They did meet in the 2016 Greater Newark Tournament final with Seton Hall Prep cruising to an 11-1 victory; but the period of time when the SHP-Nutley GNT championship matchup became a staple was when they met in the final five straight years from 2001 to 20025 with the Maroon Raiders coming out on top in three of those contests.
Now, a top-seeded SHP team that was expected to reach the 2026 GNT final, and a seventh-seeded Nutley squad which has had to rise up with consecutive victories over the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds to get to this point, are set to meet in the 93rd GNT championship game at noon next Saturday (May 16) at Verona’s Doc Goeltz Field.
SHP (16-4) rode the brilliant pitching of Boston College-bound senior right-hander JJ Drennan, who thew a no-hitter while also coming within one out of hurling a perfect game before hitting a batter, in a brilliant 6-0 pitching effort vs. fourth-seeded Columbia in the first semifinal played under threatening skies on Saturday (May 9) at SHP’s Porcello Field in West Orange.
In the second game, while dodging occasional rain drops plus at least one brief downpour, Nutley (11-7) rode the strong pitching of junior Sean Fealey, who tossed a 1-hitter to lead the Raiders past third-seeded West Essex, 2-1.
Nutley also showed good plate discipline when they scored a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead for good when back-to-back batters Gabe Rodriguez and Chris Kovacs were hit by pitches with the bases loaded as each earned an RBI in what might be considered the hard way vs. West Essex ace Jackson Lodgek, but the runs proved decisive.
The Knights scored one run in the bottom of the sixth inning but Fealey and company finished the job for another GNT upset for the Raiders.
Nutley had quite the past week which also included a pulsating 4-2 upset of second-seeded Caldwell in this past Wednesday’s quarterfinals in West Caldwell.
Nutley rode the enduring pitching of Rodriguez vs. the Chiefs as the junior third baseman-pitcher threw 111 pitches while allowing just 4 hits and 1 earned run while walking 4 and striking out 4.
Fealey was another workhorse in Nutley’s 5-2 GNT first-round win vs. 10th-seeded Millburn when he threw a complete game 4-hitter with 5 walks and 8 K’s.
Coach Eric Puzio’s Raiders will need some more tournament magic to knock off Drennan and the Pirates in next Saturday’s GNT championship game.
SHP, behind the guidance of longtime coach Mike Sheppard, Jr., has watched Drennan (4-1) work all sorts of magic this season while relinquishing just 3 earned runs I his first 26 2/3 IP while allowing 7 hits, walking just 3 and hitting 2 batters while striking out 51 with 0.79 ERA.
Drennan entered recent action batting .319 with 25 runs scored and a team-leading 14 walks.
The SHP lineup’s biggest hitters are West Virginia University-bound senior slugger Jordan Burwell, who entered recent action with big numbers as he had 26 runs, 31 RBI and 15 extra base hits, including 7 home runs, a .533 batting average and an incredible slugging percentage of 1.017.
Senior Devin Aiken is another very solid bat in the Pirates lineup as he has produced a .380 average with 20 RBI and 7 extra base hits including a pair of homers.
NOTES- Nutley is 4-10 in GNT finals with its four victories coming in 1993 vs. West Essex (10-3) and with a trio of championship wins vs. SHP, 5-3 in 2001, 6-2 in 2002 and 3-2 in 2004 under former coach Tom Gargiulo…SHP will be appearing in its seventh straight GNT final 30th overall with a record 20 championships, including the last two years vs. Livingston by identical 6-0 scores….The last GNT final without SHP in it was in 2018 when Livingston defeated Nutley, 8-3, in Verona. There was no GNT final in 2020 due to the covid pandemic. .
93rd Greater Newark Tournament
First round, Friday, May 1:
(1) Seton Hall Prep 10 (16) Barringer 0 (in 5 inn.)
(8) Verona 6 (9) Livingston 1
(5) West Orange 13 (12) MKA 3 (in 6 inn.)
(4) Columbia 14 (13) Glen Ridge 4
(3) West Essex 2 (14) Cedar Grove 0
(11) St. Benedict’s 7 (6) Montclair 4
(7) Nutley 5 (10) Millburn 2
(2) Caldwell 10 (15) Newark Tech 0 (in 6 inn.)
Quarterfinals, Wednesday, May 6:
(4) Columbia 1 (5 West Orange at 0 (in 8 inn.)
(3) West Essex 6 (11) St. Benedict's 5
(7) Nutley 4 (2) Caldwell 2
(1) Seton Hall Prep 5 (8) Verona 3
Semifinals, Saturday, May 9:
(1 Seton Hall Prep 6 (4) Columbia 0
(7) Nutley 2 (3) West Essex 1
Final: noon, Saturday, May 16, at Verona’s Doc Goeltz Field
Follow Steve Tober on 'X' @Chattermeister
GREATER NEWARK TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES:
2025: Seton Hall Prep 6 Livingston 0
2024: Seton Hall Prep 6 Livingston 0
2023: Millburn 3 Seton Hall Prep 0
2022: Seton Hall Prep 15 Bloomfield 0 (in 5 inn.)
2021: Millburn 6 Seton Hall Prep 5 (in 11 inn.)
2020: No tournament due to covid-19
2019: Montclair 10 Seton Hall Prep 0
2018: Livingston 8 Nutley 3
2017: Seton Hall Prep 4 Millburn 2
2016: Seton Hall Prep 11, Nutley 1
2015: Seton Hall Prep 12, Millburn 6
2014: Seton Hall Prep 7, Cedar Grove 6
2013: Seton Hall Prep 4, Montclair 2
2012: Montclair 2, Nutley 1
2011: Seton Hall Prep 8, Millburn 2
2010: West Essex 5, Columbia 4
2009: Livingston 5, Nutley 4
2008: Seton Hall Prep 8, Millburn 7 (8 inn.)
2007: Seton Hall Prep 5, Newark East Side 1
2006: West Essex 5, Seton Hall Prep 2
2005: Seton Hall Prep 11, Nutley 0
2004: Nutley 3, Seton Hall Prep 2
2003: Seton Hall Prep 3, Nutley 0
2002: Nutley 6, Seton Hall Prep 2
2001: Nutley 5, Seton Hall Prep 3
2000: Seton Hall Prep 3, Livingston 1
1999: Seton Hall Prep 4, Columbia 3
1998: Seton Hall Prep 6, Essex Catholic 4
1997: Seton Hall Prep 5, Bloomfield 2
1996: Bloomfield 3, Livingston 0
1995: Columbia 1, Belleville 0
1994: East Side 4, Glen Ridge 3
1993: Nutley 10, West Essex 3
1992: East Side 5, Seton Hall Prep 2
1991: Livingston 7, Cedar Grove 6
1990: Seton Hall Prep 13, Columbia 0
1989: Glen Ridge 7, Livingston 0
1988: Cedar Grove 5, Livingston 3
1987: Glen Ridge 3, Irvington 0
1986: Columbia 9, Belleville 8 (8 inn.)
1985: Cedar Grove 2, Caldwell 1 (8 inn.)
1984: Millburn 4, Nutley 3
1983: Seton Hall Prep 3, Glen Ridge 1
1982: Caldwell 4, Glen Ridge 1
1981: Belleville 10, Glen Ridge 4
1980: Livingston 8, Belleville 6
1979: Columbia 5, Livingston 4
1978: Columbia 3, Our Lady of the Valley 2
1977: Livingston 9, Seton Hall Prep 1
1976: Livingston 6, Essex Catholic 4
1975: Essex Catholic 5, Irvington 1
1974: Livingston 5, Verona 1
1973: Our Lady of the Valley 3, Bloomfield 1
GNT has been Essex County teams only since 1973.
GNT also included teams from outside Essex County from 1933-1972.
1972: Ewing 7, Bloomfield 3
1971: Seton Hall Prep 7, Haddonfield 2
1970: Union 5, Ewing 1
1969: Morristown 12, Montclair 3
1968: Morristown 2, Piscataway 1
1967: Morristown 5, Roselle Catholic 4
1966: Union 2, Parsippany 1
1965: Parsippany 5, Westfield 3
1964: St. Benedict’s Prep 6, Montclair 5
1963: Montclair 6, St. Benedict’s 3
1962: Garfield 6, Nutley 0
1961: South River 5, Linden 3
1960: New Brinswick 3, East Side 0
1959: Bayonne 14, Verona 8
1958: St. Peter’s Prep 3, Hanover Park 1
1957: Rahway 3, Irvington 2
1956: New Brunswick 11, Barringer 0
1955: Jefferson 7, Montclair 6
1954: Montclair 8, Englewood 0
1953: Englewood 9, Irvington 4
1952: Bloomfield 3, Nutley 0
1951: Linden 8, Jefferson 3
1950: Rahway 9, East Side 7
1949: Bayonne 3, Montclair 2
1948: Montclair 1, Irvington 0
1947: Irvington 6, Columbia 0
1946: East Side 4, Roselle Park 2
1945: Bloomfield 5, Columbia 0
1944: Caldwell 9, Bloomfield 0
1943: Kearny 6, Hillside 3
1942: Montclair 3, Irvington 2
1941: Hillside 9, Kearny 5
1940: Irvington 2, Trenton 0
1939: Irvington 4, Woodbridge 3
1938: Irvington 6, South River 1
1937: Hillside 8, Bloomfield 4
1936: Hillside 11, Nutley 2
1935: Bloomfield 4, Hillside 3
1934: Hillside 5, Barringer 1
1933: Irvington 1, Kearny 0
*GNT historical information from Jeff Goldberg
