NUTLEY — The Nutley High School baseball team finished as the second-best team in the county tournament.
The seventh-seeded Raiders, under head coach Eric Puzio, advanced to the championship game of the 93rd Greater Newark Tournament, which is considered the Essex County tournament.
Nutley unfortunately fell to top-seeded Seton Hall Prep 7-0 in the final at Verona’s Doc Goeltz Field on May 16.
NHS junior Sean Fealey, who pitched a no-hitter against St. Benedict’s Prep in the second game of the season back on April 2 at the Park Oval, managed to strike out 13 over 5 2/3 innings pitched. He allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits and four walks. SHP senior JJ Drennan, who was coming off back-to-back no-hitters, allowed two hits and two walks with 11 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings.
Senior Chris Kovacs had a single and a walk, junior Jackson Veneziano singled and sophomore John Machtemes had a walk for the Raiders, who moved to 12-11 on the season. SHP won its 21st GNT title.
The Raiders upset No. 2 seed Caldwell and No. 3 seed West Essex to advance to the GNT final. NHS scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning to beat Caldwell 4-2 in the quarterfinals on May 6 at Caldwell. Senior Eugenio Roman had a single, a double and two RBIs; and junior Dominic Saldino had a single and two RBIs to lead the Raiders. Veneziano and Kovacs each had two singles. Junior Gabe Rodriguez pitched all eight innings, giving up four hits and striking out four for the win. He totalled 111 pitches.
The Raiders defeated West Essex 2-1 in the ECT semifinals doubleheader on May 9 at Porcello Field in West Orange, home of Seton Hall Prep.
Rodriguez had an RBI and Kovacs had a single and an RBI. Fealey fired a seven-inning one-hitter with four strikeouts and three walks on 108 pitches for the win.
The Raiders, seeded fifth, were scheduled to host No. 12 seed Cliffside Park in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 state tournament on May 27. The winner will face either No. 4 seed Wayne Hills or No.13 seed Wayne Valley in the quarterfinals on May 29.
Photos Courtesy of Jose Raboy
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