Notre Dame, Steinert open as top two in area rankings
With the Lower Bucks and prep seasons already underway and the New Jersey teams set to begin Monday, it’s time for the first installment of The Trentonian’s weekly softball package.
Throughout the season the ratings and column will appear in each Saturday’s paper. There have also already been demands for the return of our Parent of the Week feature and those requests have been taken into consideration.
Once again it shapes up as another outstanding year and in addition to the always-strong Pennsylvania teams there are two New Jersey squads that currently stand out above the rest heading into the season.
This is reflected in the first installment of the ratings with Notre Dame in the No. 1 spot and Steinert No. 2. Although it would be more desirable if their game was scheduled for later in the season, those two will collide right away at Steinert on Monday.
When the teams met in last year’s opener, Steinert prevailed by the score of 5-4. From there, Notre Dame’s University of Houston-bound junior pitcher Rylee Michalak (198 strikeout last year) roared back to beat the Spartans, 3-1, in a game in which she struck out 17, but Steinert then won the rubber game by crushing Notre Dame in the finals of the Mercer County Tournament.
A Group III finalist in four of the last six years the NJSIAA state tournament has been held, Steinert will also host Bordentown on Thursday. Bordentown beat Steinert in the Hammonton Tournament last year and originally projected to once again be one of the top teams in the state.
Unfortunately, there are reports out there returning Bordentown senior
ace Allison Hoppe might be on the shelf because of arm problems. Let’s just hope this is not true because if Hoppe is unable to pitch it changes things dramatically for the Scotties.
Another game that’s going to attract a lot of attention this week is No. 3 Pennsbury at No. 4 Council Rock South on Wednesday. Both teams are undefeated and each owns a close victory over No. 5 Neshaminy.
Coached by Dan Schram, Rock South is loaded with speed and has young pitching that is among the best in the area. Its win over Neshaminy on Thursday was its first victory over the Redskins since 2017.
As for the rest of the ratings, a Lenape team led by hard-throwing senior Maya Knasiak (150 Ks last year) occupies the sixth spot. Hun, which features Villanova University-recruit and junior fireballer Lexi Kobryn, is in the seventh spot. Rounding out the top 10 are Robbinsville, Northern Burlington and Bordentown.
Once again, Bordentown will instantly move way up in the rankings