SHP junior JJ Drennan, No. 31, greets senior pitcher Marcelo Harsche during the win over St. Joseph (Montvale) in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA's Non-Public "A: North tournament on Friday, May 30.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The second-seeded Seton Hall Prep baseball team hosted St. Joseph (Montvale) in the quarterfinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Non-Public “A” North tournament on Friday, May 30, at Porcello Field and defeated the seventh-seeded Green Knights, 12-2, in six innings.
Senior right-hander Marcelo Harsch improved to 7-0 on the season, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Pirates scored eight runs on two hits to break a scoreless tie, sending 12 men to the plate. Senior Henry Ayers opened the scoring with a two-run single to center field. Junior JJ Drennan was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, senior Will Mahala walked with the bases loaded, junior Devin Aiken drove in a run with an infield groundout and senior Kaden Frei closed out the inning with an RBI single to left field. The other runs scored on an error and a wild pitch.
After the Green Knights scored two runs in the top of the sixth, the Pirates closed out the game by scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Junior Jordan Burwell had an RBI double to left-center. Mahala, senior William Garrett and senior Santino Czarecki had consecutive RBI singles to close out the scoring.
The Pirates, who improved to 22-1 on the season, were scheduled to host No. 3 seed DePaul (Wayne) in the semifinals on Wednesday, June 4, after press time. The other semifinal pitted No. 1 seed Don Bosco (Ramsey) against No. 4 seed Delbarton (Morristown). The final is Friday, June 6.
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