BRIDGEWATER – Immaculata High School’s baseball team couldn’t have asked for a better confidence builder to start the season. The Spartans have beaten defending state Group 4 and Somerset County Tournament champion Bridgewater-Raritan twice in three days.
Immaculata junior righty Jackson Trego – a transfer from Voorhees – was superb Thursday in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division game. He allowed one hit, a lead off bunt single in the sixth by junior Matt Lehberger, in the Spartans’ 5-0 win. Trego walked one, struck out three and hit a batter in his 5 2/3 innings and 75 pitches for the win.
Senior lefty Rob Sikorski, slowed last season by mononucleosis, finished up the final 1 1/3 innings. He has returned to full strength, said Spartan coach Kevin Cust. He will be a starter, but the Tuesday 13-inning marathon 2-1 win over B-R at Diamond Nation taxed the staff and Cust figured Sikorski was a good fit to relieve in the high-level opening series of the season.
Bridgewater-Raritan was No. 1 in the Courier News preseason Top 10 and Immaculata entered as No. 6.
Trego’s performance was what a tired staff needed. Cust said he would have allowed Trego to finish if not for the rocky sixth. Lehberger led off with the bunt single and after getting a couple outs Trego walked two and B-R had the bases loaded. Sikorski got a pop up to second to end the threat.
“I just went out there and threw strikes and just competed in the zone and got outs,” said Trego, adding that he wasn’t aware of the late no-hitter. “I just ran out of gas at the end.
Trego, junior lefty Ryan Auten – a transfer from Delaware Valley – and Sikorski give the Spartans three standout arms. Seven Immaculata pitchers have now allowed the Panthers one run in 20 innings.
“You just want to put your best out there and worry about the next game when the next game happens – that’s something we want to focus on this year with the staff we have that’s deeper than we are used to,” said Cust.
Immaculata scored three runs in the third and two in the sixth. Senior left fielder Jayden Capindica had two hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Shortstop Justin Labrador had two hits and Owen Schilling and ...
