Pennington baseball
By: Mike Molaro
The Pennington School baseball squad knew it had to do something to snap a three-game losing streak and get back on track.
It was a trip back to the basics solid pitching, good defense and timely hitting that helped the Red Raiders (6-4) start a two-game winning streak.
Pounding out 18 hits last Friday, Pennington smoked visiting Timothy Christian 21-3 in a game called after 4 ½ innings. The Red Raiders kept the offense coming in Monday’s 11-1 home pounding of South Hunterdon, which was stopped after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
Against Timothy Christian, senior Dylan Via Cava smashed a grand slam in the second inning to key a 10-run inning, and junior third baseman Chris Slanina drove in six runs, including a three-run homer in the fourth. Senior Terry Wells drove in three runs, including a solo homer in the sixth, and sophomore shortstop Justin Nusblatt drove in a pair of runs.
The win not only stopped the three-game skid, but it also gave the Red Raiders a shot of confidence.
"We exploded in this game," Pennington coach Jerry Russo said. "We needed to get one."
Wells went 3-for-3 with five RBIs, including a three-run double in a five-run bottom of the fifth, against South Hunterdon. He also helped his own cause on the mound by striking out eight Eagles, scattering five hits and not walking a batter.
Despite the chilly conditions, the Red Raiders came to play.
"It definitely wasn’t baseball weather," Russo said. "It took us a little while to get started. We took advantage of our opportunities. We had eight walks and eight hits. We usually are in double figures in hits, but today we made them count."
Against cross-town rival Hopewell Valley on April 20, the Red Raiders fell 10-8. Senior catcher Joe DeFazio had two hits, scored twice and drove in five runs, designated hitter Wells was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and two RBIs, and senior pitcher Dylan Via Cava drove in a run.
DeFazio’s grand slam in the bottom of the third gave Pennington a 5-2 lead, but HoVal chipped away and held on.
"We played well," Russo said. "We fought back and played hard. We played with a lot of heart. We just got beat."
Pennington suffered a huge blow when Via Cava had to leave the game in the second inning for failing to slide into home plate.
The Red Raiders have no regular-season home games left. They visit Rutgers Prep today (Thursday), Prep A foe Hun on Friday and Prep A foe Peddie next Monday.

