Columbia HS softball team advances to state sectional semifinals

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Columbia High School softball team, seeded fourth, defeated Montclair and Union City to advance to the semifinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 state tournament.

Ellie Martin went 2-for-4 with a single, a double and two RBIs; Charlotte Klepesch went 2-for-3 with two singles and an RBI; Eva Clevenger went 2-for-4 with a single and a double; and Lexi Kaplan went 1-for-4 with a single and an RBI to lead the Cougars to a 12-3 win over No. 13 seed Montclair in the first round on Tuesday, May 23, at Meadowland field. Tess Schram, Juliette Licata, Sam Stein, Claire Shupe and Addison Secor each had an RBI.

Shupe pitched four innings of three-hit ball with seven strikeouts for the win, and Mady Rowell pitched three innings with three strikeouts.

The Cougars defeated No. 5 seed Union City 6-2 on Thursday, May 25, at Meadowland Park field. Shupe went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBIs; Martin went 3-for-4 with a single, two doubles and two RBIs; and Stein went 2-for-4 with two singles and an RBI. Secor went 2-for-4 with a single and a double.Rowell was the winning pitcher, allowing three hits and striking out 10 over six innings.

The Cougars, who improved to 19-9 overall, were scheduled to visit No. 1 seed Bergen County Tech in the semifinals on Wednesday, May 31. The other semifinal pitted No. 6 seed Ridgewood at No. 2 seed Livingston. The final is Saturday, June 3, at the higher-seeded team.