By Wayne Witkowski
Allentown High School’s girls lacrosse team, cruising along to an 11-5 season, won a big confidence-builder for the upcoming state tournament when it knocked off top-20 ranked Notre Dame High School, 10-8, May 11.
Marin Hartshorn scored three goals and assisted on another, while Danielle Sullivan also put in three goals, as the Redbirds recorded their seventh victory in their last eight games.
Kali Hartshorn, Marin’s older sister, fired in two goals and had two assists, and Kaitlyn Bergen and Alyssa Sloane each had one goal and two assists for Allentown. Abby Howell made four saves in goal.
“We’re on a little bit of a streak that’s coming from a little bit of everywhere — the seniors knowing it’s the last year and the underclassmen are really stepping up,” said Kali Hartshorn, who leads the way with 62 goals and 42 assists. “When we played Notre Dame, we were really pumped up, just like we are in every sport where we play them.”
The younger players stepping up include her sister, who has 39 goals and 20 assists to put her second on the team in both categories. Sloane has 32 goals and 20 assists.
“She’s intense and driven, just like I am,” Kali Hartshorn said of her sister. “Once she scored a goal, she keeps going with it.”
The Redbirds begin play in the state tournament May 19, and Hartshorn hopes for a long run before embarking on a college career this fall at the University of Maryland.
Softball
Allentown (12-9) continued its late-season slump, losing, 11-3, to Robbinsville High School, which broke out for 10 runs in the first inning off pitcher Kayla Peterson, May 10 in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals.
Heather Devine blasted a homer and a double for Allentown, which also got two hits each from Alyssa Ariano, Brianna McGowan and Sarina Campanella. McGowan drove in a run.
Allentown, which has lost eight of its last nine games, had games scheduled against Freehold Township High School May 16 and Robbinsville May 18. The Rebirds play Princeton High School May 20.
Alyssa Notarianni continues to lead the team with a .438 batting average, 29 RBIs and four home runs. Ariano has a .432 batting average with 10 RBIs.
Baseball
Allentown slipped to 7-8 with an 8-7 loss to the Hun School at the 15-game cutoff for state tournament seeding. But the team is expected to qualify based on power points to fill out the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group III bracket.
After Hun scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to take an 8-0 lead, Allentown rallied back for two runs in the sixth inning and five in the seventh inning before falling short. Aydon Chavis went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Allentown. Matt Coante drove in two runs, while Frank DelGuercio, Austin Ferrier and Adam Silverman each drove in a run.
DelGuercio is batting a team-best .356 among the regulars with six RBIs. Chavis is hitting .326 with seven RBIs. Colton Johnson is 3-0 on the mound.
Boys lacrosse
James Neebling netted two goals, Michael Dacey contributed one goal and two assists and Connor Provost added one goal and one assist for Allentown in a 9-6 loss to Somerville High School May 13.
The Redbirds (6-9) had come off a 13-4 victory over Brick Memorial High School May 11, as Provost had three goals and three assists, Kyle Moore had three goals and one assist and Mike Surace scored twice.