The semifinals of the Bergen County softball tournament will be held Saturday (weather permitting) at the Wood-Ridge Athletic Complex.
Here, we break down both games and make our picks.
(1) IHA vs. (5) Indian Hills, noon
How they got here: IHA took down Saddle Brook and Holy Angels by identical same 10-0 scores in the first two rounds. The Blue Eagles needed a walk-off homer by Leah English to beat Ridgewood, 6-4, in the quarterfinals. Indian Hills took care of Dumont, 7-1, in the first round, then held off Wallington, 2-1, in Round 2. The Braves scored four runs in the sixth inning to beat Paramus Catholic, 8-5, in the quarterfinals.
Players to watch: IHA - Gianna DiMeglia, senior, Arianna Barrett, senior, Gabby Shadek, junior; Indian Hills - Audrey Amoruso, senior, Mikayla Amoruso, senior, Celina Brown, senior.
Prediction: Indian Hills is trying to get back to the Bergen County final for the first time since 2018. IHA beat the Braves, 7-2, in last year’s semifinals and these two teams have locked up plenty of times over the years in the county tournament. IHA has won the last two Bergen County titles and 12 overall. The bad news for Indian Hills is that IHA may have had their ‘blip’ in last week’s quarterfinals and will be focused this week. Still, Indian Hills won’t make it easy. The Braves will fight, but the Blue Eagles are the better team at the moment. They will get a couple of big innings and win.
(2) Ramsey vs. (6) Ramapo, 3 p.m.
How they got here: Ramsey shut out Demarest, 12-0, in the first round, then won a wild one, 17-10, over St. Mary in the second round. In the quarterfinals, the Rams overcame an early deficit to beat Glen Rock, 11-1. While Ramsey has scored 40 runs in the first three games, Ramapo has 41. The Green Raiders beat Pascack Hills, 20-10, in the first round, then edged Old Tappan, 11-7, in the second. In the quarterfinals, they beat Fair Lawn, 10-6.
Players to watch: Ramapo - LeeAnn Downey, junior; Cadie Sauter, junior, Ella Saxton, senior; Ramsey - Uma Corcoran, senior; Alana Chetaitis, senior, Lucy Sobel, sophomore.
Prediction: This could be the game of the tournament. Ramsey is in the semifinals for the fifth time in the last seven years, and Ramapo is in for the third time in the last four, but they haven’t met in this tournament since 1997. First team to 10 runs, right? Maybe that should be 15 runs. These are the two best line-ups in Bergen County. Ramapo has power. Ramsey has speed and power. There's pressure on both defenses to be perfect. Ramapo has played a tougher schedule top-to-bottom and that will help the Green Raiders. But the Rams probably have better pitching. I think it’s back and forth, but Ramsey walks it off with some runs in the bottom of the seventh.
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