In Strong Week, Panthers Take 1st Spring Loss But Climb the Rankings

Warmer weather is on the march, and so is Glen Rock High School.

As the temperatures steadily rise, the baseball, softball and lacrosse teams continue to notch quality wins over their opponents.

Here’s the wrap up from the past week in Glen Rock High School sports:

This week was certainly an interesting one for the baseball team.  They got off to a great start with two big wins over Elmwood Park on Monday and Becton on Wednesday.  On Friday, the team played to a tie with Garfield to take their first non-winning decision of the year.

The team was then faced with the daunting task of playing a doubleheader on Saturday. The Panthers got out to a slow start and the bats faltered, resulting in a 3-1 loss to New Milford in the first game, the team’s first loss of the year.

Perhaps feeling the need to respond with a big win, the squad took on Emerson — one of the highest ranked teams in North Jersey — and made waves with a 5-2 win.

Glen Rock, which was ranked 15 going into the weekend in the Record’s North Jersey Top 25, moved up to 7 after defeating Emerson, which fell from 4 to 8.

• Pitcher Matt Lawsky has been stellar so far this season, surrendering only 2 runs on 5 hits against Emerson. He is 2-0 on the year.

• Brett Lederer's bat has been on fire: he hit a home run early in the week, doubled against New Milford and then knocked in 2 RBIs against Emerson.

The Baseball team is back in action on Tuesday, hosting Lodi at home at 4 p.m.

The Softball team is riding high after a strong week, where they won all three games they played. The team routed Elmwood Park and Becton and then won a 9-6 slugfest with Garfield to keep their record unblemished. 

• In three games last week the team scored an astounding 26 runs, using an arsenal of home runs and triples to drive in runs.

The Softball team takes on Lodi at home on Tuesday 4 p.m.

Though they’ve played only one game, for a young team, the extra practice time should certainly pay off once the team gets into the bulk of their schedule. The girls opened their season with a big win over Montclair, winning 10-9.

The layoff may hurt some teams, but with the extra time to work on their game, Girls Lax should come out flying in their next contest, looking to build on their first win.

Girls Lax is back in action at home on Thursday against Vernon, 4 p.m.

After another solid week, the Boys Lacrosse team is sitting with an undefeated 4-0 record, but many tough opponents loom on the horizon. For now though, there is no denying that this team is playing at a high level.

Their offense is clicking and their defense has been at times, stifling.  Following a 10-7 win against Montville, the team took on Wayne Valley on Saturday and emerged with a solid 11-6 win to stay undefeated.

“Coach Bracken has been preaching to us about the Rizk championship, we want to win it outright this year and then onto counties and states,” said Attacker Tim Miller. “We definitely have our goals and we’re looking forward to fulfilling them.”

• Christian Kapotes made 20 saves in 2 games before being replaced once the game was in hand on Saturday.

• Tim Miller had a big week, scoring 7 goals in two games, wins over DePaul and Wayne Valley.

Boys Lax next plays at home against Jefferson H.S. on Wednesday, 4 p.m.

The softball team has been on fire to start the season.  The team averaged just under 9 runs per game last week and has proven that they can win games by simply outscoring their opponents.  With a potent offense, the Lady Panthers should give teams trouble in the coming weeks.

Miller has been a force for the 4-0 Boys Lax team.  The junior had a stellar week as the offense’s go-to guy and is a major part of an offense that was clicking all week.  He followed up his three goals against Montville with four against Wayne Valley.

“True to her role, senior captain Kelsey Yenco robbed Montclair of the ball in their critical scoring area and cleared the field, running it in herself for a 9-7 improvement. After that play, our girls rose to the occasion together. For the last, most intense 5 minutes, every athlete in a Glen Rock uniform played her best."
-Girls lacrosse Coach Taryn Tabano on her team’s 10-9 win over Montclair