MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Columbia High School softball team fashioned another stellar season.
The second-seeded Cougars reached the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 state tournament championship game. But unfortunately, the Cougars lost at No. 1 seed Watchung Hills, 6-1, on Friday, June 6.
Junior Eva Clevenger went 2-for-3 and drove in the lone run in the sixth inning to break the shutout after Westfield was leading 6-0. Junior Claire Shupe went 1-for-3 and she struck out four, and allowed seven hits and three walks in pitching a complete game.
Columbia, under head coach Cliff Smith, finished the season with a 20-7 record. Watchung Hills repeated as North 2, Group 4 sectional champions and improved to 22-6.
In the semifinals, Columbia defeated third-seeded Scotch Plains–Fanwood, 5-2, on Wednesday, June 4, at Meadowland Park field in South Orange.
Shupe went the distance, allowing six hits and one walk, and striking out one. At the plate, Shupe went 1-for-3, freshman Jamie Tarrow had a single and two RBI, and senior Scarlett Levinson went 2-for-3 with an RBI. The Cougars scored one run in the second inning and four runs in the third inning for a 5-0 lead.
Scotch Plains–Fanwood, which won the Union County Tournament championship this year, finished 20-7.
The Cougars reached a state sectional championship game for the third straight season. They defeated Livingston on the road in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 final in 2023. Last year, they made a bid for a repeat title, but lost to Morristown at home in the Section 1, Group 4 final.
Photos by Steve Ellmore
Columbia vs. Scotch Plains–Fanwood (North 2, Group 4 sectional semifinals, June 4, at Meadowland Park field)
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