Baseball ranking and notes: Skyland Conference and area UCC Top 10 after Week 7

It’s a busy week for area baseball fans.

First, the Somerset County Tournament semifinals take place Monday with the championship game Thursday.

The NJSIAA sectional playoffs also begin with the non-publics starting on Wednesday followed by the public schools’ first round on Thursday.

More: Baseball: North Hunterdon wins H/W/S/T title on Hernandez's walk-off homer in the 11th

More: Phillipsburg baseball’s Dylan Wayne awarded for 11-hit, 7-RBI surge

The tournament continues with the non-public quarterfinals on May 28, the semifinals May 30 and the sectional final June 1.

For the publics, the quarterfinals are May 29, the semifinals May 31 and the sectional final June 3.

Both sectional finals are at the higher seeds. The non-public sectional winners advance to the state finals on June 6 at Veterans Park in Hamilton. The public schools’ sectional champions meet in the group semifinals on June 5 with the finals June 8 in Hamilton.

This is our final Top 10 during the season and the final rankings will be posted with our All-Area package in late June.

This week’s Top 10

(records through Sat., May 18)

1. Bridgewater-Raritan (21-3) – last week No. 1: The Skyland Conference Delaware Division champs have been No. 1 throughout the season and have strengthened their grip. The Panthers have returned to the Somerset County Tournament semifinals as a first seed. Junior lefty Owen Crimmins threw a five-inning no-hitter at Montgomery Thursday in a 11-0 quarterfinal win. Now the challenge is getting past No. 10-ranked and fourth seed Watchung Hills Monday to return to the county final for the first time since 2012. The Panthers were beaten 4-3 in last year’s semis by eventual champ Rutgers Prep.

2. Governor Livingston (21-4) – last week No. 3: The Union County Tournament champions definitely had to sweat Monday night’s final as they held on to beat No. 3 ranked and top seed Westfield 10-8. GL took a 10-0 lead in the top of the seventh before the Blue Devils scored eight in the bottom half. The title was GL’s fourth. The Highlanders could still add a Union County Conference Watchung Division pennant. GL is 7-3 in division play with games at Summit (Monday) and Scotch Plains-Fanwood (Tuesday) left. Highlanders would win the division with two victories. The Highlanders then begin focus on winning its first section title since 2017. GL looks like a top seed in Central Group 2.

3. Westfield (17-5) – last week No. 2: Blue Devils drop a spot since they fell to GL in the Union County Tournament final. But what a rally they put together in the bottom of the seventh with eight runs in a 10-0 hole. The loaded North 2 Group 4 tournament beckons with plenty of familiar names. The Blue Devils, who last won a section title in 2019, are likely to open with a home game Thursday.

4. North Hunterdon (18-5) – last week No. 4: North won its first Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex/Tournament title since 2016 with an epic 11-inning, 8-5 win Friday over Phillipsburg on senior Nick Hernandez’s walk-off three-run homer. That was also their 13th-straight win. The Lions have been masters of close-game survival. They have one mercy rule victory – an 11-0 HWST first round win over Newton. They are 6-3 in one-run games, 1-1 in two-run games. The Lions look like a No. 2 seed in North 2, Group 3. They lost to Millburn in last year’s section final.

5. Ridge (18-7) – last week No. 5: Ridge is the third seed in the Somerset County Tournament and meet No. 2 Immaculata in Monday’s semifinal. The Red Devils’ quest is for a fourth-straight final appearance. Ezra Sadowski, Jake Dolan and Ben Larner homered in a 12-7 quarterfinal win Thursday over No. 6 seed Hillsborough. Ridge lost to Rutgers Prep in the county final last season after beating the Argonauts in 2022.

6. Phillipsburg (16-8) – last week No. 6: Heartbreak for sure on Friday in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex/Tournament final. The Stateliners took a 5-3 lead over No. 4 North Hunterdon on senior Jacob Kisselbach’s two-run single in the top of the 11th, but North scored five runs in the bottom half to win 8-5. The Liners got superb pitching from starter Jared Diefenbach and reliever Eddie Weindel. Phillipsburg figures to be a severe test for anyone who plays it in the North 2, Group 4 section.

7. Immaculata (14-6) – last week No. 7:  The Spartans return to a home away from home Monday for the Somerset County Tournament semifinals. No. 2 seed Immaculata plays No. 3 Ridge in a semifinal at TD Bank Ballpark. Connor Quinn’s RBI double in the bottom of the seventh Thursday drove in the winning run in the 3-2 triumph over Somerville in a county quarterfinal. Spartans also beat Hillsborough (5-4), lost to No. 4 North Hunterdon (3-4) and Hamilton (2-12) during the week.

8. Hunterdon Central (13-9) – last week No. 9: Red Devils have won five straight sparked by outstanding pitching. Tommy Baase, Jared Jacobus and Seth Goren combined to shut out West Morris 1-0 on one hit Saturday in eight innings. Anthony Petino and Nick Augusta combined to shut out Millburn 2-0 on Friday. Ryan Lundari and Baase worked to beat Phillipsburg 2-1 on Tuesday. You get the picture: the Red Devils are pitching well as they prepare for the North 2 Group 4 sectionals.

9. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (18-8) – last week No. 9: A 3-1 week with key wins over Woodbridge (3-2) and Westfield (2-1) should keep the Raiders a solid No. 2 seed behind Bridgewater-Raritan in North 2 Group 4. Senior Ryan Quinones pitched a complete game one-hitter with five strikeouts to beat Westfield Saturday and Jack Sponheimer drove in the game-winning run on a suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the sixth. CJ Bates earned the win at Woodbridge. Raiders could win the Union County Conference Watchung Division title. They play host to No. 2-ranked Governor Livingston Tuesday. SP-F is 8-3 in division, GL 7-3. The Highlanders also have a division game at Summit Monday.

10. Watchung Hills (13-12) – last week No. 10: The fourth-seeded Warriors play top seed Bridgewater-Raritan in Monday’s Somerset County Tournament semifinal. Watchung beat defending champ Rutgers Prep 1-0 in 11 innings Thursday in a county quarterfinal. Sophomore JJ Jaconski’s RBI hit won it. Sophomore starter Robbie Centamore threw nine three-hit innings with nine strikeouts. Junior Ethan Byrd got the win in relief for Watching Hills with two scoreless innings.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Baseball: Skyland and area UCC Top 10 and notes after Week 7