Softball rankings, notebook: Greater Middlesex Conference and area UCC, through April 15

Here are the softball notebook and Top 10 rankings in the Greater Middlesex Conference and southern Union County through April 15.

(Records through Monday)

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (3-2) – preseason No. 1 — While the Trojans have extended their Middlesex County winning streak to 60 games, their ambitious non-conference schedule has left them with close losses to Steinert and Robbinsville. St. Thomas’ four-division-game week begins with a meeting Tuesday with fellow-unbeaten South Plainfield, and ends Saturday at the Autism Awareness challenge against Metuchen in a rematch of last year’s GMCT final.

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

2. South Plainfield (4-1) -preseason No. 2 — The Tigers have breezed through their first three Red Division contests, outscoring their foes by a 35-1 margin, but fell Monday to Hightstown. The schedule picks up this week with home dates against division rivals St. Thomas Aquinas and Metuchen.

3. Old Bridge (5-2) -preseason No. 6 — The Knights have been a pleasant surprise, falling only to No. 1 St. Thomas (1-0) and No. 2 South Plainfield, while defeating Metuchen and handing Sayreville its only loss. Having already faced the other top contenders in the Red Division, Old Bridge’s toughest test this week should come Friday outside the division against East Brunswick.

4. Sayreville (4-1) - preseason No. 10 — The Bombers have been another nice story, handing Spotswood and Colonia their only divisional losses while only falling to Old Bridge, 2-1. Sayreville takes on another unbeaten divisional leader on Wednesday at North Brunswick.

5. Spotswood (7-1) -preseason No. 4 —The Chargers have averaged more than 12 runs per game in winning six in a row after an early 2-0 loss to Sayreville -- that including back-to back decisions over East Brunswick and Metuchen. Spotswood’s biggest outing this week comes Friday against Colonia at the Autism Awareness Challenge in North Brunswick.

6. Metuchen (2-3) - preseason No. 3 — The Bulldogs suffered one-run defeats to Old Bridge and Spotswood and have yet to beat a ranked team. They’ll get their chances this week at No. 2 South Plainfield on Thursday and against No. 1 St. Thomas Saturday at the Autism Awareness Challenge.

7. Colonia (5-2) -preseason No. 7 — The Patriots won their first three outings, but lost two of their last four, including a 10-1 setback to Sayreville on Saturday. Colonia faces Spotswood in Friday’s feature matchup at the Autism Awareness Challenge.

8. North Brunswick (5-0) -preseason No. 9 — The Raiders breezed through their first four games, all within the Blue Division, including a 5-1 verdict over Middlesex, prior to knocking off East Brunswick on Monday. North Brunswick hosts another White Division contender in Sayreville on Wednesday.

9. East Brunswick (5-2) - preseason No. 5 — The Bears began the week with a loss to Spotswood, but responded with a four-game heater, the last three requiring a mere 14 innings as they outscored their opposition, 54-12. EB began the week with a loss to Blue Division-leading North Brunswick on Monday, and face a rigorous weekend with games at Old Bridge on Friday and against Sayreville on Saturday at the Autism Awareness Challenge.

10. South Brunswick (4-4) - preseason unranked — The Vikings managed to get in eight games despite the weather, and all four setbacks are to ranked teams -- Colonia, Old Bridge, St. Thomas and Metuchen. South Brunswick’s divisional slate includes Monroe and J.P. Stevens this week, but its next six contests after that are all against ranked opponents.

ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Middlesex (5-3), Woodbridge (1-3).

Emergency service

When catcher Makayla Caban was injured in a rundown in the second inning of East Brunswick Magnet’s opening game at Saturday’s Carteret Conquers Cancer event, coach Michael Buonaguro knew he was losing more than a slugging and speedy leadoff hitter.

The Tigers don’t have another catcher on their roster.

Enter junior shortstop Addison Calabrese, who had never caught before. She didn’t just step up to the plate, she squatted behind it, finishing that loss to Spotswood, then assuming the position again for East Brunswick Magnet’s second outing, a four-inning, 21-7 triumph over Rahway.

“She’s our best infielder and she knew we needed somebody to step up and take over for our catcher and she volunteered,” Buonaguro said. “She stepped up and say, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’”

Why would she volunteer for such duty?

“I’m a shortstop, so I’m used to catching the throw-downs and I kind of know what she has to do,” Calabrese said. “It was fun, it was different.”

While taking over in the middle of a game was challenging, the second game may have been even harder. The wind picked up, and with Aralyn Torres -- likely the fastest pitcher in the GMC Gold Division -- in the circle.

“It was difficult,” Calabrese said. “The glove was different and our pitcher’s so fast my hand was stinging a little bit.”

She acquitted herself well and performed admirably and courageously, her coach said.

“There was a little learning curve there for the first couple of innings,” Buonaguro said. “Aralyn throws a very heavy ball, with a lot of movement, but she (Calabrese) did a great job. She has natural instincts -- great athlete, great kid. She does anything she can for the team.”

While she certainly seemed to enjoy the experience, Calabrese is looking forward to returning to her usual position in the middle of the infield.

“I’ll be happy when Mikayla’s back,” she said.

Autism Awareness Challenge

The Autism Awareness Challenge returns to North Brunswick Community Park this weekend, with 14 softball and 20 baseball games, featuring seven of the teams listed in our area rankings.

There are some important games in the already-hectic GMC White Division race, with Colonia and Spotswood meeting at 4 p.m. Friday, and East Brunswick taking on division-leading Sayreville at 4 p.m. Saturday. The first Red Division rematch between last year’s GMCT finalists, St. Thomas Aquinas and Metuchen, will be played at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

While the matchups have remained the same, there are some time changes from the schedule we posted in our preseason previews. Here is the updated schedule:

Friday, April 19

Edison vs. Perth Amboy, 4 p.m.

Colonia vs. Spotswood, 4 p.m.

Piscataway vs. North Brunswick, 6:30 p.m.

Woodbridge Magnet vs. South River, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 20

Timothy Christian vs. Highland Park, 8:30 a.m.

Calvary Christian vs. Piscataway Magnet, 8:30 a.m.

Linden vs. Rahway, 11 a.m.

Perth Amboy Magnet vs. South Amboy, 11 a.m.

Irvington vs. East Brunswick Magnet, 1:30 p.m.

Metuchen vs. St. Thomas Aquinas, 1:30 p.m.

Monroe vs. J.P. Stevens, 4 p.m.

East Brunswick vs. Sayreville, 4 p.m.

J.F. Kennedy vs. Woodbridge, 6:30 p.m.

Middlesex vs. Carteret, 6:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball rankings and notebook: GMC and area UCC, through April 15