Covering Bergen · Passaic · Essex · Hudson · Morris · Sussex · Warren · Hunterdon · Somerset · Union · Middlesex Counties
State Championships are wrapping up. As always, so many great stores and teams. We put together the top stories you need to know. If you like it, please share and becoma Yokal. Also check out the new yokalsports.com/north-jersey.
BASEBALL
Ridgewood defeated Kingsway 7-6 on June 14 at Rutgers to win the Group 4 state title. Hudson Feeney drove in three runs with a double in a five-run first inning. Brady Ross closed it with four-plus scoreless innings, stranding the bases loaded for the final out. Ridgewood finishes 25-7 and moves to No. 1 in the YSSR baseball rankings.
Ramsey defeated Governor Livingston 4-2 for the Group 2 state title, finishing 25-3. Joe Scarnecchia threw a two-hitter. Hudson Ferrando's squeeze bunt in the sixth was the decisive run. Second state title in four years. Ramsey makes the largest single-week YSSR jump in the market.
Delbarton defeated St. Augustine 4-1 in ten innings for the Non-Public A state title. Kyle McBride closed it in relief. The Green Wave went 29-4 through the sectional and state run. Fifth program title overall. Delbarton holds the strongest combined YSSR profile of any program in the market this season.
Old Tappan shut out Brick Memorial 5-0 for the Group 3 state title. Selden Kolkebeck threw a complete game with ten strikeouts. He finished the season with 126 strikeouts and a 0.72 ERA. Old Tappan enters the YSSR top five for the first time this season.
Pompton Lakes reached the Group 1 state final before falling to Point Pleasant Beach 4-10. Final record 22-8. Playoff advancement to a state final carries weight in the YSSR team success component regardless of outcome.
BOYS LACROSSE
Summit enters tonight's Kirst Cup semifinal as the No. 1 ranked boys lacrosse program in the country per US Lacrosse. The Hilltoppers won the Group 3 state title over Shawnee 9-3 and four days earlier overcame a four-goal deficit to beat Chatham 8-6 in the sectional final. No program in the market scores higher across team success, big game performance, and recent form this week.
Tonight at Kean University: Summit vs. Ridgewood at 4:30, Delbarton vs. Mountain Lakes at 7:00. Kirst Cup final Thursday June 18 at 4:30. Tonight's Kirst Cup semifinals and Thursday's final stream live on YouTube. Watch Jersey Sports Zone at youtube.com/@JerseySportsZone and Big State Sports at youtube.com/@BigStateSports
Mountain Lakes defeated Sparta 14-9 in the Kirst Cup quarterfinal on June 15. Holden Gillespie scored six goals. Mountain Lakes advances to tonight's semifinal against Delbarton.
Ridgewood enters tonight as the Group 4 state champion and defending Kirst Cup winner. The Maroons swept the boys and girls Group 4 titles at TCNJ in the same weekend.
Delbarton enters tonight as the Non-Public A state champion. The Green Wave went 29-4 through the sectional and state run and are one of three North Jersey programs.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Ridgewood defeated Cherokee 12-4 on June 13 at TCNJ to win the Group 4 state title — the program's first since 2023. Combined with the boys title the same weekend, Ridgewood completed one of the more significant team accomplishments in North Jersey spring sports history.
Katie Adams led Ridgewood throughout the tournament. The USA Lacrosse All-American and William and Mary commit is the top-ranked girls lacrosse player in the YSSR database.
Immaculate Heart, Northern Highlands, Glen Rock, and Lakeland all had strong sectional runs. Final Girl Lacrosse player stats and team rankings can be found at yokalsports.com/north-jersey.
SOFTBALL
Ramsey finished 25-3 with one of the strongest YSSR profiles in the market. The Rams beat Pascack Valley 8-0 in the North 1 Group 2 sectional final and followed with a 12-strikeout shutout over Governor Livingston in the state semifinal.
North Hunterdon reached the Group 3 state final before falling to Steinert 2-6 on June 12 at Ivy Hill Park. Steinert won their fourth straight Group 3 title. Layla Francisco threw four shutouts in the state tournament.
Morris Hills defeated Montville 2-1 in the North 1 Group 3 semifinals on June 2. Roxbury defeated Randolph 4-2 in related sectional action.
Indian Hills finished 10-4 after a 1-0 loss to Dayton in the Group 1 state semifinal.
Full results found on the website.
COLLEGE CORNER
The College Corner belends the top college programs in North Jersey and some athletess who come from the area and are performing well.
Gabriella Shadek, a freshman catcher at Duke, set the New Jersey state home run record with 49 at Immaculate Heart before arriving in Durham. Duke finished 29-11 ranked nationally. She hit a three-run home run against Oklahoma State and had a multi-home run game against UNC Wilmington. The top college story in the North Jersey market this spring.
Angelina Benitez hit .405 with 47 hits and finished seventh in the Big East in batting average as a sophomore at Seton Hall.
Peyton Bonds hit .376 with a 1.050 OPS, 6 home runs, and 28 RBI at Rutgers. Among the top hitters in the Big Ten this spring.
Montclair State baseball finished 31-9 and won their first NCAA Division III Tournament game since 2008. Michael Wansaw Jr. hit .413 with 59 hits and 32 RBI. Danny O'Brien hit .415 with 45 RBI.
Sofia Vega hit .414 with a .550 slugging percentage across all 35 games at Quinnipiac. Co-captain Kennedy DeMott hit .359 with 5 home runs and 31 RBI.
