Softball Top 20 for May 22: Yet another new No. 1 emerges right before postseason

With the state tournament just a week away, conventional wisdom would suggest that the picture of who the state’s best teams are would get clearer and clearer.

And yet, 10 teams in last week’s Top 20 took a combined 13 losses to teams that were either ranked behind them, or in some cases, not ranked at all.

Those losses, coupled with head-to-head results complicated things and led to plenty of upheaval and movement among the state’s top teams — far more than you’d expect at this stage of the season.

While certain teams moved into or out of the Top 10, the real story is that for the fifth time this season, there’s a new No. 1 team in the state heading into the state tournament.

Who is the new No. 1? What other teams moved up or down or even dropped out of the rankings altogether this week?

Check out the full NJ.com Softball Top 20 for May 22 — the last of the regular season — below.

1-Red Bank Catholic (19-3)

Last week: No. 4

The Caseys won the Shore Conference title for the first time in 15 years with a dominant 9-1 win over Colts Neck in Monday night’s final. The championship followed a second win of the season over then-No. 1 St. John Vianney, 1-0, with Lily Hagan providing the shutout and freshman Mackenna Savage delivering a solo home run. Now, it’s Red Bank Catholic ascending to the top spot in the rankings, setting another program milestone and becoming the fourth team this year to grab the No. 1 ranking.

Up next: May 27 at Mount St. Dominic

2-Donovan Catholic (22-1)

Last week: No. 3

The Griffins picked up a huge win over then-No 2 Kingsway when Sophia Senger hit a three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to win 5-2, on Tuesday. The victory did more than just give Donovan a big non-league win and move it up a spot in the rankings. It nudged the Griffins past Red Bank Catholic and into the No. 1 spot in the power rankings on the cutoff, meaning it will only have to beat either the Caseys or St. John Vianney and not both to capture a sectional title.

Up next: TBA in South, Non-Public A first round

3-St. John Vianney (14-2)

Last week: No. 1

The Lancers fell in the semifinals of the Shore Conference tournament, 1-0, to Red Bank Catholic for their second defeat in three games against the Caseys this season. The teams seem to be on a collision course for a fourth meeting in the South Jersey Non-Public A playoffs. Despite the loss, the Lancers have given up just one run in the last six games.

Up next: Saturday at Steinert

4-Mount St. Dominic (21-3)

Last week: No. 7

The Lions crack the Top 5 for the first time since early April thanks to one of the most impressive weeks of any team in the field. Coach Rob Stern’s group picked up four Top 20 wins last week, including two over Columbia and a decisive 6-2 win over Cedar Grove in the Essex County final and a win over a Top 20 Passaic Valley squad as well to cap off the week. They take on North, Non-Public B contender St. Mary (Ruth.) on Friday and new-No. 1 ranked team Red Bank Catholic right before the postseason.

Up next: Friday vs. St. Mary (Ruth)

5-Immaculate Heart (20-1)

Last week: No. 6

Winners of 12 in a row heading into the finals of the Bergen County Tournament, IHA picked up a 6-1 ranked win over Ramapo in the county semifinals and then followed that up with a 10-0 win over Northern Highlands. IHA is looking to become the first team to ever win four Bergen County titles in a row when it plays No. 11 Ramsey on Saturday as they have an 18-5 scoring differential so far in three tournament games.

Up next: Thursday at Old Tappan

6-Kingsway (20-2)

Last week: No. 2

The Dragons lost on Tuesday in a walk-off fashion to Dominic Catholic, 5-2, to suffer their first defeat of the season. Whether it was a letdown, the weather or running into a red-hot Audubon team, Kingsway suffered a 9-3 loss the next day in a game in which it committed six errors.

Up next: May 28 vs. TBA, South, Group 4 first round

7-Steinert (15-3)

Last week: No. 5

The top-seeded Spartans were upset in the semifinals of the Colonial Valley Conference, 2-1, by Hightstown, which went on to capture the tournament title. Steinert will continue its brutal non-conference schedule with games against Cedar Grove and St. John Vianney before heading to the postseason.

Up next: Thursday at No. 8 Cedar Grove

8-Cedar Grove (19-5)

Last week: No. 12

The Panthers went 2-1 last week and despite a 6-2 loss to Mount St. Dominic in the Essex County Tournament finals, still move up due in part to all the chaos involving teams that were ranked ahead of them last week losing. They beat an always strong Hanover Park team 3-2 in a game where All-State ace Cayce Kavakich only tossed two innings.

Up next: Thursday vs. No. 7 Steinert

9-Columbia (17-5)

Last week: No. 10

The Cougars move up despite two losses to Mount St. Dominic and a win over West Essex again as teams ranked ahead of them last week took losses and created havoc in the process. Wayne Valley and a Top 10 Morris Knolls team loom for coach Cliff Smith’s group, which has one of the state’s top pitchers in Claire Shupe, who has a .52 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 134 innings pitched.

Up next: Thursday vs. Wayne Valley

10-Morris Knolls (16-4)

Last week: No. 9

Morris Knolls rounds out the Top 10 this week despite an unranked loss to a West Morris team they beat earlier this year. They also beat Sparta, 9-3 and have several big wins over the course of the season. The favorite in North 1, Group 4, they host No. 9 Columbia on Friday in what could be a possible North 1 vs. North 2 Group 4 semifinal preview.

Up next: Friday vs. No. 9 Columbia

11-Ramsey (19-2)

Last week: No. 15

Since a 1-2 start to the season, Ramsey has won 18 in a row and in three games last week, they allowed just one run, in a 7-1 win over Westwood. They picked up a big 2-0 win over Ridgefield Park in the county semifinals and are back in the county finals for the second time in three years, this time taking on IHA as the Blue Eagles are trying to become the first team to ever win four county titles in a row.

Up next: Saturday vs. No. 5 Immaculate Heart, Bergen County Final

12-St. Thomas Aquinas (17-4)

Last week: No. 19

The Trojans have been on a dominant run to the finals of the GMC Tournament, not allowing a run in three tournament games so far, outscoring the opposition 19-0. Winners of 10 GMC titles overall, they’ll have a tough task ahead of them, as they’ll take on South Plainfield for the third time this season, with Aquinas winning the first meeting, 14-4, and South Plainfield taking the second meeting, 4-3.

Up next: Friday vs. South Plainfield, GMC Tournament Final

13-Delsea (20-1)

Last week: No. 11

The Crusaders saw their undefeated season go up in smoke when they lost at Pennsville, 7-5, on Wednesday. Ten walks on the wet day did them in. They will play their senior night game on Thursday in a rematch of the Eastern Viking Invitational final won by Delsea, 7-6. Prior to the loss to Pennsville, Delsea escaped a second test against Triton, winning in extra innings to capture a perfect season in the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division.

Up next: Thursday vs. West Deptford

14-Vineland (18-3)

Last week: No. 8

The Fighting Clan, who have been experts at winning close games this season, suffered back-to-back losses this week. Vineland was doubled up by rival Millville, 6-2, and then fell 4-2 to St. Joseph (Hamm.) in the championship game of the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament. The Fighting Clan had two previous wins over the Wildcats and one against the Thunderbolts.

Up next: May 28 vs. TBA, South, Group 4 first round

15-Pope John (14-5)

Last week: Unranked

It was a historic week last week for coach Frank Canning’s group as the Lions captured their first Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex title since 2017 with a 3-1 win over then-No. 14 Hunterdon Central, avenging an earlier 3-0 loss to the Red Devils. They take on two other fellow county champs in the coming days — traveling to Wayne on Thursday to take on DePaul and then host Somerset county champs Immaculata on Saturday ahead of the state tournament.

Up next: Thursday at DePaul

16-Hunterdon Central (19-2)

Last week: No. 14

The Red Devils lost just their second game all season last week in a 3-1 game against Pope John, who Hunterdon Central beat earlier this year. They also beat a then-ranked Morris Catholic squad, 6-2, and followed up the Pope John loss with a 14-0 win over Phillipsburg. The odds on favorite in Central, Group 4, coach Kelly Rieder boasts one of the state’s best pitchers in Emily Van Cleef, who has 217 strikeouts and a .41 ERA in 138 innings.

Up next: Thursday vs. Bridgewater-Raritan

17-Watchung Hills (17-6)

Last week: No. 13

It was a 3-1 week last week for the Warriors, but the one loss — to an unranked Immaculata team in the Somerset County final — caused their drop this week, especially after beating Immaculata twice earlier this year. They responded with two big wins over Warren Hills and Marlboro and as the projected top seed in North 2, Group 4 and with two All-State pitchers.

Up next: Thursday vs. Sparta

18-Gloucester

Last week: Unranked

The Lions are back in the rankings after a strong week which saw the defending state Group 2 champions defeat Haddon Heights, Florence and Haddon Township. The win over the Garnets on a walk-off home run by Vayda Pino gave Gloucester the Colonial Conference Liberty Division title.

Up next: May 28 vs. TBA, South, Group 2 first round

19-Ramapo (17-5)

Last week: No. 16

The Raiders fell to IHA, 6-1, in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals last week, but still had two other big wins over Northern Highlands and Passaic Tech. They play three games in the next five days, all against playoff teams and contenders in their respective sections, starting with Pascack Valley on Thursday.

Up next: Thursday vs. Pascack Valley

20-Passaic Valley (19-3)

Last week: No. 18

The Hornets hold on to the last spot in this week’s rankings after a 2-1 week with wins over Fair Lawn and West Essex, and a 6-2 loss against Mount St. Dominic, albeit a game where Passaic Valley had the lead through the early innings. The projected No. 2 seed in North 1, Group 2, Passaic Valley added games against Cedar Grove and Mount late in the year to try and better prepare them for what could be one of the more wide open playoff brackets in North Jersey.

Up next: Thursday at Holy Angels

Dropped out:

• Then-No. 17 Morris Catholic
• Then-No. 20 Robbinsville

Jake Aferiat can be reached at jaferiat@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @Jake_Aferiat.

Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @bybillevans.

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