WEST ORANGE — The top-seeded Seton Hall Prep baseball team defeated No. 16 seed Barringer 10-0 in five innings in the first round of the 93rd Greater Newark Tournament at Porcello Field in West Orange on Friday, May 1.
Senior JJ Drennan pitched a perfect game with 10 strikeouts. Senior Xavier McKnight drove in three runs, while senior Devin Aiken and junior Bryce Bradley each drove in two runs and junior Joey Maiella drove in one.
The Pirates were scheduled to host No. 8 seed Verona in the quarterfinal round of the GNT on Wednesday, May 6, after press time. If they won, they will face either No. 4 seed Columbia or No. 5 seed West Orange in the GNT semifinals on Saturday, May 9. The semifinal games will take place at Porcell Field.
On Saturday morning, May 2, the Pirates defeated visiting Chaminade High School from Mineola, N.Y., 4-1 to cap a 3-0 week and win their fourth game in a row to improve to 14-3 on the season.
Aiken and junior Jack Webber each had an RBI single to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. After Chaminade scored one run in the top of the fourth, the Pirates added to their lead, scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Webber had an RBI on an infield groundout and Maiella had an RBI single to make the score 4-1.
Senior Pat Cassels threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out six. Junior Angel Salcedo (2-1) picked up the win, pitching 2 1/3 innings and allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Junior Anthony Mustacciuolo picked up the save, pitching two innings with three strikeouts and he hit one batter.
Earlier in the week, the Pirates traveled to Tangorra Field at the Park Oval in Nutley to face Nutley High School. They defeated the Raiders 12-7.
The Pirates jumped out to a 5-0 lead after four innings. In the second inning, they scored four runs, as freshman Noah Vargas had an RBI single, and Drennan and senior Jordan Burwell each had a sac fly RBI. The other run scored on an error.
In the fourth inning, senior Jaxson Davis hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Nutley tied the score at 5-5. In the top of the sixth, the Pirates regained a 10-5 lead, scoring five runs, as Burwell hit a two-run homer, Maiella hit a two-run double and junior John Deveau had an RBI single.
After Nutley scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Seton Hall added two runs to its lead in the top of the seventh, when Burwell hit another two-run homer to make it 12-7.
Senior Joseph Pontoriero (4-0) picked up the win in relief.
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