The West Orange High School baseball team poses together.
WEST ORANGE — The fourth-seeded West Orange High School baseball team defeated Kearny and Fair Lawn to advance to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 state tournament semifinals.
The Mountaineers rolled to a five-inning 11-1 win over 13th-seeded Kearny in the first round on May 27 at home. Senior Jay Stevenson went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, senior Shep Stevenson had a single and two RBIs, senior Ethan Almengo had two hits and an RBI, sophomore Aidan Ackerman had two hits and two RBIs, junior Nicholas Riley had a single and two RBIs, senior Liam Ramos had a double and an RBI, and junior Jordan Rothseid had a single and an RBI.
Senior Jack Pimm pitched 2 ⅔ innings of two-hit ball with four strikeouts for the win. WOHS defeated No. 5 seed Fair Lawn 3-1 in the quarterfinal round on May 29 at home for its fourth win in a row to move to 20-8 on the season. West Orange took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. After Fair Lawn tied it 1-1 in the top of the sixth, WOHS scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Rothseid went 2-for-3 with a double. Ramos went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Riley had a walk and an RBI. Pimm had an RBI and he also pitched a complete game, allowing five hits and one unearned run with two strikeouts and one walk.
The Mountaineers were scheduled to visit top-seeded Passaic County Tech in the semifinal round on June 3 after press time. The other semifinal pitted No. 3 seed Ridgewood at No. 2 seed Mount Olive. The final is June 5.
Photo Courtesy of West Orange HS head baseball coach Tim Blumkin
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