We're getting down to the good stuff on the local scene. Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex semifinals are slated for Saturday and the state cutoff date is Friday, meaning the sectional playoffs are right around the corner. The regular-season slate over the next two weeks will be light since there have been very few rainouts wrecking havoc with front-loaded schedules.
Keep checking in here as I will try to keep you abreast off all that's happening in the tri-county area.
We've still got divisional races to decide in both the Skyland and Northwest Jersey Athletic conferences.
Hopatcong is one win from clinching at least a share of the NJAC Freedom, while Pope John and Jefferson enter the week tied atop the American Division standings.
In the Skyland, Hunterdon Central is battling for the top spot in the rugged Delaware Division at 7-2 in conference play along with Immaculata (7-1) and Watchung Hills (7-3). Voorhees (6-3) entered the week trailing Pingry (6-2) by one-half game atop the Raritan standings with three games to play.
Here are this week's set of rankings with some changes at the top following Phillipsburg's 6-5 win in 12 innings over Pope John in the HWS quarterfinals.
1. Hunterdon Central (13-3) -- Red Devils keep on keeping on with wins in eight of their last nine, including Sunday's 8-7 win over Voorhees in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals. Coach Mike Raymond's club has reached the semifinals in all three years of the tournament, winning the title in 2010 and falling in the 2011 title game. Central entered the week riding a five-game win streak and handed Immaculata its first loss, 8-5, on Thursday. Jeremy Ake was red-hot last week, going 7-for-10 with a double, a triple, two homers and six RBIs in three victories. Kenny Wilson had two doubles, a homer and six RBIs last week. Ake is batting .490 with 19 RBIs, while Wilson is hitting .400 with 15 RBIs. Brett Bonn is hitting .471 with a team-high six homers and 19 RBIs. Bonn went deep twice against Voorhees.
Up next for the Red Devils -- Warren Hills at home on Monday; Phillipsburg at home on Tuesday; at North Hunterdon on Thursday; High Point at home on Saturday in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex semifinals.
2. Phillipsburg (9-7) -- Stateliners finished last week in style with a 6-5 win in 12 innings over previous No. 2 Pope John in the HWS quarterfinals. Coach Dave Hinkle's team is the first in program history to reach the tournament semifinals. Junior righty Tyler Woscek came out of nowhere to fire five no-hit innings in relief to earn the victory against the Lions. P'burg dropped its other two games last week, 4-3 to Montgomery on Thursday and 11-1 at Ridge on Monday. Chris Trent went 3-for-5 with an RBI against Pope John and drove in the only run against Ridge.
Up next for the Stateliners -- at Hunterdon Central on Tuesday; at Hillsborough on Wednesday; at North Hunterdon on Saturday in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex semifinals.
3. Voorhees (8-7) -- Vikings are really playing well of late, falling 8-7 to Hunterdon Central on Saturday in the HWS quarterfinals to snap a four-game win streak. Coach Spark Mattson's club had leads of 5-1 and 7-2 before Central put up a four-spot in the fourth. The Vikes also posted two Skyland Conference Raritan Division wins -- 4-2 over North Plainfield on Tuesday and 2-0 at Franklin on Thursday. Tyler Duplaga continued his amazing season, going 3-for-4 with three doubles and an RBI against Central. He also earned the win on the mound with six K's against North Plainfield.
Up next for the Vikings -- at Princeton on Monday; at Somerville on Tuesday; Pingry at home on Thursday.
4. North Hunterdon (9-11) -- Lions kept their county tournament title hopes alive with a 3-1 win over Sparta on Saturday in the HWS quarterfinals. Ace Ben Stine lost his no-hit bid by allowing a homer in the top of the seventh. Stine (4-3) finished with one-hitter. Derek Jenkins added an RBI double in the victory. Coach Mike Kane's team suffered a pair of tough one-run losses -- 2-1 at Watchung Hills on Tuesday and 1-0 at Bridgewater-Raritan on Thursday. The Lions' pitching staff has really done a job, allowing a total of six runs in the last five games entering the week.
Up next for the Lions -- Immaculata at home on Tuesday; Hunterdon Central at home on Thursday; Phillipsburg at home on Saturday in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex semifinals.
5. Pope John (11-6) -- Lions fall three spots following Saturday's extra-innings loss to Phillipsburg in the tri-county quarterfinals. Coach Vin Bello's team, which also fell into a first-place tie atop the NJAC American Division with Thursday's 4-0 loss to Jefferson, rebounded with a 3-1 win over Hoboken on Sunday. Shortstop Matt Tietz had a solid week at the plate, going 4-for-6 with a double against P'burg, while adding an RBI double against Hoboken. Lefty Ethan Collins (3-1) earned the win on Sunday.
Up next for the Lions -- Sparta at home on Wednesday.
6. High Point (8-7) -- Wildcats vault back into the rankings after a 2-1 week that included wins over Sparta (7-6 on Monday) and Warren Hills (6-4 in the HWS quarterfinals). The only blemish was a 4-0 loss to Pope John on Tuesday. Ryan Schulok went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Kyle Adams was 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs against the Blue Streaks. Winning pitcher Ryan Conklin improved to 4-0. Conklin went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs against the Spartans.
Up next for the Wildcats -- at Morris Hills on Monday; at Newton on Tuesday; Montville at home on Wednesday; Vernon at home on Friday; at Hunterdon Central on Saturday in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex semifinals.
7. North Warren (9-3) -- Patriots won both of their games last week -- beating Warren Hills, 11-2, on Monday and Blair Academy, 6-2, on Saturday. Garret Becker belted a double, a homer and two RBIs, while Joe Frankosky (4-1) got the win on the mound against Blair. Frankosky went 2-for-4 with an RBI and also got the win over the Blue Streaks. Coach Jim Haupt's team is still in the hunt for the Skyland Conference Valley Division title at 4-1 in divisional play. Oddly, the Pats have yet to face first-place Bernards (7-0).
Up next for the Patriots -- at Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg (Pa.) on Monday; Gill St. Bernard's at home on Tuesday; at Manville on Thursday; Kittatinny at home on Saturday.
8. Warren Hills (8-9) -- Tough week for the Blue Streaks, who have lost seven of their last 10. The week started on a high note with Tuesday's 7-5 win over Somerville, before back-to-back losses at Pingry (2-1 on Thursday) and High Point (6-4 in the HWS quarterfinals on Saturday). The loss to Pingry all but ends the Streaks' hopes for a Skyland Conference Raritan Division title at 5-4 in divisional play. Mark Apgar went 2-for-4 against the 'Ville and had an RBI double against High Point. Kyle Allen went 1-1 on the hill, beating Somerville and falling to High Point, despite seven K's.
Up next for the Blue Streaks -- at Hunterdon Central on Monday; Delaware Valley at home on Tuesday; vs. Ridge at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater on Friday.
9. Sparta (11-7) -- Spartans went 2-2 last week, falling 3-1 to North Hunterdon on Saturday in the HWS quarterfinals. A tough 7-6 loss at High Point started things on Monday before wins over Montville (4-1 on Tuesday) and Mount Olive (11-4 on Friday). Derek Tappen had the lone hit against North -- a solo homer to break up Ben Stine's no-hit bid in the seventh. Jason Postorino had an excellent week, belting an RBI double against Montville before a pair of RBIs against Mount Olive. He also struck out five in a complete-game loss to North.
Up next for the Spartans -- West Morris at home on Monday; Vernon at home on Tuesday; at Pope John on Wednesday; at Jefferson on Friday.
10. Hopatcong (11-6) -- Chiefs had a short week due to rain, beating Lenape Valley, 3-2, on Monday in their lone game. Coach Chris Buglovsky's club can clinch at least a share of the program's first NJAC Freedom Division title with a win over Kittatinny on Wednesday. Chiefs, who are 6-1 in divisional play, have won eight of 11 since a 5-2 loss at Lenape Valley dropped them to 3-3 overall.
Up next for the Chiefs -- Kittatinny at home on Wednesday.
On the bubble -- Lenape Valley (9-7); Delaware Valley (7-7); Wallkill Valley (11-10).
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