2024 - Game # 26 South Plainfield 12, Cliffside Park 1 NJSIAA Tournament, First Round, North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3

Pigna leads No. 14 South Plainfield to N2G3 1st round win over Cliffside Park

By Mak Ojutiku | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Aldo Pigna tossed a five-inning one-hitter with eight strikeouts and three walks to lead top-seeded and No. 14 in the NJ.com Top 20 South Plainfield to a 12-1 win over 16th-seeded Cliffside Park in the first round of the North 2, Group 3 tournament, in South Plainfield.

The Tigers (20-5-1) will play eighth-seeded Cranford in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Zack Robinson went 2-for-4 with an RBI, one stolen base and one run scored, while Nick Irizarry drove in two runs while hitting a single and drawing a pair of walks. Dom Massaro contributed with a hit, and RBI, two stolen bases, and two runs scored.

John Raftopoulos had Cliffside Park’s (7-17-1) sole hit.

Pigna leads No. 14 South Plainfield to N2G3 1st round win over Cliffside Park - Baseball recap - nj.com

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Cliffside Park (7-17-1)	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
South Plainfield (20-5-1)	1	1	1	9	0	0	0	12	8	1

South Plainfield Batting

	AB	R	H	RBI	1B	2B	3B	HR	BB	HBP	SB	AVG	SLG
Dom Massaro	2	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	.500	.500
Dan Kapsch	3	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	.333	.667
Zack Robinson	4	1	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.500	.500
Jayden Alvarez	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	.500	.500
Nick Irizarry	2	1	1	2	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	.500	.500
Brandon Bickunas	2	1	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	.500	1.000
Kevin Penny	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	.000	.000
Aiden McCarthy	1	1	1	2	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	1.000	1.000
Steve Studlack	2	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500	.500
Totals:	18	12	9	10	7	2	0	0	9	3	6	.500	.611

South Plainfield Pitching

	PIT	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HB	ERA
Aldo Pigna (WP)	80	5	1	1	0	3	8	0	0.00
Totals:	80	5	1	1	0	3	8	0	0.00

Andy MendlowitzMyCentralJersey.com

North 2 Group 3: (1) South Plainfield 12, (16) Cliffside Park 1 (5 innings)

Aldo Pigna gave the Tigers a big-time start by throwing a one-hitter and allowing an unearned run with eight strikeouts and three walks.

South Plainfield (20-5-1) led 3-1 and broke it open with nine runs in the bottom of the fourth. Zach Robinson went 2-for-4 (RBI, run) and Nick Irizarry and Aiden McCarthy each singled and drove in two runs.

Dom Massaro (RBI, 2 runs), Dan Kapsch (double, RBI, 2 runs), Jayden Alvarez (run), Brandon Bickunas (double, RBI, run) and Steve Studlack (RBI, run) had a hit apiece in the win.

NJ baseball May roundup for GMC and area Skyland and Union counties (mycentraljersey.com)

Grand Poobah XX After winning a wrestle off & the chance to rock out to some old school club music at practice, Aldo Pigna got the ball in Round 1 of the States, which he tossed 5 innings of 1 hit ball, getting his team their 20th W on the season. For his efforts, Aldo is the latest Tiger to be Helmeted.

Preview
Group 3 | Bracket

8-Cranford (13-10) at 1-South Plainfield (20-5-1): Cranford, fresh off a win over Belleville in the first round, travels to take on South Plainfield, the No. 14 team in the NJ.com Top 20. South Plainfield defeated Cliffside Park in the first round. Cranford has a championship pedigree and won’t go down without a fight. South Plainfield has been stellar all year and will look to continue its rise.