Shore Sports Insider 2026 Week 4 Softball Top 10

Shore Sports Insider Softball Week 4 Top 10 Rankings

*Samantha Mayer contributed to this post*

 

1. St. John Vianney (10-0) Last Week 1: – St. John Vianney remains undefeated but had a big scare on Saturday in its second game of the day. After beating Steinert 5-2 in the Shore vs CVC Challenge, the Lancers had to travel to Immaculate Heart for game two and needed a 7th inning 2-run home run by Gabby Gonzalez to win 7-6. The Lancers were trailing 3-1 going into the 5th inning when they scored four runs. Earlier in the week, they improved their division record to 5-0 with wins over No. 4 Red Bank Catholic and No. 3 Middletown South. St. John Vianney hosts No. 4 Marlboro on Monday and travels to Middletown North on Wednesday in two division games.

 

2. Donovan Catholic (9-0) Last Week: 2 – Donovan Catholic had to fight for its win on Saturday in the Shore vs CVC Challenge at Adventure Crossing. Caroline Kopp hit a walk-off single to the gap to score Bella Maria after Robbinsville scored two runs in the 6th to tie the game. Kopp also earned the victory on the mound in relief. Earlier in the week, the Griffins defeated Southern and Central to improve to 6-0 in the Freedom Division. Freshman Kourtney Murphy had six RBI’s in those two games for Donovan. Donovan travels to Jackson on Tuesday and hosts Pinelands on Thursday in two divisional games. On Saturday, they play Gloucester Tech in the South Jersey Classic.

 

3. Middletown South (7-2) Last Week: 3 – The Eagles have been on fire and flying high. With only two losses on the season, both to top-ranked St. John Vianney, the Eagles have come out on top against every other opponent. Early this week, they beat Colts Neck 9-1. Their game of the week was in the Shore vs. CVC challenge against Notre Dame. Tied going into the bottom of the 7th, Nora Sarcone hit a shot to right field for a solo in the park home run to win the game. Riley Smith has been an absolute force on the mound with 76 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched with a 1.30 ERA. The RBI’s are all over the stat sheet, with Ceilia Collins leading the team with eight. This has been a total team effort behind Smith in the circle. Middletown South hosts No. 5 RBC on Monday and No. 4 Marlboro on Wednesday. The Eagles defeated RBC 3-1 on 4/2 and Marlboro 3-0 on 4/7 in the first round of divisional games. On Saturday, they travel to No. 9 Raritan in a rematch of last season’s division rivalry.

 

4. Marlboro (6-2) Last Week: 6 – Marlboro had a big week, winning all four of its games. The Mustangs have consistently proven to be a strong opponent despite their tough schedule. Emily Gaudio is at a total of 59 strikeouts for the season, hitting a milestone early in the week with her 400th strikeout. Bella Wuelfing batted .522 with eight hits in the four games last week. Right back at it, they start off the week with No. 1 St. John Vianney, who is currently undefeated. They have another great divisional matchup against No. 3 Middletown South and finish the week off with two non-conference games against Sayreville and Immaculate Heart.

 

5. Red Bank Catholic (5-3) Last Week: 4 – Red Bank Catholic went 2-1 on the week. They finished strong with an exciting game against Allentown in the Shore vs. CVC Challenge. Grace Grimaldi singled in extra innings to push Grace Lombardi across the plate to win it. A true pitchers’ duel, the score remained close throughout the game. RBC beat Middletown North 8-2 but fell short early in the week with a 6-0 loss to No. 1 St. John Vianney. Mackenna Savage is currently at a .69 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 61 IP. Grace Lombardi is leading the team offensively with a .483 batting average. RBC travels to No. 3 Middletown South on Monday. The Caseys lost 3-1 in the first meeting. On Wednesday, they host No. 6 Colts Neck in their second divisional game of the week. On Saturday, they play Randolph at Cedar Grove.

 

6. Colts Neck (2-6) Last Week: 5 – Colts Neck has dropped four straight since beating Marlboro on 4/9 in a thriller. The Cougars’ losses are to some of the best teams in New Jersey and the Shore Conference. Senior Angela Sasso returned Saturday after missing several games on the mound. She held Northern Burlington to just one run, striking out 12 batters. Colts Neck tried to rally with two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning. Senior Gabby Bryce hit a double down the line, giving her 100 hits in her career, but she was thrown out at home on a single by Adrianna Bryce to center. Colts Neck will travel to Middletown North, who they beat 3-0 in the first game of the season, and No. 5 RBC on Wednesday in two divisional games. On Friday, they host No. 9 Raritan in a non-divisional game, and on Saturday, they play Columbia on the road in a non-conference game.

 

7. Barnegat (10-0) Last Week: 7 – Barnegat had a busy week, winning all four games they played. They started the week with division wins over Brick Memorial and Toms River East, both very close games. Gianna Gomez struck out 22 batters in an 8-inning win over Brick Memorial and followed that with 14 strikeouts against the Raiders. Gomez leads the state with 138 strikeouts. The top seed in the Ocean County Tournament, Barnegat, had an easy first-round game but had to come from behind to defeat Pinelands 3-2 in the second round. The Bengals travel to New Egypt on Tuesday and host Toms River South on Thursday in two divisional games. Barnegat currently holds a two-game lead over Toms River East and Toms River South in the Independence Division.

 

8. Holmdel (7-0) Last Week: 8 – Holmdel remains undefeated after winning three games last week. They started the week with division wins over Freehold Township and Wall to improve to 6-0 in the Colonial Division, and ended the week with a lopsided win over St. Rose in a non-divisional game. Senior Julia Henderson drove in eight runs during the week and hit her second career home run. She also struck out 30 batters in those three victories. Holmdel has a huge divisional matchup against No. 9 Raritan on Monday. They beat Raritan 6-2 on 4/2 in their second game of the season. The Hornets also host Howell on Wednesday in a division game and Trinity Hall on Friday in a non-divisional game.

 

9. Raritan (7-2) Last Week: 10 – Raritan extended its winning streak to four games last week with a non-divisional win over No. 9 Freehold Boro and a 12-6 divisional win over Wall. Junior Madison Regiec drove in six runs in two games, and sophomore Lila Houlihan brought in four runs last week for the Rockets. Raritan travels to No. 8 Holmdel on Monday in a big division game. A win by Raritan will put them in a tie with Holmdel for first place in the Colonial Division. Raritan will host Freehold Township on Wednesday in their second division game of the week. The weekend will bring the Rockets’ biggest tests of the season. They travel to No. 6 Colts Neck on Friday and host No. 3 Middletown South, last year’s division rival, on Saturday.

 

10. Toms River East (6-2) Last Week: Not Ranked – Toms River East has won six out of its last seven games, its only loss to division rival Barnegat. Both losses have come against No. 7 Barnegat this season in two close games. The Raiders rebounded by winning the first two rounds of the Ocean County Tournament and advancing to the semifinals. They won their first two games by a combined score of 22-4. Brianna DeLima struck out nine batters and did not allow a run against Point Boro in the second round. Junior Kylie Paladino drove in six runs and hit two home runs on Saturday in the Ocean County Tournament. Toms River East hosts Toms River South on Tuesday and Brick Memorial on Thursday in two division games.

 

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Freehold Boro

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Middletown North

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