Shore Sports Insider 2026 Week 3 Softball Top 10

Shore Sports Insider Softball Week 3 Top 10 Rankings

*Samantha Mayer contributed to this post*

 

1. St. John Vianney (5-0) Last Week 1: 

St. John Vianney continues to roll through all opponents, picking up four wins last week. The Lancers’ biggest win was a 4-1 victory over Columbia, currently ranked No. 4 in New Jersey. Senior Madison McDougall struck out 16 batters to raise her total to 58 on the season. McDougall has also allowed only one earned run this season. Sophomore Lexi Csontos showed her pop, hitting her first two career home runs and driving in nine runs during the week. The Lancers started the week with division wins over No. 4 Colts Neck and Middletown North, improving to 3-0 in the American Division. SJV hosts St. Rose on Monday in a non-division game to start the week. The Lancers follow that with two divisional games against No. 4 RBC on Tuesday and No. 3 Middletown South on Thursday. They defeated Middletown South 5-0 in their first game of the season.

2. Donovan Catholic (6-0) Last Week: 2 

Donovan Catholic had a busy week, picking up four wins, two of them in the Freedom Division. They started the week with lopsided wins over Pinelands and Point Boro, improving to 4-0 in the division. The Griffins ended the week with non-conference wins over Pope John and Immaculate Heart, who were ranked No. 8 in New Jersey. Junior Gylian Hixenbaugh has not allowed an earned run all season and struck out 31 batters over 23 innings of work. Classmate Isabella Cino drove in four RBI’s against IHA and continues to stay red hot at the plate. Donovan travels to Southern on Monday and Central on Wednesday to play two more divisional games. On Saturday, they play Robbinsville in the Shore vs the CVC at Adventure Crossing in Jackson Township.

3. Middletown South (5-1) Last Week: 3

Middletown South has extended its win streak to four games after a shutout against Marlboro and a 13-6 win against crosstown rival Middletown North. Junior Celia Collings knocked in four RBI’s in those two games, and Mia Collins drove in a run in both games for the Eagles. Riley Smith is averaging 10 strikeouts a game in her first six games on the mound. Middletown South hosts No. 5 Colts Neck on Tuesday and travels to No. 1 St. John Vianney on Thursday. The Eagles fell 5-0 in the first meeting against SJV. They end the week on Saturday against Notre Dame in the Shore vs CVC at Adventure Crossing in Jackson Township.

4. Red Bank Catholic (3-2) Last Week: 5

Red Bank Catholic came into the week on fire with an 8-1 win over No. 4 Colts Neck. Grace Lombardi led the team with two hits and three runs scored in the game. Brooke Rodriguez had a total of 3 RBIs against the Cougars. RBC was handed their second loss of the season, falling to No. 6 Marlboro 2-1 in 10 innings. Mackenna Savage struck out 14 batters in the game, raising her total to 74 on the season. RBC has another tough week ahead, facing No. 1 SJV Tuesday on the road and Middletown North Thursday on the road. The Caseys play Allentown on Saturday in the Shore vs. CVC tournament at Adventure Crossing in Jackson Township.

5. Colts Neck (2-3) Last Week: 4 

Colts Neck started the week off slow, losing to RBC 8-1, but finished strong in the division with a big walk-off win over Marlboro. It was a big offensive day with the Cougars collecting 15 hits in the game, including three home runs by Adrianna Bryce, Gabriella Bryce, and Julia Watkins. Colts Neck had no light games this week, facing RBC, SJV, Marlboro, and ending with Mount St. Dominic, which is the No. 1 team in New Jersey. Gabriella Bryce is leading the team with eight hits and a .615 average. This week is another tough week for the Cougars, facing No. 3 Middletown South on Tuesday and No. 6 Marlboro on Thursday in two divisional games. Colts Neck will play Northern Burlington in the Shore Vs. CVC tournament on Saturday at Adventure Crossing in Jackson Township.

6. Marlboro (2-2) Last Week: 6 

Marlboro had a solid week with an extra-inning game, beating No. 5 RBC 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th. Emily Gaudio has had a  strong start on the mound with a 1.16 ERA. Gaudio struck out 13 batters against the Caseys. Sam Gellis hit her first career home run to tie the game in the 3rd inning. Gaudio and Isabella Wuelfing are leading the team on average. Early this week, they will be facing Old Bridge in a non-conference game and Middletown North on Tuesday in a division game. Thursday is the rematch against No. 5 Colts Neck. The Mustangs fell to the Cougars 12-11 in the 7th inning last week. Marlboro scored six runs in the top of the 7th to tie the game. They end the week in the Shore vs. CVC tournament against Steinert (2025 state champs). Marlboro has proven to be a tough opponent in each game, forcing other teams to rise to the challenge.

7. Barnegat (6-0) Last Week: 7

Barnegat is one of two Ocean County teams to appear in the rankings the last two weeks. They won three games last week to remain undefeated on the season. They started the week with wins over Toms River South, 16-2, and Point Beach, 17-2, improving to 4-0 in the Independence Division. The defeated Pinelands 4-1 to earn a non-division win. Junior Gianna Gomez struck out 16 batters in the game to raise her total to 89 Ks on the season. Freshman Mikaila Wickham has had a great start to her rookie season, batting .500 and hitting two home runs. One of the home runs was a grand slam, giving her eight RBI’s this season. Barnegat travels to Brick Memorial on Monday and Toms River East on Wednesday in two division games. A win over TRE will give Barnegat a leg up in the Independence Division.

8. Holmdel (4-0) Last Week: 8

Holmdel is one of six teams to remain undefeated to start the season and is 4-0 in the Colonial Division after picking up wins against Matawan and Howell last week. Senior Julia Henderson allowed only two hits and struck out 10 batters against Howell. Freshman Amanda Tuccillo has had a great start to her rookie season, batting .562 in the first four games. Against division rival Matawan, she had three hits and drove in three runs. Holmdel hosts Freehold Township on Tuesday and travels to Wall on Thursday in two division games. The Hornets beat Wall 14-2 in the first game of the season. Holmdel hosts Point Beach on Saturday in a non-divisional game to end the week.

9. Freehold Boro (6-0) Last Week: Not Ranked 

The newest team to appear in the rankings and the fifth undefeated team in the Shore Conference, the Colonials defeated No. 10 St. Rose 12-1 and Monmouth 8-3 to improve to 4-0 in the Constitution Division. Freehold Boro also picked up wins against Middletown North and Toms River North in non-divisional games. Freshman Vanessa Karabin has a 2.00 ERA to start the season and has a .476 AVG. Juniors Paige Sheridan and Katherine Martin are both batting over .500 and have driven in a combined 20 runs for the Colonials. Freehold Boro will travel to No. 10 Raritan on Monday in a big non-divisional game. They host Ocean Township on Tuesday and Manalapan on Thursday in two divisional games. The Colonials end the week playing Manasquan for the second time in their second division game. They defeated Manasquan 17-2 in the season opener, with freshman Jackie Russo driving in five runs in the game.

10.Raritan (5-2) Last Week: 9

Raritan had a busy week, playing five games and going 4-1. The Rockets lost to Central in a non-divisional game. Raritan opened the week with two division wins over Freehold Township and Howell, combining for a 30-3 score. On Saturday, Raritan hosted the Stephanie Coonan Challenge and played two games. In the first game, they scored three runs in the bottom of the 7th to defeat Woodbridge 6-5. The Rockets defeated Spotswood 8-2 in the second game. Junior Holly Bellofatto has hit four home runs and driven in 14 runs to start the season for Raritan. Sophomore Lila Houlihan is right behind her with two home runs and 11 RBI’s. Raritan hosts No. 9 Freehold Boro on Monday in a non-divisional battle. The Rockets travel to Wall on Tuesday in a division game.

 

Dropped Out:

St. Rose

Bubble:

Middletown North

Toms River East

Central