Bloomfield HS baseball team never quit during great year

Bloomfield senior Brandon Piacenza slides to third base during the game against Lyndhurst this season.

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield High School baseball team had a terrific season.

The second-seeded Bengals reached the championship game of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 state tournament on Friday, June 2, losing to fourth-seeded Ridgewood in a wild 12-11 game at Bloomfield Middle School field to finish with a 20-10 overall record.

The Bengals also won the Super Essex Conference–Liberty Division title this season.

“It was a tremendous season overall for us, as we went out and won the Liberty Division with an 11-1 record, only losing one game to West Essex in the first week of the season,” BHS head coach Mike Policastro said. “During the year, our players developed a toughness to them that we didn’t have a year ago. When we would get down last year, sometimes we crumbled. This year, we won a lot of tight games and played very well.

“When teams would push us, we would push right back. We never wavered, never quit. We found something during the season and they continued that until the final out of the year in the sectional final. We made an unbelievable run in the state tournament and we fought until the very end. I am beyond proud of our kids for what they accomplished. In the sectional final we fought back from 5-0, 7-1, and 10-4 deficits to take an 11-10 lead into the seventh inning. To have that game, and be one strike away from a sectional title, was amazing; unfortunately it didn’t happen, but nonetheless I am extremely proud of our kids and beyond grateful for all of them.”

Here are the Bengals who earned All–SEC–Liberty Division honors, as selected by the divisional coaches:

First team