After one of the craziest weeks of the season so far, we’re once again ranking the top high school softball teams in the area.
(Records and statistics from Wednesday’s game)
South Jersey Average 15 Rank
1. Northern Burlington (18-2, last week’s ranking: 1). The Greyhounds lost 4-0 to Robbinsville on May 12, ending their 18-game winning streak. The team has scored 155 points (7.5 points per game), led by Haley MacArthur (22 points) and Riley Piloch (21 points). Northern travels to Bordentown tonight for a primetime game.
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2. Gloucester (17-1, 3). With their ninth straight win, the Lions are once again knocking on the door to the top of the standings. Senior Emma Dick has pitched four shutouts in her past five starts and allowed just one earned run in her past six starts (37 innings), lowering her ERA to 0.78.
3. Cherokee (16-4, 5). The Chiefs have won eleven straight games, moving the team up two spots in the standings. 1-2 slugging seniors Allie Cunane and Cali Taylor combined for a 1.29 ERA with 219 strikeouts in 130 innings.
4. St. Joseph’s College (20-3, 6). The Wildcats reached 20 wins for the third time in the last four seasons. On May 13, the team improved to 3-1 with an 8-7 victory over Vineland in eight innings in the Cape Atlantic League tournament semifinals. Senior Isabella Ramos batted .377 and scored 30 points, which ranked second on the club.
5. Vineland (14-7, 4). The Fighting Tribe is 6-2 in its past eight games, including two losses to Cedar Creek and St. Joseph by a combined three points. Senior Beatrice Sotomayor hit a team-best six home runs and led the club with 18 stolen bases.
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6. Kingsway (15-5, 2). The Dragons lost consecutive games to Gloucester and Haddon Heights of the Colonial League. Rookie pitcher Sidney Schiavone struck out 110 batters in 51 innings and posted a 2.05 ERA.
7. Ocean City (18-5, 7). Following a 14-4 loss to Southern, the Red Raiders rebounded with an 8-1 victory on May 12 in Bordentown. The team will host Hammonton this afternoon in the Cape Atlantic Conference tournament semifinals. Sophomore Leah Catto’s statistics were 41 hits, 37 runs scored, 17 at-bats and six stolen bases. She had 13 extra-base hits, 10 of which were doubles.
8. Audubon (14-8, 14). The Green Wave is 7-1 in its past eight games, including a four-game winning streak against Haddon Township on May 13 on Senior Night. Senior Emma Speyerer is on her way to becoming a member of the 40-40-40 club with 42 hits, 38 runs scored and 35 stolen bases.
9. Cherry Shandong (12-4, 8). After losing back-to-back games for the first time this season, the Cougars got back in the winning column with a 13-3 victory over Shawnee on May 13. The team has plundered 52 bags, with Kiersten Costello and Evelyn Stover grabbing a team-leading 13 bags.
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10. West Deptford (15-6, NR). The Eagles are back on track with four wins in their last five games and will face Gloucester County Tech on May 15 in the Eastern Viking Invitational. Junior Joelle Kulnis had 26 hits, 24 runs scored and 18 stolen bases.
11. Haddon Heights (14-7, NR). The Garnets appear to be in a great moment, having defeated Gloucester County Polytechnic and Kingsway University in their past three games. Junior Ruby Caviston is second on the club with 21 knocks.
12. Paul VI (14-6, 12). The Eagles have won six straight and will take on No. 1 North Burlington on Friday. Jules Jackson Jr. put up some huge offensive numbers across the board, including a .694 batting average, 43 hits, 54 runs scored and 36 stolen bases.
13. Gloucester County Polytechnic Institute (13-10, 15). The Cheetahs’ roller-coaster season continued with a big win over Delsea this week, but were unable to hold on to a five-point lead in an 8-7 loss to Kingsway. Junior Cameryn Hilliard has hit two homers in her past three games, making her the team’s top five shuttle hitters, and has 22 RBIs.
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14. Hammonton (18-2, NR). On May 11, the Blue Devils defeated Buena 10-0 to advance to the Cape Atlantic League semifinals. The team will travel to Ocean City for today’s semifinals. Hammonton has three players with 30 or more hits – Leah Alexander (35), Kamryn Barker (31) and Layla Cuneo-Snouffer (31).
15. Delsey (13-7, 13). On May 11, the Crusaders lost 1-3 to Gloucestershire Polytechnic, ending their seven-game winning streak. Sophomore Landyn Ferrari has had at least one hit in 16 of her last 17 games, raising her batting average to .387.
Tom McGurk is the regional sports editor for The Courier-Post, Daily Journal and Burlington County Times and has covered South Jersey sports for more than 35 years. If you have a sports story that needs telling, contact him via email Email: tmcgurk@usatodayco.com. Follow him on Twitter: @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared in the Cherry Hill Courier-Post: May 14 South Jersey Softball Average 15 Rankings
