Rutherford and Lyndhurst baseball teams moved a step closer in what they hope will be a battle on Friday for the Group 2 North 2 state sectional title.
Lyndhurst kept its top seed position alive with a 12-2 victory over 16th-seeded Newark Tech on May 20 in the first round.
Michael Politto and Nolan Kelly combined to allow only five hits.
Offensively, Frankie DeLeva continued to have a big 2013 as he went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
Marcus Brandon also had a big game, going 3-for-4 against Newark Tech with a home run and three stole bases.
Down the road Rutherford, the second seed, also had an easy time with an easy victory over 15th-seeded Orange, 14-0.
The Bulldogs collected a dozen hits in the first round victory. Rutherford starting pitcher Bobby Conrad picked up the postseason victory on the mound as he fired a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts and only walked one.
Rutherford started out with a bang against the Tornadoes in the first inning with five runs in the first to take a 5-0 lead. The Bulldogs added four in the second and fifth in the fourth inning.
Jake Regina and Jordan Sarro led the Rutherford offense with a double and two RBI each. Neal Calabrese added a pair of RBIs to contribute to the Bulldogs win.
While Queen of Peace opted to not go into the state tournament, they showed some offensive firepower in a road lost to New Milford, one of the better Group 1 teams, 13-7 on May 20.
Behind the offense of Justin Estevez and Mark Petrucelli, the Golden Griffins held a 7-6 lead late in the game. But New Milford came back and overtook Queen of Peace with seven unanswered runs to beat 13-7 in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Liberty Division contest. Petrucelli and Estevez had a pair of RBIs each for Queen of Peace.
Softball
Rutherford‘s drive to another state sectional championship game got off to a an explosive start.
At home on May 21, the second-seeded Bulldogs offense made sure that 15th-seeded Lincoln never had thoughts of an upset bid in the first inning.
Rutherford put 11 runs across the plate in the first giving the Lady Bulldogs a lead that they never gave up. The Lady Bulldogs would go ahead and win 16-1 in the first round at Memorial Field.
While Rutherford collected 14 hits for the game, Lady Bulldogs senior pitcher Julie Sosnicki fired a one-hitter to grab the playoff win.
Ally Paskas and Gina Viggiano led the Rutherford offense. Paskas had a pair of doubles and four RBIs while Viggiano cracked a home run and had two RBIs. Kat Calabrese contributed a triple and collected three RBIs.
St. Mary received a quick exit in the state playoffs as the Lady Gaels bats just could not figure out Eastern Christian pitcher Ashley Manger.
Manger fired a no-hitter as the 12th seeded St. Mary dropped the 10-0 decision in the first round Non-Public North B state sectional contest. Dana Russo took the loss in the circle for the Lady Gaels.
