WEST ORANGE, NJ — Sophomore catcher Henry Ayers’ two-out single to right field scored sophomore Michael Bravette for the winning run as the second-seeded Seton Hall Prep baseball team (11-8-1) defeated third-seeded Livingston 4-3 in eight innings in the semifinal round of the 90th Greater Newark Tournament played at Porcello Field in West Orange on Saturday, May 13.
In the other game, top-seeded Millburn defeated No. 4 seed Montclair 2-0.
Seton Hall had tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when sophomore Kaden Frei scored on a balk, followed by a freshman JJ Drennan’s RBI double into the left-field corner, and Drennan came around to score on senior Owen Baratta’s RBI single to right field. Ayers was 3-for-5 with an RBI, Baratta was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, Bravette was 1-for-3 with two walks and two stolen bases, and senior Ryan Probst drew three walks with one stolen base.
Winning pitcher junior Andrew Hladik (2-2) had seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 hitless innings allowing just
1 walk.
Following the game, Ayers said, “We are a young team but we are feeding off our energy and I think that we are playing really good baseball right now.” SHP head coach Mike Sheppard Jr. added, “Our guys are learning. It’s the youngest team I have ever coached and I can’t ever say I know that our guys are going to react in every situation. I just ask them to battle every single game and they did that today.”
Two days earlier the Pirates traveled to Lincroft to take on Christian Brothers Academy and dropped a tough 8-7 decision to the Colts. Senior Elijah Foster hit a three-run homer and Bravette had an RBI
double.
In the quarterfinal round of the GNT on Wednesday, May 10, the Pirates defeated No. 7 seed West Essex 10-5 at Porcello Field. Sophomore righty Marcelo Harsch (4-1) pitched 5 2/3 innings allowing four runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Baratta had a three-run double while freshman Jordan Burwell drove in two runs; and Ayers, Foster, senior Evan Ravalli, and sophomore William Mahala each drove in one run.
On Monday, May 8, Seton Hall dropped a heartbreaker 5-3 decision to visiting Ridge. The Pirates built a 3-0 lead when senior James Grizzetti blasted a three-run homer to left-center field. Ridge scored five runs in the top of the seventh to capture the victory.
NOTES: Seton Hall Prep, the defending Greater Newark Tournament champions, will face top-seeded Millburn in the final on Saturday, May 20, at Doc Goeltz Field in Verona at noon. Seton Hall will be vying for its 19th overall GNT title and 16th since 1997. The two teams split the regular season, with Millburn winning 9-1 on April 5 and Seton Hall taking the rematch 3-0 on April 21. This will be the sixth time that the teams will meet in the GNT final dating back to 2008, with the Pirates holding a 4-1 lead. In 2019, Seton Hall and Millburn were involved in the longest game in GNT history. Millburn won 6-5 in 11 innings. This is the Pirates’ 27th appearance in the GNT final while Millburn is appearing in their seventh final.
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