sorce.
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