SSI Softball Week 8 Top 10 Rankings

SSI Week 8 Softball Top 10

 

 

1. Donovan Catholic (24-1) Last Week: 2 – Donovan returns to the top spot for the second time this season after Red Bank Catholic’s early exit from the South Jersey Non-Public A sectional. The Griffins are the No. 1 seed and had a first round-bye and made easy work of their second round opponent Our Lady of Mercy. Sophomore Gylian Hixenbaugh pitched a no-hitter and struck out 8 batters in the 10-0 victory. Donovan will host the No. 4 seed St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday. If they win, the Griffins will play the winner of the Notre Dame/St. John Vianney game for the South Jersey Non-Public A title. 

 

2. St. John Vianney (17-2) Last WeeK: 3 – The Lancers began their defense of the Non-Public A title with an easy quarterfinal win over Camden Catholic. After a first round-bye, Madison McDougall only allowed one hit and struck out 12 batters in a 10-0 victory against Camden Catholic. SJV, who is the No. 3 seed, will host the No. 7 seed Notre Dame in the semifinal round on Tuesday. SJV defeated Notre Dame in the South Jersey Non-Public A championship 3-0 last year. 

3. Red Bank Catholic (19-5) Last Week: 1 – Unfortunately the Caseys had an early exit from the state tournament after winning their first Shore Conference Tournament in 15 years and becoming the No. 1 team in the Shore Conference. RBC lost to Notre Dame, the same team that ended their season last year, 2-0 in the quarterfinal round of the South Jersey Non-Public A sectional. RBC graduates several important players including Notre Dame commit Lily Hagan and North Carolina commit Nicole Knox. Knox will finish her career as the all time leader in hits with 176 and a .543 batting average.

4. Colts Neck (14-9) Last Week: 4 – Colts Neck continues to roll this season, winning their first two games in the Central Jersey Group 3 sectional. In the first round the Cougars beat Moorestown 12-3 and followed that with a 4-1 victory over Ewing. Angela Sasso has 23 strikeouts in the first two rounds for the No. 3 seed Colts Neck, only allowing one earned run. Colts Neck will play the winner of the Jackson Memorial/Middletown South game on Wednesday in the CJG3 semifinal round. The Cougars will host if Jackson Memorial wins in a rematch of their SCT game. Colts Neck defeated the Jaguars 5-2 on their way to the SCT final. Colts Neck will travel to Middletown South, who is the No. 2 seed, if the Eagles beat Jackson Memorial. Colts Neck defeated Middletown South 4-1 on 5/15.

5. Marlboro (13-12) Last Week: 5 – Marlboro started their march to the Central Jersey Group 4 final with two easy wins in the first two rounds. Marlboro, who is looking for their third straight CJG4 title, defeated Freehold Township in the opening round 7-1 and Edison 20-1 in the quarterfinal round. Junior Emily Gaudio has not allowed an earned run and has 18 strikeouts in the first two rounds for the No. 4 seed Marlboro. Marlboro will play the winner of Monday’s Hunterdon Central/Monroe game on Wednesday in the semifinal round of CJG4. Hunterdon Central is the No. 1 seed and Monroe is the No. 9 seed. 

 

6. Southern (17-8) Last Week: 7 – Southern has been no stranger to exciting come-from-behind wins this season with one against Barnegat in the Shore Conference Tournament. Southern was able to do it one more time in the quarterfinal round of South Jersey Group 4 sectional. Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the 7th against the No. 5 seed Cherokee, Southern scored three runs and Emily Evans hit the game winning double to move Southern into the semifinals. Evans also had two hits and a RBI in the opening round victory over Cherry Hill West. Southern will travel to play the No. 1 seed Kingsway in the semifinal round of SJG4 on Wednesday. 

 

7. Middletown North (11-11) Last Week: 6 –  Middletown North’s season came to an end in the first round of the Central Jersey Group 3 playoffs against the No. 9 seed Matawan. The Lions were held to just four hits and lost 5-0. Sophomore Grace English struck out 10 batters as she prepares to take over as the starting pitcher in 2026. Senior Madilynn Boyce’s season came to an end with an injury. The Seton Hall commit graduates with 1,050 strikeouts and became the 26th player in New Jersey’s history to reach the 1,000 milestone. 

 

8. Middletown South (17-5) Last Week: 8 – Middletown South defeated No. 10 Raritan last weekend to clinch Class B North before they played their opening round game in Central Jersey Group 3. The Eagles are the No. 2 seed and beat Brick Township in the opening round 11-4. Sophomore Celia Collings struck out 12 batters and did not allow an earned run in the first round victory. Middletown South will host the No. 7 seed Jackson Memorial on Monday in the quarterfinal round and the winner plays Colts Neck on Wednesday in the semifinal round. 

9. Raritan (21-4) Last Week 10: – The young Rockets season keeps moving along after they won their first two games in Central Jersey Group 2. Raritan, who went over 20 wins this week, defeated Monmouth in the first round 9-6. Senior Julia DelMasto had three hits and three runs scored in the game. Raritan followed that with a win against the No. 5 seed Bordentown in the quarterfinal round. Freshman Lila Houlihan, who had three RBIs in the first round, had a RBI double in the second round for Raritan. Raritan, who is the No. 4 seed, will travel to play top seeded Johnson on Wednesday in the CJG2 semifinal round. 

 

10. Pinelands (18-5) Last Week: 9 – Pinelands’ great season came to an end in the quarterfinal round of the South Jersey Group 3 sectional. The Wildcats spent the majority of the season in the SSI Top 10 rankings and were one of the last three teams to remain undefeated in the Shore Conference. First year head coach Kelly Fleck led the team to the Ocean County Tournament final and an 18 win season. The Wildcats only graduate two players, but they are two very important pieces. Pitcher Elianna Meola and catcher Hannah Theuret both had All-Shore type seasons and will be playing in college next year. 

 

Bubble: Barnegat, Jackson Memorial, New Egypt