Seton Hall Prep baseball team extends win streak to nine games

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep baseball team won three games last week to improve to 15-2-1 and continue its winning streak to nine games. 

On Tuesday, April 30, the Pirates traveled to Underhill Field in Maplewood to take on Columbia. The Pirates defeated the Cougars, 9-3. In the top of the first inning, Seton Hall sent 11 men to the plate, scoring seven runs on six hits. In the inning, sophomore Daniel Comtois and junior Santino Czarecki each had two-run doubles, while sophomore Jordan Burwell, junior William Mahala and senior Vincent Mariniello each had RBI singles. Czarecki had an RBI single in the third inning and senior Peter Peluso had an RBI double in the fourth inning. Lucas Fernandez (2-0), a senior left-hander, picked up the win in relief with one walk, one strikeout and one hit batter.

On Friday, May 3, the No. 2-seed Pirates hosted No. 18 seed St. Benedict’s, and in an old fashioned pitcher’s duel, won, 1-0, in the first round of the 91st Greater Newark Tournament at Porcello field. Junior righty Marcelo Harsch (3-0) allowed just one hit and had 10 strikeouts with one walk. In the bottom of the sixth with two outs, junior William Garrett doubled down the right-field line and scored from second base with a great slide when Mahala reached first base on an infield single. 

The Pirates were scheduled to host No. 7 seed West Essex on Wednesday, May 8, in the quarterfinal round.

The next afternoon, Seton Hall traveled to Princeton to take on The Hun School and defeated the Raiders, 9-4. Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning, the Pirates tied the score at 1-1 on a sacrifice fly to right field by Garrett, driving in junior Kaden Frei. Seton Hall went ahead, 5-1, in the fifth,  when Frei drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and junior Michael Bravette had an RBI single to center field. 

After Hun scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead, the Pirates tied the score at 4-4, when junior Henry Ayers had a two-out walk with the bases loaded, driving in Burwell.

In the top of the seventh, Seton Hall took the lead, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring five runs on four hits to take a 9-4 lead. Mahala had a two-run single to center field and Mariniello had a two-run single to left field, while the other run scored on a balk. Junior Nick DeSena (1-0) picked up the victory, pitching three innings with three strikeouts and two walks and allowing one hit.