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

Here’s the softball notebook and Top 10 rankings in the Skyland Conference and western Union County through April 15.

(Records through Monday)

1. Watchung Hills (5-1) – preseason No. 3 -- The Warriors, turned last year’s 2-11 start on its head, beginning 4-0 this season, with wins over Hunterdon Central, Immaculata, Bernards and Livingston, before suffering a setback to Governor Livingston, where ace Reily Bobrowski didn’t pitch. Watchung Hills opened this week by dealing Dayton (7-1) its first loss of the season, and will takes on Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central and Ramapo later this week, before a game at Montville next Monday.

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. North Hunterdon (4-2) – preseason No. 1 -- The Lions are off to a nice start against a brutally tough schedule, scoring Skyland Conference Delaware Division wins over Bridgewater-Raritan and Hunterdon Central, while beating state powers Livingston and Ramsey. North also lost a one-run decision to Steinert and were shutout by Robbinsville on Monday. North Hunterdon will take on No. 3 Immaculata on Tuesday at Diamond Nation, before a game with Roxbury and a rematch with Bridgewater-Raritan.

3. Immaculata (4-1) – preseason No. 2 -- The Spartans have picked up where they’ve left off after last year’s breakout season, winners of 4-of-5. That’s included triumphs over Hunterdon Central, Ridge, Bridgewater-Raritan and Pingry, with the only blemish coming last Tuesday at Watchung Hills in a game that was scoreless through five innings. Immaculata will play host to North Hunterdon and Hillsborough in Delaware Division tilts to start this week – both at Diamond Nation –before competing in Saturday’s Governor Livingston Tournament where it will open against Chatham.

4. Bernards (4-2) – preseason No. 4 -- The Mountaineers have opened 2-0 in their first year in the Raritan Division, beating Pingry and Ridge, and also have wins over Delaware Division foes Hillsborough and Bridgewater-Raritan. Bernards, which has losses to Brearley and Watchung Hills, will take on Warren Hills and Phillipsburg in division games this week.

5. Governor Livingston (6-1) – preseason not ranked – The Highlanders have been the most pleasant surprise of the early season, shaking off mass graduation losses to come screaming out to a 6-1 start, with the lone loss coming by one run to Bridgewater-Raritan in the second game of last Sunday’s Suicide Prevention event. Governor Livingston has topped Union, A.L. Johnson, Westfield and Ridge in lopsided affairs, and scored upsets of Group 4 powers Elizabeth and Watchung Hills. GL takes on Cranford, Dayton and Union Catholic, before hosting a four-team tournament Saturday that includes Watchung Hills, Brearley and Chatham.

6. Hunterdon Central (1-4) – preseason No. 5 -- The Red Devils, who have been without ace Emily Van Cleef, who is working her way back from an offseason injury – although Kaitlyn Kozak has done a solid job as the evey-day pitcher. Hunterdon Central got out to an 0-3 start, losing one-run games to Immaculata and Watchung Hills, before a 5-2 setback against North Hunterdon. The Red Devils rebounded with an 11-0 six-inning shutout of Hillsborough last Thursday, before dropping a one-run decision to Pope John on Monday. Central gets Bridgewater-Raritan and Watchung Hills in division this week, before taking on Morris Catholic and St. Thomas Aquinas.

7. Pingry (3-3) – preseason No. 9 -- The Big Blue are certainly holding their own in their first season since moving up to the Raritan Division, notching a 3-1 start in the conference with wins over Gill St. Bernard’s, Ridge and Warren Hills and a 7-6 loss to Bernards. Pingry other two setbacks gave some to state power Columbia, which won North 1 Group 4 last year, and Skyland power Immaculata. The Big Blue get Phillipsburg, Gill St. Bernard’s and Oak Knoll this week.

8. Phillipsburg (4-1) – preseason not ranked – The Stateliners are undefeated in a loaded Raritan Division, with wins over Ridge, Gill St. Bernard’s and Warren Hills, with the only loss coming opening day to Ewing. P’burg, which opened this week by topping Bridgewater-Raritan on Monday, will take on Pingry and Bernards – arguably the top two contenders in the division – before a Saturday meeting with Delaware Valley.

9. Westfield (3-2) – preseason No. 8 -- The Blue Devils have more than held their own against a tough early-season schedule, picking up wins over Union Catholic, Cranford and Monroe, while suffering losses to rival Governor Livingston and undefeated upstart Dayton. Westfield is scheduled to take on A.L. Johnson, Elizabeth, Union, Bridgewater-Raritan and Summit this week.

10. Ridge (1-5) – preseason No. 7 -- The Red Devils had a rough start, beginning the season with five straight losses – all to ranked teams – and four coming by two runs or fewer. Ridge finally got in the win column with a five-inning lopsided win over Franklin on Monday, and will look to keep it going this week facing Gill St. Bernard’s and Warren Hills.

DROPPED OUT: Hillsborough (1-5), Bridgewater-Raritan (1-7).

ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: New Providence (4-1), Scotch Plains-Fanwood (4-2).

UCC ALL-STAR GAME SET

The second annual Union County Conference All-Star Game is set for 6 p.m. Monday, June 17 at Kean University.

The event, which began last season, honors the top senior players in Union County, with coaches nominating their top 12th graders and a committee selecting the teams.

The Skyland Conference Senior All-Star Game is slated for Tuesday, June 11 at Diamond Nation.

SEWING THE SEEDS

We’re just two weeks into the new season, and some teams have played as few as two games, but the 2024 Somerset County Softball Tournament is scheduled to be seeded by the county’s coaches during a meeting Wednesday evening at Bound Brook High School.

Action is slated to begin Saturday with first-round games, with the second round scheduled for the following Saturday. The quarterfinals are May 4, the semifinals May 8, and the final on May 10 at the Nap Torpey Athletic Complex in Bridgewater.

Follow @SimeonPIncus on Twitter/X for live updates from the meeting, and the full bracket as soon as it becomes official. We’ll also have projections as to how we’d seed the tournament, due out Wednesday morning at MyCentralJersey.com.

The area’s two other county tournaments are scheduled to begin in early May, with the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament getting underway May 1 and the Union County Tournament slated to begin May 8.

SUSPENDED ANIMATION

While the weather took its toll on the early-season schedule, teams managed to dodge raindrops on some in-between days to get games in before that day’s storm arrived. That included last Thursday’s action where rain arrived in Central Jersey late in the afternoon. Many games were completed before the skies opened, but two were halted mid-game, forcing suspensions.

No. 1 Watchung Hills and No. 2 North Hunterdon were stopped in a scoreless affair in Clinton Township headed to the fifth inning. That game will be resumed at that point when the teams next meet, April 30 in Warren, prior to that day’s regularly scheduled contest.

Fraklin’s visit to Voorhees met a similar fate, as that game was suspended in the fourth inning with the teams tied 5-5. They’ll resume prior to the regularly scheduled game in Franklin, also on April 30.

Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, and has been on the softball beat since 1999. He can be reached at CourierSoftball@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Softball rankings and notebook: Skyland and area UCC, through 4/15