Seton Hall Prep baseball team keeps up winning ways

Seton Hall Prep junior William Mahala waits for a pitch at the plate in the win over Livingston in the Greater Newark Tournament championship game on Saturday, May 18m, at Verona’s Doc Goeltz Field.

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep baseball team went 4-0 last week to improve to 24-3-1 and extended its winning streak to five games.

On Monday, May 20, the Pirates traveled to Bloomfield Middle School to take on Bloomfield High School and defeated the Bengals, 18-2. They were led by junior William Mahala, who went 4-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI, while Gavin Fochtman went 3-for-5 with three RBI. Juniors William Garrett and Henry Ayers, and sophomores Jordan Burwell and JJ Drennan each drove in two runs. Junior Christopher Cerwinski picked up his first varsity victory, pitching five innings with eight strikeouts and allowing one hit. He also hit one batter.

The next day, the Pirates hosted Roxbury at Porcello Field and defeated the Gaels, 13-3. Senior Peter Peluso was 2-for-4 with five RBI, including a walk-off grand slam. Mahala was 3-for-4 with four RBI, while senior Vincent Mariniello went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Senior Andrew Hladik (6-0) threw five innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

SHP senior Peter Peluso stands at third base, next to head coach Mike Sheppard Jr.

On Wednesday, May 22, the No. 3 seed Pirates hosted No. 14 seed Hudson Catholic in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Non-Public “A” North state tournament and defeated the Hawks, 14-0. They were led by Mahala, who was 1-for-2 with three RBI, and junior Michael Bravette, who was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. Senior Lucas Fernandez threw a five-inning, three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts. The Pirates hosted No. 6 seed Dwight-Englewood in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, May 28, after press time.

On a beautiful Saturday, May 25, the Pirates hosted Morris Knolls and came from behind to defeat the Golden Eagles, 9-8. Trailing 3-0, the Pirates scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning on a two-run single by Drennan, an RBI groundout by Mariniello, and an RBI single by Bravette.

In the third inning, the Pirates increased their lead to 8-3 on a two-run homer to right field by Mahala, and back-to-back RBI singles by Drennan and Mariniello.

In the fourth inning, Seton Hall scored what proved to be the winning run when Mahala walked, stole second and scored on an infield error. Junior Roman Baldwin (4-2) picked up the victory in relief with three scoreless innings. Bravette picked up his fourth save of the year.

The following SHP players have earned all–Super Essex Conference–American Division honors, as voted by the conference coaches:

First team