Immaculate Heart Academy

This might have been the most jam-packed, action-filled Wednesday night we’ve seen all winter long. JSZ has highlights of Ranney’s late OT win to capture their second sectional title; Kahlil Whitney powering Roselle Catholic to a second-straight sectional championship, Haddonfield stopping a red-hot Manasquan right in its tracks, Freehold Township continuing to push through the Group 4 bracket; the IHA Lady Eagles winning their eighth-straight sectional title and the TCA girls winning a sectional title of their own. Stay tuned for all the action coming tonight Ranney 54 Wildwood Catholic 50 (OT) – Non-Public B South Final Freshman Elijah Perkins broke a 50-50 tie in overtime with a layup and added a free throw to give Ranney back to back sectional titles. Scottie Lewis led the Panthers with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and fouled out in overtime. Bryan Antoine had 15, but the Panthers season was hanging in the balance thanks to hot shooting from Jacob Hopping (14 points) and great play inside from Taj Thweatt (13 points, 10 rebounds). Ranney trailed by as many as four in the fourth quarter and rallied to tie the game at 48 on two Lewis free throws. Lewis then blocked Jahlil White’s game winning shot attempt and Ahmadu Sarnor missed the buzzer beater off the back rim. JSZ has the highlights and post-game reaction from a thriller in Jackson: Roselle Catholic 48 Gill St. Bernard’s 44 – Non-Public B North Final A pair of Kahlil Whitney free throws in the final seconds was exactly what Roselle Catholic needed to ice a tight game and capture their second-straight sectional championship. Whitney, the Kentucky commit, led the Lions with 15 points in the win. GSB’s Zach Martini dropped a game-high 19 points in the losing effort. Roselle Catholic will now face Ranney in a rematch from last year’s thrilling Non-Public B Finale, which the Lions won. Watch all the action from Franklin here: Haddonfield 53 Manasquan 43 – Group 2 State Semifinal Reigning Group 2 State Champions Haddonfield punched their way to Rutgers University for the second year in a row. The Bulldawgs coming off an epic comeback against Camden in the Sectional Title game were locked in against 13th ranked Manasquan. Haddonfield took a 22-17 lead at halftime after two big quarters from Aiden Blake. In the second half an Alley-Oop from Senior Dan Fleming got things started and eventually led to a 10 point lead for them that would remain in tact for the rest of the evening. The Bulldawgs will take on Westside on 3.10. JSZ’s Nery Rodriguez has the highlights: Sponsor! Thank you to NJM Insurance for sponsoring our Haddonfield coverage! Freehold Township 44 Cherokee 42 – Group 4 State Semifinal Freehold Township punched a ticket to the first Group 4 state final in school history with a 44-42 win over Cherokee in Egg Harbor Township. Seth Meisner led a balanced Patriots attack with 10 points. Zach Barilka had nine points, while Greg Billups and Matt Santangelo each chipped in with eight points. Anthony DiCaro lead all scorers with 17 points for the Chiefs in the loss. JSZ’s Mike Frankel has the highlights and reaction: Trenton Catholic 74 Gloucester Catholic 64 – Non-Public South B Girls Final Maniya Custis poured in 25 points to lead four Trenton Catholic players in double digits as the Iron Mikes rained down 12 three-pointers to reach the Non-Public B state championship and a matchup with Saddle River Day on Saturday in Toms River. JSZ has the highlights and post-game reaction from Jackson Liberty High School: Thanks to Princeton Orthopaedic Associates for sponsoring our Trenton Catholic coverage. They are the reason we’ll have state championship highlights this Saturday in Toms River! Thanks to NJM Insurance for sponsoring JSZ’s coverage of Gloucester Catholic all year long Immaculate Heart 63 Pope John 47 – Non-Public North A Girls Final The #1 Immaculate Heart Academy Blue Eagles defeated the #2 Pope John Lady Lions at Passaic Tech on Wednesday night, winning their eighth straight Sectional Title. Eliya Herriott led IHA, scoring the game-high with 18 points. Brittany Graff and Anna Morris each scored 12 points for the Blue Eagles. They will face St. Rose on Mar. 9 for the Non-Public A Tournament Final. JSZ’s Madison Bess has the highlights from Wayne:

Jersey Sports Zone is proud to put the spotlight on great females athletes in New Jersey.  The high school softball season brought many great moments.  Here are the 10 most viewed games from our coverage in 2018: #10: Saint John Vianney 7 IHA 3 – Strike Out Autism The Lancers got a 2-run pinch hit single from Gabby Polera in the third and busted the game open with five runs in the 5th to beat the defending state champs at Strike Out Autism in Middletown.  JSZ has the highlights from a matchup of two state softball powers: #9: Middletown North 3 Lacey 2 (10 innings) – Shore Conference Tournament Quarterfinals Adriana Cerbo’s walk-off single to center in the bottom of the 10th gave Middletown North its 25th win and a spot in the SCT semifinals.  North starter Malori Bell struck out 20 batters throwing all 10 innings to pick up the win.  JSZ has the highlights of an outstanding game played by both teams: #8: Steinert 9 Lodi Immaculate 0 – Tournament of Champions Final Steinert came out guns blazing. In just the first inning the Spartans strung together nine runs with 13 batters at the plate and a total of seven hits. From there, it was all defense. Neither team scored a single run in the remaining 6 innings, and the Spartans came away with the title. Star pitcher, Kaylee Whittaker, had 15 strikeouts and contributed three hits of her own to Steinert’s 12 total. Check out highlights of the game now: #7: Vineland 3 Millville 2 (9 innings) – South Jersey Group 4 Finals Devin Coia’s RBI single in the 9th inning gave Vinelands the South Jersey Group 4 crown.  SNJ Today’s Mike Frankel has the highlights of an outstanding South Jersey softball state playoff game: #6: Roselle Park 4 Gloucester City 3 – Group 1 State Championship Want to see some exciting softball? Do not miss this matchup between Gloucester City and Roselle Park. It was an offensive battle with Roselle Park out-hitting Gloucester 14-10. The Panther’s junior pitcher, Madison Hummel, was not only a key factor on the mound, but also at the plate. She hit the walk-off single to win the game, bringing home the Group 1 Title for Roselle. Check out highlights of this one now: #5: Donovan Catholic 13 Saint John Vianney 4 – Shore Conference Championship After a stunning 2-0 loss to St. John Vianney in the Non-Public A South Final, No. 1 Donovan Catholic was looking to make statement in the SCT Final. Statement made, the Griffins poured in 7 runs in the 1st inning, resulting in a 13-4 win, avenging that loss over the Lancers. Donovan Catholic finishes the season with a 30-1 record, while St. John Vianney falls to 27-1 as they head into the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions this week. Watch Highlights of the SCT Final on JSZ! #4: Saint John Vianney 2 Mount St. Dominic 1 – Non-Public “A” State Championship Going 5 years without a state championship is considered a “drought” at St. John Vianney, and that just speaks to how special the Lancers’ softball program is in Holmdel. That drought came to an emphatic end on Saturday night, as Vianney got another great performance from sophomore Julia Parker, 7 IP, 7 K’s, 1R, leading the Lancers to the Non-Public A State Title with a 2-1 win over Mount St. Dominic. Watch Highlights and post game from SJV’s win on JSZ! #3: Montgomery 3 Hillsborough 1 – Somerset County Championship Hillsborough made it to this year’s Somerset County Championship for the first time in three years as the number one seed, while Montgomery [the three seed] lost the title last season to Bridgewater-Raritan. Both teams were hungry for this win, but in the end, it all came down to mistakes in the field and pitching. Montogmery’s Peyton Schnackenberg did cost her team a run in the third inning after a wild pitch, but she made up for it with 11 strikeouts. Schnackenberg was also one strike shy of a no-hitter, and her performance took a major role in the Cougars 3-1 win over the Raiders. Check out the highlights now: #2: Donovan Catholic 13 Middletown South 2 NJ’s #1 ranked team put together back to back 6-run frames in the 2nd and 3rd innings to dominate the Eagles.  Linsday Nelson pitched three shutout innings and picked up her 500th career strikeout.  JSZ has highlights from the team that was ranked #13 in the latest USA Today Super 25 National Poll: #1: Saint John Vianney 2 Donovan Catholic 0 – South Non-Public “A” Finals The marquee matchup in New Jersey Softball lived up to the hype and then some. St. John Vianney’s Sophomore pitcher Julia Parker pitched 7 shutout innings, giving up just 3 hits against one of the best offenses in all of America, leading the Lancers to a 2-0 win. St. John Vianney captures the Non-Public A South Championship avenging back to back playoff losses to Donovan the past two seasons, and improves to 26-0 on the season. The loss was the first of the season for Donovan Catholic as they fall to 29-1. Watch highlights of the Lancers and Griffins on JSZ!  

Each week, JSZ’s Alex Lorenzo posts ten nominees from outstanding performances from baseball and softball in the Big North and GMC conferences.  Voting is open now through Tuesday at 3:00 pm.  The winner of the poll will get a JSZ Game Ball presented to them with their teammates. Baseball Poll Take Our Poll Softball Poll Take Our Poll Coaches & Fans: You can nominate your top performer every week. Just drop a line to alex@jerseysportszone.com no later than Saturday evening and we’ll nominate your player. Welcome to Jersey Sports Zone!  After three years on the Jersey Shore, we’ve expanded our coverage to every part of the Garden State.  We are excited to bring you high definition highlights and features of high school sports all year long.

Each week, JSZ’s Alex Lorenzo posts ten nominees from outstanding performances from baseball and softball in the Big North and GMC conferences.  Voting is open now through Tuesday at 3:00 pm.  The winner of the poll will get a JSZ Game Ball presented to them with their teammates. Baseball Poll Take Our Poll Softball Poll Take Our Poll Coaches & Fans: You can nominate your top performer every week. Just drop a line to alex@jerseysportszone.com no later than Saturday evening and we’ll nominate your player. Welcome to Jersey Sports Zone!  After three years on the Jersey Shore, we’ve expanded our coverage to every part of the Garden State.  We are excited to bring you high definition highlights and features of high school sports all year long.