Softball: Morris/Sussex Top 10 rankings heading into county tournament seedings
The softball season is about to kick into high gear in Morris and Sussex counties with county tournament brackets being seeded this week.
Another week of action between teams will help form those brackets, and also shuffled up the latest edition of our Morris/Sussex Top 10 rankings:
10. Whippany Park (3-2)
Last week: No. 8
The Panthers fended off a late rally by Parsippany to prevent a winless week, but Whippany Park remains in the mix in the NJAC Liberty despite a loss on Friday to Hanover Park. Jaeden Antonelli and Mikaela Schwippert both drove in runs in a 3-2 win over Parsippany, while Kiera Swartz struck out eight and allowed three hits without allowing an earned run.
9. Hanover Park (9-1)
Last week: Unranked
The Hornets have won convincingly this season with six of their nine wins coming by at least four runs. Sophomore Grace Waldrum had multiple hits in all four Hanover Park wins this week, driving in five runs and scoring seven times. Freshman Jules Piano has double digit strikeouts in five straight starts, including 14 strikeouts in a win over Pequannock.
8. West Morris (7-1)
Last week: No. 10
The Wolfpack won all four games this week, including three within the NJAC National division to take a three-game lead over the rest of the field. Megan McNally went 10-for-16 and scored 10 times for West Morris, including five RBIs in a win over Passaic Valley.
7. Sparta (4-4)
Last week: No. 9
Two wins and two losses this week keep the Spartans at .500 for the season, but the body of work thus far by Sparta has been impressive, with all four losses coming to teams ranked higher on this list. One of those losses came against Pope John on opening day, but Sparta gained revenge with a 3-1 win on Thursday. Ingrid Brevig's two-run triple capped off a three-run fourth inning for the Spartans.
6. High Point (6-1)
Last week: No. 7
No longer undefeated thanks to a loss to Madison, High Point got back in the win column with a 6-2 win over Lenape Valley on Friday. The Wildcats peppered the defense with 10 of their 11 hits resulting in singles, while Mikayla Conklin and Megan Jennings each scored twice in the victory.
5. Pope John (6-6)
Last week: No. 4
The Lions were on the losing end of a few tight games last week, dropping a pair of two-run games to Sparta and Randolph late in the week. Prior to that, Pope John earned a 3-2 win over Hunterdon Central on the strength of a two-run home run by sophomore Kate Sarisky. Sophomore Reese Tobey struck out five in a complete-game victory.
4. Randolph (8-3)
Last week: No. 5
Despite a loss at Montville, the Rams remain undefeated at home this season with late-inning wins against Morris Hills and Pope John. Rebecca Dasti scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth, followed by a Hannah Bermudez solo home run, in a 2-0 win over Pope John on Saturday.
3. Jefferson (9-1)
Last week: No. 3
The Falcons are no longer unbeaten after falling to Morris Knolls during the week, but won four other games over Morris Tech, Vernon, Sparta and Passaic Tech. Kama Skrek did damage at the plate with four home runs, driving in eight runs and scoring six times. Jefferson has now gone more than one calendar year without a loss on its home field.
2. Morris Knolls (10-0)
Last week: No. 2
The only remaining undefeated team in the NJAC, Morris Knolls won four games this week over Montville, Jefferson, Roxbury and Morris Hills to extend the win streak to 10 straight. Sophomore Julia Fox went 8 for 12 at the plate with 12 RBIs and seven runs scored for the Golden Eagles across the four victories.
1.Morris Catholic (6-1)
Last week: No. 1
Three wins this week gives the Crusaders a six-game winning streak, while remaining undefeated in the Liberty division. Sofia Reisinger allowed one earned run and struck out 29 batters across 15 innings in wins over Pequannock, Madison and Hunterdon Central.
Also considered (listed alphabetically): Madison (4-7), Montville (6-5), Mount Olive (4-5)
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ softball: Morris/Sussex rankings heading into county tournaments