Baseball ranking and notes: Skyland Conference and area UCC Top 10 after Week 5

The 49th Somerset County Tournament will be seeded Monday at Immaculata with Bridgewater-Raritan a cinch to be No. 1. Ridge, Immaculata, Franklin and Watchung Hills can all claim No. 2 seeds.

If a play-in game is needed, it will be played Tuesday with first round games this Thursday. Second round games are May 13, and the quarterfinals are May 16.

More: Baseball May roundup: Results, analysis, links for GMC, Skyland and area Union County

More: Baseball: South Plainfield draws the top seed in the 2024 GMC Tournament, full pairings

TD Bank Ballpark will host the semifinals May 20 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and the final is May 23 at TD Bank at 7 p.m.

Immaculata has won 14 titles, its last in 2019. Ridge has won seven, winning its last in 2022.

Rutgers Prep is the defending champ.

The tournament began in 1973 but was not played in 2021 and 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This week’s Top 10

(records through Sat., May 4)

1. Bridgewater-Raritan (14-2) – last week No. 1: Wins over No. 6 Ridge, No. 10 Hunterdon Central and unranked Somerville made the Panthers repeat Skyland Delaware Division champs. They went 10-0 for the division season, outscoring five division rivals 67-11. They were 10-2 last year in division play. The Panthers also split nonconference games, beating Cherokee on Monday and losing to Lawrence on Wednesday. They will be No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament with an eye toward winning their first title since 1996 and making a final for the first time since 2012 when they lost to Hillsborough.

2. Westfield (13-2) - last week No. 2: The top-seeded Blue Devils will host ninth-seeded New Providence in the Union County Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday. It’s an immediate rematch after New Providence beat Westfield in a Union County Watchung Division game Tuesday. The Blue Devils, whose last county title was in 2017, blanked Roselle Catholic 10-0 on Saturday in a UCT second-round game.

3. Governor Livingston (11-2) – last week No. 3: The Highlanders’ most recent Union County Tournament title was in 2021. They began their quest for a fourth in the past seven years Saturday by beating Linden 9-0. No. 2 seed GL plays 10th seed Dayton in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. Junior Anthony Denora drove in four runs and stole two bases vs. Linden.

4. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (14-5) – last week No. 4: The Raiders were 4-4 after losing to Westfield 5-4 on April 16. Since then, they are 10-1 with only an 11-4 loss to Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament top seed South Plainfield. Raiders last won the Union County Tournament in 2019 and have the third seed this year. They beat Roselle Park 7-0 Saturday in a first-round game and host No. 11 A.L. Johnson in a quarterfinal Wednesday. The week was highlighted by their second win of the season over defending county champ Cranford.

5. North Hunterdon (12-5 ) – last week No. 5: The Lions have won seven straight games behind a run of great pitching. Since April 20 — a span of nine games — North pitchers have thrown seven shutouts. Junior Chris Sand went four innings and Tim Raiello threw one in Saturday’s 11-0 win over Newton in a Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament second round game. The Lions, the fifth seed, play at two-time defending champ and fourth seed Hunterdon Central on Wednesday in a county quarterfinal. The teams split regular season games.

6. Ridge (13-6) – last week No. 6: Red Devils may have enough in the resume to earn a No. 2 seed in the Somerset County Tournament. Ridge has made two-straight county finals, losing to Rutgers Prep last season after beating the Argonauts the year before. Ridge has won four-of-five.

7. Phillipsburg (11-5) – last week not ranked: The Stateliners have won four-straight contests, including Saturday’s 7-2 win over Kittatinny in the H/WS/T. Sixth-seeded Pburg plays at third-seeded High Point on Wednesday in a quarterfinal. Pburg has also become a factor in the Skyland Conference Valley Division race. They are 5-2 in division and play at Delaware Valley (5-2-1) on Thursday in the final Valley game of season for both. The Liners beat the Terriers 1-0 on April 18.

8. Immaculata (12-3) – last week No. 8: The Skyland Raritan Division champs bounced back from three-straight losses with wins over Franklin and Rutgers Prep to seal the division. They are 7-2 in division play with a game against Pingry remaining. The Spartans have interdivision game Tuesday at Diamond Nation with Delaware Division champ Bridgewater-Raritan.

9. Hunterdon Central (8-8) – last week unranked: Tournament time is here and so are the Red Devils who’ve won three of four after a six-game losing streak. Central advanced into Wednesday’s H/W/S/T quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over Voorhees and will host North Hunterdon. The two have split regular season games.

10. Delaware Valley (9-3-1) – last week unranked: Big week for the Terriers, starting with Monday’s inter-division home test with Franklin. Then it’s on to Sparta to play top seed Pope John on Wednesday in a H/W/S/T quarterfinal. Phillipsburg visits Thursday with the winner taking the Skyland Valley title. No. 8 seed Del Val beat No. 9 Vernon 5-4 to advance.

Others receiving consideration: New Providence (7-10)

Dropped out : Franklin (5-7), Watchung Hills (8-9)

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Baseball ranking and notes: Skyland Conference and area UCC Top 10 after Week 5