NUTLEY, NJ — The sixth-seeded Nutley High School softball team defeated No. 11 seed Carteret and upset third-seeded North Hunterdon to advance to the semifinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 state tournament.
The Raiders defeated Carteret, 11-1, in the first round on Thursday, May 29, at Yanticaw Park in Nutley. Senior Sianna Kantor, senior Gabriella Mariano, sophomore Makenna DeJianne and freshman Gigi Liloia each had two hits. Sophomore Olivia Miller had a double and three RBI. Sophomore Kaitlyn Nellegar, DeJianne, Mariano, Liloia and sophomore Zoey Vonroth each had one RBI.
DeJianne and Liloia combined on a three-hitter.
Kantor went 2-for-3, Nellegar had a home run and two RBI, and Mariano had a double and two RBI to lead the Raiders to a 5-3 win at North Hunterdon in the quarterfinals on Friday, May 30. Sophomore Sophia Rocha also had an RBI. DeJianne went the distance, allowing five hits and striking out three.
After North Hunterdon took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, Nutley scored a run in the third, two runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth for a 5-1 lead.
The Raiders, who improved to 14-11 on the season, will visit No. 2 seed Summit in the semifinals on Wednesday, June 4. The other semifinal pitted No. 1 South Plainfield against the winner of No. 5 seed Somerville and No. 4 seed Warren Hills.
The final is Friday, June 6, at the higher-seeded school.
Photos Courtesy of Jerry Simon
Nutley vs. Bloomfield (Monday, May 12, at Bloomfield. Nutley won, 11-8).
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