Baseball: Morris/Sussex Top 10 rankings after the first month of the 2024 season

We’re a month into the high school baseball season. Division races are starting to take shape and county tournaments are underway.

The Morris County Tournament is in full swing and Morris Knolls earned the top seed at last week’s seeding meeting. By the end of this weekend, only four teams will remain in contention for the title.

This week, the annual Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament opens. Eight Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference teams will begin play in the tri-county tournament.

As we close out the month of April and segue into May, here's a look at which teams landed in the Morris/Sussex Top 10 rankings after the fourth week of the 2024 season.

10. Madison (10-4)

Previous ranking: 10

The Dodgers have won four straight and maintained their lead in the NJAC-Liberty with wins over then-No. 5 Pequannock, 6-3 and Parsippany Hills, 14-6. Other wins include a 9-6 win over Newton and a 14-4 win over Boonton in the opening round of the Morris County Tournament.

Up next: Tuesday at New Providence; Wednesday vs. High Point

9. Pope John (7-8)

Previous ranking: 9

The Lions traded wins and losses in four games last week and picked up a quality victory over parochial rival St. Joseph (Montvale), 5-2 on Saturday in Bergen County. The Sparta school dropped games to No 3 Randolph, 10-9, and No. 2 Morris Knolls, 7-1, and defeated division rival Montville, 12-10, last Wednesday.

Up next: Tuesday at Kinnelon

8. Mount Olive (10-3)

Previous ranking: 8

The Marauders kept pace with wins over Phillipsburg, 13-9, then-No. 4 Mendham, 7-5 and a setback against No. 2 Morris Knolls, 13-5. The Flanders school has won nine of their last 11 games.

Up next: Monday vs. Jefferson; Tuesday at North Warren; Wednesday at No. 6 Roxbury

7. Sparta (8-4)

Previous ranking: 7

The Spartans split four games last week, defeating Vernon, 7-4, and High Point, 7-3, bookended with losses to West Morris, 10-7, and Blair, 8-5.

Up next: Tuesday vs. Parsippany Hills; Wednesday at Governor Livingston.

6. Roxbury (6-7)

Previous ranking: 6

In a busy stretch last week, the Succasunna school went 3-2 with wins over Chatham, 9-8, No. 2 Morris Knolls, 4-3, and Morris Catholic, 4-1, in the opening round of the county tournament. The Gaels two losses came against West Morris, 12-1, and Bernards, 7-3 on Sunday in the Thank You Classic.

Up next: Monday vs. Pascack Valley; Tuesday vs. Bloomfield; Wednesday vs. No. 8 Mount Olive.

5. Mendham (6-5)

Previous ranking: 4

The Minutemen split their two games last week, defeating No. 3 Randolph, 4-3, last Tuesday before falling to No. 8 Mount Olive, 7-5, two days later.

Up next: Monday vs. Livingston; Friday vs. Parsippany Hills (MCT)

4. Pequannock (9-3)

Previous ranking: 5

The Golden Panthers rebounded from a 6-3 loss to No. 10 Madison last Monday and won three straight over Kinnelon, 10-0, Morristown, 6-4, and Morristown Beard, 2-0, in the preliminary round of the MCT. The Pompton Plains school gets another shot at division leader Madison later this week in the first round of the county tournament.

Up next: Tuesday at Vernon; Wednesday at Hasbrouck Heights.

3. Randolph (11-3)

Previous ranking: 3

The Rams dropped two of three last week with losses to then-No. 4 Mendham, 4-3, and Ridge, 6-0. They opened the week last Monday with a 10-9 win over then No. 9 Pope John.

Up next: Monday vs. Caldwell; Wednesday at Livingston.

2. Morris Knolls (13-2)

Previous ranking: 2

The Golden Eagles earned the top seed in the MCT after riding into the seeding meeting with only one loss – a 2-1 setback against St. Joseph (Montvale) in early April. Last week, the Rockaway school went 3-1 with wins over then-No. 8 Mount Olive, 13-5, No. 9 Pope John, 7-1, and state-ranked DePaul, 7-6. They suffered their second loss of the season last Wednesday, 4-3, to then-No. 3 ranked Randolph.

Up next: Monday at Seton Hall; Wednesday vs. Hanover Park.

1. Delbarton (12-1)

Previous ranking: 1

Since their setback to Randolph earlier this month, the Green Wave have done nothing but win. The Morris Township parochial school is riding a 10-game win streak to start the week and tacked on three more wins last week in dominating fashion. Last week, Delbarton shut down three more opponents – Morristown, 15-3, Chatham, 12-0, and Steinert, 10-0.

Senior Jack Harley leads the team in batting average (.514), stolen bases (11), walks (14), hits (18) and RBI’s (16).

Up next: Monday vs. Glen Rock; Tuesday vs. Governor Livingston.

Also considered: Montville (7-7); West Morris (7-7); Hanover Park (9-3).

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ baseball: Morris/Sussex rankings after first month of 2024 season