South Jersey Mean 15 softball rankings for third week of May
It's almost time for postseason softball.
The pairings for the state tournament are scheduled to be released by the NJSIAA on Monday and play is slated to begin on Wednesday.
The following are the last Mean 15 rankings until the final edition is published with the season-ending content in June.
Records and stats are through Thursday's games.
More: Top performers from South Jersey softball from second week of May
Mean 15 rankings
Kingsway (21-2, last week’s ranking: 1). The Dragons captured the Tri-County Conference Royal Division crown with an 8-0 record. Kingsway will open its South Jersey Group 4 title defense next week as the likely top seed in the group. Junior Jessa Pieters has allowed one run on seven hits in her last three starts (19 innings), lowering her ERA to 1.37.
Northern Burlington (17-3, 3). The Greyhounds went 7-1 en route to the Burlington County Scholastic League Liberty Division title. The 17 wins are the most for the program since 2018. Sophomore Riley Pieloch has 20 hits for the season, 10 have gone for extra bases, including seven doubles and two homers.
Vineland (21-2, 2). The Fighting Clan finished the regular season with an unbeaten record in conference play en route to the Cape-Atlantic League American Division title. The team’s 17-game winning streak was snapped with an 8-0 loss to Egg Harbor Township in the CAL semifinal round. Junior Leah Mears is batting .493 with 37 hits, 29 runs scored and 31 RBIs.
St. Joseph (15-7, 4). The Wildcats are chasing their first Cape-Atlantic League Tournament title. The team will host Middle Township in Saturday’s semifinal round for the right to play Egg Harbor Township in Monday’s championship. Senior Kylie Tomlin is among the club’s top hitters with a .343 average with 13 RBIs.
Paul VI (18-8, 5). The Eagles have clinched at least a share of the Olympic Conference National Division crown. The team finished the regular season with a six-game winning streak, which included the last three victories by a combined 40-1 count. Senior Lisey St. Jean will head into the postseason with a .611 batting average, 176 hits and 99 stolen bases for her career.
Egg Harbor Township (16-9, 6). The Eagles checked into the CAL Tournament final with an 8-0 triumph over Vineland on Thursday, two days after they dropped a 9-6 decision to the Fighting Clan. EHT will defend their CAL Tournament title against Saturday’s winner of St. Joseph/Middle Township next week. Sophomore Kaci Velardi is batting .393 and is tied with senior Payton Colbert for the team lead with 33 hits.
Cinnaminson (17-7, 8). After advancing to the sectional final last spring, the road to the South Jersey Group 2 title will likely go through Cinnaminson as the Pirates appear to have a lock on the top seed. The club has averaged 7.3 runs and 9.1 hits over its 24 games. Freshman Hailee Hunter is among the team leaders with a .364 batting average, 24 hits, 19 runs and 17 RBIs.
Audubon (14-4, 10). The Green Wave locked up the Colonial Conference Liberty Division title with consecutive wins over West Deptford, Haddon Heights and Sterling. It’s the program’s first division title since 2021. Sophomore Emma Speyerer has 70 career hits, including a club-best 32 this spring and is batting .552 for the season.
Cherokee (13-7-1, 11). With a win over Cherry Hill East on Saturday, Cherokee will lock up the outright Olympic Conference American Division title – the program’s first since 2019. Sophomore Kasey McNee (32 hits), Jordan Hreben (32) and Luci Dandrea (26) are the top three hit leaders on the team.
Gloucester (15-5, 7). The Lions’ five losses have been by a combined eight runs, including the last three by a total of four. Gloucester will play crosstown rival Gloucester Catholic on Monday at 3:30, a makeup after rain postponed the prime-time showdown earlier in the season. The pitching trio of Olivia George, Emma Dick and Kloi Tighe each has an ERA south of 1.50 and their combined total of 16 earned runs in 128 innings is good for a 0.88 ERA.
Lenape (13-10, 12). With three losses in its last five games, Lenape will have to regroup quickly as the postseason gets underway. After consecutive setbacks in the South Jersey Group 4 quarterfinal round, the team advanced to the sectional semifinal last spring. Sophomore Camryn Shank collected seven hits in her last three games, lifting her season batting average to .500 (33-for-66).
West Deptford (14-6, 13). The Eagles closed out their Colonial Conference schedule with a 5-0 win over Haddon Heights on Thursday. Junior Macey Harrold is batting .402 over three seasons and has 80 hits and 72 RBIs for her career.
Moorestown (17-5, 14). The Quakers finished the regular season with a six-game winning streak, including a 2-1 victory over Southern Regional on Thursday. The team has allowed just one run over the six-game stretch. Senior Violet Marta has struck out 151 batters over 100 innings with a 1.82 ERA.
Haddon Heights (11-8-1, 9). The road to become the first public school to win three straight state titles just got tougher with the news of star Sophia Bordi likely missing the remainder of the season with an injury. The Garnets closed out the regular season with three losses in their final four games. Senior Cameron Kohout is among the team leaders in RBIs with 14.
Haddon Township (16-6, NR). On the wings of a seven-game winning streak, the Hawks check back into the rankings. Junior Jordan Strauss continues to tear the cover off the softball, batting .578 with 37 hits, 38 RBIs and 33 runs scored.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: South Jersey Mean 15 softball rankings for May 17
