Apex Academy Premier pitcher Tate Schoenau (right) is congratulated by teammate Conor Brown (left) after completing his no-hitter.
By Sean Reilly
Their name is Apex Academy Premier, and they are based in Cambridge, Mass.
But on Monday at Diamond Nation, they could just as easily have been known as the Road Warriors, hailing from parts unknown.
Apex Academy played at 8 a.m at ‘The Nation’ against another New England team, Maine Premier, at the Super 17 Invitational, Powered By Victus.
The Maine group arrived on Sunday, but in the case of Apex Academy, the boys made it to their hotel just before 3 a.m. on Monday.
That’s because Apex Academy played Thursday through Sunday in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with triple headers on Thursday and Friday, including one game against an opponent from Australia, and one last game on Sunday. Council Bluffs is located across the Missouri River from Omaha, Neb.
Preston Ardolino, who played shortstop and batted third on Monday, takes it from there:
“We just came back from Iowa,” he said. “We got here this morning at around 3. We played a game in the morning, and then we flew from Omaha to Chicago, and from Chicago to Philly, and then we took a one-hour Uber to the hotel. We got there at 2:49 a.m.”
Several hours later, it was time to take the field in Flemington. And believe it or not, Apex Academy rolled to a 9-0, five-inning win.
To make the travel odyssey even more impressive, Apex Academy also had a 12:15 p.m. game in the blazing heat against the NJ Titans. They won that one as well, after scoring five times in the bottom of the sixth for a 6-2 victory.
In the opening game, Ardolino went 3-for-3 with two runs and four RBI, including a three-run triple.
Tyler Valente of Apex Academy connects on ball that scored two runs for a 3-0 first-inning lead.
Tate Schoenau pitched a five-inning no-hitter, with seven strikeouts and one walk.
“I feel like I was good at pin-pointing my pitches today,” said Schoenau, who threw 64 pitches, 44 of them for strikes. “I was hitting the corners pretty well. I was using mainly curves and fastballs.”
Apex Academy jumped on Maine Lightning Premier with four runs in the top of the first.
Oliver Henke and Conor Brown started things with singles up the middle. Ardolino singled to center to load the bases for Charlie Salerno, who drew an RBI walk.
After a strikeout, Tyler Valente reached on an error that scored two runs, although he was credited with one RBI on the play.
The fourth run scored on a throwing error to first base after a dropped third strike.
Apex Academy extended the lead to 5-0 in the second. Henke led off and reached on an error. Brown followed with a walk, and Ardolino hit an RBI single on a fly ball that dropped in front of an on-rushing right fielder.
The other four runs came in the third inning.
Preston Ardolino, who was 3-for-3 with 4 RBI, rounds first on his three-run double for Apex Academy.
Miles Kolonski and Henke walked with one out, and Brown also walked to load the bases for Ardolino. He connected on a three-run double to center field for an 8-0 advantage. Salerno then hit an RBI single to center to account for the final run.
Tyler Blackwood drew a leadoff walk in the second inning for Maine Lightning Premier, but the next three batters were retired on ground outs, starting a string of 12 straight outs to close out Schoenau’s no-hitter.
In the second game, Matthew Mariani (4⅓ innings) and Henke (2⅔ innings) combined on a two-hitter for Apex, while Henke, Valente and Mont Phelps each went 2-for-3.
The NJ Titans held a 2-1 lead until Apex Academy rallied with the five-run sixth. Valente had an RBI single to right field with one out for a 2-2 tie, and Phelps followed with an RBI double to right to put Apex Academy in front.
After some well-deserved rest, Apex Academy will continue play against Clubhouse 2026 Scout on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.