Shore Conference baseball Top 20: Who made major moves in the rankings?
It was a wild week in Shore Conference baseball.
The top three teams in last week's Asbury Park Press Shore Conference Top 20 all sustained defeats
The unpredictable week resulted in no changes to the top four teams in the rankings.
However, after that, there is major movement as the divisional races enter the home stretch and with the Ocean County Tournament championship game coming up on Friday and the Monmouth County Tournament beginning the business end of the tournament.
The Shore Conference Tournament will be seeded one week from tonight at Red Bank Catholic.
Here is this week's Asbury Park Press Shore Conference Top 20.
1. CBA (9-3): Last week: No. 1.
The Colts remain in the top spot even with the loss to Marlboro on Monday because the top contenders behind them also lost in the past week. When Wake Forest recruit and potential Major League Baseball high draft choice Chris Levonas pitches, the Colts can beat anybody in the state.
2. Matawan (11-1): Last week: No. 2.
The Huskies sustained their first defeat of the season when a seventh inning rally fell short Monday in a 7-6 defeat at Ranney. Matawan's game with Ranney on Wednesday was postponed due to a shortage of umpires, coach Bobby Carnovsky. The Huskies are still in prime contention to win a divisional title - it would be their first since 2011 and first outright divisonal championship since 1972, according to Carnovsky.
3. Southern (10-3): Last week: No. 3.
The Rams sustained two defeats last week with their key senior players away on the school's annual senior class trip. Southern has two wins over Toms River East and is in first place in Shore Conference Class A South.
4. Toms River East (14-2): Last week: No. 4.
The Raiders went 4-0 last week, with two of those wins coming over Toms River South. The Raiders have advanced to the Ocean County Tournament championship game for the first time since 2018 and will try to win the OCT for the ninth time overall and first time since 2007 when they meet Jackson Memorial Friday at 4 p.m. at Central Regional. The Raiders will meet Jackson Memorial three times in the next four days. They rallied to defeat Jackson Memorial 10-9 on Tuesday.
5. Red Bank Catholic (9-5). Last week: No. 6.
The Caseys have won three straight - two by shutout - since a 14-13 loss at Shore on April 23. They will begin a two-game divisonal series against Monmouth on Friday.
6. Middletown South (9-3): Last week: No. 12.
The Eagles won four games in five days and averaged 11 runs a game during that span. The streak included two wins over Marlboro and another over Manalapan.
7. Wall (8-4): Last week: No. 5.
The Crimson Knights are in sole possession of first place in Shore Conference Class A Central and have already played the other leading contenders - Red Bank Catholic and Monmouth.
8. Ranney (9-4): Last week: No. 14.
The Panthers, who have won seven of their last eight, make a major move up after they held on for a 7-6 win over previously-unbeaten Matawan. Senior first baseman and LSU recruit Ryan Costello has 10 home runs - five off the Shore Conference single-season record of 15 set by Joe Stanzione of Middletown South in 2022. Seven of Costello's homers have come at Ranney's homer friendly-ballpark.
9. Jackson Memorial (9-6). Last week: No. 13.
The Jaguars advanced to the Ocean County Tournament final with wins over Brick Memorial and previously-unbeaten Point Pleasant Beach. The win over Brick Memorial was their third of the season over the Mustangs. Jackson Memorial will try to win its second OCT title in three years and fifth overall Friday at Central Regional against Toms River East.
10. Point Pleasant Beach (13-1): Last week: No. 15.
The Garnet Gulls had a big week despite the defeat to Jackson Memorial Monday in an OCT semifinal. They defeated St. Rose twice to all but clinch first place overall in Shore Conference Class B Central and defeated Donovan Catholic in an OCT quarterfinal to advance to the semifinal for the first time.
11. Brick Memorial (9-5): Last week: No. 16.
The Mustangs went 3-1 on the week and scored 32 runs in their three wins. Three of their defeats are to Jackson Memorial and another is to Southern.
12. Monmouth (8-4): Last week: No. 9.
The Falcons' win over Point Pleasant Borough has them ahead of the Panthers. They did lose in the last week to Holmdel and Middletown North. Monmouth begins a key two-game divisional series Friday against Red Bank Catholic. The Falcons have a split with Wall.
13. Donovan Catholic (9-5): Last week: No. 11.
The Griffins are currently tied with Point Pleasant Borough for first place overall in Shore Conference Class B South. When senior and Virginia Tech recruit Jake Marciano is on the mound, Donovan Catholic has a legitimate chance to beat anybody in the state.
14. Point Pleasant Borough (10-4): Last week: No. 10.
The Panthers were defeated by Lacey and Monmouth in the past week, with wins over Lacey and Howell sandwiched in between the defeats.
15. St. Rose (10-3): Last week: No. 7.
The Purple Roses are ahead of Manalapan because of their win over Manalapan. They were defeated twice by Point Pleasant Beach and by Brick Memorial in the past week.
16. Manalapan (9-6): Last week: No. 8
Manalapan was defeated by both Middletown North and Middletown South in a four-day span. They did have wins over Middletown North and Holmdel in the past week.
17. Colts Neck (9-5): Last week: No. 18.
The Cougars rebounded from a defeat to Freehold Township by scoring a combined 28 runs in wins over Princeton and Howell.
18. Marlboro (6-6-1): Last week: Not ranked.
Marlboro snapped a three-game losing streak and moved back into the Shore Conference Class A North race with a 5-3 win over CBA on Monday. The Mustangs host CBA Wednesday.
19. Shore (5-5): Last week: No. 17.
The Blue Devils have won five of their last six, including a win over Red Bank Catholic.
20. Manasquan (6-5-1): Last week: No. 20.
Manasquan stays in the rankings because it has the latest win over Ocean in a split between the two teams.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ baseball Top 20 team rankings
