South Jersey Mean 15 softball rankings for third week of April

As the scholastic softball season heads to late April, teams are beginning to hit their strides.

Here are the latest South Jersey Mean 15 rankings.

Rankings, records and stats are through Thursday's games.

Mean 15 rankings

1. Kingsway (8-0, last week’s ranking: 1). The Dragons have outscored the competition 79-9 over their eight-game unbeaten streak. Jessa Pieters (34 innings pitched) and Ava Snyder (12) both have ERAs south of 0.60. Kingsway hosts No. 2 Egg Harbor Township on Saturday at 10 a.m.
2. Egg Harbor Township (8-2, 2). The Eagles have won all six games against South Jersey competition. Seniors Payton Colbert (112) and Sienna Walterson (103) both joined the 100-career hit club this season.
3. Bordentown (7-2, 6). The Scotties have rattled off six straight wins, including a 2-0 triumph over Northern Burlington behind the strong pitching of junior Katelin Hoppe. Sophomore Julianna Morolda leads the club with 14 hits and 11 runs scored.
4. Northern Burlington (8-2, 3). The Greyhounds opened Burlington County Scholastic League play with a 3-1 record, posting wins over Delran, Cinnaminson and Burlington Township. Freshman Madison Fontana has scored a team-best 10 runs.
5. St. Joseph (7-2, 4). The Wildcats turned a pair of one-run wins over Gloucester and Vineland into the 28th annual Battle of the Conference title at Overbrook last Sunday. The streak of one-run wins moved to three with a 3-2 triumph over Cedar Creek. Alaina Dorsey is batting .556 with 15 hits and eight stolen bases.
6. Cinnaminson (6-3, 5). The Buccos drop a spot following a 2-0 loss to Northern Burlington. Maddyn Rittler and Mia Zuccarelli have combined for 20 hits and 15 runs scored.
7. Gloucester (6-2, 7). Runs have been at a premium lately in Gloucester’s games as the Lions dropped a 1-0 loss to St. Joseph and defeated Collingswood by the same score. Kloi Tighe pinned the loss on the Panthers with a two-hitter, striking out nine and not allowing a walk.
8. Haddon Heights (4-2-1). Both of the Garnets’ losses are by 1-0 scores, including a setback against top-ranked Kingsway on Thursday. With Sophia Bordi nursing a sore elbow, Gracie Granate has racked up 28 strikeouts over her last three games (16 innings) and has 53 Ks on the season (33 2/3 innings)
9. Eastern (9-0, 10). The Vikings own a plus-72 run differential over their nine-game unbeaten streak. The team hosts the Viking Invitational Tournament on Saturday before a big week that includes Paul VI and Lenape.
10. Moorestown (4-1, 11). Winners of four straight, the Quakers host Cherokee (April 19) and Haddon Heights (April 22). Senior Julia Miller had three hits and four RBIs in a 12-8 victory over Paul VI on April 15.
11. Cherokee (5-2-1, 12). Four straight wins for Cherokee, which has posted 43 runs over the stretch. Strong pitching has been a big part of the streak too. The sophomore duo of Cali Taylor and Allie Cunane have combined for 88 strikeouts in 55 frames.
12. Paul VI (7-4, 9). The Eagles’ offense has produced 128 runs on 152 hits over its first 11 games. Three players have 20 or more knocks – junior Morgan Chambers (21 hits), sophomore Danielle Audet (21) and Lisey St. Jean (20).
13. Vineland (7-1, 13). The Fighting Clan dropped a 1-0 decision to St. Joseph in the Battle of the Conference Tournament championship game. Junior Leah Mears has been magical, batting .538 with 14 hits, 12 runs scored, 15 RBIs and nine stolen bases.
14. West Deptford (6-2, 15). Isabella Kwashek homered and pitched a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts as the Eagles knocked off Haddon Township, 3-1, on Thursday. The senior has 70 strikeouts in 49 innings in the circle while batting .545 with a homer and seven RBIs.
15. Lenape (4-3, NR). With four wins over its last five games, Lenape checks into the rankings. The team has launched six home runs, including three by junior Rebecca Taylor and two by sophomore Camryn Shank.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.