Softball ballot: Vote for Central Jersey Player of the Week for Week 5

We’re headed for the home stretch of the regular season, with county tournaments getting into full swing and conference crowns being distributed. And, as usual, we had another round of fantastic individual performances around Central Jersey.

Here are the nominations for this week’s Central Jersey Softball Player of the Week award. All stats through Saturday, May 4.

Voting ends Friday at noon. Nominees selected by Simeon Pincus and Josh Rosenfeld. Voting winner will be featured as the Player of the Week.

SARAH ALVES

Wardlaw-Hartridge

Senior

Outfielder/Pitcher

Since returning to the Edison school after representing Brazil in international U-18 competition, Alves is batting .500 for the third time in four years and slugging .653. The Rams have only lost twice in 14 outings, both one-run decisions to undefeated Silver Division champion Mother Seton. She had two hits in one and scored twice in the other, last Tuesday. In the five intervening games between those setbacks -- all victories -- she went 14-for-20, scored 11 runs and drove in eight more. She has only pitched 3 1/3 innings this spring and recorded nine of those 10 outs by strikeout.

More: Softball roundup: Daily May results and links for Skyland , GMC, area Union County

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SHANTALINA BLAKE

Phillipsburg

Sophomore

Shortstop

It’s been a streaky season for the Stateliners, which won four straight games after an opening-day loss, then dropped six straight, and have now won four in a row, including three in a row last week, with their sophomore shortstop being right in the middle of things. Blake went 5-for-12 last week with a double, two home runs, six runs scored and seven RBIs, and she’s hitting .400 for the year with four doubles, three home runs, 16 runs and 14 RBIs.

HANNAH BUNIAK

Union Catholic

Sophomore

First base

The Vikings picked up two big wins last week to shake off a three-game losing streak, and as she has all year, the sophomore had a big impact. Buniak went 4-for-4 during victories over Union and Scotch Plains-Fanwood, including a home run against the Raiders in a 2-1 triumph. The sophomore is batting a team-high .436 for the season with a team best four doubles, a triple, three home runs and a team 17 RBIs, adding 15 runs scored and five walks.

ROSE CICCOLELLA

Dunellen

Freshman

Infielder

Dunellen has won four games in a row, and six of its last seven, to vault into third place in the GMC Silver Division. Ciccolella went 10-for-15 and drove in six runs in three wins last week, including a 5-for-5 showing with three runs driven in against New Brunswick. She’s had a hit in 10 of her 12 varsity appearances and has already accumulated 26 career hits with seven multi-hit games. She’s batting .650 and slugging .850, and has combined for 29 runs and RBIs in her 12 outings.

LESLIE FLAHERTY

Metuchen

Senior

Catcher

Metuchen has won five of its last six games, and the senior catcher has hits in all of them and RBIs in five. Her two-run double capped a six-run uprising in the Bulldogs’ 6-1 win over St. Thomas Aquinas last week, and she also doubled and had an RBI in a 5-4 decision over No. 1 Old Bridge. She’s 9-for-20 with nine RBI and two home runs in her past six games, and is batting .429 with 16 RBI and four home runs for the season. Moved behind the plate this year, she has handled herself adeptly, and begins play this week with 136 career hits and 23 home runs.

SUSAN HOCKENBURY

Voorhees

Junior

Catcher/outfield

After nearly beating first-place Franklin on Tuesday, Voorhees finished the week strong, scoring a win over Hopatcong in the first round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Wednesday, before an inspired 8-7 come-from-behind win over Mount St. Mary to finish the week. Hockenbury had a big hand in it all, as she has all season, going 7-for-13 for the week with a home run and four RBIs. She’s hitting .423 for the year with four doubles, two triples, four home runs, seven walks, 15 RBIs and 17 runs – all team-highs.

ALYSSA MONACO

Governor Livingston

Sophomore

Pitcher

The Highlanders are rolling toward another big season, despite heavy graduation losses, and have won six in a row, including four last week, with their ace going 4-0. Monaco allowed just four earned runs in 27 innings last week, surrendering just 15 hits, seven walks and striking out 24. She’s 13-4 for the season with a 2.26 ERA, walking 32 and striking out 69 in 99 1/3 innings.

VANESSA MORALES

Woodbridge

Senior

Shortstop

Woodbridge has won three games in a row, five of six and seven of nine, with both losses by a single run to top-ranked Old Bridge and Spotswood, respectively. Morales has hits in all but one of those games, going 13-for-31 with six doubles and 12 runs scored. During the current three-game streak, she’s 5-for-12 with three doubles and has scored seven times. She’s batting .444, for the season after hitting .338 last year, slugging .711, and has nine doubles, a homer and crossed the plate 17 times.

JORDAN PHILLIPS

North Plainfield

Junior

Outfielder

There has not been much to cheer about since North Plainfield joined the GMC last year, as the Canucks have seemed overmatched in the highly competitive White Division. North Plainfield has managed just two wins this season, both against winless non-conference neighbor Plainfield, and Phillips has delivered four hits in each. She blasted her first career home run in Friday’s 22-11 win. North Plainfield is 2-3 in the five games Philips has appeared in this spring, and she has gone 9-for-14 for a .643 batting average.

TIA SHIKAR

Watchung Hills

Senior

Shortstop

The three-year starter and Drexel commit had a big week as the Warriors swept five games, including a pair against North Hunterdon, the latter finishing a suspended game from earlier in the season. Shikar went 12-for-20 last week, with four doubles, five runs and five RBIs, adding four stolen bases. She is hitting .408 for the season with 10 doubles, 11 runs and 15 RBIs.

VOTE NOW!! POLL CLOSES NOON FRIDAY!!

Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, and has been on the softball beat since 1999. He can be reached at CourierSoftball@aol.com . Follow him on Twitter/X @SimeonPincus

Follow GMC softball writer Josh Rosenfeld on Twitter/X @JoshPRosenfeld

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This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Softball ballot: Vote for Central Jersey Player of the Week for Week 5