FIRST TEAM ALL-STATE
UT: Savanna McHale
Weehawken, Sr.
McHale has steadily improved her all-state standing each of the last three years. She was a third teamer as a sophomore, a second teamer last year and is now a first-team all-state player thanks to one of the best seasons of her career. Weehawken went 28-2 and was ranked inside the Top 20 for the first time ever this season and McHale, who is heading to Binghamton to play in college, was a big reason why. She led the entire state in hits with 57, giving her a career-best average of .528 while also scoring 41 runs and driving in 34 with four homers. In the circle, she struck out 264 in 151 innings, matching her career high, while giving up just 73 hits and 24 walks with a 0.83 ERA. She finishes her career with 899 strikeouts and a 0.59 ERA in the circle and 183 hits and a .504 average at the dish.
SECOND TEAM ALL-STATE
UT: Delilah Tabaka
Wallington, Jr.
Tabaka went from an All-Group player with a solid season last year to one of the state’s preeminent strikeout pitchers this year. In 193 innings, she posted a .91 ERA and struck out 365, the second highest total in the state. That’s good for 1.89 strikeouts per inning. Add in just 107 hits allowed and a meager 25 walks and the Panther junior took her game to another level this year. She also hit .307 with 23 hits, 19 RBI, 23 walks and six stolen bases. In three seasons at the small Bergen County school, she’s got 836 strikeouts in 511 innings and seems to be well on her way to 1,000 career strikeouts next season.
THIRD TEAM ALL-STATE
C: Envey Duran
Weehawken, Jr.
A UNC Wilmington commit, Duran is one of two All-State players for Weehawken. Along with fellow All-Stater Savanna McHale, Duran formed one of the most fearsome batteries in the state as the two were always in sync and rarely faltered in the field. As a hitter, Duran was equally as adept, batting .533 this year behind 14 home runs and 33 extra base hits, giving her a staggering slugging percentage of 1.256. She also drew 16 walks and scored 29 runs and rarely missed an opportunity to drive in runs as well, as she notched 48 hits and 55 RBI, the latter of which is the second-most of any player in the state this season. Through three seasons at the Hudson County school, she already has 24 home runs and 128 RBI.
Softball All-Group 1 Teams
First Team
- P: Savanna McHale, Weehawken, Sr.
- C: Envey Duran, Weehawken, Jr.
- UT: Delilah Tabaka, Wallington, Jr.
Second Team
- INF: Erika Stewart, Park Ridge, Sr.
- INF: Mackenzie Riordan, Hasbrouck Heights, Jr.
- UT: Brooke McHale, Weehawken, Jr.
- UT: Kate Broderick, Park Ridge, So.
Third Team
- OF: Nicolette Sasso, Hawthorne, Sr.
- UT: Morgan Gurdak, Wallington, Jr.
Softball All-Group 2 teams
First Team
- P: Giana Yaniero, Rutherford, Jr.
- C: Courtney DiPrenda, Pompton Lakes, Sr.
Second Team
- INF: Nina Danyluk, Glen Rock, Jr.
NJIC SEASON WRAP UP AND RECOGNITION
A lot happened on softball diamonds across the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference this year.
Scroll through to find out the Player, Team and Coach of the Year as well as other notes from around the conference.
Team of the Year: Weehawken
The Indians were ranked in the Top 20 for several weeks this season, the only NJIC team that can make that claim. Posting a 28-2 record, coach Raquel Roder’s group gave up the third fewest runs of any team, had the third best run differential of any team and ranked second in the state in runs allowed per game. Helping to lead that charge was Savanna McHale in the circle but also Envey Duran at catcher, both of whom picked up All-State nods this season. Weehawken’s appearance in the Top 20 was its first in program history and they also set another first when they became the first team to repeat as Hudson County champs since the tournament expanded to include all of Hudson County in the 2010s.
Player of the Year: Savanna McHale, Weehawken
A First Team All-State player this year, McHale led the state in hits 57 and was among the tops in strikeouts as well with 264. A Binghamton commit, McHale hit .528 this year with 41 runs, 34 RBI and 29 extra base hits at the dish, including a big homer in the Hudson County Tournament. One of the best all-around players in the state all four years at Weehawken, she finishes her career with 183 hits, 127 RBI, a .504 average and a meager .59 ERA and 899 strikeouts in 485 innings.
Coach of the Year: Leroy Williams, Paterson Charter
While plenty of teams in the NJIC had standout years like Wallington, which made the section final or Rutherford, which won its first section title since 2008, Paterson Charter had its best season in program history, bar none. Prior to this year, Paterson Charter was 5-65-1 in its previous four seasons. This year, under Williams’ guidance, the team tripled its win total in one fell swoop. They even won three divisional games this year and had two standout freshmen in Lexi-Marie Feliciano and Troi Jackson, who both notched 37 hits and hit .481 with over 25 RBI and 40 stolen bases. They hit .318 as a team this year and drew 121 walks while hitting 15 home runs. It remains to be seen how sustainable this success is, but it’s hard to overlook just how big of a year this was for this program.
FINAL NJIC RANKINGS
- 1-Weehawken (28-2)
- 2-Wallington (25-5)
- 3-Rutherford (19-7-1)
- 4-St. Mary (Ruth.) (19-8)
- 5-Park Ridge (19-7)
- 6-Glen Rock (21-6)
- 7-Hawthorne (20-6)
- 8-Waldwick (19-8)
- 9-Leonia (14-7)
- 10-Emerson (13-10)
NJIC STAT LEADERS
Jake Aferiat can be reached at jaferiat@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @Jake_Aferiat.
Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @bybillevans.
