WEST ORANGE, NJ – The Baseball Program at Seton Hall Prep has put together a travel team this summer consisting of 22 players who competed on the freshman team this past spring. The group is “playing up,” meaning they are opposing other top travel programs that are a year older, thus affording them better competition.
The team is playing a 30-game schedule, including two tournaments, over a seven-week period from June 12 through July 27. It is led by Head Coach Dan Fornaro, who is assisted by Ryan Clark, Stephen Kress, and Dave Kahney. All four also coach at various levels in the baseball program at the school.
Officially known as the Pirates Baseball Team, the summer squad was 9-4 recently. The team is coming off an excellent weekend, July 1-2, that featured a championship at the sixth annual Ed “Faa” Ford 16U Baseball Tournament held at Lincoln Park in Jersey City. The tournament began with round-robin play on Saturday, July 1, as the Pirates defeated the No. Jersey Juggernauts, 5-1, and Wladyka National, 4-3. On Sunday morning, July 2, in the last game of round-robin play, they lost to Langan Baseball, 9-3. They came back later that afternoon in the championship game and defeated Langan Baseball, 10-0, behind the outstanding pitching of right-hander Danny Savino, who was selected as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player as he pitched a complete game three-hitter, striking out eight and walking three.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Jack Musho singled in Tyler Cook, who opened the inning with a triple. They increased their lead to 2-0 in the third inning when Savino led off with a single and scored on a base hit by John Nicosia. In the fourth inning, Brandon Hersh led off with a single and later scored on a single by Garrett Fitschen to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.
The Pirates blew the game open by scoring seven runs in the sixth. Hersh singled and Russell Kahney and Drew Mitzak reached on bunt singles to load the bases. Fitschen then lined a triple into the right-field corner to give the Pirates a 6-0 lead. Later in the inning, Savino had an RBI single, Nicosia and Ryan Monteleone had RBI doubles; and Musho had a sac fly to left field.
Tournament Director Ed Ward presented the Championship Plaque to Head Coach Dan Fornaro, who accepted it in memory of Father Stephen Kilcarr, who passed away a week earlier. Father Kilcarr was a baseball coach at Seton Hall Prep for more than 40 years and had a deep impact on all the lives of the students he came across. Fornaro was impressed with the way the team performed throughout the tournament. “We really came together this weekend, playing against top competition and older teams. We really play aggressive on both sides of the field as we were 9-9 in stolen bases and five sacrifice bunts. We only had one error on the day, and as the old saying goes, pitching and defense wins baseball games.”
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