High school softball: Sectional finals roundup
The region's top-ranked softball team sits atop South Jersey Group 4 again.
Kingsway captured its fourth sectional crown in the last six seasons with an 8-2 win over Rancocas Valley on Friday.
The Dragons (24-2) will host Central Jersey champion Hunterdon Central (23-3) in Tuesday's state semifinal. Hunterdon Central knocked off Hightstown 10-0 in its sectional final.
Kingsway's offense breathed plenty of firepower as the Dragons pounded out 14 hits.
Reese Whitzell led the way as she went 4-for-4 with a double, homer, three runs scored and three RBIs. Olivia Sciulli, Hannah Weismer and Ava Snyder all delivered two hits for the winners.
Jessa Pieters didn't need much offensive support as she cooled off the Red Devils over seven strong innings. She scattered five hits and struck out four en route to the win.
South Jersey Group 3
Delsea 4, Clearview 3: The Crusaders scored a tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning and walked it off in the ninth as they won their first sectional title since 2019.
Delsea (25-1) will host two-time defending state champion Steinert (20-4) in Tuesday's state semifinal round.
It's Delsea's sixth South Jersey title in program history.
Laney Vecchio had two hits and two RBIs while Tori Jester and Ava Blose also knocked in runs for Delsea.
Blose pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the victory. Cailyn Centeno scattered six hits and four walks over eight innings, striking out eight.
Clearview finished one of its best seasons in recent history, going 18-5 under first-year head coach Matt Schneider. The team's five losses: two to South Jersey Group 4 champion Kingsway, two to South Jersey Group 3 champion Delsea and the other to last year's South Jersey Group 4 titlist Vineland.
Ava D'Alessandro collected two hits and two runs scored for the Pioneers.
South Jersey Group 2
Gloucester 5, Cinnaminson 4: The Lions successfully defending their sectional championship in thrilling fashion as Bailey Schoenfeldt delivered a go-ahead single in the sixth inning for the win.
Gloucester will now concentrate on defending their state title. The Lions (19-5) will host A.L. Johnson (26-3), which knocked off Delran in the Central Jersey Group 2 title game. The state semifinal will be played on Tuesday.
Rylie Zearfoss had two run-scoring knocks for Gloucester.
Cinnaminson finished its season at 17-10.
South Jersey Group 1
Audubon 9, Haddon Township 5: The Green Wave earned their first sectional title in 20 years with a victory over the defending champion Hawks.
The Green Wave (19-7), winners of 12 straight, will host Central Jersey champion Bound Brook (17-11), which upset top-seeded Roselle Park in its sectional final, in Tuesday’s state semifinal round. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Junior Emma Speyerer reached base three times and scored twice. Junior Peyton Marrone had three hits, including a go-ahead RBI single in the first. Junior Brooke Felli had a clutch RBI triple that extended Audubon’s lead to 9-0 in the fourth. Freshman Bria Klingler had two hits, including a run-scoring double while seniors Abby Tole and Alexa Canuso each had RBI singles.
In the circle, junior Kylie Cannaday struck out 10 over 4 1/3 innings while junior Sophia Tessitore got the final eight outs for the save.
South Jersey Non-Public B
St. Joseph Academy 5, Holy Cross Prep 0: Elaina Portalatin fired seven no-hit innings as the top-seeded Wildcats clinched their sixth consecutive sectional title, knocking off the visiting Lancers.
St. Joseph (19-7) will face North champion DePaul (19-6) for the state title on Wednesday at Ivy Hill Park in Newark. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.
Riley Hunter went 3-for-3 with a homer, two doubles and four RBIs while Alaina Dorsey contributed two hits, two runs scored and two stolen bases at the top of the lineup. Abby Willis had the other RBI for St. Joseph.
Central Jersey Group 2
Johnson 5, Delran 4: The Bears grabbed the momentum with a four-run fourth inning, but couldn't maintain it as they surrendered five unanswered runs, including four in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Senior Elaina Faux had two hits and freshman Gemma DeJoseph contributed a RBI double for Delran, which finished 21-9.
The game was delayed close to an hour because there was a bear sighting in the area.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 35 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him by email tmcgurk@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: High school softball: Sectional finals roundup
Post a Comment