Stiansen, Aquino lead Sparta boys lacrosse past Newton in H/W/S quarterfinal

Sophomore Jace Stiansen matched his career-high of five goals and Marco Aquino added two goals and three assists to lift the top-seeded Sparta High boys lacrosse team to an 11-9 victory over eighth-seeded Newton in the quarterfinal round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Sparta.

Sparta (7-5) was slated to play host to fifth-seeded Voorhees in the semifinal round on Tuesday, May 5. The tri-county final will be held on Saturday, May 9, at Warren Hills High at 1 p.m.

Michael Pandiscia (two goals, two assists), Luke Spelman (two goals, one assist), Eddie Brown (three assists), Marcelo DiStefano (five ground balls), Johnny Palmer (12-of-25 face-offs won) and goalie Jake Alliegro (seven saves) aided the decision.

Sparta Girls Lacrosse

Moira Sweeney, Joey Roque and Isabella Van Winkle each collected three goals and an assist, Grace Johnson added two goals, an assist, six draw controls and two ground balls and Sophie Ku had a goal and three assists and Reagan Cina totaled one goal, one assist, seven draw controls, two ground balls and two forced turnovers to power top-seeded Sparta to a 15-4 victory over ninth-seeded Vernon in the quarterfinal round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Sparta.

Sparta advanced to the H/W/S semifinal round where it will host fourth-seeded North Hunterdon on Tuesday, May 5, with the tri-county championship game slated for Saturday, May 9, at Warren Hills High at 11 a.m.

Emma Muller and Alex Purdue each added a goal and the goalie tandem of Callie Maines (four saves), Emma Mascuch (one save) added to the win.

Pope John Girls Lacrosse

Cali Hartnett scored three times and Julia Zywicki added two goals but seventh-seeded Pope John lost to second-seeded Hunterdon Central in the quarterfinal round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Flemington.

Pope John (9-3) had advanced with an 11-3 victory over 10th-seeded Warren Hills in a second round game on Tuesday, April 28, in Sparta.

In that win, the Lady Lions were led by Gabby Celentano (three goals, three assists, five draw controls), Serena Lorenzo (three goals), Olivia Zywicki (two goals, three ground balls), Hartnett (one goal, one assist, four draw controls, four forced turnovers, three ground balls), Grace Sedlak (one goal, one assist), Julia Zywicki (one goal, four ground balls, four forced turnovers), Grace Wood (six ground balls, two forced turnovers) and goalie Kendall Weiss (six saves).

Sparta Baseball

Sparta, the fifth seed, came up short in its rally attempt as it bowed to 17th-seeded North Warren, 5-4, in the second round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Sparta.

Adam Krok was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run, Kayden Daly tripled in a run and scored and Ryle Schmid walked and drove in two runs for the Spartans, which trailed, 5-3, before scoring once in the seventh.

Sparta (6-10) will play at Montville on Saturday, May 8, at 6 p.m.

Sparta Softball

Megan Smulewicz hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning but the ninth-seeded Lady Spartans dropped a 5-2 decision to eighth-seeded Vernon in the second round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Vernon Township.

Sparta (6-10) will play at Morristown on Thursday, May 7, at 4 p.m.

Pope John Softball

The third-seeded Pope John defeated 15th-seeded Belvidere, 11-1, in five innings in the second round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Sparta.

The Lady Lions were scheduled to play host to sixth-seeded High Point in a H/W/S quarterfinal round game on Wednesday, May 6, at 4 p.m.