Fri. S.J. girls’ roundup: Kingsway crowned softball champ in Group 3

Kingsway capitalized on bases-loaded situations in the third and fourth innings and captured the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 softball championship with a 5-0 victory over visiting Delsea on Friday.

Dominique Ficara (20-3), a senior righthander, struck out two and allowed seven hits as the Dragons (23-4) notched their sixth shutout in the last eight games.

Ficara also doubled with the bases loaded in the third, driving in Allie White and Kelsey Dominik, and Tori Danner dropped a suicide squeeze for a 3-0 lead.

In the fourth, Dominik singled in a run with the bases full, and Katie Dickson lofted a sacrifice fly to complete the scoring.

Delsea (14-7), which split a pair of regular-season games with Kingsway, had runners on second and third in the seventh before Ficara got out of the jam with a ground ball.

Kingsway, which won its first sectional title since 2008, will face Middletown South in the state semifinals.

S.J. Group 1. Gloucester's ninth win by shutout this spring made the Lions the sectional champs via a 5-0 win over visiting Penns Grove.

Sam Bryszewski threw the two-hitter, striking out five and walking three Red Devils (7-13).

Gloucester (18-7) piled up 10 hits and scored all of its runs in the first three innings, fueled by two hits each by Kate Maass (RBI), Brittany Dolson (RBI), and Angela Harris.

S.J. Non-Public B. Sacred Heart (25-4), which beat St. Joseph (17-9) twice in the regular season, recovered from an early 2-0 deficit and claimed a 6-4, sectional semifinal win over the Wildcats.

Freshman pitcher Rosie LaGrotta (21-4) threw a complete game and also had a run-scoring single in the three-run fourth inning to start the Lions' comeback. Also in the fourth, Clarisa Hayes and Samantha Caperina drove in runs.

Rachel Gavigan's RBI triple in the fifth inning drove in Danielle Lugo.

St. Joseph had the tying run in scoring position in the seventh, but a ground ball to third baseman Gavigan ended the threat.

Sacred Heart will play Gloucester Catholic on Tuesday at Northern Burlington for the title.