Welcome to our second weekly East spring sports recap!

9 of the 10 participating teams were featured in games, meets and matches over the last week. With lots of key victories and some solid performances, the Cougars are continuing to adjust to this new season, having lost their opportunities last year. Boys’ lacrosse faced COVID-19 protocol issues this past week, so they will start back up next week.

The Cougars baseball team faced off against three teams this week. In a showdown at Shawnee on Wednesday, the boys would hold strong through two innings, giving up no runs, behind a solid start from senior Lin Asari. In the third inning, though, it would fall apart, with Shawnee scoring 5. The rest of the game would go back and forth, but the deficit was insurmountable for the Cougars who would fall 7-3. The Cougars then played Pennsville on Friday in a high-scoring affair. After a slow start, the Cougars’ bats started flying steadily, and would boom in the sixth inning with a 3-run double from senior Riley Snell. The defense was not good enough, though, as Pennsville would score 10 as the Cougars would fall two runs short. In the final game, on Saturday, the Cougars would lose 5-3 to a strong team in Lenape. East would continue their sixth inning scoring streak, but a 2-run double from Seba Miller (‘21) could not be followed by more runs. The boys hope to get their first win against either Camden Catholic, Washington Township or Haddon Township next week.

The softball team suffered two losses to Seneca and Cherokee this past week. Against Seneca, not much went right for the Cougars. After giving up 11 runs in the first inning, the game quickly fell out of their hands. Four innings with shutouts were not supported with any offense, so the girls were finished before it could get going. The final score would be 18-0, and Emily Spencer (‘21) of Seneca would bring home 5 RBIs. The Cherokee game would face the same consequences to bad defense, as the Chiefs scored 6 in the fourth inning. Cherokee would score 4 more runs throughout the game, as the Cougars took home two double-digit losses this week. Softball hopes to get back on track against Camden Catholic on Monday.

Girls’ lacrosse suffered two defeats this week. At Lenape on Thursday, Lauren Ballay (‘21) would score East’s lone goal as they lost 17-1. Lenape would have three girls with 4 goals apiece, and they dominated from the first tick of the clock. The home game against Delran would go differently. After going down 6-0 early, the girls would show lots of resiliency to hold strong and mount a comeback. The final score would read 15-12 in favor of Delran, but there were lots of bright spots for Coach Boyle’s squad. Sophomore Paige Watson would finish with 5 goals.

Boys’ tennis had four total matches across three days this past week. Going 4-0, the boys would secure victories over Bishop Eustace, Lenape, Haddonfield and Moorestown. Junior Brett Schuster went 3-1, and the doubles duos of Belitsky (‘22) and Xi (‘23), and Dickinson (‘21) and Pasternack (‘21) continued their great form, not losing a match. The Haddonfield Invitational Tournament where they faced both Haddonfield and Moorestown gave fans a sneak-peek as to how competitive this team will be down the stretch. They have matches against Moorestown again, Eastern and Washington Township coming up.

Boys’ volleyball went 1-1 this week. Owen O’Connell would show out against both teams, securing 5 aces against St. Augustine in a 2-0 win and securing 20 kills in a 2-1 loss to Eastern. The St. Augustine match would not be competitive as they would even hold the Hermits to single digits in one set. Against the Vikings, though, the sets would each be decided by 2-point victories (26-24 East, 30-28 Eastern, 27-25 Eastern). Ansh Mehta (‘22) would have 13 kills against Eastern as well. The boys will play three matches next week, including a showdown with Moorestown.

Boys’ golf went 1-2 this week. Freshman Brian Cotter has established himself as the program’s best talent this year, even shooting a 3-over par against Eastern on Tuesday. Sophomore Adam Blumenthal, freshman Kwanchi Loo and junior Eric Kang have also shown great ability for Coach James’ team. The win against Eastern saw a three-stroke difference in scores.

Girls’ golf would continue to show out in their first real season, going 2-1 on the week. Victories over Eastern and Cherokee were led by Ajuni Oberoi (‘24) and Grace Laird (‘22), two stellar players so far this season. The Kingsway loss will be one to forget as the girls are 4-2 with good matches on the horizon.

Distance runners competed in one key meet on Friday night at the Ridge Twilight Meet. Seniors Aidan Groff and Gabe Rodriguez ran a 4:33 and 4:37 respectively, while senior Aidan Eyre ran a 4:43 in his first big race back from injury.

In a distance medley relay on Saturday, a team of Zeyonna Davis (‘21), MaryKate McCurdy (‘21), Maddy McNiff (‘22) and Michelle Barry (‘22) finished second.

The rest of the meets were batch or dual and not recorded.

For track and field, this week will be slow as there are only batch meets before Camden County Championships on May 15th.

Come back next week for some more spring recaps! And as always… Roll Cougs.