Seton Hall Prep junior Owen Baratta connects at the plate against West Essex this season.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep baseball team had an outstanding week, going 4-0, to raise its record to 15-6 on the season.
Of the Pirates’ four wins, three were Greater Newark Tournament games, as they have reached the final, which will be played on Saturday, May 21, at noon at Yogi Berra Stadium on the campus of Montclair State University against Bloomfield, which had a 9-0 victory over Nutley in the semifinal.
On Monday, May 9, in the first round of the 89th Greater Newark Tournament, the fourth-seeded Pirates defeated No. 13 seed Cedar Grove, 6-0, as senior right-handers Patrick Walega (2-1) and John Cerwinski combined on a one-hitter. Senior shortstop Chris Maldonado was 3-for-3, with one run scored. Senior second baseman Alex Kim drove in two runs, while seniors Luke Mahala, Aaron Bertone and Ryan Sprock, as well as junior Elijah Foster, all drove in one run. Walega pitched five innings, allowing one hit with seven strikeouts, two walks and one hit batter. Cerwinski pitched the final two innings, with four strikeouts and one walk.
On Wednesday, May 11, in the quarterfinals, the Pirates won in dramatic fashion as Foster blasted a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-3 victory over No. 5 seed Livingston. Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Kim led off with a double to left field. Senior Sam Nomura then singled to right field to put runners on first and third. Maldonado blasted the first pitch he saw deep over the left-center-field fence to tie the score at 3-3.
In the bottom of the ninth, Kim led off with a walk. He was sacrificed to second base by Nomura. Maldonado was intentionally walked, and Sprock hit into a fielder’s choice, putting runners on first and second. Foster hit the second pitch he faced deep over the left-field fence for the game winner. Winning pitcher Nomura (1-0) pitched the final three innings, with six strikeouts and one walk.
The next day in a regular-season game, the Pirates hosted Roxbury and defeated the Gaels 14-4 in five innings. Maldonado drove in three runs, including a two-run homer; Sprock was 3-for-3 with three runs batted in; junior catcher James Grizzetti was 2-for-3 with three runs batted in; and senior Matthew Monteleone drove in two runs.
On Saturday, May 14, at Doc Goeltz Field in Verona, the Pirates defeated No. 1 seed Millburn, 3-1, in the semifinals in an outstanding game. The Millers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third. In the top of the fourth, Seton Hall took a 2-1 lead. Sprock reached first on an infield error. He was sacrificed to second by Foster and scored on a single to center field by junior Ryan Probst. Probst went to second when, on a pickoff play at first base, obstruction was called. Probst later scored on a double down the left-field line by Bertone.
In the sixth inning, Monteleone blasted an opposite-field homer to left field to make the score 3-1.
John Cerwinski (4-0) pitched four innings, allowing one run on four hits with seven strikeouts and four walks. Nomura picked up the save, retiring all nine batters he faced over the final three innings with two strikeouts.
Following the game, Monteleone said, “We have had some great battles with Millburn. They are a great team and are well coached.”
Probst added, “I knew I had to get a big hit in the fourth inning, and I did.”
Bertone was superb all game long behind the plate, blocking balls in the dirt while protecting against wild pitches. He said about his double, “I saw the outside pitch coming, got my foot down, waited on it, and then drove the ball the other way.”
SHP head coach Mike Sheppard Jr. said, “We feel good about getting back to the GNT final, and we have success in the semis and finals and like to win it, but we also know that in baseball anything can happen. Hopefully, our best baseball of the season is coming now.”
Notes: SHP has won 17 titles, most recently in 2017 (4-2 over Millburn). This is the team’s 26th final appearance. Bloomfield has won four titles, the last one in 1996 (3-0 over Livingston). This is Bloomfield’s 10th final appearance. SHP defeated Bloomfield 5-2 in the 1997 final. This was the only championship game between these two teams. In GNT history from 1971 to the present, the Pirates have a 10-0 record in games between these two teams.
Photo Courtesy of Rich Morris/SHP
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