MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE — Senior Benji Josefsberg went 2-for-2 with three walks, a double and an RBI; and senior Isaac Buchalter went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and three RBIs to power the fourth-seeded Columbia High School baseball team to a 14-4 home win over No. 13 seed Glen Ridge in the second round in the Greater Newark Tournament on May 1.
Senior Joey Kerner went 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI; sophomore Jack Livingstone drove in three runs; senior Will Iozzio went 1-for-1 with an RBI; senior Eli Angelou had a single and two RBIs; and Evan Straub and junior Gavin Lubomski each had an RBI.
Iozzio allowed three earned runs on four hits and five walks with seven strikeouts in four innings, while senior Blake Gordon pitched two innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts.
The Cougars were scheduled to host No. 5 seed West Orange in the quarterfinals on May 6. The winner of Columbia and West Orange will face the winner between No. 1 seed Seton Hall Prep and No. 8 seed Verona in the semifinals on May 9. Columbia received a first-round bye.
The Cougars lost at Verona 10-9 in a Super Essex Conference game on May 2 to move to 9-6 on the season. The Cougars had their six-game winning streak end. After CHS scored a run in the top of the seventh, Verona answered with two runs in the bottom half to win the game.
Kerner went 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI, Angelou went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBIs, Josefsberg had a single and an RBI, and junior Landon Heney had a triple and drove in two runs.
In earlier action, Livingstone had two singles, a walk and four RBIs in the 15-4 win over Montclair Kimberley Academy on April 27 in a Super Essex Conference game. Buchalter had a single and two RBIs. Dex Ellis, Lochan Tuohy and Lumboski each had a single and an RBI. Oliver Ellis struck out nine and allowed two hits over four innings for the win.
Angelou and Straub each went 1-for-2 with an RBI, and Tuohy drove in a run in the 4-1 win at West Orange on April 30 in a SEC game. Dex Ellis allowed three hits, one earned run and three walks with six strikeouts over six innings for the win.
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