NUTLEY — The Nutley High School softball team, under longtime head coach Luann Zullo, enjoyed a great run in the Essex County Tournament.
The fifth-seeded Raiders advanced to the semifinals, where they lost to top-seeded Mount St. Dominic.
After receiving a first-round bye, the Raiders defeated 12th-seeded Verona 6-4 in the second round on May 2 at Grant Avenue Field, led by juniors Sofia Rocha, Zoey Vonroth and Kailtyn Nellgar, who each had two hits, and junior Camryn Ortega, who had a single and drove in three runs.
Ortega had two singles and two RBIs, freshman Cayden Ortega had two singles and one RBI, and Vonroth had a single and two RBIs, as the Raiders defeated No. 4 seed West Essex 8-6 on May 9 at West Essex in North Caldwell in the quarterfinals. Sophomore Sophia DeLanzo had a single and an RBI, and junior Makenna DeJianne, who also had an RBI, struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings to earn the win.
NHS lost to MSD 10-0 in the ECT semifinals on May 15 at Seton Hall University’s Mike Sheppard Sr. Field at Ivy Hill Park.
The Raiders then defeated Midland Park 3-2 on May 16 in a regular-season game at Grant Avenue to improve to 15-9 on the season. Camryn Ortega went 3-for-3 with a single, a double and a triple; sophomore Gigi Liloia had a home run and two RBIs; and Nellegar went 2-for-2. DeJianne pitched a five-hitter with 11 strikeouts.
After beating Verona 6-4 in the ECT second round on May 2, the Raiders defeated Verona again 11-1 two days later at Verona in a Super Essex Conference–Liberty Division game. Vonroth had two singles and three RBIs and freshman Morgan Calicchio had an RBI.
Nutley defeated Bloomfield 5-2 on May 5 in an SEC–Liberty Division game and defeated West Milford 10-3 on May 7 on the road.
The Raiders, seeded third, were scheduled to host No. 14 seed Mendham in the first round of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 state tournament on May 26.
Photos Courtesy of Jerry Simon
Nutley vs. Bloomfield (May 5, at Clarks Pond South in Bloomfield. Nutley won 5-2).
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