Key Wins For Baseball, Softball, LAX Squads

The Ramapo Baseball and Softball teams moved up several spots in the New Jersey Top 25 after good starts.  After their 3-0 start with impressive wins over Morristown and Westwood, Mickey Hunt’s Raiders moved into the top five (#5).  Coach Leslie Stephen’s Lady Raiders also climbed up the standings with a 3-0 start of their own.  The girls cracked the top ten, starting the week at number ten.

Ramapo Baseball-

April 11: Raiders 5 – Northern Highlands 3
The Raiders kept up their winning ways with a 5-3 win over Northern Highlands.  Andrew Boylan, Justin Gartner, Nick Madormo, Joe Scaglione, and Chris Liquori provided the RBIs as Liquori was credited with the win.

April 14: Raiders 14 – Demarest 11
Coming back from a 9-2 deficit after two, the Raiders won a slugfest against the Norsemen.  TJ Hunt and Joe Scaglione each knocked in 3 runs and John Gandolfo had a huge game in his first week back from injury.  Gandolfo had a homerun and 5 RBI in his return to the lineup after missing the first three games.

April 15: Old Tappan 5 – Raiders 4 (9 innings)
It took bonus baseball to find a winner on Friday in Old Tappan.  The rivals went the distance and then some, battling for 9 innings before the Golden Knights grinded out a tough one-run win.  Chris Liquori had all 3 RBIs for Ramapo, but he was saddled with the loss.

April 16: Pascack Valley 8 – Raiders 6
Ramapo experienced their second consecutive tough road loss of the weekend.  The Raiders fell behind 8-1 and almost came all the way back before coming up just short of the Indians.  Justin Gartner had a homer and 3 RBIs in the loss.

Ramapo Softball-

April 11: Lady Raiders 11 – Northern Highlands 4
Caitlyn Hickey got her second win of the year for the Lady Raiders, who defeated Northern Highlands by seven.  Hickey and Christine Boylan each knocked in a pair of runs and five other players also added an RBI.

April 15: Lady Raiders 9 – Old Tappan 2
Freshman Melanie Psota had a huge game for Ramapo with 4 RBIs.  Four other Raiders knocked in a run, including pitcher Tori Sobel who got the win to move to 3-0 on the year.

IH Baseball-

April 11: Braves 12 – Ramsey 8
The Braves put up 12 runs against Ramsey in a four-run victory over the Rams.  Brady Altana had 3 RBIs and Peter Fiumefreddo and Jake Warnet added 2 ribbies a piece.  Austin Solecitto earned the win on the hill to move to 2-0 on the year.

April 15: Braves 5 – Mahwah 4
Brady Altana had 2 RBI and Mike DiDonato and Jake Warnet batted in the other runs for the Braves.  Christos Apostolou picked up the win in relief in the walk-off win for IH.

IH Softball-

April 11: Ramsey 1 – Lady Braves 0
Ashley DeYoung scattered just 5 hits and struck out 8, but the Rams were able to squeak across a run while the Braves were held scoreless.  JV defeated Ramsey 3-0 on the strength of a 3-run homerun by sophomore Lindsay Pagano. 

Junior Ashley DeYoung was selected as The Record’s “Athlete of the Week” for the week of April 4.  DeYoung did not allow a run in four of five games with one victory being a no-hitter.  She has also been tearing the cover off the ball at the plate.

April 15: Lady Braves 8 – Mahwah 0
Sophomore pitcher Jackie Connolly earned her first varsity win by throwing 5 innings of 1 hits ball and striking out 5.  Ashley DeYoung got the day off from the circle, but not at the plate, hitting 2 doubles (3 hits) and knocking in one.  JV also earned a shutout win, 7-0.

April 18: Lady Braves 10 – Dumont 0 (5 innings)
Hills send Dumont home early by mercying them with the ten-run rule.  Ashley DeYoung continues to impress in the circle, throwing a 3-hit shutout and striking out 7.  Morgan Levine drove in 4 runs including a monster 260’ tape-measure homer.  Junior Carey Houston hit 3 singles, stole 2 bases and drove in a run.  JV also earned a big win, defeating their opponent 11-0, while the freshmen team took a 5-1 loss.

IH Lax-

April 11: Braves 5 – Fair Lawn 3
Hills moved above .500 on the year (3-2) after a come from behind win over the Cutters.  Sam Greer scored two goals and Eric Heinowitz had 13 saves in the win.  Heinowitz and the Braves held Fair Lawn scoreless over the final three quarters after giving up three goals in the opening frame.  The loss was the first of the year for the Cutters.

April 15: Braves 16 – Bergen Tech 2
The Braves smoked Bergen Tech, flexing their offensive muscles and blowing them out by 14.  Sam Greer and Kyle Lansey scored 4 goals apiece while Lansey also added 2 assists.  Reed Zak had a monster 9 point day, finishing with 2 goals and 7 assists.

April 15: Lady Braves 23 – Demarest 2
The girls notched an even bigger victory on Friday, destroying the Norsewomen by 21.  Natalie Carti was exceptional, scoring 7 goals and assisting on 6 more.  Marissa Caponi had a hat trick, Stephanie Stone had 4 goals and 2 assists, and Nicole Kopyta scored a double hat trick.

The Braves rank third in the North Jersey Top 5, sitting at 3-2 on the year.