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Finding a pitcher like Jake Delaney is rare, especially on a smaller public school team. A 6-foot-3 right-hander, Delaney’s presence on the mound is unmatched. The Passaic Valley senior is poised but fiery, prepared but adaptable, and unfazed despite cold and windy conditions against an undefeated team.
On Wednesday in Little Falls, the Hornets ace was handed the ball in the biggest public-on-public game in North Jersey this spring. Hosting state-ranked No. 16 Old Tappan, Passaic Valley sought a pivotal victory to continue their historic run.
Delaney came through on the hill. Navigating out of a hectic first inning, he surrendered two earned runs across 6 2/3 frames, striking out eight batters to lead the Hornets to a 4-3 win, improving to 7-0 in the standings. “Jake is our guy.
His routine is unbelievable and he is so confident,” Passaic Valley head coach Jay Tiseo said. “We love when the ball is in his hand and he can really compete with anyone.” 4/16 - 4:15 PM Baseball Final Old Tappan 3 Passaic Valley 4 3 K’s for Jake Delaney in the 5th, he has 8 so far Passaic Valley leads 3-1 headed to Bottom 5 @PVHS_SPORTS @PVHS_Hornets pic.
twitter.com/SakLmmKbIZ Delaney is now 3-0 on the hill in 2025, increasing his career strikeout total to 165. He’s gone six or more innings each time out for Passaic Valley, boasting a 0.
71 earned run average through 19 2/3 innings. Both dugouts were in line to keep their undefeated campaign intact. Old Tappan (7-1) sent Selden Kolkebeck to the mound, who kept pace with Delaney’s dominance and tenacity through most of the game.
He racked up a dozen punch-outs, including five straight strikeouts from the second inning to the fourth. Delaney, mixing in his four-pitch arsenal of a fastball, changeup, curveball, and cutter, fired three 1-2-3 frames on Wednesday and handed out three hits. It was a duel between two aces, which had the crowd hanging on every pitch.
“You can definitely feel the intense atmosphere. It was a great pitching matchup, and these are the games you want to find yourself in,” Delaney said. “It almost felt like a playoff game.
” “Both guys on the mound were bulldogs. It was tremendous to watch,” Tiseo added. PV senior Jacob Giarrusso pitched the final out of the game, inducing a fly out to center field to seal the one-run victory.
Giarrusso, though clutch on the hill in the closing moments, came up even bigger at the plate on Wednesday. He scored Passaic Valley’s first run of the game, which started a three-run rally in the bottom of the second inning. His most vital at-bat came in the fifth inning, with Passaic Valley clinging to a two-run lead before he stepped into the box.
With two outs, he delivered a hard-hit ball through the left side of the infield to score Dante Benvenuti, stretching the Hornets’ lead to 4-1. Bottom 5 Passaic Valley 4 Old Tappan 1 RBI single from Jacob Giarusso scores Dante Benvenuti @PVHS_SPORTS pic.twitter.
com/Ny8jY5aXA8 That insurance wound up being the difference in the ball game after Old Tappan’s Anthony Onnembo laced a two-run single in the top of the sixth inning. “We knew they were a great team coming in, but we just had to feel like we were better. Most importantly, we had to be better.
We put the work in every day to have reached this point,” Giarrusso said. “It was a huge win.” Old Tappan got on the scoreboard early.
Maximo Garcia, the game’s first batter, walked and scored in the opening frame after an errant throw to third base. Delaney limited any further damage on the mound and ended the inning with a groundout. Mike Liotti put Passaic Valley ahead in the second inning with a two-RBI single down the third-base line to plate Giarruso and Delaney.
Benvenuti capped the three-run inning with an RBI groundout, scoring Ryan Condon. End 2 Passaic Valley 3 Old Tappan 1 PV gets 3 on the board this inning 2-RBI single for Mike Liotti (1st video), then an RBI groundout for Dante Benvenuti (2nd video) @PVHS_Hornets @PVHS_SPORTS pic.twitter.
com/hV82PMksFC This Passaic Valley club, ranked second among all Group 2 teams in the state by NJ.com , continues to be on the rise. Following four consecutive seasons with a record under .
500, the Hornets have turned into a winning program. Last year, they tallied a 19-8 record with an appearance in the North 2 Group 2 sectional finals. Among a tight-knit group, it was clear that this team was eager for success, and that has bled into the 2025 campaign.
Off to a 7-0 start, PV is outscoring their opponents, 52-27. Wednesday’s one-run win was arguably their biggest one yet. The N.
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