We have four baseball matchups for you on this Friday that are sure to please. There’s a top-20 clash with home runs-a-plenty, to a historic milestone for a legendary coach, and two matchups in South/Central Jersey featuring the region’s best! Check out all the action below.
Seton Hall Prep 9 Morris Knolls 7
No. 4 Seton Hall Prep baseball are still unbeaten against New Jersey opponents as the Pirates defeated No. 16 Morris Knolls 9-7 on Friday afternoon. It was a game of bouncebacks for Prep, finding themselves down 4-0 in the 3rd and 7-4 in the fourth.
Knolls made it 4-0 off of a three-run home run by sophomore Ryan McDonald in the top of the third inning. In the bottom half, West Virginia commit Jordan Burwell hit a three run home run to make it a one run game. Joey Maiella then tied it with an RBI single. The Golden Eagles then rattled off three RBIs in a row to take the aforementioned 7-4 lead in the fourth. Pirates freshman Noah Vargas had his first career home run in a huge spot in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run to left. Then, Burrell gave the Pirates the lead with another home run, bringing in two to make it 8-7. Devin Aiken brought home the final run in the bottom of the sixth.
JSZ’s Ryan Sudol has the highlights and reaction from West Orange:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Seton Hall Prep is made possible by One on One with Steve Adubato
Old Tappan 5 Bergen Catholic 1
Selden Olkebeck threw a complete game 4-hitter on just 79 pitches and catcher Anthony Onnembo was 2-2 with a triple and 3 RBI’s to give Golden Knights head coach Tim Byron his 600th career win. Byron has been at the helm at Old Tappan since 1996 and is the 19th New Jersey baseball coach to reach the 600 win milestone. Old Tappan is an impressive 9-1 after the road win.
JSZ’s Rich Chrampanis has the highlights and post-game reaction from Lyndhurst:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Bergen Catholic is brought to you by American Dream in East Rutherford.
Cherry Hill West 5 Eastern 4
The Lions used a four-run fifth inning to build a five run lead, but had to hang on late to score a top-ten win against the eighth-ranked Vikings. Derek Hughes had a three RBI day at the dish, while Jason Audino drove in a pair of runs in the victory. Brayden Falcone picked up his 100th career strikeout, racking up eight strikeouts over a solid 5 1/3 innings, while Isayiah Pierce-Gonzalez earned a five-out save for Cherry Hill West (7-0). Matt Gryskiewicz made it a one-run game in the seventh with a two RBI single in the loss for Eastern (7-1).
JSZ’s James Mooney has the highlights and reaction from Voorhees:
Lawrence 17 Trenton 1 (5 Innings)
Ahead of their Saturday matchup with 10th-ranked Passaic Tech, Lawrence (6-3) showcased their offense with a 17-run performance against Trenton (4-5). The outburst marked the team’s highest run total since the 2023 season. Rider commit Deacon Moore tossed four scoreless innings, while Dan Tozzi and Josh Vichroski combined for four hits, six RBIs, and four triples.
JSZ’s Tyler Mroz has the highlights from Trenton:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Lawrence and Trenton is brought to you by Princeton Orthopaedic Associates.
