New Egypt

Hello there Jill and Doug both grew up in Hamilton Township, N.J. They attended the same middle and high schools. They simultaneously worked in Manhattan and likely rode the same trains. But it took the persistence of a self-appointed matchmaker to bring them together. When Jill was very young, a couple her parents' age moved into the house across the street. Jill was especially fond of Janet, who loved to bake and befriended everyone in the neighborhood. Jill even wrote an elementary school essay about her. Janet became the head of the "Hi, New Neighbor Club," which sponsored community game nights and dances.

New Egypt's express train made an impressive run, but fell one stop short of completing a dream season. The Warriors yielded two penalty-stroke goals in the first half and couldn't recover as the Pingry School notched a 2-1 victory in the NJSIAA state Group 1 field hockey championship yesterday at the College of New Jersey. New Egypt finished at 15-1-3 in the program's third year. "It's been a whirlwind of a season," New Egypt coach Patti Nicholson said. "I'm so proud of this group.

The Willingboro wrestling team had one starter out of the lineup, and New Egypt took complete advantage of the situation. After both teams beat Burlington City to start yesterday's tri-match, the host Warriors cooled the Chimeras by taking a tense 37-29 victory in Plumstead Township. The loss, which dropped Willingboro to 19-4 in duals this season, should not affect the Chimeras' chances of earning their first playoff berth, but coach Marc Cuniglio is taking nothing for granted.

While rain soaked the area's racetracks during the weekend, the management at Bridgeport and New Egypt speedways made some key moves. Bridgeport promoter Norman Foss announced a new sponsorship deal that will allow one of the track's marquee events to pay a hefty $10,000 to the winner. Carquest Auto Parts will provide financial support to the Logan Township, N.J., dirt track for the remainder of the 1998 season. The firm, which has 3,500 stores across the country, will become the title sponsor of the George I. Wingate Fall Classic, a 50-lap modified event set for July 22. "With the race paying a high purse, the Carquest/Wingate Classic will be a premier event in modified racing," Foss said.

Little siestas are not uncommon for members of the New Egypt softball team as they pass time on long road trips from their Ocean County campus. "They take naps and we usually wake them up about 15 minutes before we get there," Warriors coach Carolyn Eckhardt said. The power naps must be working, especially for the pitchers, who have put opposing hitters to sleep this season. New Egypt (14-2) has surrendered just 11 runs and boasts 11 shutouts in 16 games. Heading into yesterday's contest at Riverside, the Warriors pitching staff had tossed six straight shutouts - including three straight no-hitters at one point - in their last six games.

New Egypt coach Patti Nicholson crafted a program from nothing into a competitive Group 1 team capable of threatening teams from much larger schools. Nicholson started building the program from scratch in 1999 when the school first opened. Two years later, the Warriors fielded their first varsity team. Flash-forward to the 2004 season. The Warriors have appeared in the state tournament twice in the last two years, only to lose to Pingry both times. New Egypt's only losses going into the state tournament this season were against undefeated schools that won a state championship: Collingswood and Eastern.

Emily Bausher took perfection to another level on Friday, and New Egypt scratched out a run in the ninth inning to outlast host Maple Shade, 1-0, in a softball battle between Burlington County League division leaders. Bausher kept the Wildcats off balance and off the base paths - striking out 21 while retiring all 27 batters she faced. Lauren Routzahn was merely brilliant in defeat, shutting the Warriors out over the first eight innings while surrendering five hits and one walk.

Emily Bauscher put on a dazzling pitching performance Saturday at the Hammonton Invitational Softball tournament. The New Egypt junior struck out 10 batters and no-hit Kingsway as the Warriors (13-2) rolled to a 2-0 victory in the championship game. Bauscher, regarded as one of the best pitchers in South Jersey, allowed only one hit to Hammonton in a semifinal, which New Egypt won, 5-0. In previous seasons, teams that have won the tournament have been considered the unofficial softball champions of South Jersey.

Colin Stringham doubled to open the bottom of the eighth inning and scored on Dominic Gallone's single, capping a wild comeback that gave host Holy Cross an 8-7 win over New Egypt on Monday in a Burlington County League inter-division baseball thriller. The 10th-ranked Lancers (9-0 overall) tied it with two runs in the home seventh, and winning pitcher Jake Zoll retired New Egypt in order to set the stage for Gallone's walk-off hit. New Egypt (3-5) jumped on top in the sixth on Mike DeAnni's two-run home run. Reid Anderson also homered for the Warriors, while Joe Hummel and John Adryan went deep for Holy Cross.

The New Egypt football team hoped that this year's game against Florence wouldn't be a loss like last year's 60-7 pummeling. But the Flashes extended their winning streak over the last two seasons to 17 with another lopsided victory, beating New Egypt, 35-0. "They were just faster and stronger at every position. Their program is a measuring stick for us, and we've improved," said Tom Farrell, the Warriors' head coach. Florence, the defending Central Jersey Group 1 champ, moved to 5-0 overall and 4-0 league this season and will play Burlington City, also 4-0 in the league, next weekend.

Highlights of Friday's contests can be found at: www.philly.com/rally Baseball BURLINGTON COUNTY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT Moorestown 2, Holy Cross 0 WARRIOR CLASSIC Wildwood 7, Cape May Tech 0 Lower Cape May 7, Wildwood Catholic 2 BURLINGTON COUNTY FREEDOM Burlington City 3, Florence 2 CAPE-ATLANTIC LEAGUE AMERICAN Millville 2, Absegami 1 CAPE-ATLANTIC LEAGUE...

Steph Wolfrom celebrated a record-setting day and joined her teammates in helping Eastern clinch its second Olympic Conference American Division softball title in three seasons, as the Vikings cruised, 13-2, at Cherry Hill East on Tuesday. Wolfrom roped a two-base hit to give her the school career record with 19 doubles. Meg Parker and Jax Buckley each had a single, double, and triple for Eastern, which banged out 16 hits in support of winning pitcher Steph Vuono. In other Olympic action: Shawnee completed its 8-0 run through Patriot Division competition, claiming the crown with a 4-2 triumph at second-place Triton.

Kelsey Dominik of Kingsway and New Egypt's Alison Martino pitched perfect, but abbreviated, games to highlight Monday's South Jersey softball action. Dominik (17-3) struck out nine in notching her first perfecto as the host Dragons needed just five innings to scorch Delsea, 14-0, in a Tri-County Conference clash. Martino (14-2) retired a dozen batters on strikes over six innings, as the host Warriors dismissed Burlington County League rival Maple Shade, 10-0. Olympic.

Colin Stringham doubled to open the bottom of the eighth inning and scored on Dominic Gallone's single, capping a wild comeback that gave host Holy Cross an 8-7 win over New Egypt on Monday in a Burlington County League inter-division baseball thriller. The 10th-ranked Lancers (9-0 overall) tied it with two runs in the home seventh, and winning pitcher Jake Zoll retired New Egypt in order to set the stage for Gallone's walk-off hit. New Egypt (3-5) jumped on top in the sixth on Mike DeAnni's two-run home run. Reid Anderson also homered for the Warriors, while Joe Hummel and John Adryan went deep for Holy Cross.

Jose Rivas pitched five strong innings in relief and helped Camden High's baseball team snap a 36-game losing skid over three years with a 9-4 victory over LEAP Academy on Sunday in the Camden County Tournament at Campbell's Field. The Panthers, who last won in the final game of the 2009 season against Woodrow Wilson, fell behind by 3-1 before Richard Jaquez delivered a three-run single in the third inning to put Camden ahead for good. Kelvin Davis added two hits, and Rivas struck out seven in relief.

Jose Rivas pitched five strong innings in relief and helped Camden High's baseball team snap a 36-game losing skid over three years with a 9-4 victory over LEAP Academy on Sunday in the Camden County Tournament at Campbell's Field. The Panthers, who last won in the final game of the 2009 season against Woodrow Wilson, fell behind by 3-1 before Richard Jaquez delivered a three-run single in the third inning to put Camden ahead for good. Kelvin Davis added two hits, and Rivas struck out seven in relief.

The Cedar Creek girls' basketball program celebrated its first sectional title on Tuesday, when the top-seeded Pirates routed No. 3 seed Gloucester, 66-29, in the South Jersey Group 1 championship game. Kristine Miller led the way with 18 points and Mercina Stefanski knocked down three three-point shots in scoring 17, as Cedar Creek capped a dominant three-game run through the tournament. Utilizing a man-to-man defense, Cedar Creek ran out to a 15-4 lead and expanded the advantage to 27-10 by intermission.