- May 17, 2025
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Warriors sophomore pitcher Lukas Stirewalt (No. 31) struck out three batters in his limited action in the loss.
Junior Aiden Schwartz (No. 5) creeped into the infield during the West Orange playoff loss.
West Orange baseball's Jayden Taveras (No. 6) began his sprint toward third base.
Hagerty High's Max Murray Jr. (No. 10) celebrated as he reached home plate for one of the Huskies' 14 runs.
Warriors outfielder Miguel Acosta (No. 13) sprinted between second and third base.
West Orange's Miguel Acosta (No. 13) celebrated reaching base.
West Orange junior Joseph Beechner (No. 3) rounded third before sliding headfirst into home plate for the run.
West Orange baseball coach Mike Scudero led the Warriors to a 20-9 season, the most wins for the program since 2017.
West Orange High senior pitcher Keith Holden (No. 51) launched the pitch to home plate.
After jumping ahead with two runs in the first inning, the West Orange Warriors baseball team couldn't slow down the Hagerty High bats and fell in the third game of its best-of-three Class 7A regional quarterfinals series, 14-3, April 26, bringing its 2025 season to an end.
Despite the early momentum and having a packed house cheering on their Warriors, the visiting Huskies (25-4-1) quickly bounced back in the top of the second and evened the score at two a piece, before taking a 4-2 lead in the third and never looking back.
West Orange cut the two-run lead in half, 4-3, in the bottom of the third, but in the fourth inning, Hagerty's bats proved to be too much as the Huskies scored five runs; they added five more unanswered runs in the next two innings to close out the series.
The Warriors finish their campaign with a 20-9 record, the most wins the program has recorded since 2017.
West Orange's 20-9 record also marks a third consecutive winning season since coach Mike Scudero took over; it's also the third season in a row Scudero's club has seen an increase in wins, going 15-11 in his first season and 17-9 in 2024, and the first season the Warriors reached the regional playoffs under their third-year coach.
With this season coming to a close for the Warriors, it marks the end of an era as the program that will graduate 13 seniors — a group that includes the team's top three pitchers in Sims McClusky, Parker Hohnstock and Nicolas Caso, and key starters in catcher Brooklyn Hicks, shortstop Kas Ocasio and outfielder Charlie Eidelman.
Fortunately for Scudero and the West Orange faithful, a heap of key players should return in 2026, including its three leading hitters — Miguel Acosta, Angel Martinez and Nathan Rich — and a pair of promising sophomore pitchers in Lukas Stirewalt and Braxton Stalvey, who should lead the Warriors' staff next season.
