- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 475,812
- Reaction score
- 45
Another week and another round of standout performances and impressive results around the Greater Middlesex Conference and southern Union County have arrived as we hit the meat of the 2025 softball season.
(Records through Sunday)
1. South Plainfield (8-1) — last week No. 2 — The Tigers swap places in the rankings with St. Thomas Aquinas after defeating Metuchen and rallying in the seventh inning to upend the top-ranked Trojans and extend their winning streak to five games. The Tigers host Cranford on Monday, then travel to Old Bridge and Franklin.
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (10-2) — last week No. 1 — The Trojans swept back-to-back games from Spotswood, then succumbed to a seventh-inning South Plainfield rally before cruising past Weehawken on Sunday. St. Thomas’ brutal nonconference schedule pits it against Skyland Conference powers Watchung Hills and Hunterdon Central this week, sandwiched around a divisional clash with Metuchen.
More: Softball ballot: Vote for Central Jersey Player of the Week
More: Softball roundup: Daily results and links for Skyland Conference, GMC, area Union County
3. East Brunswick (11-0) — last week No. 3 — The Bears continued their roll by defeating Sayreville by a run for the second time, before playing up and defeating Red Division opponent Old Bridge in five innings, followed by another divisional win over North Brunswick. East Brunswick will strive to maintain its unblemished record this week against White Division foes Woodbridge and South Brunswick, before taking on Spotswood and East Brunswick Magnet on Saturday at the Carteret Conquers Cancer event.
4. Sayreville (7-5) — last week No. 5 — The Bombers had a busy week, falling to East Brunswick by a run for the second time between divisional triumphs over South Brunswick and North Brunswick. They then dropped games Sunday at Jefferson’s Lace Up to Cancer event to Morris Hills and Gill-St. Bernards in their first foray outside the GMC this spring. Sayreville gets a chance to avenge an early-season loss to Woodbridge this week, will see South Brunswick for the second time in eight days, then travel to Colonia in a divisional outing.
5. Spotswood (5-6) — last week No. 4 — The Chargers dropped back-to-back meetings with St. Thomas, then defeated Old Bridge and South Brunswick before taking a 1-0 setback from Freehold Township. Spotswood ventures outside its division to play Ewing and Colonia, travels to Monroe for a divisional test, then takes on East Brunswick and Bard at Saturday’s Carteret Conquers Cancer event.
6. Colonia (8-4) — last week No. 9 — The Patriots move up to their highest ranking of the season by extending their winning streak to five games with a nonconference, eight-inning win over Lakeland, a doubleheader sweep of Woodbridge, and a one-run decision over South Brunswick. Colonia has a White Division game with J.P. Stevens, then takes on Spotswood of the Red and Blue-leading Edison (10-1) this week.
7. Old Bridge (5-9) — last week No. 7 — The Knights fell to Robbinsville, defeated Monroe and lost to Spotswood in divisional contests last week, before losing in five innings to White Division-leading East Brunswick. Old Bridge opens the week with divisional clashes with Metuchen and South Plainfield, followed by an inter-divisional game against South Brunswick. The Knights begin a stretch of non-conference games Saturday against Middletown South.
8. Monroe (5-6) — last week No. 8 — The Falcons defeated Princeton in five innings, then fell to Old Bridge and beat Metuchen in divisional games last week. Monroe began the week by playing Metuchen for the second time in five days, and then hosts Hightstown before heading to Spotswood for a divisional fixture on Thursday.
9. Woodbridge (6-5) — last week No. 6 — The Barrons lost both ends of a doubleheader to Colonia before snapping a five-game losing streak with a five-inning verdict over J.P. Stevens. Woodbridge will try to return to its early-season form with challenging divisional games against Sayreville, East Brunswick and North Brunswick, then travels to Union County power A.L. Johnson on Saturday.
10. South Brunswick (5-7) — last week No. 10 — The Vikings fell to a trio of ranked teams in Sayreville, Colonia and Spotswood, before pinning a four-inning setback on J.P. Stevens. South Brunswick has a difficult week facing the top two teams in its division in Sayreville and East Brunswick, followed by a date with Old Bridge of the Red Division.
ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Edison (10-1), J.F. Kennedy (5-6), Middlesex (8-5), North Brunswick (4-8), Perth Amboy (8-4).
Unbeaten East Brunswick has opened a two-game lead in the GMC White but that doesn’t mean the division hasn’t had its share of close encounters.
Colonia has already played five one-run games, including an 11-inning loss to Sayreville and an eight-inning decision over Lakeland. Sayreville has also played five one-run games, including both of its setbacks to East Brunswick. Three of the Bombers’ last four games prior to Sunday were decided by a single run.
North Brunswick is 0-2 in one-run contests, including a 1-0 setback to Sayreville in nine innings last week.
Maybe there was a full moon because there were some strange goings-on around the GMC last week — at least among the games we witnessed.
Late comebacks were in vogue. South Plainfield rallied from three runs in the top of the seventh inning Thursday to deal St. Thomas Aquinas its first GMC loss of the season, after Edison trailed Carteret 3-2 going into the bottom of the fifth Tuesday, before the Eagles promptly collected eight consecutive hits and struck for 11 runs in the frame, making just one out. That brought the game to an early conclusion via mercy rule.
And then there was Friday’s game between North Plainfield and Dunellen, in which the Destroyers rallied from seven runs down with one out to overcome a six-run deficit for a 17-16 victory.
Woodbridge had two runs taken off the board by ground-ruled doubles in a 5-2 loss to Colonia and stranded both would-be scorers at third base.
Wednesday’s clash between J.F. Kennedy and Rahway saw nine batters get hit by pitches. The Mustangs’ Kylie Ondreyko was plunked three times.
Calvary Christian (5-0) finished Monday’s 15-0 victory with just eight players, as one was injured and another had to leave the game early. The Lions received two outs for batting out of order when the departed player was due up. Calvary finished the game with two outfielders, but New Brunswick could not take advantage because it failed to hit a fair ball over the final three innings. Lions freshman Alyssa Jarusczyk recorded nine of her 17 strikeouts over those last three frames.
Josh Rosenfeld covers GMC softball. Follow him on Twitter/X @JoshPRosenfeld
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball rankings and notebook: GMC and southern Union County
Continue reading...
Home News Tribune softball Top 10, through April 27
(Records through Sunday)
1. South Plainfield (8-1) — last week No. 2 — The Tigers swap places in the rankings with St. Thomas Aquinas after defeating Metuchen and rallying in the seventh inning to upend the top-ranked Trojans and extend their winning streak to five games. The Tigers host Cranford on Monday, then travel to Old Bridge and Franklin.
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (10-2) — last week No. 1 — The Trojans swept back-to-back games from Spotswood, then succumbed to a seventh-inning South Plainfield rally before cruising past Weehawken on Sunday. St. Thomas’ brutal nonconference schedule pits it against Skyland Conference powers Watchung Hills and Hunterdon Central this week, sandwiched around a divisional clash with Metuchen.
More: Softball ballot: Vote for Central Jersey Player of the Week
More: Softball roundup: Daily results and links for Skyland Conference, GMC, area Union County
3. East Brunswick (11-0) — last week No. 3 — The Bears continued their roll by defeating Sayreville by a run for the second time, before playing up and defeating Red Division opponent Old Bridge in five innings, followed by another divisional win over North Brunswick. East Brunswick will strive to maintain its unblemished record this week against White Division foes Woodbridge and South Brunswick, before taking on Spotswood and East Brunswick Magnet on Saturday at the Carteret Conquers Cancer event.
4. Sayreville (7-5) — last week No. 5 — The Bombers had a busy week, falling to East Brunswick by a run for the second time between divisional triumphs over South Brunswick and North Brunswick. They then dropped games Sunday at Jefferson’s Lace Up to Cancer event to Morris Hills and Gill-St. Bernards in their first foray outside the GMC this spring. Sayreville gets a chance to avenge an early-season loss to Woodbridge this week, will see South Brunswick for the second time in eight days, then travel to Colonia in a divisional outing.
5. Spotswood (5-6) — last week No. 4 — The Chargers dropped back-to-back meetings with St. Thomas, then defeated Old Bridge and South Brunswick before taking a 1-0 setback from Freehold Township. Spotswood ventures outside its division to play Ewing and Colonia, travels to Monroe for a divisional test, then takes on East Brunswick and Bard at Saturday’s Carteret Conquers Cancer event.
6. Colonia (8-4) — last week No. 9 — The Patriots move up to their highest ranking of the season by extending their winning streak to five games with a nonconference, eight-inning win over Lakeland, a doubleheader sweep of Woodbridge, and a one-run decision over South Brunswick. Colonia has a White Division game with J.P. Stevens, then takes on Spotswood of the Red and Blue-leading Edison (10-1) this week.
7. Old Bridge (5-9) — last week No. 7 — The Knights fell to Robbinsville, defeated Monroe and lost to Spotswood in divisional contests last week, before losing in five innings to White Division-leading East Brunswick. Old Bridge opens the week with divisional clashes with Metuchen and South Plainfield, followed by an inter-divisional game against South Brunswick. The Knights begin a stretch of non-conference games Saturday against Middletown South.
8. Monroe (5-6) — last week No. 8 — The Falcons defeated Princeton in five innings, then fell to Old Bridge and beat Metuchen in divisional games last week. Monroe began the week by playing Metuchen for the second time in five days, and then hosts Hightstown before heading to Spotswood for a divisional fixture on Thursday.
9. Woodbridge (6-5) — last week No. 6 — The Barrons lost both ends of a doubleheader to Colonia before snapping a five-game losing streak with a five-inning verdict over J.P. Stevens. Woodbridge will try to return to its early-season form with challenging divisional games against Sayreville, East Brunswick and North Brunswick, then travels to Union County power A.L. Johnson on Saturday.
10. South Brunswick (5-7) — last week No. 10 — The Vikings fell to a trio of ranked teams in Sayreville, Colonia and Spotswood, before pinning a four-inning setback on J.P. Stevens. South Brunswick has a difficult week facing the top two teams in its division in Sayreville and East Brunswick, followed by a date with Old Bridge of the Red Division.
ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Edison (10-1), J.F. Kennedy (5-6), Middlesex (8-5), North Brunswick (4-8), Perth Amboy (8-4).
***********
Unbeaten East Brunswick has opened a two-game lead in the GMC White but that doesn’t mean the division hasn’t had its share of close encounters.
Colonia has already played five one-run games, including an 11-inning loss to Sayreville and an eight-inning decision over Lakeland. Sayreville has also played five one-run games, including both of its setbacks to East Brunswick. Three of the Bombers’ last four games prior to Sunday were decided by a single run.
North Brunswick is 0-2 in one-run contests, including a 1-0 setback to Sayreville in nine innings last week.
Weird week
Maybe there was a full moon because there were some strange goings-on around the GMC last week — at least among the games we witnessed.
Late comebacks were in vogue. South Plainfield rallied from three runs in the top of the seventh inning Thursday to deal St. Thomas Aquinas its first GMC loss of the season, after Edison trailed Carteret 3-2 going into the bottom of the fifth Tuesday, before the Eagles promptly collected eight consecutive hits and struck for 11 runs in the frame, making just one out. That brought the game to an early conclusion via mercy rule.
And then there was Friday’s game between North Plainfield and Dunellen, in which the Destroyers rallied from seven runs down with one out to overcome a six-run deficit for a 17-16 victory.
Woodbridge had two runs taken off the board by ground-ruled doubles in a 5-2 loss to Colonia and stranded both would-be scorers at third base.
Wednesday’s clash between J.F. Kennedy and Rahway saw nine batters get hit by pitches. The Mustangs’ Kylie Ondreyko was plunked three times.
Calvary Christian (5-0) finished Monday’s 15-0 victory with just eight players, as one was injured and another had to leave the game early. The Lions received two outs for batting out of order when the departed player was due up. Calvary finished the game with two outfielders, but New Brunswick could not take advantage because it failed to hit a fair ball over the final three innings. Lions freshman Alyssa Jarusczyk recorded nine of her 17 strikeouts over those last three frames.
Josh Rosenfeld covers GMC softball. Follow him on Twitter/X @JoshPRosenfeld
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball rankings and notebook: GMC and southern Union County
Continue reading...
