Baseball: New team moves up to No. 1 spot in latest Morris/Sussex Top 10 rankings

We're two weeks into the season and division races are starting to take shape.

The early shocker of the season came last Monday when-then No. 3 Randolph took out top-ranked Delbarton. It marked the second straight season that the Rams defeated the Green Wave in regular-season play.

It was a milestone week as longtime Delbarton coach Bruce Shatel earned career-win No. 400 . Shatel, who started his career at Roxbury (1995-98), has led Delbarton since 2007 and has won a combined for 10 Morris County Tournament titles.

Here's a look at which teams landed in the Morris/Sussex Top 10 rankings after the second week of the 2024 season.

10. Madison (4-2)

Previous ranking: Unranked

The Dodgers crack the rankings after splitting four games last week, picking up wins against Kinnelon, 10-2, and Hanover Park, 6-3. Their two losses came against then No. 4 Pequannock, 5-4, and Oratory, 9-2.

Up next : Monday vs. Morristown Beard, Wednesday at West Morris, Friday at Mountain Lakes, Sunday at Colonia.

9. Mount Olive (5-1)

Previous ranking: 10

The Marauders picked up four wins last week, sitting down Kinnelon, 11-1, Morris Hills, 23-7, Morristown Beard, 9-2, and West Morris, 6-5. Senior Ben Nugent leads the team with 15 RBIs and three home runs.

Up next : Tuesday vs. No. 8 Sparta, Wednesday vs. Newton, Thursday vs. Morris Hills, Saturday at Morristown.

8. Sparta (4-1)

Previous ranking: 9

The Spartans dropped their first game last Wednesday, 9-5, to-then No. 2 Morris Knolls. They got back in the win column with a 12-9 victory over Parsippany Hills on Saturday.

Up next : Tuesday at No. 9 Mount Olive, Thursday vs. Morristown, Saturday at Wallkill Valley.

7. Pope John (4-3)

Previous ranking: 4

Following three straight wins to start the season, the Lions dropped three straight and three of four to close out the week. The Sparta parochial lost to then-No. 8 Mendham, 16-4, then-No. 7 Roxbury, 3-2, and then-No. 1 Delbarton, 5-2. They managed to close the week with a big 2-1 win over Hudson County power St. Peter’s Prep on Saturday.

Up next : Wednesday vs. No. 1 Randolph, Thursday at Chatham, Friday at Don Bosco, Sunday at Donovan Catholic.

6. Mendham (4-2)

Previous ranking: 8

Last week, the Minutemen went 3-1 with wins over division rivals Pope John, 16-4, Chatham, 12-6 and Montville, 10-3. Their only blemish was a 14-3 loss to No. 1 Randolph last Thursday.

Up next : Tuesday vs. No. 2 Delbarton, Wednesday at Columbia, Saturday vs. No. 5 Roxbury.

5. Roxbury (3-3)

Previous ranking: 7

Since opening last week with a 14-3 loss to Bridgewater-Raritan, the Gaels won two straight over Pope John, 3-2, and Watchung Hills, 4-3. Action heats up for Roxbury with three straight matchups against division rivals.

Up next: Tuesday vs. Montville, Thursday vs. No. 2 Delbarton, Saturday at No. 6 Mendham.

4. Pequannock (4-1)

Previous ranking: 5

The Golden Panthers rebounded from an opening-day setback and have won four straight. Last week, the Pompton Plains school defeated Whippany Park, 5-4, Madison, 5-4, and Clifton, 13-3. Pequannock’s place in the NJAC Liberty will take shape this week when it takes on three division rivals over the next five days.

Up next : Monday at Hanover Park, Wednesday at Mountain Lakes, Friday at Parsippany Hills.

3. Morris Knolls (5-1)

Previous ranking: 2

The Rockaway school won all three of its games last week in dominating fashion. The Golden Eagles rolled over Morristown, 16-1, No. 9 Sparta, 9-5 and Passaic Tech, 11-0. Seniors Luke Dickerson (.545 batting average, 12 hits, 11 RBIs, three home runs) and Brodie Freker (.526 batting average, 10 hits, 14 RBIs, three home runs) are off to fast starts.

Up next : Monday vs. No. 1 Randolph, Wednesday at High Point, Thursday vs. Livingston, Saturday vs. West Morris, Sunday at Gill St. Bernard’s.

2. Delbarton (5-1)

Previous ranking: 1

The Green Wave slipped from the top spot after an upset setback to Randolph, 9-5, early last week. Since then, the Morris Township school has bounced back by taking three straight in weekday wins over division rivals Montville, 13-3 , Pope John, 5-2, and Donovan Catholic, 7-5, on Sunday. Longtime coach Bruce Shatel won his 400th career game in Thursday’s win over Montville.

Up next : Tuesday at No. 6 Mendham, Thursday at No. 5 Roxbury, Friday vs. Chatham, Saturday vs. Bergen Catholic, Sunday at Holy Spirit.

1. Randolph (6-0)

Previous ranking: 3

The Rams are off to a flying start with some impressive wins in the first two weeks of the season. Coach Mark Rizzi’s crew put the NJAC and the state on notice with a huge win over the state No. 1 and division rival Delbarton last Monday to catapult to this week’s No. 1 ranking. The win over the Green Wave came two days after defeating another parochial heavyweight Seton Hall Prep, 6-4. Randolph sits alone at the top the NJAC American division in the early going.

Up next : Monday at No. 3 Morris Knolls, Tuesday vs. Chatham, Wednesday at No. 7 Pope John, Thursday vs. Montville, Saturday at Steinert.

Also considered : Hanover Park (4-1)

Dropped out : Chatham (1-3)

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Baseball: New team moves up to No. 1 spot in latest Morris/Sussex Top 10 rankings