Diamond Boys from River Dell are on a 11-Game Win Streak

After dropping their first two games of the season, River Dell baseball has been on an 11-game win streak toppling Indian Hills 8-3, behind Brandon Martinez's homerun. The Hawks followed  their win over Indian Hills with a tight 9-8 race to the finish against Weehawken during the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. Riding high the Hawks downed Mahwah 3-0 in the rain this week behind Ryan Duran's arm and the bats of Tim Barnes, Brandon Martinez and John Budka. Zach Wynne tossed a no-hitter against Cliffside Park, striking out seven, in the 9-0 Big North crossover action victory.

On the other hand, Crusaders baseball continues to struggle as Bergen is stuck in a six-game losing streak. This week the team fell to Old Tappan 7-3. Bergen took a 2-1 lead in the fourth but the Golden Knights recovered and batted in six more in the fifth to take the lead. They then fell 3-2 to neighboring Paramus Catholic before facing archrival Don Bosco on Wednesday and being decimated in Ramsey, 22-1 in five innings as the Ironmen scored 10 runs in the first and third innings. AJ Gallagher had the lone RBI to bring in Rob Quigley.

Dropping the first match to a feisty Lancers squad out of Lakeland, 22-25, Bergen Catholic volleyball fought back in the next two, 25-19, 25-23 for a 2-1 victory as the Crusaders were heavily tested. Bergen later fell in the Bloomfield Tournament to St. Peter’s Prep, 26-24, in the quarterfinals. As the top-seed in the gold bracket, Bergen had previously defeated eventual champion Fair Lawn in the second round pool, 25-24, 25-16, marking the first time in the program's five years they had defeated the Cutters. In the second match of the season, Bergen again stayed on top of the Teaneck Highwaymen in a 25-14, 25-20 win. And then dropped the hammer against Wayne Hills, 25-21, 25-16 on Wednesday.

Coming in three over par, Scott Kim (39) led the Golden Hawks to victory 176-196 against Bergen Tech on the Hackensack Golf Course. He later stroked a 36 at Overpeck in River Dell's 168-216 victory over Dwight Morrow. Max Barnett brought home the Hawks win hitting a 43 as River Dell toppled Dumont 187-190 in Rockleigh. Kim shot a 38 to lear River Dell 165-201 over Ridgefield Park at Rockleigh.

Ryan Rose (33) and Harrison Shih (39) battled for top supremacy as the Crusaders birdied their way to a 154-175 win over Northern Highlands at White Beeches Country Club. Chang Ju Lee's 37 kept Bergen's undefeated 12-game winning streak going as the Crusaders won 157-170 over Old Tappan in Rockleigh. But that undefeated streak game to an end at Somerset Hills on Tuesday when the mighty Delbarton Green Wave washed over Bergen 156-158. Ryan Rose shot a 37 with Harrison Shih a 38.

Softball once again fell to the Lady Braves as Ashley DeYoung led Indian Hills to a 6-1 victory. DeYoung pitched six no-hit innings and struck out seven to earn her third straight win. Jordan Bastable got the lone River Dell hit, a run-scoring single in the seventh inning. Bastable, who has been on a roll at the plate all week blasted a three-run double and solo homerun in the Lady Hawks 6-2 victory over Fair Lawn at the third annual Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. The senior shortstop ripped a line drive into the gap during the third inning with bases loaded for a 4-0 lead and then in the fifth crushed the ball to the same position for her solo homerun. But their luck ended their falling 3-1 to rival Mahwah as Lady T-Birds Danielle Iacovo allowed four hits. Despite Jordan Bastable's trio of RBI's on Wednesday, the Lady Hawks fell 6-3 to Cliffside Park.

Hawks tennis dropped to a 1-8 record after beng shut out by Indian Hills on Friday afternoon. The squad later fell 4-1 to Mahwah with Dzan Harba winning his match in three. Fellow singles team members Anthony Lee and Ilya Leifer battled in tight triple matches before falling as well as doubles teams Patrick Thane/Brandon Pepi and Kyle Shtern/Craig Looran. But the team earned their second win of the season shutting out New Milford on Tuesday, 5-0 and followed with another, 5-0 over Cliffside Park on Wednesday.

At the Jack Yonkers Bergen Relays, the River Dell boys once again won the Division B title beating out Ramsey 84 to 79 while the girls squad were tied with Holy Angels heading into the final pole vault event. The Angels eked out the win 93 to 89 over River Dell. The boys placed second in the 4-x-200 and 3-x-400 IH, fifth in the 4-x-1600 and 1600 sprint medley, a three-way first place tie in the pole vault (Calvin Hartman, Lukas Kaefer, Mike Kost), first place in the discus (Matt Koh, Andrew Tummino, Paul Zaukas), javelin (Lenny Smith, Brian Samuel, Sam Becourtney), and shot put (Koh, Austin Berniger, Tummino), sixth in the triple jump, 4-x-800 and distance medley, third in the 4-x-100 and 4-x-400, and fourth in the high jump.

The girls took first in the spring medley (Paige Fernandez, Sam Schlieger, Melissa Gibons, Marina Reilly, shuttle hurdles (Jamie Woods, Kalene Marulis, Noreen Byrne, Grace Behrens), 3-x-400 (Fernandez, Woods, Bryne), shot put (Laura Oh, Lana Weeks, Erin Smith), discuss (Oh, Smith, Holly Tighe), second in the 4-x-100 and 4-x-400, third in the 4-x-200, fourth in the pole vault, fifth in the 4-x-800 and 4-x-1600 and sixth in the distance medley and high jump.

Bergen Catholic struggled in the Boys A division at the Jack Yockers Bergen County Relays finishing in 10th place with a second place win in the javelin. During the week, the Crusaders defeated Paramus Catholic on the road on Monday afternoon, defeating the Paladins in 10 of the 14 total events on the afternoon. The Crusaders (2-2) managed to score in every event against PC.

The Crusaders LAX squad cleared the way for a 4-2 win over Montclair in spite of the Mounties attempt at a late period comeback. James Pilusoa netted two, Tucker James and Matt Haemmerle had one a piece. Matt Pedrick recorded 8 saves. BC won its second straight road game, winning a thrilling (9-8) contest against St. Joseph's of Metuchen on Monday afternoon thanks to a Brendon McGuire goal with 35 seconds left in the game.

The Hawks road their way to a 13-3 victory over Paramus Catholic in boys lacrosse capping the game with a 5-goal final period. Grant Kuchar and Mike Neville each had hat tricks; Kevin Barry, Steven Luca and Mike Monopoli netted two a piece; ollowed by Mike DeBenedetto and Greg Stengel's solos. Philip Giuffre and Ben Sagerman shared time in the cage for a combined 14 saves.

Days before starting their County run, the Lady Hawks LAX squad stayed ahead of Dwight-Englewood 9-7 for a win in spite of a late surging Bulldogs team. Emily Wong netted four goals, Sam Kay had 2, while Tori Schettino, Noelle Lawlor and Marissa Boyle notched one each. Rebecca Meyers made 11 saves.

Bergen tennis (5-4) could not manage a single victory in any one of the 5 matches on Wednesday afternoon against Don Bosco Prep, and the Crusaders fell to the Ironmen (5-0) at Ramapo College.