Ridge and Immaculata play in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals on May 20, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
While past weeks have seen some great instability in the baseball rankings, things appear to be settling down, as all ten teams from last week remain in the Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, with the top six positions remaining the same.
Ridge (13-3) had a 3-1 week and remains No. 1. They beat Watchung Hills 7-3 on Monday, then split with Hunterdon Central, winning at home Tuesday 6-1, before falling 11-1 in Flemington Thursday. The Red Devils closed the week with a 2-0 win at Mendham on Friday. They are likely to earn the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament when the coaches gather Monday night.
Holding in second is Immaculata (9-4), which shares the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title with Ridge. The Spartans were 3-0 this past week, sweeping Hillsborough at home 9-5 on Tuesday, then on the road, 15-6 on Thursday, before blanking Sayreville back home Saturday, 2-0.
In third is South Plainfield (12-6), which went 2-2 this week. First, they split a Tuesday-Thursday series with East Brunswick, winning 16-3 on the road, then falling 6-5 at home. Friday, they blanked Sayreville at home, 1-0, before visiting Spotswood Saturday and coming back with an 8-4 defeat. The Tigers are second in the GMC Red to Woodbridge, but beat the Barrons twice head-to-head.
For that reason, Woodbridge (12-3) – the GMC Red Champions – remain in fourth. They lost 11-7 at Monroe Tuesday, but rebounded with a 4-0 home win over the Falcons on Thursday, before topping South Amboy at home Saturday, 12-2.
Steady in fifth is Colonia (11-3), which split two games this week against Spotswood. They lost on the road 3-2 Tuesday, then beat the Chargers at home 3-1 on Thursday.
Holding in sixth is Skyland Valley Division champion Rutgers Prep (10-4). They swept a Tuesday-Thursday series with Gill St. Bernard’s, starting with a 5-2 road win and capped with a 3-2 home victory.
Skyland Raritan Division winner Watchung Hills (9-5) moves up one spot on a 3-1 week. The Hustlin’ Warriors lost Monday at Ridge, 7-3 but came back and swept Montgomery with a 14-0 home win Tuesday, and a 9-3 win on the road Thursday. They also doubled-up Bridgewater-Raritan Saturday, 12-6.
St. Thomas Aquinas (12-5) drops one spot to No. 8 on a 2-2 week. They began with a 6-2 home loss to Brearley on Monday, then fell 6-1 at St. Joseph-Metuchen on Wednesday. But they came back with two wins, including Friday at East Brunswick, 13-11, and Saturday at home against Camden Academy Charter, 19-2.
Up one spot to ninth is Spotswood (11-6). The Chargers had a 2-1 week, beating Colonia Tuesday, 3-2, but losing there Thursday, 3-1. They came back and beat No. 3 South Plainfield, 8-4, on Saturday at The Swamp.
That drops East Brunswick (9-6) down to tenth. The bears bat Monroe 9-3 Monday, then split with South Plainfield, losing 16-3 at home Tuesday, but winning 6-5 on the road Thursday. They capped it with a 13-11 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.
Below is the complete Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for Week 5:
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