Yankees prospect Spencer Jones talks torpedo bats, plate consistency
Spencer Jones, the Yankees’ No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America, will be the big name to watch in Somerset to begin the 2025 season.
Courtesy of Somerset Patriots
County tournaments are underway – or about to get underway – conference races are coming into shape, and we’ve officially reached the heart of the 2025 season after another great week of softball around the Skyland Conference and western Union County.
Courier News softball Top 10
(Records through Monday)
1. Hunterdon Central (11-0) – last week No. 2 — The Red Devils keep rolling, picking up a hard-fought 3-2 Delaware Division win over North Hunterdon on Friday after four straight shutouts, including over Ridge and Allentown last week. Two huge games on tap against Watchung Hills this week that’ll decide the Delaware Division, with each club entering the week undefeated in conference playing their last two games. Central also has St. Thomas Aquinas and Randolph on tap this week.
2. Watchung Hills (10-3) – last week No. 1— The Warriors suffered their first two losses of the season last week, and fell again Monday, while picking up divisional wins over Immaculata and Hillsborough (twice). Watchung Hills sustained its first setback Wednesday, 1-0 at Morris Knolls, before being lambasted by Red Bank Catholic 11-1 in five innings Sunday at Cedar Grove’s Black and Gold Invitational and then falling to St. Thomas Aquinas 2-1 on Monday. The Warriors, who were awarded the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament and will be in SCT play in next Saturday’s quarterfinals, first must settle the division race with two against Central this week, plus games against Oak Koll and Roxbury.
3. Pingry (10-1) – last week No. 3 — The Big Blue, who were awarded the No. 2 seed in the Somerset County Tournament — first time the program has ever been seeded higher than No. 4 — posted two wins over Phillipsburg last week and a hugely impressive Friday win over Roxbury. Pingry and Bridgewater-Raritan will settle the Skyland Raritan Division race this week with games Tuesday and Thursday, before Pingry opens next week against Delaware Valley on Monday. The Big Blue only need one win over BR to win the outright title.
4. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (10-3) – last week No. 5 — The Raiders swept through four games last week, besting Cranford, Elizabeth, A.L. Johnson and Delaware Valley, with the win over ALJ especially satisfying, as Angelina Valente hit a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to walk the Raiders off, avenging a loss to the Crusaders earlier this year that came on a walkoff grand slam. SPF will take on Governor Livingston, Westfield and Roselle Park this week, before facing Westfield again next Monday.
5. Governor Livingston (10-4) – last week No. 6 — The Highlanders ran their winning streak to seven games with wins over Westfield, Brearley, Elizabeth and Summit last week, before seeing it snapped 4-3 Monday against Group 4 power Columbia. Governor Livingston will look to shake it off with a tough slate of games this week, facing Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Dayton in division and Non-Public state power Mount St. Dominic on Friday.
6. Westfield (8-6) – last week No. 7 – The Blue Devils picked up a couple of nice UCC wins last week, topping Dayton and Cranford, but dropped decisions to Governor Livingston and Roselle Park. Westfield gets A.L. Johnson on Tuesday and then a Thursday-Monday home-and-home with Scotch Plains-Fanwood with major county-tournament seeding implications riding on those contests.
7. North Hunterdon (8-6) – last week No. 4 — The Lions turned in a 4-2 week with two wins over Immaculata and then shutouts of Roxbury and Livingston by Layla Francisco and Skye Cooke, respectively, as well as a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Hunterdon Central. North, which has completed its division slate at 4-4, enters the week on a mini two-game winning streak and will look to build on it against Jefferson on Thursday before opening the HWST on Saturday against Belvidere or Newton.
8. Bridgewater-Raritan (8-2) – last week No. 9 — The Panthers have reeled off four in a row, including two more wins last week, both over Franklin, to stay alive in the Raritan Division race. That title will be decided this week, as BR plays two against Pingry. Bridgewater-Raritan needs to win both games to claim the crown. The Panthers, who are seeded No. 3 in the SCT, begin its county run in the quarterfinals May 10, will also take on Ridge this week.
9. Warren Hills (6-4) – last week not ranked — The Blue Streaks enter the rankings for the first time this year with their losses coming twice each to Pingry and Bridgewater-Raritan. Warren Hills also has two wins over Phillipsburg, a victory over Delaware Valley and Newton, and two over Bernards. Warren Hills will look to keep it going Tuesday with the first of two against Franklin next week, before the Streaks open their HWST run Saturday against either Lenape Valley or North Warren.
10. Delaware Valley (9-4) – last week No. 8 — The Terriers went 2-2 last week, falling to Nottingham and Scotch Plains-Fanwood, while sweeping a pair of Valley Division games against Montgomery, both via mercy rule. They then opened this week with a lopsided loss to Robbinsville. Del Val looks to wrap up the division race with two against Gill St. Bernard’s next week, before a second-round tri-county game Saturday against either Sparta or Hackettstown.
DROPPED OUT: Immaculata (3-8)
Joining the club
Four more local players joined the 100-hit club over the past week, including two in one day.
Immaculata senior Mollie Ferreira hit the century mark Tuesday during the Spartans game against North Hunterdon with a seventh-inning single.
Two more joined her Thursday, as Westfield’s Alex Laguna hit the milestone during a two-hit, three-run two-RBI performance in a six-inning drubbing of Dayton, while North Hunterdon’s Sammie Dougherty became the second Lions player to reach the hallowed hit mark this season, doing so during a win over Immaculata. Katie Reed got to 100 earlier this year.
Monday brought the latest member of the club, as Mount St. Mary senior pitcher Anna Ziccardi hit 100 in her team’s win over South Hunterdon. She later homered for her 101st hit. It was a double-milestone week for Ziccardi, who also recorded her 500th career strikeout Thursday.
County tournament roundup
County tournament season is officially underway as the 50th Somerset County Tournament got going Friday with No. 11 Franklin beating No. 14 Manville.
The two other first-round games were postponed from Saturday, with No. 10 seed Hillsborough taking care of No. 15 Montgomery on Monday to advance, while No. 12 Bound Brook plays host to No. 13 Rutgers Prep on Wednesday.
Second-round games are slated for Saturday with No. 9 Bernards at No. 8 Somerville, Hillsborough visiting No. 7 Mount St. Mary, Franklin at No. 6 Immaculata, and Bound Brook or Rutgers Prep traveling to fifth-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s
No. 1 seed Watchung Hills, No. 2 Pingry, No. 3 Bridgewater-Raritan and No. 4 Ridge get started in the quarterfinals on May 10.
The Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament bracket was released Friday, with play slated to get started Wednesday. Defending champ Hunterdon Central is the No. 1 seed and has a bye into the quarterfinals, as does second-seeded Pope John.
The Union County Tournament seeds are expected to be released next week, with play set to begin Wednesday, May 7.
Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, and has been on the softball beat since 1999. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus
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