All season long, Nutley had had the belief that it had the ability to make a deep run in the Greater Newark Tournament.
And while Nutley has enjoyed a solid regular season, few outside of the Maroon Raiders dugout probably anticipated a run quite like this.
Seeded seventh, Nutley pulled off back-to-back upsets in a span of four days defeating state-ranked and second-seeded Caldwell as well as rival and third-seeded West Essex to reach the final for the first time since 2018.
Nutley will now try to pull off the greatest upset of all this coming Saturday when it faces top-seeded Seton Hall Prep, ranked fifth in the state, in the final at noon at Verona’s Doc Goeltz Field.
“This group is putting it together at the right time,” Nutley head coach Eric Puzio said. “Doing damage in the GNT was a big goal of ours this year. Saturday is David versus Goliath type situation, but I mean, you never know what happens. That’s why you play the games. I’ve seen some of the craziest upsets in my career as a coach in the GNTs.”
Puzio knew his Raiders had the pitching and defense to make noise, but this tournament run, which started with its first GNT since 2022 when it beat Millburn in the first round, has been a testament to this group’s resolve and toughness.
In Saturday’s semifinal held at Seton Hall Prep’s Porcello Field, Sean Fealey battled not only a tough West Essex lineup, but also a 101 degree fever. Even still the junior went the distance on a one-hitter, striking out four and walking three in the 2-1 victory.
“I think when he woke up, wasn’t feeling well. He wasn’t feeling great, but it was just a gutsy, gritty performance by him. He’ll tell you that he didn’t have his best stuff, but he was around the plate the whole time and gave up one hit. Sean Fealey was our catalyst on Saturday.”
Locked in a scoreless battle for four innings, Nutley broke through in the top of the fifth as the Raiders got consecutive two-out hits from Jowe Roque, Anthony Straface and Eugenio Roman to load the bases. Nutley then got some fortuitous luck as both Gabe Rodriguez and Chris Kovacs were hit by a pitch to force in runs to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead.
On Wednesday, at No. 12 ranked Caldwell, Nutley needed extra innings after giving up a run in the bottom of the seventh. Just minutes after giving up the lead and being on the verge of an upset, the Raiders regained the lead for good on Roman’s two-run single in the top of the eighth.
“We’re not flashy. We’re not going to hit balls over the fence. We’re not going to hammer you to death with everything, but lately we’ve been able to hit the baseball,” said Puzio. “That’s just been a key because our pitching has been carrying us all year. Great pitching, solid defense and timely hitting, that’s the recipe for wins and obviously long runs in the counties and hopefully in the States.”
Rodriguez tossed a complete game in the win over Caldwell, striking out four over eight innings while allowing one earned run, four hits and four walks. Roman, Rodriguez, Kovacs and Jackson Veneziano had two hits apiece for Nutley, which took a 2-1 lead on Dominic Saladino’s two-run single in the top of the fifth.
Nutley will face Caldwell again on Tuesday and Thursday with the SEC Liberty Division title at stake and the Chiefs holding a one game lead in the standings.
Regardless of what happens, one thing’s for sure, Nutley won’t simply be happy to take the field on Saturday.
“People have been saying it’s house money if we could get past Caldwell and get into the semifinals. It was an accomplishment, but then we were sitting there going ‘screw that. We want to get in the final.’ Now that we’re there, we just don’t want to be the name on the program. We want to be able to walk out of there with the title.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)