Softball rankings and notebook: Skyland Conference and area UCC, through April 29

Here’s the softball notebook and Top 10 ranking in the Skyland Conference and western Union County through April 29.

(Records through Monday)

1. Watchung Hills (14-2) – last week No. 1 -- The Warriors played six straight games last week and have another loaded slate on tap. Watchung Hills handled Montville, Bridgewater-Raritan, Cranford, Roxbury and A.L. Johnson, sandwiching its first Skyland Conference Delaware Division loss, which came 4-0 Thursday to Immaculata. The Warriors opened this week with a win over J.P. Stevens on Monday, and will face Hillsborough, North Hunterdon twice – one coming Friday in Clinton to complete a suspended game from April 11 that was scoreless in the fifth inning – and have a Somerset County Tournament quarterfinal contest Saturday against eighth-seeded Mount St. Mary. Watchung Hills is the No. 1 seed.

More: Softball ballot: Vote for Central Jersey Player of the Week for Week 4

More: Softball roundup: Daily April results and links for Skyland , GMC, area Union County

2. Immaculata (10-2) – last week No. 2 -- The Spartans opened the week with a loss to Hunterdon Central, evening the season series and snapping a six-game winning streak, but got right back on track with a huge 4-0 win over Watchung Hills, avenging an earlier-season loss, and closing out the week with an 8-1 thumping of Cranford. Immaculata gets Bridgewater-Raritan and North Hunterdon in key Delaware Division games, before opening its county tournament as the No. 2 seed Saturday against seventh-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s in the quarterfinals.

More: Softball Player of the Week: Immaculata’s Caitlin Maychrich wins Week 3 honors

3. North Hunterdon (10-5) – last week No. 3 -- The Lions won 4-of-5 over the past week, with victories over Hillsborough, Pope John, Westfield and Bernards, with the loss coming 8-5 to Hunterdon Central, putting North behind the 8-ball in the Delaware Division race. North Hunterdon, which earned the No. 1 seed in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament, gets Immaculata and Governor Livingston this week, plus two games against Watchung Hills, with Friday’s meeting set to complete a suspended game stopped in the fifth inning of a scoreless contest.

More: Softball: North Hunterdon the top seed in Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament

4. Hunterdon Central (5-7) – last week No. 7 -- The Red Devils followed up last Monday’s win over the GMC’s top team, St. Thomas, with huge Delaware Division triumphs over Immaculata and North Hunterdon, respectively, as Central gets rolling after a slow start in close games, where four of its seven losses have come by one run, and two more by four or less. The Red Devils, who also lost to state power Robbinsville last week, will get Hillsborough, Roxbury and Bridgewater-Raritan this week in regular-season games, while beginning its HWST run as the No. 8 seed Wednesday against Lenape Valley.

5. Governor Livingston (13-4) – last week No. 4 – The Highlanders suffered a perplexing loss to A.L. Johnson last Tuesday – just its second in Union County – but rebounded with wins over Elizabeth and Summit to close the week, the latter coming 15-5 in 11 innings. That is not a typo; GL scored 10 times in the top of the 11th. Governor Livingston opened this week with a win over Oak Knoll, and have a challenging week ahead with Westfield, North Hunterdon and Cranford on tap.

6. Bernards (7-4) – last week No. 5 -- The Mountaineers won both outings last week, strengthening their hold on the top spot in the Raritan Division with victories over Gill St. Bernard’s and Pingry, before losing a well-played 4-1 decision to North Hunterdon on Monday. Bernards gets Warren Hills next week, as well as two games against Ridge, with Saturday’s coming in the quarterfinals of the Somerset County Tournament.

7. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (9-3) – last week No. 9 -- The Raiders have won four straight and eight of nine, including wins last week over Union and Cranford. Big rivalry game set for Tuesday against Westfield, before scheduled outings against Summit and Union Catholic. Scotch Plains-Fanwood will then take on Brearley next Monday in a game that could decide the UCC Mountain Division race.

8. Westfield (8-6) – last week No. 8 -- The Blue Devils dropped 3-of-5 outings last week, scoring wins over Summit and Brearley, but falling to Dayton, Cranford and North Hunterdon. Westfield takes on neighborhood rival Scotch Plains-Fanwood on Tuesday, before meeting with Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Governor Livingston and AL Johnson to close out the week.

9. Pingry (7-6) – last week No. 6 -- The Big Blue opened last week with a win over Ridge, but have dropped three straight since, falling to Bernards and Phillipsburg last week and then Cranford on Monday. Pingry, which is the No. 4 seed in the Somerset County Tournament, will play host to fifth-seeded Bound Brook in Saturday’s quarterfinals, following games against Warren Hills and Hun this week.

10. New Providence (9-3) – last week No. 10 – The Pioneers’ winning streak reached four games with wins over Oak Knoll, Rahway and Linden last week to take control of the UCC Valley Division race, before a Monday loss to Caldwell. New Prov gets Kent Place and Roselle Park this week as it looks to wrap up the title. The Pioneers are undefeated in the division as they enter the week.

ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Bound Brook (8-2), Delaware Valley (8-2), Franklin (8-5), Warren Hills (7-3). Phillipsburg (5-7), Ridge (4-7)

Joining the club

Three local softball players reached the 100-hit milestone two weeks ago and two more have joined the exclusive group last week.

North Hunterdon senior catcher Kylie Petal got to 100 on Tuesday at Hillsborough, doing it in style with a two-run homer. The veteran receiver has a triple and four home runs so far this year.

Franklin’s Zoe Ling also reached the century mark Tuesday, going it during a 3-for-4 performance at Mount St. Mary. The senior shortstop is hitting .568 for the surging Warriors, including six doubles, two triples, two homers and 10 RBIs. She’s also scored 20 runs and swiped 10 bases.

Clinched

The first championship of the season was won last week as Bound Brook clinched the Skyland Conference Mountain Division title on the strength of its 11-4 win over South Hunterdon on Tuesday. The Crusaders are 6-0 in the five-team division and have beaten the Eagles twice to lock up the tiebreaker and the title.

The Skyland’s three other division crowns are a long way from being settled, with Watchung Hills carrying a one-game lead in the loss column over Immaculata and North Hunterdon in the Delaware, Bernards leading Pingry and Warren Hills by two in the loss column in the Raritan, and Delaware Valley and Franklin tied in the loss column in the Valley Division, with Mount St. Mary and Voorhees each a game behind.

County tournament roundup

The Somerset County Tournament is in full swing, with the proceedings reaching the quarterfinals, scheduled for Saturday at the higher-seeded schools.

Top-seeded Watchung Hills will play host to No. 8 Mount St. Mary, as the Lions reach the quarterfinals for the first time in a decade on the strength of a 10-8 win over No. 9 Hillsborough. It’s the first time since 1998 the juggernaut Raiders won’t be playing in the quarterfinals, and only the fourth time since 2002 Boro won’t be in the final.

Second-seeded Immaculata begins its county run in the quarters against No. 7 Gill St. Bernard’s, which topped No. 10 Bridgewater-Raritan 14-7 Saturday. This marks the first time since 2000 the Panthers won’t be playing in the quarterfinals.

Elsewhere, fifth-seeded Ridge edged No. 11 Franklin 4-3 in Saturday’s second round, setting up a quarterfinals meeting with rival and No. 3 seed Bernards, while fifth-seeded Bound Brook handled Somerville 10-1 and will face No. 4 Pingry on Saturday.

The SCT semifinals are slated for next Wednesday, May 8, with the final Friday evening, May 10 at Torpey Field in Bridgewater.

The Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament seeds were released Monday with defending champ North Hunterdon earning the top seed. Action starts Wednesday with first-round games, with the No. 3 through No. 8 seeds getting going in the second round Saturday. The Top 2 seeds have a double bye into the quarterfinals, which is slated for May 8, with the semifinals scheduled for May 11 and the final May 15 at Phillipsburg.

HWST BRACKET: North Hunterdon the top seed

The Union County Tournament seeds are due out early next week, with games getting underway May 8.

A rousing success

The second annual American Foundation for Suicide Prevention softball event was played the first weekend of the season, and the event nailed its fundraising goal for the great cause.

A total of 22 teams from around North and Central Jersey competed over two days at The Pingry School and Singley Park in Hillsborough – after the weather caused some shuffling of the schedule, matchups and participants. And after the nine-team even raised $8,100 last year, this season’s festivities met its $20,000 goal.

Tournament organizer and Immaculata head coach Gary Bury presented the check to the organization last week, vowing to go even bigger in 2025, adding more teams to the event and shooting for an even larger monetary goal.

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/X @SimeonPincus

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Softball rankings and notebook: Skyland and area UCC, as of April 29