Nutley Closes Out The 2023 Season With A Bang

This past Tuesday, May 23rd, the Raiders captured a victory in their final game of the season on the road against Old Tappan. Heading into their final matchup of the year, Old Tappan was ranked first in the Big North National division and Nutley was ranked sixth in the SEC American division. 

Junior Erik Thompson pitched six of seven innings, throwing 110 pitches, striking out four batters, and allowing four hits and only two runs. Sophomore Ryan Pessoa came on in the seventh to clinch a Nutley Raider victory. Along with their strong performances on the mound, the fielding by the Raider defense, which started off shaky, eventually did well. 

The first two innings were quiet, with no hits or runs tallied. The Raiders struck first in the third, with hits by Derek Lanza and Justin Cifelli which drove in one run at the top of the third inning. Then, Old Tappan was up to attempt to even the match. Nutley managed to allow no hits or runs by Old Tappan in the first three innings, an accomplishment that was never fulfilled for them this season until Tuesday's match. There was no action for both teams in the fourth inning.  Between the fifth and sixth innings, Old Tappan managed to score two runs, giving them a 2-1 lead heading into the seventh inning. In the final inning, sophomores Drew Slomkowski and Nick Palumbo, and senior Joe Cifelli all managed to get base hits and runs batted in. This led to two runs for the Raiders in the seventh, ultimately giving them a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Old Tappan to end their season.