Softball rankings and notebook: Greater Middlesex Conference, area UCC, through April 22

Here are the softball notebook and Top 10 rankings in the Greater Middlesex Conference and southern Union County through April 22.

(Records through Monday)

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (7-2) - last week No. 1 — The Trojans continued their dominance over the GMC Red Division last week with divisional wins over South Plainfield, J.P. Stevens, Monroe and Metuchen. St. Thomas takes on four divisional foes in four days this week beginning Wednesday, facing taking J.P. Stevens, Old Bridge, South Plainfield and South Brunswick on successive days.

More: Softball roundup: Daily results and links for Skyland Conference, GMC, area Union County

More: Softball ballot: Vote for Central Jersey Player of the Week for Week 3

2. South Plainfield (6-2) - last week No. 2 — The Tigers suffered their first defeats in back-to-back shutout losses to Highstown and St. Thomas, respectively, before rallying with victories over Metuchen and Roselle Park. More divisional action this week at Monroe on Thursday, at St. Thomas on Friday, and against J.P. Stevens on Saturday evening at Pitts Street Park.

3. Old Bridge (8-3) - last week No. 3 — The Knights compiled a 3-1 record last week, including a divisional win over J.P. Stevens, GMC triumphs over J.F. Kennedy and East Brunswick, and a non-conference loss to Bordentown. Old Bridge gets an opportunity to avenge its 1-0 loss to St. Thomas on Thursday, in between divisional rematches at South Brunswick on Tuesday and at Metuchen on Saturday.

4. Spotswood (9-2) - last week No. 5 — The Chargers extended their winning streak to nine games with wins over Perth Amboy, J.F. Kennedy and Ewing, before falling to Colonia. Spotswood faces ranked divisional foes Woodbridge, Sayreville and East Brunswick this week, with South Plainfield on deck next Monday.

5. East Brunswick (7-4) - last week No. 8 — The Bears posted divisional wins over Colonia and Woodbridge, fell to Old Bridge outside the division, then fell again to divisional rival Sayreville. East Brunswick faces challenges within its division from Sayreville and Spotswood this week, sandwiched around a non-conference test with West Morris.

6. Colonia (7-4) - last week No. 7 — The Patriots knocked off Woodbridge to begin the week and Spotswood to end it, with a loss to East Brunswick and a win over Perth Amboy in between. Colonia confronts a five-game week with the toughest tests likely coming from outside the White Division, at Old Bridge on Monday and at home against North Brunswick on Saturday.

7. Woodbridge (4-4) - last week unranked — The Barrons grace the Top 10 for the first time after defeating Sayreville (twice) and J.F. Kennedy, despite losses to Colonia and East Brunswick. Woodbridge begins a five-game road swing Monday at Sayreville and Tuesday at Spotswood, ending next Monday at Old Bridge.

8. Sayreville (6-3) - last week No. 4 —The Bombers drop after a pair of losses to Woodbridge, sandwiched around abbreviated triumphs over North Brunswick and East Brunswick. Following Monday’s rematch with Woodbridge, Sayreville remains in the division with games against East Brunswick, Spotswood and North Plainfield.

More: Softball Player of the Week: Sayreville’s Caydence Barton

9. Metuchen (2-5) - last week No. 6 — The Bulldogs fell to the area’s top two teams, St. Thomas and South Plainfield, last week, but have yet to beat a team with a winning record. They stay within the Red Division this week against Monroe and J.P. Stevens, before hosting Old Bridge on Saturday.

10. North Brunswick (9-1)- last week No. 9 —The Raiders split games with White Division contenders East Brunswick (win) and Sayreville (loss), swept a doubleheader from Perth Amboy, and quickly dispatched Piscataway. Another hectic week awaits with a critical Blue Division rematch against Middlesex on Friday, followed by stepping up to face Colonia on Saturday.

ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Middlesex (8-3), Monroe (4-5), South Brunswick (4-7).              

On the mend

Few area teams lost more to graduation than Metuchen, which bade farewell to a quartet of sluggers who provided 30 of 41 home runs and 127 of 207 RBI for the GMCT finalists last year.

But the Bulldogs also suffered a major loss in a scary way.

Second baseman Kiara Guzman was peddling on her bicycle a couple of days before tryouts were to begin last month, when she said she saw a car with a distracted driver headed in her direction. While the petite junior did her best to get out of the way, the car clipped her back tire and the impact of her fall caused a displaced hairline fracture of her wrist, which required surgery.

“He was looking down at his phone, he turned, and by the time I tried to get away it was too late,” Guzman said. “When it first happened, I couldn’t sleep. The last thing I saw was his bumper, but everything else I forgot.”

Guzman made her return Saturday as a courtesy and pinch runner in Metuchen’s 3-2 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas at the Autism Awareness Challenge. She even scored one of the Bulldogs’ two runs on Ava Barasch’s two-out, seventh-inning double that broke up a back-to-back, no-hit bid by the Trojans’ Hailey Wierczerzak.

“It feels great, anything’s better than not playing,” Guzman said about returning to the field, albeit in a limited capacity. “It feels good, it makes me happy. Since I got hurt, I’ve been trying to think of ways to get back in the game.”

While the accident has left her reluctant to drive or even cross a street, said said, she showed no hesitancy on the basepaths. She took off to steal second on her very first pitch as a runner and promptly dove head-first into second base in beating the throw.

“That’s exactly what I told her not to do,” Metuchen first-year head coach Michelle Huff, a former assistant with the program, said with a grin, noting Guzman’s return had been cleared medically, administratively and with her family. “I know that in that situation her adrenalin’s going and she just goes all-out for everything. This is the happiest I’ve seen her, to be able to be out on that field.”

The senior was initially distraught about the thought of missing her senior campaign, but has used it as motivation with a goal of returning after her cast is removed on May 7. Once the hard cast was in place, she began fielding ground balls and she recently began taking a few swings at the plate.

“I refuse to take a break,” Guzman said. “It hurts seeing them on the field. While I think it’s like a motivator to get on the field, some days are easier than others. I’ve just got to keep going.”

With Metuchen adjusting to playing small ball this spring, after blasting the ball all over the yard last year, Guzman’s contributions have been sorely missed. She batted .420, drove in 25 runs and scored 28, even belting a pair of home runs.

“She’s like a spark of lightning out there,” Huff said. “We’re blessed to have her. She makes things happen. I can’t wait until she can have a bat in her hand and a glove on her hand.”

Guzman will attend Gulf Coast State College in Florida next fall with the dream of moving on to an SEC program in two years.

In the meantime, she has a message for her fellow students who might be tempted to text while driving.

“Don’t do it,” she implored. “It’s scary when you get hit.”

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball rankings and notebook: GMC, area UCC, through April 22