Ram Baseball, Boys LAX and IH Softball Advance in State Tourneys

Four teams began their run at a state championship this week, with three advancing in their respective brackets.  Ramapo baseball, Ramapo boys lacrosse and Indian Hills softball stamped trips to the next round while Ramapo softball was sent home.  

Baseball

Raiders 4 – Passaic Valley 0

Two days after TJ Hunt shutout St. Joe’s in the county quarterfinals, Ramapo showed they had two aces up their sleeves as Ari Kaufman shutout PV in the first round of the states. Kaufman was masterful, scattering just four hits and striking out 10 to improve to 6-0 on the year.

The Raiders defeated PV in a slugfest earlier this year in an 11-10 extra inning win.  This time around the difference was Kaufman, who got a four-run cushion in the first and never looked back.

Ramapo got their first run on an RBI groundout by Ryan Dougherty then John Gandolfo scored the second run on an errant throw on a ball hit by Hunt.  With Hunt on second, Chris Liquori launched a two-run bomb to put Ramapo up 4-0.

The Raiders will continue to ride their smoking aces in both tournaments as they will throw Hunt against Lakeland in the states on Friday and Kaufman against Old Tappan on Saturday in the counties.

Boys Lacrosse

Raiders 14 – Lakeland 3

Coming off a first round bye, #3 seeded Ramapo looked well rested against the Lancers. The Raiders jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first half and ended up winning by the same margin, 15-3.

Coach Tim Roy stated that having that bye and being able to take an extra off-day was very beneficial for his team. 

“We didn’t have practice yesterday because the last few games we haven’t been playing well,” said Roy.  “We thought stepping away from the game might help.”

Roy was right as the Raiders hopped out to a huge lead and never looked back.

Sal Sassano led a very balanced attack by Ramapo, recording 4 goals and 3 assists.  Chris Colaneri and Dan Smith had 2 goals and 2 assists each, and Zach Hirsch and Dan Steimel also netted 2 goals.  Corey Steimel, Connor Krup, and defenseman Alex DiClemente rounded out the scoring for the Raiders.

Ramapo advances to the quarterfinals against #6 seed and rival Northern Highlands on Thursday.  Despite the big win, Roy believes there are still improvements to be made.  After taking out most of the starters in the second half, Roy inserted them back in the game to help fine-tune some of the basics that have hurt Ramapo during a recent losing streak.

“That’s been our Achilles’ heel; throwing and catching.  Fundamentals is what’s killing us.  We’re just trying to get back to basics,” said the coach.

Ramapo defeated Highlands 7-5 earlier in the year but the intensity usually rises during state tournament time.  If they can get past the Highlanders this time they'll be right back in the semifinals, a place they are familiar with after getting there just a year ago by beating Highlands.

Softball

Lady Braves 6 – Mount Olive 1

Just two days removed from a tough loss in the county final, Indian Hills now turns its attention toward getting back to another final, the state championship.  The Braves began their run at another title by defeating Mount Olive in the opening round of the North 1, Group 3 playoffs.

“The girls always bounce back so there was no question that we would be ready to begin play in the state tournament after our loss in the county final,” said Coach Joe Leicht.

On Tuesday it was the underclassmen of IH that really got things going for them.  Freshman Madison Levine had 3 hits and an RBI, sophomore Jackie Connolly had 2 hits (1 double) and 2 RBI, and sophomore Nicole Paiotti had 2 doubles to lead the Braves attack.

The major difference this year for the Braves is that they will be competing in Group 3, not Group 2 like they have in the past.  Leicht commented on the strength of the new group his team is now a part of.

“Group 3 is extremely tough this season so we will have to be at our best in all phases of the game in order to advance deep in the tournament,” he said.

But light is still very optimistic about his teams’ chances.  “Our formula all year has been great pitching and defense, timely hitting with a frequent extra base hit, and team togetherness so with this formula we are optimistic about our chances.”

Hills will continue to work towards their goal as they take on Wayne Hills at home on Thursday.

Jefferson 1 – Lady Raiders 0

Tori Sobel pitched an excellent game, but the Raiders could not get their offense to back her up.  Ramapo could only squeeze out two hits off of Samantha Abromavage, losing a tough one-run contest.

Sobel allowed just five hits, but an unearned run in the fifth would be the difference.

After getting out of a bases loaded, no out jam in the seventh, Ramapo had some momentum heading into their final at bat.  The Raiders however could not rally, and their season would unfortunately come to an end.