The Rams’ varsity baseball team has been having an outstanding season thus far, winning games at an unprecedented pace and absolutely dominating the conference. The starting rotation has been stunning opponents behind the leadership of seniors Andrew Meisner and Jack Reilly. Both aces have efficiently thrown several consecutive complete games throughout the course of the season. In games that they have not done so, Nick Demarinis and Jack Greco have stepped up and filled their starting and relieving roles very well. Meanwhile, the entire offensive lineup, top to bottom, has become a run-producing machine. Whether it has been through Demarinis’ or Greco’s long home runs, Will Demilt’s consistent hits, or Logan Drone’s timely bunts, the Rams have always found a way to get on base and score runs. This past week was no different, and they earned two more wins to add to their thriving record.

The home game on May 7 against conference opponent Roselle Park was quite a thriller. Despite having previously been beaten 9-4 by Oratory, the Panthers came ready to compete and prepared to upset the Rams. Vassar College commit Andy Meisner started on the mound, but a shaky first inning and some solid, timely Roselle Park hits led to three quick runs on the board. After the first three innings, the Rams were down 3-0, but they were not going to go down without a fight. The Panthers started their lefty ace against Oratory, but Ben Landis and Nick Sannito were able to drive in three timely runs, one of which was scored in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 3-3. Meisner and Jack Reilly, who came in relief, cruised through every inning on the mound, not giving up a single run following the first. The game remained tied after the seventh, and going into extra innings, the bats remained quiet on both sides. However a couple innings later, Ben Landis got on base representing the game-winning run with Junior Joey Del Sol at the plate. Del Sol saw a fastball down the middle of the plate, turned on it, and drove it to right field. Landis turned on his wheels from second base and scored the winning run. Following nine long innings, Oratory had finally won in walk-off fashion and ultimately maintained their undefeated conference record.

On Saturday, the Rams brought their momentum to Morris Hills for the Scarlet Knights’ senior day game. The top of the lineup started things off right away in the first inning. Will Demilt, Nick Demarinis, and Joe Del Sol got an RBI apiece, giving the Rams a quick 3-0 lead. Demarinis showed off some ‘cheddar’ on the mound as well, only giving up one earned run through four innings. Jack Greco came in for relief and threw two scoreless innings, while he also showed off a nice stroke at the plate in the top of the seventh, driving in two runs on a single with the bases loaded. With a 5-1 lead, Jack Reilly closed things up and retired three straight batters to finish the game.

With these wins, OP Varsity Baseball is 13-5 on the season and 9-0 within the conference. All in all, the team continues to succeed against their competition, as they have the whole season, and the players look forward to possibly setting a new school record. The past couple seasons have displayed the baseball program’s tremendous growth for the school, and the team will continue to flourish in the last few games of the season. This week, the team will try to beat the school’s 15-win seasonal record with games against St. Mary’s of Elizabeth, Rahway, and Abraham Clark. On Sunday, the team will also have the opportunity to play Rutgers Prep in Somerset Patriots Stadium.