The Greater Newark Tournament bracket was released last week, and it was revealed that two Montclair Baseball teams—Montclair and Montclair Kimberley—could face each other in the first round on Friday.
The Mounties are the fourth seed. The Cougars are the 13th seed in the GNT, the name for the Essex County baseball tournament. For the local rivalry to come about, Montclair Kimberley needs to defeat 20th-seeded Newark Central on Wednesday, May 1, at the MKA Middle School in the GNT preliminary round.
With an anticipated Cougars win on Wednesday, Montclair Kimberley will have a chance to amend itself this season against Montclair on Friday, May 3, at Nishuane Field in Montclair in the county first-round battle.
Cougars interim head baseball coach Mike Sasso said his team will have a very good shot to take on their rival. “I thought we could have had a little bit of a better seed, but it is what it is,” said Sasso. “I feel confident that we will take down Central next Wednesday (May 1), and we will welcome the challenge against our cross-town rival, Montclair High.”
Montclair head baseball coach Ron Gavazzi said last week that they concentrated on the ‘now’ instead of the county tournament. “As far as the GNT is concerned, we really are not putting any focus into it at this time. We are trying to stay connected with the present,” said Gavazzi, who added about the fourth seed. Seeding creates matchups, so it is all about playing better than your opponent.”
Gavazzi knows that no matter the seeding, it will be a challenging game for his Mounties. Montclair was the second seed in the 2022 GNT only to lose to 17th-seeded Barringer, 2-1, in the first round. Outside of that season, the Mounties have recently had great success in the GNT, including reaching the semifinals the last two seasons and winning the county tournament in 2019.
The Mounties were 10-6-1 after defeating North Bergen, 8-7, on April 29. Montclair is on the route to surpassing last season’s total of 14 wins. While the Montclair head coach has been ‘happy’ with the season, it has been odd since Montclair has been able to get around the raindrops in getting its games in, but the practices have been delayed.
“I am happy that we have gotten all our games in,” said Gavazzi. “To date, we have played more games than any other school in the county…playing a lot and combining weather. We have not practiced as much as we would like outside. Practice execution equals game reality. Our overall play should improve with more practices under our belt.
If the GNT matchup happens in the first round, it would be the second contest between the two schools this season. The Mounties had an offensive show against the Cougars with a Montclair 20-5 win at MKA on April 26. Also, if the two schools meet this season in the GNT, it would be the first battle between the two schools in the GNT since 2019 where Montclair won 10-0 over the Cougars in the first round. Our lineup is very versatile and has put pressure on our opponent’s defense, said Gavazzi about the offense in the win over MKA and the entire 2024. We have had quality at-bats when we needed them the most.
Montclair Kimberley has struggled at times to a 3-8 record but has shown glimpses of the team that won the Prep B title in 2022. The Cougars have picked up some quality wins, such as Verona, Bloomfield, and Belleville. The win over the Bucs was 9-0 on April 29 with a well-pitched game from sophomore Finn Balan, who hurled a two-hit shutout. Balan has two of the three victories on the mound this season for MKA. The other Cougars to pick up a win on the mound is junior Brooks Barrett in the 6-4 win over Bloomfield on April 16. “It was a big win over Bloomfield as we have not beaten them for quite some time,” said Sasso, whose team has not defeated the Bengals since 2018. “It always feels good knocking down a group four school.”
The tournament games tend to be decided by pitching.
Montclair Kimberley could use either junior Alesandro Rizos or Balan on the mound against Montclair. Rizos was the Cougars’ best pitcher last year after now-graduated senior Jack Amirata (Gettysburg College, PA). Amirata pitched a great game last season to defeat the Mounties, 6-5, in Montclair. Rizos has a 6.34 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched.
For Montclair on the mound, it could be any of several who will get the ball, including freshman Asher Seawell, junior Benjamin St. Pierre, sophomore David Aishton, junior Finn Jones and senior Shea Goel, all who have pitched 14 or more innings so far this season.
Gavazzi said the number of games completed this spring has put more pressure on the pitching staff. “Playing as much as we have has taxed our pitching staff,” said the Montclair head coach.
Along with the copious number of games played this season, five of the six Mounties defeats have been by two or fewer runs, which Gavazzi believes can only help this team when the state playoffs come around.
“Playing in close games, which we expect every game to be, certainly helps a team to understand late-game situations,” added the Montclair head coach. “Those moments can bring more pressure if you allow it. For us, it is all about getting in control of what we can realistically control. Namely, our thoughts, having a plan on every pitch, and staying in the moment.”
Montclair High School Baseball Schedule
(Games at 4 p.m. and home games are at Nishuane Park)
- May 1 Greater Newark Tournament, TBD
- May 3 Greater Newark Tournament, TBD
- May 6 at Millburn
- May 10 at Butler
- May 13 at Columbia
- May 15 Caldwell
- May 16 Passaic, 4:30 p.m.
Montclair Kimberley Baseball Schedule
(Games at 4 p.m. unless noted)
- May 1 Newark Central, Greater Newark Tournament, 4 p.m.
- May 4 Pingry, 2 p.m.
- May 6 West Essex
- May 8 at Glen Ridge
- May 11 at Morris Catholic, TBD
- May 13 at Barringer
- May 15 at West Orange
- May 17 at Governor Livingston, 7 p.m.
- May 18 Glen Ridge, 11 a.m.
- May 20 Cedar Grove
