Shore Sports Insider 2026 Week 8 Softball Top 10
Shore Sports Insider Softball Week 8 Top 10 Rankings
*Samantha Mayer contributed to this post*
1. St. John Vianney (23-0) Last Week: 1 – The last undefeated team left in the Shore Conference, the Lancers, won four games last week, including their second-round and quarterfinal games in the Shore Conference Tournament. In the second-round game, Madison McDougall pitched a no-hitter and struck out 19 batters in an 8-0 victory. She followed that performance with a four-inning no-hitter against Southern, during which junior Brynn Utter hit her 7th home run of the season. In that same 16-0 victory, the Lancers had three different players drive in three runs. Looking ahead, SJV will host the No. 4 seed Middletown South on Monday in the semifinal round, with the winner advancing to play on Thursday at Count Basie Park for the SCT title.
SJV’s Brynn Utter (Photo by Sam Mayer)
2. Donovan Catholic (24-1) Last Week: 2 – After being handed their first loss of the season on Monday against Steinert, Donovan rebounded with four straight victories to advance into the SCT semifinal round and earn the No. 1 seed in the South Jersey Non-Public A sectional. The Griffins beat Shore in the second round of the SCT 11-0. Donovan hit three home runs in that game, with Isabella Cino connecting on her 6th of the season. In the quarterfinal round, Caroline Kopp hit a 2-run home run to beat Barnegat 3-1 and advance into the semifinals. Gylian Hixenbaugh and Kopp both struck out seven batters against Barnegat. Donovan Catholic will host No. 3 Marlboro on Monday in the semifinal round. Marlboro ended the Griffins SCT tournament last season in the quarterfinal round.
Caroline Kopp hit a walk off single for Donovan against Robbinsville in the Shore vs CVC Challenge at Adventure Crossing. 4/18/26 Photo by Samantha Mayer
3. Marlboro (15-6) Last Week: 3 – Marlboro returns to the SCT semifinals for the third straight season after beating Matawan in the second round and Holmdel in the quarterfinal round. Freshman Savannah Joy hit a 2-run triple to lead the Mustangs at the plate, and Emily Gaudio only allowed one hit and struck out seven batters to earn the win against Matawan. Gaudio followed that with 11 strikeouts in a 2-0 victory over Holmdel. Marlboro will travel to Donovan Catholic in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game, in which Marlboro won 9-7. Donovan beat Marlboro on 5/9, 10-3.
Isabella Wuelfing scored all three runs for Marlboro against Steinert in the Shore vs CVC Challenge at Adventure Crossing. 4/18/26 Photo by Samantha Mayer
4. Middletown South (14-6) Last Week: 6 – The Eagles went 2-0 on the week, edging rival Middletown North 2-1 in extra innings in the second round of the Shore Conference Tournament, before edging Red Bank Catholic 4-3 in the quarterfinals. Junior pitcher Riley Smith recorded 15 strikeouts and allowed only four hits and a walk in the win over the Lions. The Eagles put together a four-run 6th inning and held on in the 7th in the win over the Caseys. Middletown South will travel to top-ranked St. John Vianney in the semifinals. The Lancers won both regular-season meetings.
Ciara Sparandero drove in Middletown South’s 3rd run in a 4-3 win over RBC in the SCT Quarterfinals. 5/16/26 Photo by Samantha Mayer
5. Red Bank Catholic (11-10) Last Week: 4 –
The Caseys dropped two of three games in the last week, including a 4-0 defeat against state-ranked Mount St. Dominic and a 4-3 loss to Middletown South. Sandwiched in between, Red Bank Catholic defeated Central, 4-2. Sophomore pitcher Mackenna Savage recorded 12 strikeouts in the win over Central. Junior SS Grace Lombardi hit a 2-run home run in the loss against Middletown South. The Caseys will turn their attention toward the South Jersey Non-Public A playoffs.
Grace Lombardi hit a 2-run home run to cut in the the Middletown South lead, 4-2, in the SCT Quarterfinal. 5/16/26 Photo by Samantha Mayer
6. Colts Neck (10-9) Last Week: 5 – Colts Neck opened the week with an 8-7 win over No. 7 Southern in a make-up game from earlier in the season. In the first round of the SCT, the Cougars beat Toms River North 10-0. Gabriella Bryce and her younger sister Adrianna Bryce both hit a home run in the game. Gabby went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored. Colts Neck’s SCT ended earlier after falling to Southern in a rematch, 13-3. Ace pitcher Angela Sasso missed the game due to emergency oral surgery. Since the Cougars won the game when both team’s were at full strength, they remain ahead in the rankings for now. Colts Neck is playing No. 8 Barnegat on Thursday as they prepare for the Central Group 3 sectional.
Gabby Bryce made several plays in the field for Colts Neck in their 3-0 win over Middletown North. 4/4/26 Photo by Samantha Mayer
7. Southern (12-9) Last Week: 7 – The Rams started the week hot with wins over St. Rose and Colts in the SCT, before dropping a pair of games to Seneca and St. John Vianney. Since Southern and Colts Neck split this season, and Colts Neck’s ace pitcher, Angela Sasso, did not play in the game the Rams won, Southern remains ranked seventh for now. Southern hosts Pinelands on Tuesday, as they shape up for the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs.
Brooke Sutter finished with 6 strikeouts to earn the win in the OCT Championship against TRE at Adventure Crossing. 5/6/26 Photo by Samantha Mayer
8. Barnegat (19-2) Last Week: 8 – Barnegat came close to knocking No. 2 Donovan Catholic out of the SCT in the quarterfinal round and taking a big leap in the rankings, but lost 3-1. Sophomore Brooke Rizzo hit a solo home run in the 4th inning, but that was all the runs the Bengals could produce. Junior Gianna Gomez only allowed two hits and struck out 10 batters to raise her total to 292 on the season. In the second round, Barnegat beat No. 10 Raritan 10-0. Both Riley Schmidt and Gianna Skwirut hit 3-run home runs in the victory. Barnegat will travel to Freehold Boro on Tuesday and No. 6 Colts Neck on Thursday as they prepare for the South Jersey Group 2 sectional.
Barnegat’s Gianna Gomez (Photo by SidelineSamsShots)
9. Holmdel (15-4) Last Week: 9 – Holmdel had only two games this week, both in the SCT. After earning a bye in the first round, Holmdel beat Howell 9-0 in the second round. Four players drove in two runs in that game. Natalie Clifford went 3-for-4 with two RBI’s, and Julia Henderson went 2-for-4 with two RBI’s. Freshman Amanda Tuccillo went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Henderson struck out 10 batters in the shutout victory. In the quarterfinals, the Hornets put up a hard-fought fight against No. 3 Marlboro but fell 2-0. Henderson had both of Holmdel’s hits in that game. Holmdel does not have any games scheduled for this week, but will look to get ready for the Central Jersey Group 2 sectional, where they are projected to be the 6-seed.
Holmdel’s Molly Debias belting a solo home run to start the game (Photo by Samantha Mayer)
10. Raritan (17-7) Last Week: 10 – Raritan started the week with a 10-4 win over New Egypt in a tune-up game before the SCT. In the first round, Raritan beat Toms River South 17-2. The Rockets had 20 hits in that game, with Payton Fleming and Janelle Clausi both going 4-for-4 with four runs scored. Lila Houlihan also went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs in the victory. Raritan fell to the 7-seed Barnegat 10-0 in the second round. Raritan picked up games against South Brunswick on Tuesday and Colonia on Friday as they prepare for the Central Jersey Group 2 sectional.
Bubble:
Shore
Central
Middletown North
