West Orange Slams Science Park, 11-3, to Advance in Greater Newark Tournament

West Orange has had its shares of ups and downs in the rigorous Super Essex Conference.  West Orange plays in the American Division with numerous state-ranked teams such as Seton Hall Prep, Montclair, and Millburn.

The Mountaineers currently stand at 3-8. However, five of their eight losses have been by three runs or less, and they have led in nine out of 11 games. With the Great Newark Tournament underway, West Orange knows anything can happen throughout Essex County.

“We have been in every game we have played in,” West Orange head coach Stephan Zichella said. “We are young and have little varsity experience, but I am real proud of the guys thus far.”

Zichella and his staff could not have been happier Saturday as they earned their third win of the season over Science Park. Junior Anthony Loreto earned the win as he only allowed three hits and struck out five.

West Orange has been inconsistent on the offensive side of the ball all year, but had a breakout game at the plate against the Chargers.  The Mountaineers recorded a season-high 11 runs and ten hits.

“We saw the ball well and had better pitch selection,” Zichella continued.  “We have the potential to do this every game and today we gained confidence as a team.”

West Orange broke the game open in the third inning. Adam Miller led the inning off with a lead off double then two consecutive walks loaded the bases for Frank Bakirtzis.  Miller noticed Science’s Jean Fermin was pitching from the full-windup so Miller took advantage and stole home.  The next pitch, Bakirtzis laced a single to left field giving West Orange a 3-0 lead.  Later in the inning, Aaron Flores roped a double to right field, which plated two more runs.

West Orange led 5-0.

The Mountaineers showed no signs of slowing down in the fourth.  After Loreto pitched a one-two-three top half of the inning, West Orange increased their lead to 7-0.  The Mountaineers continued to make Fermin work and he walked the first two batters in the inning.  Bakirtzis trotted to the plate again with men on and smashed a double to left field to plate both runs.

“I hit it where it was pitched today,” Bakirtzis said.  “I have been working on staying inside the baseball and working the bottom hand. It paid off today.”

The West Orange senior who will be playing tight end for Sacred Heart next year went 2-for-3 with four RBIs on the day.

However, Science Park was resilient and scored three runs of their own in the top of the fifth.  John Smith and Marcos Cepeda began the inning with back-to-back singles.  Both advanced on a pass ball with Fermin at the plate.  Fermin then lined a single up the middle to score both.  Loreto remained composed and recorded the next two outs, but Fermin stole to put himself in scoring position.  A fielding error allowed Fermin to score but Jose Gonzalez was thrown out trying to advance to second base.

West Orange added three more in the fifth and one in the sixth to give them an eight run lead, 11-3, heading into the final inning of play.  Anthony Piserchio closed the game out on ten pitches.

“We have won two-of-three and are playing our best baseball of the year.  If we remain focused and confident then more good results will come,” Bakirtzis concluded.

Besides Bakirtzis, Adam Miller, Anthony Loreto, Dan Campbell, and Aaron Flores all had two hits for West Orange.

The Mountaineers will take on Barringer Thursday night at 7:00 in the preliminary stages of the Greater Newark Tournament.