Bridgewater-Raritan’s Joe Spirra (left) and Matt Fattore had some fun in the mud during a 5-3 Opening Day home win over Rancocas Valley in the rain on April 1, 2024. (Photo: @brbaseball on Twitter)
On the one hand, there was not a lot of upheaval. On the other hand, some more familiar faces are out, and some new faces are in the Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Top Ten for Week Three.
Watchung Hills and St. Thomas Aquinas make their debuts in the rankings this week. It’s the Warriors’ first time in the top ten since Week 2 in the rankings’ inaugural 2022 season, while the Trojans are making their first-ever appearance.
Bridgewater-Raritan (9-1) remains at 9-1 after a 3-1 week, with their lone loss coming out of league play, a 11-7 defeat at the hands of West Morris. They shutout Hunterdon Central 60- on Tuesday, beat North Hunterdon 2-1 on Thursday to sweep the season series with arguable the No. 2 team now in the Skyland Conference, and rebounded off Friday’s loss with a 10-3 win over Egg Harbor on Saturday.
The next two teams, both from the GMC, hold steady with 3-0 weeks. Old Bridge (9-2) remains second with a sweep of East Brunswick, 40- and 8-2, this week, while the Knights beat Red Bank Catholic 6-3 Sunday afternoon in the Autism Awareness Challenge at North Brunswick Community Park. Monroe (7-3) holds in third, beating South Brunswick 8-0 on Tuesday, South Plainfield 3-2 Thursday, and Jackson Memorial 5-3 Friday in the AAC.
Moving up three places from seventh to No. 4 this week is Immaculata. The Spartans are the only undefeated team left in the Skyland Conference, and went 3-0 again this week, edging Pingry Monday 2-1, Rutgers Prep on Tuesday 3-1, and Hunterdon Central on the road Saturday 6-4. The Spartans visit new top ten member Watchung Hills Tuesday at 4 pm, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports radio by clicking here.
Holding in fifth is Spotswood. The Chargers are 9-0-1, off to their best start in program history, and went 3-0-1 this week. They won at Somerville 7-3 Monday – in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, then tied Marlboro at home 8-8 in a seven-inning game called due to darkness. Friday, they beat Paulsboro 10-6 in the Thank You Classic at Bellmawr, where head coach Glenny Fredricks picked up his 300th career win, then on Sunday, they topped South Brunswick 8-7 in the Autism Awareness Challenge, also heard on CJSR.
Woodbridge (9-1) remains in sixth, as the Barrons rebounded from a Tuesday home loss to Middlesex by a 4-3 score to beat North Brunswick 4-0 on Thursday, and East Brunswick 7-2 on Saturday.
South Plainfield (6-3) went 3-2 this past week, and moves up to seventh. The Tigers blew out North Brunswick on the road Monday, 37-6, then won 9-2 at Watchung Hills on Wednesday. They fell at Monroe 3-2 on Thursday, but came back to beat North Brunswick again 5-3 on Friday, before losing to Millburn 3-0 in the Autism Awareness Challenge on Saturday.
Edison (8-2) holds in 8th after a 4-1 week. They swept a Monday/Tuesday pair from JP Stevens, 11-0 and 13-0, then blanked Middlesex 4-0 on Thursday, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, as senior Jaxon Appelman came within an out of a no-hitter. After a Friday 7-6 loss at Perth Amboy, Edison rebounded Sunday with a 14-6 win over Barnegat in the Autism Awareness Challenge.
Watchung Hills (5-4-1) joins the rankings at No. 9. The Warriors had a 3-1 week, beating Franklin Tuesday 5-4, losing to South Plainfield 9-2 on Wednesday, then winning two in a row: Thursday at Montgomery 14-1, and Saturday 4-2 over Hillsborough. The Warriors host Immaculata Tuesday at 4pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio, a game you can hear by clicking here.
Also new this week is St. Thomas Aquinas at No. 10. The Trojans are 7-1, right behind Spotswood in the GMC Blue Division, and were 4-0 this past week. They swept a home/away two-game set with Metuchen, 6-0 and 7-1, then beat South River 12-0 on Saturday, before topping Voorhees 11-1 late Sunday at the Autism Awareness Challenge in North Brunswick.
Dropping out this week are No. 4 North Brunswick (3-7) and No. 8 Rutgers Prep (2-5). The Raiders went 1-4 in the past week, while the Argonauts were 0-3 in the week gone by.
Below are the full Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Rankings:
