It’s a good thing that all of Verona High School’s sports venues are now within walking distance of each other, because boys tennis, baseball, girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse were all playing at home yesterday, and all came away winners.
Baseball bested Montclair Kimberley Academy 5-1, with Kyle Jacobsen getting four strikeouts while allowing just four hits over seven innings of play. Girls lacrosse started at the same time on the upper field and the Lady Hillbillies had the upper hand for most of the game. But Columbia High School closed the gap in the closing minutes of the second period, bringing the game to a 13-13 tie with just 44 seconds on the clock. Jenika Ying fired one in for Verona at the buzzer–her only goal for the night–and won the game 14-13. Julia Mackey was the top scorer for Verona with six goals and one assist.
Boys tennis scored a 3-2 win over Golda Och Academy after a three-hour, come-from-behind win by Henry Wertz at third singles. The junior lost his first set 4-6 but got a 7-5 victory in the second. In the third, Wertz was down 1-4 before rallying for a 6-4 slam in the third. There were also wins for first doubles’ Andrew Tracy and Ben Batson and second doubles’ Leo Celi and Dan Zamloot.
The final Verona game was boys lacrosse against Morris Catholic. It was Senior Night and senior Jeremy Boub kicked off the celebration with the first goal of the night. Verona kept the Crusaders on their heels for the rest of the evening, with sophomore Jack Lonsinger scoring six of the Hillbillies’ goals in the 17-4 win. Several other seniors also found the back of the net, with goals by Matt Aldiero and Jarrod Keating, and assists from Zack Balogh and Brendan Erwin. Harrison Keating had nine saves and Rich DiGeronimo won 18 of his 22 faceoffs.
Verona boys lacrosse will host Parsippany on Wednesday afternoon and the game could be a landmark occasion: the program’s first conference title. The Hillbillies currently sit atop the Klank division with an 8-0 record.
