Tournament time is now upon us and with the release of the latest Top 20 earlier today, it’s time to rank the top teams in each group and conference.
Here’s a look at the latest group and conference rankings of the season.
Note: Rankings and records reflect games played through Tuesday, April 29.
Group 3
2-Delsea (12-0)
3-Ramapo (13-3)
4-Hammonton (10-3)
5-Lawrence (12-4)
6-Roxbury (10-4)
7-Brick Memorial (12-4)
8-Moorestown (6-4)
9-Old Tappan (10-4)
10-South Plainfield (11-4)
Greater Middlesex Conference
2-Woodbridge (10-3)
3-Old Bridge (8-7)
4-East Brunswick (8-5)
5-St. Joseph (Met.) (6-5)
6-Monroe (6-8)
7-Edison (6-8)
8-St. Thomas Aquinas (10-4)
9-Spotswood (10-5)
10-Colonia (10-3)
Greater Middlesex Conference Top 10 through April 26
It was a busy week of Greater Middlesex Conference baseball action with teams jostling for positioning in the division pennant races. Here are notes and our Top 10:
In the Red Division, Woodbridge controls its destiny with a 10-2 division record. The Barrons can clinch with a sweep over Monroe in the two games this week. South Plainfield (8-3 in division) also has a chance with three Red games remaining, two against East Brunswick (7-4 in division) and against St. Joseph in a make-up game on May 7. South Plainfield has a 2-0 edge against Woodbridge, so the Tigers would claim the division based on the head-to-head sweep if there was a tie atop the standings.
GMC Top 10
(Records through Saturday)
1. South Plainfield (10-4) – last week No. 2: Cue a boxing or UFC announcer’s voice, “And the new No. 1 is … South Plainfield.” The Tigers take over our top spot boosted by their sweep over Woodbridge that was completed with a 1-0 win on April 22 as Kevin Penny threw 6 1/3 shutout innings and drove in the run. The Tigers also have sweeps over Edison and South Brunswick.
2. Woodbridge (10-2) – last week No. 4: From our preseason No. 7 to No. 6 to No. 4 and now up to No. 2, the Barrons have steadily climbed the rankings. How? By simply winning. Just when it seemed like they were slipping, Woodbridge came up with a huge sweep of Old Bridge last week. Derek Oxner went a combined 6-for-7 with five RBIs in the two games. That rebound came after going 0-2 vs. South Plainfield.
3. Colonia (10-2) – last week No. 3: The Patriots are on a five-game win streak that included avoiding potential trap games against Sayreville and North Brunswick followed up with a 19-2 non-conference win over Linden. Cory Pascarella had an 8-for-15 week with 13 RBIs – including eight in one game – and also threw a one-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts in the 1-0 win over Sayreville.
4. St. Thomas Aquinas (10-3) – last week No. 5: Gatorade baths are always a good thing, they just usually come in late May and early June. The Trojans had one four weeks into the season with Friday’s 16-1 win over Sayreville that clinched a share of the White Division title keyed by Donovan Epps’ grand slam. There’s a long way to go, but STA has things clicking with a balanced lineup and strong pitching.
5. East Brunswick (7-4) – last week unranked: Our crystal ball must have been a little cloudy while looking at the Bears. Here, let’s wipe some dust off. Now, that’s better. East Brunswick leaps from unranked all season to No. 5 with its recent offensive outburst. The Bears have won four straight with two-game sweeps over St. Joseph and Edison. That will get you ranked.
6. Old Bridge (7-7) – last week No. 1: The Knights take a bit of a tumble after going 0-3 last week with a 5-3 loss to Monroe and 6-4 and 10-7 losses to Woodbridge. Old Bridge is still playing quality ball and is a postseason threat. Just, the team can’t get any separation with five two-game splits against Red Division teams.
7. St. Joseph (6-5) – last week No. 6: Bats go to sleep sometimes, especially against good pitching. However, they do eventually wake up. Consider the Falcons’ latest three streaks. St. Joseph posted a four-game winning streak with 50 runs and 55 hits. St. Joseph then lost three straight, in which it scored seven combined runs. Last Thursday and Saturday, it got back on hitting track with 8-0 and 20-9 wins over Monroe.
8. Spotswood (8-5) – last week No. 7: The Chargers are on a nice five-game win streak that includes White Division sweeps over Middlesex and North Brunswick and a non-conference win over Williamstown. So … they drop a spot? That’s just the way in-season rankings go sometimes, especially with other teams making jumps. Spotswood has a chance to make a leap of its own this week with a series against No. 3 Colonia and an inter-division game against No. 1 South Plainfield.
9. Monroe (5-7) – last week No. 9: The Falcons were holding their own in the rugged Red Division with three 1-1 splits in a row against Edison, South Plainfield and Old Bridge. Then came the tough series against St. Joseph, in which they were outscored by a combined 28-9. That’s baseball. The Falcons look to bounce back this week against East Brunswick and a pair of games against Woodbridge.
10. Middlesex (8-4) – last week No. 10: The Blue Jays rebounded after losing two close games against Spotswood with a sweep over Perth Amboy, outscoring the pesky Panthers by a combined 17-1. That put the Blue Jays at 6-4 and in fourth place in the White Division.
Dropped out: No. 8 Edison and No. 10 Sayreville
