Baseball Recap: Newark Academy Starts Season with Win at Home

Newark Academy gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Thursday. They never let the Glen Ridge Ridgers get on the board and left with a 9-0 victory. For the Minutemen, this counts as revenge for the 5-4 win the Ridgers walked away with the last time they faced one another back in May of 2024.

Jared Levine

Batters Struck Out (Career)

04/03/25 vs Glen Ridge	10
04/30/24 vs Belleville	8
04/10/24 @ East Orange Campus	7
04/15/24 vs Cedar Grove	3
04/22/24 vs East Side	1

Jared Levine made a big impact no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Those ten strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.

In other pitching news, Jonah Grossman looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.

Back at the plate, Ryan Zhu was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Carson DeVirgillio, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.

Glen Ridge's loss dropped their record down to 0-2.

Coming up, Newark Academy will square off against Bloomfield at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. As for Glen Ridge, they will look to take advantage of their home field for the first time this season as they take on Scotch Plains-Fanwood at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.