Somerset County champion Immaculata rises to No. 1, GMC champ St. Joe’s to No. 2 in Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten

The completion of the two county tournaments in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area gives us new teams at No. 1 and No. 2 in the Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Top Ten.

Somerset County Tournament winner Immaculata (17-5) retakes the top spot from Ridge for the first time since Week 1, when they wrested the top spot away from Bridgewater-Raritan after an Opening Day win and opening week sweep over the Panthers. The Spartans were 4-0 this week, with a win over Franklin, 1-0, in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals – on a no-hitter by Ryan Auten – and Wednesday in the title game, 3-0 over Ridge. They also won non-conference games Tuesday against North Brunswick, 7-3, and at West Morris on Saturday, 4-1, outscoring their four opponents 19-4 during the week.

Red hot St. Joseph-Metuchen (15-6) takes the second spot, going 2-0 in the week gone by and continuing to win games late. After beating Spotswood last Saturday in the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament semifinals, 4-3 in walkoff fashion, Joe’s began the week with a 2-1 eight-inning win at Westfield, breaking a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth. It was their eighth straight win, and fifth in a row in their last at bat. But the ultimate topper was Saturday, when they trailed 4-2 heading into their final at bat in the bottom of the seventh, got one run to cut it to 4-3, then won the GMC crown 7-3 on a walkoff grand slam by JP Zayle. The Falcons won all four of their GMCT games in walk-off fashion.

Ridge (17-5) falls to third, on a 2-1 week. They beat Rutgers Prep Monday, 11-0, in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, then lost to Immaculata 3-0 in the title game Wednesday. The Red Devils rebounded with a 7-1 win Friday at Chatham.

Holding in fourth is Edison (13-9), which won its eighth and ninth straight games with a Monday victory at Carteret, 7-3, and an 8-1 win at Somerville on Tuesday. But that streak got snapped in dramatic fashion Saturday, when St. Joseph beat them to win the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship with a 7-4 walkoff.

Rutgers Prep (13-9) went 2-1 in the past week and holds in fifth. After a Monday loss to Ridge, 11-0, in the SCT semifinals, they rebounded with a Tuesday 7-3 win at Princeton Day, and a 7-4 win at Millburn on Saturday.

Holding at No. 6 is Middlesex (17-5), which went 2-0 in the week gone by. The Blue Jays beat two Union County teams at home this week via shutout: Scotch Plains-Fanwood 1-0 on Tuesday, and Union 2-0 on Friday.

Colonia (20-4) moves up two spots to No. 7, becoming the first team from the CJSR coverage area to reach 20 wins this season. (The next closest teams are Ridge and Middlesex, with 17 each.) The Patriots went 3-0 in the week gone by, with a 1-0 win at rival Woodbridge on Monday, a 7-3 home victory over Bloomfield Wednesday, and a 10-0 win over Carteret at home on Thursday.

South Plainfield (14-10) drops a spot to No. 8, splitting two games this week. The Tigers won at Dayton on Tuesday, 6-1, but came back with a 10-5 loss at Elizabeth on Friday.

Also splitting two games last week was Spotswood (15-10), which dropped to nine. The Chargers got blanked 6-0 by Monroe at The Swamp on Tuesday, but rebounded with at 8-3 home win over Ewing on Wednesday.

And holding at No. 10 is Woodbridge (16-7), which went 1-2 this week and has gone 3-3 in its last six games. The Barrons dropped a 1-0 home decision to Colonia on Monday, rebounded with a 3-2 win at JFK to complete their township series Tuesday, then lost Friday at Perth Amboy, 4-3.

Below is the complete Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Top Ten: