Softball rankings and notebook: Skyland Conference and area UCC, through April 22
Here are the softball notebook and Top 10 rankings in the Skyland Conference and western Union County through April 22.
(Records through Monday)
1. Watchung Hills (9-1) – last week No. 1 -- The Warriors followed up Monday’s 11-0 win over Dayton, which bestowed the first loss of the year on the Bulldogs, by sweeping through Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central and Ramapo, before Monday’s victory over Montville. Watchung Hills, which is seeded No. 1 in the Somerset County Tournament, takes on Bridgewater-Raritan, Cranford, Immaculata, Roxbury and A.L. Johnson this week, before a Monday date with Roxbury.
2. Immaculata (8-1) – last week No. 3 -- The Spartans, who are seeded second in the county tournament, went 4-0 last week, claiming a huge 2-0 win over North Hunterdon on Tuesday, besting Hillsborough on Thursday, and taking both games at the Ricky Iacono Tournament at Governor Livingston, topping the host club 6-3 in the final. Immaculata gets Hunterdon Central on Tuesday before Thursday’s rematch with Watchung Hills, to which the Spartans suffered their lone loss. They’ll then take on Cranford on Saturday.
More: Softball ballot: Vote for Central Jersey Player of the Week for Week 3
More: Softball roundup: Daily results and links for Skyland Conference, GMC, area Union County
3. North Hunterdon (6-4) – last week No. 2 -- The Lions split four games last week, dropping a 2-0 Delaware Division contest to Immaculata and a 6-5 decision to host Cedar Grove at Saturday’s Black and Gold Invitational, sandwiching wins over Roxbury and Bridgewater-Raritan. Challenging week ahead with Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central, Pope John and Westfield, before a Monday date with Bernards.
4. Governor Livingston (9-3) – last week No. 5 – The Highlanders played five games last week, scoring wins over Dayton, Union Catholic and Chatham, and falling to Cranford and Immaculata, the latter in Saturday’s final of the home Ricky Iacono Tournament. Governor Livingston faces A.L. Johnson, Elizabeth and Summit this week, and plays Oak Knoll next Monday.
5. Bernards (5-3) – last week No. 4 -- The Mountaineers split a pair of outings last week, dropping a disappointing decision to Warren Hills, before rebounding with a victory over Phillipsburg on Thursday. Bernards, which earned the No. 3 seed in the county tournament, will play Gill St. Bernard’s and Pingry this week, before traveling to North Hunterdon next Monday.
6. Pingry (6-3) – last week No. 7 -- The Big Blue reeled off three straight wins in as many outings last week, scoring lopsided Raritan Division wins over Phillipsburg and Gill St. Bernard’s, before blanking Oak Knoll on Saturday. Pingry, which is in first place in the Raritan Division and the newly minted No. 4 seed in the SCT, has upcoming games with Ridge, Bernards and Peddie.
7. Hunterdon Central (3-6) – last week No. 6 -- The Red Devils continue to be a victim of their schedule, facing another round of juggernauts last week. After a one-run loss to Pope John last Monday, Central opened the slate with a victory over Bridgewater-Raritan on Tuesday, before falling 1-0 to Watchung Hills, 5-1 to Morris Catholic, before getting on track Monday with a win over St. Thomas Aquinas. Hunterdon Central has another brutally tough week ahead, with games against Immaculata, Robbinsville and North Hunterdon.
8. Westfield (7-3) – last week No. 9 -- The Blue Devils have won 5-of-6 following Monday’s win over Summit, after notching victories over Monroe, Elizabeth, Union and Bridgewater-Raritan last week after a Tuesday loss to A.L. Johnson. Westfield gets Dayton, Cranford and Brearley during the week, looking to solidify a top seed in the upcoming Union County Tournament, before a Saturday meeting with North Hunterdon.
9. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (7-3) – last week not ranked -- The Raiders shook off a 1-2 start by reeling off wins in six of seven games, including a 3-1 slate last week that included wins over Union Catholic, New Providence and Dayton, and a loss to Brearley. Some big tests on tap this week for SPF with scheduled meetings against Union, Cranford and Westfield.
10. New Providence (6-2) – last week not ranked – The Pioneers have come storming out of the gate, looking to build on last year’s 14-8 campaign. They’ve got wins over some quality teams, like Chatham and Roselle Park, with the losses coming to Summit and Scotch Plains-Fanwood. New Providence will look to keep it going this week facing Oak Knoll, Rahway and Linden.
DROPPED OUT: Phillipsburg (4-4), Ridge (2-6)
ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Bound Brook (5-2), Delaware Valley (4-2), Franklin (7-3), Warren Hills (4-3).
Emergence
As the season’s fourth week gets going, it’s been a mixed bag, as usual, for area teams, with some fulfilling their promise, some coming up short, once dominant programs going through a rebuilding process and some teams having surged beyond expectations.
Here is one team in each of the Skyland Conference’s four divisions that have been the most pleasant surprises, so far, in 2024:
While Watchung Hills ended up winning the Somerset County championship last year and finished with a 15-12 record, a lot more was expected of the Warriors, who were coming off a state title with a roster returning nearly intact, one that included the reigning Player of the Year. But Watchung Hills was 2-11 at this time last year, bewildered and frustrated, facing an elite schedule and losing, often, in wacky ways.
Things are very different in 2024, as the Warriors are 8-1, with the lone loss coming to Governor Livingston in a game ace Riley Bobrowski didn’t pitch. Bobrowski, the newly sophomore minted ace with the graduation of Jules Raymond and Amanda Medina, has been stellar in the circle, while a deep lineup has supported the effort, led by seniors Ella Stevinson, Morgan Bobrowski, Tia Shikar and Maddie Cerami, as well as a breakout season from sophomore first-year starter Mia Simon. Watchung Hills is playing sound defense and getting the big hits, which wasn’t always the case last year. The Warriors are in first place in the Delaware Division and are seeded No. 1 in the county tournament.
The Raritan Division was wide open coming into the season, with each of the six teams having a legit shot at taking the title. Through three weeks, the fact remains that any of these teams can beat another on a given day and the race is far from over, but it’s been Pingry that’s taken the lead. The Big Blue, who coach Chip Carver said is the best squad he’s had in his 13 seasons at the helm, are 6-3 heading into action this week, and 5-1 in the Raritan, good for first place. They’re even in the loss column with preseason favorite Bernards, to which Pingry has suffered its lone conference setback, 7-6 on April 9. They’ll rematch Thursday in Bernardsville.
The Big Blue have gotten excellent pitching from Casey McKeon, while their veteran bats have led the way, including senior Delaney Swain, juniors McKeon and Taylor Francis. The youngsters have also been a major impact, with sophomore returner Ella Royster and freshman Genevieve Provence have been a big part of the attack.
It’s been 32 years since Franklin’s last winning season. The program has come close a small number of times over the past three-plus decades, and showed marked improvement last couple of years going from three wins to six wins to eight wins last year, but the Warriors finally look legit and the move down from the Raritan Division has certainly been a help. The team is 6-3 through Saturday and in first place in the Valley Division, as, for the first time since the turn of the century, Franklin has legitimate varsity talent throughout the roster.
That includes a pitcher in Josslyn Sejeck, who has kept her team in the game, and offense that’s churning out 9.3 runs per game, which is Top 5 in the whole league. Senior four-year starter Zoe Ling leads the way, hitting .548 with three doubles, two triples and two home runs. She’s had quite the supporting class, including big starts from classmate Tiffany Pecorella and Sophia Ziegler, junior Mia Sanchez-Balzac and sophomores Victoria Gabryszewski and Casey Gomez Miranda.
Like Franklin, Somerville is another team that has benefited from a move down in division, as the Pioneers, who are two years removed from a two-win season and finished 7-14 last year, has gotten things headed well in the right direction. The Ville enters the week 5-2 and are second in the Skyland Conference to Bound Brook with 11.1 runs per game.
The offense has had plenty of bright spots, led by seniors Mina Barta, Kari LaCanna, and Nicole Fitzgibbons, who is also the team’s ace. The Pioneers have also gotten big years from juniors Riley DeSarno and Kelsey Butler, sophomores Anna DeCola, Thea Pappas and Ella Schueler, and freshman Giuliana Obourne, who’s earned a spot in the starting lineup.
County tournament roundup
The Somerset County Tournament got underway last weekend with three first-round games, and, so far, things have gone to chalk, with No. 12 Somerville topping No. 13 Rutgers Prep, No. 11 Franklin handling No. 14 Montgomery, and No. 10 Bridgewater-Raritan beating No. 15 Manville.
More: Softball: Somerset County Tournament bracket set
Second-round games are slated for this Saturday, with ninth-seeded Hillsborough traveling to No. 8 Mount St. Mary, Bridgewater-Raritan headed to No. 7 Gill St. Bernard’s, Franklin visiting No. 6 Ridge, and Somerville playing at No. 5 Bound Brook.
The quarterfinals are scheduled for May 4, with No. 1 Watchung Hills, No. 2 Immaculata, No. 3 Bernards and No. 4 seed Pingry hosting games after earning double byes.
Semifinals are May 8 at the higher seed, and the final on Friday, May 10 at Torpey Field.
The Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament seeds are expected out early next week, with action starting May 1, while the Union County Tournament gets going the following week.
A tip of the cap
Softball players reaching 100 career hits is always a highlight of the season, and the first two locals of 2024 got to the century mark Saturday.
Immaculata senior shortstop Caitlin Maychrich got to the mark during Saturday’s Ricky Iacono Tournament at Governor Livingston, which the Spartans swept. Maychrich notched three hits in the first game to get her to 97, before going 4-for-4 in the final, achieving to the milestone with her third hit of the game.
Watchung Hills senior first baseman Ella Stevinson also got to 100 Saturday, during the Warriors’ 17-1 victory in five innings over Ramapo in the Black and Gold Invitational at Cedar Grove. Stevinson recorded, perhaps, the second-biggest hit of her career during a 4-for-5 day that included a home run, three runs scored and three RBIs. Of course, her signature moment remains the walkoff home run she hit in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the 2022 Group 4 championship. That’ll be hard to top.
Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, and has been on the softball beat since 1999. He can be reached at CourierSoftball@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball rankings, notebook: Skyland and area UCC, through April 22
