Sowing the seeds

The Somerset County Tournament seeding meeting is scheduled for Wednesday night at Bridgewater-Raritan High School where all of the county’s coaches will gather to hash out the 2008 bracket.

I plan to attend, as usual, and the seeds will be posted here as soon as I get back. Check back Thursday evening for analysis and predictions for the tournament.

Also, listen to the BATS AND BALLS PODCAST, which will be recorded Wednesday evening after the seeds have been set.

Now that Tuesday’s results are in, here is how I would seed the tournament:


1. HILLSBOROUGH (5-1)
WINS: Immaculata, West Orange, Ridge, Bridgewater-Raritan, Watchung Hills
LOSSES: North Hunterdon
OUTLOOK: After an opening-day loss to two-time North 2 Group IV sectional champ North Hunterdon, Hillsborough has won five straight, including wins over three of the four other perennial contenders in the conference.
This was a tough choice between Montgomery and the Raiders for top seed, but ultimately it came down to two things:
A. Hillsborough has beaten three of the county’s elite, while Montgomery has just one victory against those squads. A scheduling side effect, sure, but fact, none-the-less.
B. Hillsborough has made six straight SCT championship games and beat Montgomery in last year’s semifinals.

2. MONTGOMERY (7-2)
WINS: Voorhees, Watchung Hills, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Middlesex, Paul VI, Rutgers Prep, Franklin.
LOSSES: Hunterdon Central, St. Joseph-Hammonton
OUTLOOK: Granted, the Cougars’ two losses have come to the Courier News’ No. 1 team and the fifth and sixth-ranked team in the state, according to the Gannett Top 20 poll, but Montgomery had its collective heads handed to them in those games and have not looked great in several of its wins. That said, the Cougars are more than capable of beating anyone in this tournament and, as usual, should be considered a favorite to reclaim the crown they won in 2006.

3. BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN (4-2)
WINS: Roselle Park, Phillipsburg, Franklin, Immaculata
LOSSES: North Hunterdon, Hillsborough
OUTLOOK: An extra-innings loss to Hillsborough on Monday means the preseason favorite will be denied the top seed, but, in the eyes of many (myself included), the Panthers are still the team to beat.

4. IMMACULATA (4-4)
WINS: Middlesex, Rutgers Prep, Phillipsburg, Governor Livingston
LOSSES: Westfield, Hunterdon Central, Hillsborough, Bridgewater-Raritan
OUTLOOK: The defending champion Spartans are struggling, offensively, in the early season as Kaitlyn Piazzolla is the only proven bat in the Spartans lineup with Jen Lapicki’s graduation. Still, with Piazzolla’s arm, and with Kat Cannell’s stick having come on of late, the Spartans could be dangerous. Immaculata gets the nod over Watchung Hills mostly because of its status as reigning champion.

5. WATCHUNG HILLS (3-2)
WINS: Ridge, Governor Livingston, Warren Hils
LOSSES: Montgomery, Hillsborough
OUTLOOK: The Warriors’ only losses have come to the two teams likely to be seeded in the top 3 in this tournament. Senior Lydia deMartino pitched in the semifinals as a sophomore, and if the Warriors return, that experience could pay off.

**** PLEASE NOTE: If Immaculata beats Montgomery on Wednesday, I would move Montgomery down between Immaculata and Watchung Hills. If Montgomery blows out Immaculata, I would consider flipping the Spartans with Watchung Hills in the bracket ****

6. SOMERVILLE (5-2)
WINS: Hackettstown, North Warren, Mount St. Mary, Rutgers Prep, North Plainfield.
LOSSES: Belvidere, Bernards.
OUTLOOK: Yes, I am well aware that Bernards beat Somerville 5-4 Tuesday night, but here’s my dilemma: Bernards beat Somerville, Mount St. Mary beat Bernards, and Somerville beat Mount St. Mary.
The key is that the Pioneers also beat Rutgers Prep, which gave Immaculata a run in their game last week. Plus, I believe Somerville is the non-Delaware Division team best equipped to make a run, with two quality pitchers in Lindsay Lehman and Lindsey Ciresa.

7. MOUNT ST. MARY (3-2)
WINS: South Hunterdon, Bernards, Delaware Valley
LOSSES: Somerville, North Warren
OUTLOOK: The Mount Lions were hit hard by graduation, especially in the circle, but Mount St. Mary has still managed to keep its head above water in the Raritan Division. As a quarterfinalist last season, and with its only county loss to Somerville, MSM gets the nod here.

8. BERNARDS (4-4)
WINS: South Hunterdon, North Warren, Franklin, Somerville
LOSSES: Chatham, Delaware Valley, Belvidere, Mount St. Mary
OUTLOOK: The Mountaineers have been as inconsistent as their record indicates, and, with the right matchup, could win a couple of games in this tournament.

9. RUTGERS PREP (4-3)
WINS: Princeton Day, Pennington, Bound Brook, Gill St. Bernard’s
LOSSES: Immaculata, Somerville, Montgomery
OUTLOOK: The Argonauts had designs on a top seed when the season began and loaded their schedule with some of the county’s top teams to try and prove their worth. And while some of those games were rained out, the only public school Rutgers Prep managed to beat was Bound Brook, though it did play well against Immaculata and Somerville.

10. RIDGE (0-6)
WINS: None
LOSSES: North Hunterdon, Watchung Hills, Morristown, Hunterdon Central, Hillsborough, Warren Hills
OUTLOOK: Four of Ridge’s six losses have come to the elite of the Skyland Conference, including the top two teams in the Courier News Top 10 (Central and North), and the likely top seed in this tournament in Hillsborough. The Red Devils scored their first run of the season Tuesday in a 6-1 loss to Warren Hills, but should have no trouble against some of the lesser teams in this tournament. I also wouldn’t be shocked to see the Red Devils in the quarterfinals.

11. PINGRY (2-5)
WINS: Morristown-Beard, St. Elizabeth
LOSSES: Cedar Grove, Montclair Kimberly, Newark Academy, Villa Walsh, Morris Catholic.
OUTLOOK: No doubt the Big Blue have struggled, but the Colonial Hills Conference is no joke and I would like to think Pingry’s record would be better if they were playing in, say, the Skyland Conference Valley Division.

12. BOUND BROOK (2-4)
WINS: Manville, Somerset Tech
LOSSES: Delaware Valley, Rutgers Prep, Hackettstown, Belvidere
OUTLOOK: Bound Brook was my preseason pick in the Valley Division. Shows how much I know.

**** PLEASE NOTE: Should Bound Brook beat Somerville on Wednesday afternoon prior to the seeding meeting, I would drop Somerville down behind Bernards, and move Bound Brook ahead of Ridge and behind Rutgers Prep. ****

13. GILL ST. BERNARD’S (5-2)
WINS: Kent Place, Sussex Tech, Saddle River Day, Purnell, Ranney
LOSSES: Rutgers Prep, Wardlaw-Hartridge
OUTLOOK: A very good Prep team, but nothing more.

14. SOMERSET TECH (4-2)
WINS: Newark Tech, Morris Tech, East Brunswick Tech, Bloomfield Tech
LOSSES: Sussex Tech, Bound Brook
OUTLOOK: At 4-2, the Runnin’ Jags have already matched their win-output of a year ago when they went 4-10 in their first season as a varsity squad. Somerset Tech should avoid the play-in game this season.

15. FRANKLIN (0-6)
WINS: NONE
LOSSES: Warren Hills, Bridgewater-Raritan, Bernards, Voorhees, Princeton, Montgomery
OUTLOOK: Warriors coach Mary Pat Lelinski successfully lobbied to keep the 15th seed last season ahead of North Planfield and avoid the play-in game, despite being winless then, like now. I’ll save her the trouble this year. Sure, Franklin is 0-6, but when you match the Warriors’ level of competition against anyone else in the bottom half of this bracket, there’s no contest.

16. NORTH PLAINFIELD (1-6)
WINS: Manville
LOSSES: Delaware Valley, South Hunterdon, North Brunswick, Somerville, North Warren, Hackettstown
OUTLOOK: Take heart Canucks fans; you get to face Manville once more this season.

17. MANVILLE (0-5)
WINS: NONE
LOSSES: Bound Brook, North Plainfield, Delaware Valley, South Hunterdon, Belvidere
OUTLOOK: Memo to Manville athletic director Pat LaMastro: Might I recommend scheduling a couple of tech schools next season?