MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE — Despite losing a heartbreaking one-run decision in the county championship, the Columbia High School softball team showed it can compete with any team.
The second-seeded Cougars, under longtime head coach Cliff Smith, lost to top-seeded Mount St. Dominic 1-0 in the Essex County Tournament championship game at Seton Hall University’s Mike Sheppard Sr. Field at Ivy Hill Park on Saturday night, May 16, in a matchup of Super Essex Conference–American Division and state-ranked teams.
The game turned into a pitchers’ duel. MSD junior Alison Kelshaw struck out 14, while CHS senior Claire Shupe struck out 11. Both went the distance. Shupe allowed four hits and two walks, and Kelshaw yielded five hits and two walks.
The lone run came in the third inning on a RBI single by junior Isabella Iannitelli.
At the plate, Shupe went 2-for-3, senior Eva Clevenger went 1-for-2 with a walk, and senior Lexi Kaplan and freshman Olivia Ahlberg each went 1-for-3.
MSD, ranked No. 2 in the state by NJ.com, won its third straight ECT championship and moved to 25-2 on the season. The Cougars, ranked No. 13 in the state, saw their five-game winning streak come to end, moving to 19-5 on the season. The Cougars were ranked as high as No. 4 in the state for a few weeks this season.
CHS lost to MSD in all three meetings, two in the division. CHS was 8-2 in the division through May 16.
The Cougars defeated third-seeded Caldwell 9-0 in the ECT semifinals at Ivy Hill Park on Friday, May 15.
Columbia scored one run in the third inning, five runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth.
Clevenger went 3-for-4 with a home run and six RBIs and Kaplan went 2-for-2. Shupe walked, drove in a run and pitched a four-hitter with one walk and 14 strikeouts. Sophomore Maggie Feder also had a walk and an RBI.
Junior Maya Bernstein had two singles, a double and three RBIs; and sophomore Cassie Maguire had a single, a double and three RBIs to lead the Cougars to a 9-3 win over Cedar Grove in an SEC–American Division game May 12. Feder and Clevenger each had two singles.
Shupe pitched three innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts for the win, and freshman Alison Kelly had nine strikeouts, allowing three hits over four innings.
Bernstein went 3-for-4 with a double, Maguire had two walks and two RBIs, and Shupe had a single and two RBIs in the 9-0 win May 14 at Meadowland Park field in an SEC-American Division game.
Kelly and Shupe combined on the two-hit shutout. Kelly got the win, striking out nine over five innings, and Shupe struck out four in two innings. Kelly earned her 100th strikeout in the 1-0 home win over Governor Livingston on May 5.
Columbia will now look to make another strong run in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament. The Cougars have reached a state sectional final in each of the past three seasons. They won the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 sectional tournament title in 2023, beating Livingston in the final, before falling to Hillsborough 1-0 in the Group 4 state semifinal to finish 21-10. The following year, they lost to Morristown 3-0 in the North 1, Group 4 sectional final to end 17-10. Last season, the Cougars lost to Watchung Hills 5-1 in the North 2, Group 4 sectional final to finish 20-7.
Photos by Joe Ungaro
Columbia vs. Caldwell (Essex County Tournament semifinals)
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