Columbia junior Eva Clevenger looks at a pitch in the sectional semifinal win over Scotch Plains-Fanwood.
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Columbia High School softball team, which advanced to a state sectional championship game for the third consecutive season, boasted several players who earned All–Super Essex Conference–American Division honors, as selected by the division coaches.
First Team
- Claire Shupe, junior.
- Eva Clevenger, junior.
- Abby Coulter, junior.
Second Team
- Jamie Tarrow, freshman.
- Maya Bernstein, sophomore.
Honorable Mention
- Anna Shalom, senior.
- Charlotte Klepesch, senior.
The Cougars, under head coach Cliff Smith, finished with a 20-7 record after losing to Watchung Hills, 6-1, in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 state tournament championship game on June 6. Watchung Hills repeated as sectional champions.
Columbia won the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 title in 2023 and finished runner-up in Section 1, Group 4 in 2024.
The Cougars advanced to the Essex County Tournament semifinals this year, losing to eventual champion and American Division foe Mount St. Dominic Academy.
The American Division is the top division in the SEC.
Shupe had a phenomenal season. As a pitcher, she struck out 231 and allowed 82 hits in 159 innings pitched. Her earned run average was 0.57.
At the plate, Shupe batted .432 with 38 hits, including six doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI.
Clevenger had a .402 batting average with 35 hits, including nine doubles, two home runs, 27 RBI and 22 runs scored.
Coulter batted .351 with 26 hits, including four doubles, one triple, two home runs, 12 RBI and 23 runs scored.
Tarrow had 29 hits for a .312 batting average. She had five doubles, one triple, one home run, 16 RBI and 19 runs scored. Bernstein batted .338 with 26 hits, including one triple, two home runs, 18 RBI and 18 runs scored.
Shalom had 17 hits and Klepesch had 22 hits, 17 RBI and 15 runs scored.
Photos by Steve Ellmore
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