West Orange High second baseman Aaron Puryear leaps for the ball as Bloomfield’s Luis Rullan slides to second during the Mountaineers’ second game of the season. Photos by Jerry Simon.
WEST ORANGE – Head coach Stephan Zichella is certainly excited about what his West Orange High School baseball varsity team could achieve this year.
And after the Mountaineers’ first two games this season, it’s easy to see why.
“We’re looking really good right now and our 2-0 start is one of the best starts we’ve had here in a while,” said Zichella, whose squad defeated North 13th St., 12-1, in the season opener before beating Bloomfield.
“We played a solid game in our opener, and on Friday (April 8) we played mistake-free baseball and got great pitching and hitting in our win against Bloomfield,” he said.
This year’s group is led by six seniors. Highlighting the group are Liam White and Andrew Scholz.
“Those two players are our two twin towers,” said the coach, noting White is 6-foot-7 and Scholz is listed at 6-foot-6. “Both can play any position on the field and both are off to great starts to this year.”
Along with those players, Zichella said three-year starters Robert Parisi, an outfielder, and shortstop Doug Hughes also help lead the way.
“Both are solid relief pitchers; both received all-conference honors last year and offensively, both were great as juniors and both are off to great starts now,” said Zichella.
First baseman/pitcher Paul Casolaro is another senior leader for the team. “Paul is a phenomenal pitcher who could be as good as anybody,” Zichella said.
In addition to those players, the WOHS coach said Thomas Bradley, who was coming off an injury, is another senior on this year’s squad.
“Thomas is ready to join in and he is also a solid player for us,” said the coach, noting junior Kevin Rodriguez starts at catcher and sophomore Aaron Puryear starts at second base, with Christopher Walker seeing time as a pitcher and in the outfield. “We’re definitely expecting big things out of Christopher Walker,” Zichella said.
Another player in the mix is Jordon Stennett, a junior transfer from Seton Hall Prep, along with sophomore Tyree Bradley, juniors Melvin Estrella, Andrei Rosu, an outfielder, and infielder Zachary Machuca.
Also in the mix will be sophomores Vincent DeSantis and Michael Giovanni and juniors Chase Gargiulo and Nile Williamson.
“This is the most depth we’ve had in a while as we have lots of players who can contribute,” Zichella said. “We feel good about the team and we know that if we can limit our mistakes, then we can compete with anyone in the county.”
Looking ahead, Zichella whose group was slated to play Verona on Monday, April 11, and at Cedar Grove on Wednesday, April 13, said his team was home on Friday against Glen Ridge and at Belleville on Saturday.
Notably, in the win at Bloomfield on April 8, White went 3-for-4 with a walk, three RBI and two runs and Hughes went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and a RBI to lead the Mountaineers to an 11-5 victory.
Walker went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI and Casolaro had a double and two RBI for WOHS. Parisi had three walks; Scholz went 2-for-3 with a RBI, walk and a stolen base; and Stennett went 1-for-4 with a RBI and a run. White struck out six and allowed four earned runs on nine hits for the win.
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