Sports roundup: Lions to play for H/W/S title Monday

Grace Varua’s second home run of the game - a two-run blast with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning - capped a four-run frame as the second-seeded Pope John XXIII Regional High School softball team rallied for a 7-6 victory over sixth-seeded North Hunterdon in the semifinal round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament at home May 10.

The Lions will meet top-seeded Hunterdon Central in the tri-county championship game at 4 p.m. Monday, May 19 at the Phillipsburg Athletic Complex. The title game was scheduled for Friday, May 16, then postponed because of rain.

Hunterdon Central is seeking its second straight championship and fifth title in the past six tournaments. Pope John won its last H/W/S crown in 2017.

In the semifinal round, the Lions trailed North Hunterdon, 6-2, before scoring one run in the bottom of the sixth and four in the seventh.

Varua finished 2-for-3 with three RBI, a walk and two runs, with Remmi Joustra and Abbey Davis (2-for-4, two RBI, two runs) also homering in the win. Reese Tobey pitched the final 1.2 innings in relief to earn the win, striking out three and not issuing a hit or a walk.

Pope John will play at DePaul at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, May 22 before returning home to play host to Immaculata at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 24.

Here’s how other Pope John teams fared recently:

Girls lacrosse

Serena Lorenzo scored four goals; Keira Donegan added three goals, six draw controls, two ground balls and two forced turnovers; and Olivia Zywicki added two goals, three assists, three ground balls and two draw controls to lift Pope John to an 11-9 victory over Hackettstown there Saturday afternoon, May 17.

Lilly Gang (one goal, one assist, two draw controls), Grace Sedlak (one goal, three ground balls) and Kendall Weiss (14 saves) aided the win for the Lions, who improved to 5-1 in the Colonial Red Division of the North Jersey Interscholastic Girls Lacrosse League.

Pope John (8-7), which has won three games in a row for the second time this season, will play host to Immaculata in its regular-season finale at 5:30 p.m. May 22.

Baseball

Joseph Manco hit a two-run home run; Nick Struble doubled in a run and walked; and Evan Rose singled in a run to lead Pope John to a 4-2 victory over Mount Olive there May 17.

Jack Portman went the distance for the Lions, scattering three hits and three walks while striking out six in earning the win on the mound.

Pope John (9-10) will play at Delbarton, ranked No. 8 in the state, on May 22 and at No. 19 DePaul at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 24.

Boys lacrosse

Junior midfielder Jack Gallucci collected six goals, two assists and nine ground balls and now has 101 points for his career, and senior Travis Heller also had six goals and two assists along with four ground balls to power Pope John to a 20-8 decision over Kinnelon there May 13.

Mikey Ramirez added a goal and three assists, had 29 ground balls and won 25-of-30 face-offs in the win. Sam Conetta had three goals and seven assists; Hunter Parrillo had two goals and two assists; and Brody Pilek added two goals and an assist.

Daniel O’Leary made four saves to anchor the defense.

Pope John, No. 18 in the state and winner of nine games in a row, will play at Westfield at 11 a.m. May 24.

Boys tennis

Sebastian Roman (second doubles), Jaden Alphonse (third singles), and Aidan Cavanagh and William Franco (second doubles) each won in straight sets as Pope John snapped its three-game losing streak and posted a 3-2 victory over Mount Olive at home May 12.

The Lions (3-6) were slated to play at Phillipsburg on Tuesday, May 20.

Boys golf

Luke Jarosiewicz shot a match-low 32 and was followed by Jack Jarosiewicz (36), Adrian Padula (37), Rylan Chotai (52), Emmet Vargo (52) and Joseph Lubrano (52) as Pope John defeated Kittatinny, 167-157, on Thursday, May 15 at Hidden Acres Golf Club in Layton.

Pope John finished its 2025 campaign with an 11-7 record.