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The 2025 varsity softball season gets going Tuesday in New Jersey, and there are plenty of Central Jersey teams poised for big years. Here are some preseason notes, our preseason All-Area teams, predictions and looks ahead for the new campaign.
The new Skyland Conference softball scheduling format for divisional games has not been met with enthusiastic approval among coaches, as the league tries something new.
In the past, teams would play divisional opponents in two cycles, playing each team once before repeating the schedule at the opposing home field. This season, teams are slated to face divisional foes twice in three days – generally Tuesday and Thursday – and, for the most part, coaches aren’t happy about it.
The point of the rule, really, is for baseball, something other leagues have used, including the Greater Middlesex Conference. Since baseball pitchers are on pitch counts and need rest between appearances, the scheduling format ensures divisional opponents don’t see a team’s ace in both meetings, which helps negate the advantage some clubs have with dominant starters at the head of their rotation getting to pitch every big game.
But, instead of just putting the rule in for the Skyland Conference’s baseball teams, the majority of athletics directors felt it was a good idea to also put the rule in place for softball, perhaps without considering how it would impact the sport, and certainly without asking for coaches to weight in on the move.
Fact is, baseball and softball are different. Baseball pitchers need time to recover, while softball pitchers can go every day and some have no limit on their ability to throw a lot of pitches. So, as is the case with a lot of softball teams, clubs that only have one viable varsity pitcher are forced to throw that hurler against a division opponent in consecutive games. And it wasn’t that long ago when it was the norm to only have one starting varsity pitcher.
“This schedule is a complete disregard for the differences in our sport,” longtime Bernards coach Leslie O’Conner said. “While it makes sense for baseball, it creates a disadvantage for softball. We typically have one ace. Now, a lineup will see our pitcher six or more times in the span of a week.”
More: Who is your pick for reader’s choice Player to Watch in Central Jersey. VOTE NOW!
More: Softball preview index: Links to Courier News and Home News Tribune 2025 preview package
But even coaches who have multiple pitching options aren’t a fan of the change. Watchung Hills features junior Riley Bobrowski as its ace, the reigning Softball Player of the Year, who pitched the Warriors to a state championship last season. They also have senior Mia Simon, who is a dominant pitcher in her own right.
But Bobrowski’s inning were limited down the stretch and in the state tournament last year, and she’s certainly not going to pitch every inning this year, especially early, which means Simon is going to face a lot of good teams. And a team at Watchung Hills’ level also plays big non-conference games against elite opponents, potentially giving them 3-4 important outings in a week – often three days in a row -- if they have to face a top divisional contender twice in three days.
“It makes absolutely no sense for softball. This is a baseball model. It’s just ridiculous the way things are set up,” Watchung Hills coach Brian Figueredo said. “I hope it’s one and done.”
That could be what happens, as the Skyland Conference’s powers-that-be have shown a willingness to make changes year to year, when necessary, as is evidenced by the fact they realign divisions according to competitive balance each season. Most leagues use a two or three-year cycle that takes time to adjust to the strengths of individual programs.
“I think baseball and softball got lumped together, but in retrospect they probably shouldn’t have,” said Bound Brook athletics director Jeff Steele, the softball chair of the Skyland Conference. “It’s something we should have investigated a little bit further and had more discussion about.”
Unlike many of his colleagues, Steele knows firsthand the challenges of managing a softball pitching staff, as the former state-championship-winning softball coach at North Hunterdon. But, like some, he’s interested to see how things go with it and how it goes over.
“As a softball coach, both sports are very different in the ways things work, and moving forward I see us going back to the old way, which is better for our sport, specifically at the high-school level,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, that’s what was decided, so we’re going to roll with it and see how it works out.”
Of course, some of this could have been avoided by including coaches in the discussion to begin with.
“I don't really think it is that big of a deal, but I can see why others may not see it that way,” said Hillsborough coach Cheryl Iaione, who is beginning her 29th season at the Raiders helm. “My biggest issue with it is that the coaches were never consulted to see how we felt about it before making the decision.”
That’s also a practice Steele could see changed in certain situations.
“Normal process is that athletics directors meet and set up the division schedule,” Steele said. “There have been changes made across sports, scheduling-wise, and coaches’ consideration isn’t something that was taken into consideration. But given how things have worked out, maybe that’s something in the future we should take a look at. This is a change that does affect the game, and when you make changes of that magnitude, coaches’ input would be valuable.”
Here is our preseason All-Area team, based on last year’s performances:
P: Riley Bobrowski, Watchung Hills, junior
P: Olivia DiSalvo, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, senior
P: Layla Francisco, North Hunterdon, junior
P: Emily Van Cleef, Hunterdon Central, senior
C: Annie Conover, New Providence
C: Kiersten Murray, Ridge, senior
1B: Ava Colontrelle, Phillipsburg, senior
Inf: Taylor Francis, Pingry, senior
Inf: Zoe Totaro, Hunterdon Central, senior
Inf: Briana Cacchio, Bridgewater-Raritan, junior
Inf: Samantha Dougherty, North Hunterdon, senior
OF: Evelyn Fresco, Bridgewater-Raritan, senior
OF: Susan Hockenbury, Voorhees, senior
OF: Heather Ryden, Immaculata, senior
DH/P: Mia Simon, Watchung Hills, senior
The Skyland Conference has reshuffled again, something the league is doing each season to ensure competitive balance, allowing the conference to consider strength of program, and not merely school size, when setting the divisions.
Here is the 2025 softball alignment:
DELAWARE DIVISION: Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central, Immaculata, North Hunterdon, Watchung Hills
RARITAN DIVISION: Bernards, Bridgewater-Raritan, Franklin, Phillipsburg, Pingry, Warren Hills
VALLEY DIVISION: Bound Brook, Delaware Valley, Gill St. Bernards, Montgomery, Mount St. Mary, Ridge
MOUNTAIN DIVISION: Belvidere, Manville, Rutgers Prep, Somerville, South Hunterdon, Voorhees
“When it comes to predictions, people only remember the ones you get right.” – wise man
Here are my picks for the 2025 season. I apologize in advance to those of you I might have overlooked, and especially to those of you I might have just cursed.
Skyland Conference Delaware Division
THE FAVORITE: Watchung Hills
THE CONTENDER: Immaculata, Hunterdon Central, North Hunterdon
THE SLEEPER: A four-way tie
While Watchung Hills gets the edge with ace Riley Bobrowski, this division is a legitimate four-team race.
THE KEY QUESTION: What happens in the circle for Immaculata, which is projected to have two freshmen handling its innings
Skyland Conference Raritan Division
THE FAVORITE: Pingry
THE CONTENDER: Bridgewater-Raritan
THE SLEEPER: Phillipsburg
Pingry has the pitching with Casey McKeon and the bat and glove of Taylor Francis, Bridgewater-Raritan has the depth and experience, and Phillipsburg has the X factor, where you never quite know when the Stateliners are going to jump up and bite you. Franklin and Warren Hills could also make some noise here, while Bernards is a good program that could overcome losing seven longtime starters to graduation.
THE KEY QUESTION: Bridgewater-Raritan’s pitching. If sophomore Brynn Hawley can build on a solid freshman campaign and keep the Panthers in game, the defense behind her will be tight and the offense is as good as any in the conference, which could equal a special season.
Skyland Conference Valley Division
THE FAVORITE: Delaware Valley
THE CONTENDER: Bound Brook, Ridge
The SLEEPER: Gill St. Bernard’s
This division is wide open, with Mount St. Mary a deep sleeper with four-year ace Anna Ziccardi. Del Val won this division last year and has everyone back, but Ridge was up in the Raritan and Bound Brook was down in the Mountain. The Red Devils did graduate a heavy senior class, but return a four-year starting twin battery of pitcher Kari Murray and first-team All-Area catcher Kiersten Murray. Bound Brook, meanwhile, is led by the 1-2 punch of shortstop Rachael Gurczeski and ace Isabella Marusiak, with some more talent behind them
THE KEY QUESTION: Does Bound Brook, which won the Mountain Division last year, have enough to support its big guns to make a run against a tougher slate? And does Ridge have enough behind their battery to overcome big graduation losses.
Skyland Conference Mountain Division
THE FAVORITE: South Hunterdon
THE CONTENDER: Voorhees
The SLEEPER: Rutgers Prep
Personally, I don’t see what Voorhees is doing in this division. The Vikes should have stayed up in the Valley. I’d much rather have seen Mount St. Mary remain here.
THE KEY QUESTION: How does Voorhees do against a Mountain Division schedule for the first time?
Somerset County Tournament Final
THE PICK: Watchung Hills over Bridgewater-Raritan
CONTENDERS: Immaculata
SLEEPERS: Bound Brook, Pingry
Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament Final
THE PICK: North Hunterdon over Hunterdon Central
Union County Tournament Final
THE PICK: Scotch Plains-Fanwood over Governor Livingston
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 [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter/X @SimeonPincus
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: Skyland, western UCC notebook and predictions
Continue reading...
An unwelcomed experiment
The new Skyland Conference softball scheduling format for divisional games has not been met with enthusiastic approval among coaches, as the league tries something new.
In the past, teams would play divisional opponents in two cycles, playing each team once before repeating the schedule at the opposing home field. This season, teams are slated to face divisional foes twice in three days – generally Tuesday and Thursday – and, for the most part, coaches aren’t happy about it.
The point of the rule, really, is for baseball, something other leagues have used, including the Greater Middlesex Conference. Since baseball pitchers are on pitch counts and need rest between appearances, the scheduling format ensures divisional opponents don’t see a team’s ace in both meetings, which helps negate the advantage some clubs have with dominant starters at the head of their rotation getting to pitch every big game.
But, instead of just putting the rule in for the Skyland Conference’s baseball teams, the majority of athletics directors felt it was a good idea to also put the rule in place for softball, perhaps without considering how it would impact the sport, and certainly without asking for coaches to weight in on the move.
Fact is, baseball and softball are different. Baseball pitchers need time to recover, while softball pitchers can go every day and some have no limit on their ability to throw a lot of pitches. So, as is the case with a lot of softball teams, clubs that only have one viable varsity pitcher are forced to throw that hurler against a division opponent in consecutive games. And it wasn’t that long ago when it was the norm to only have one starting varsity pitcher.
“This schedule is a complete disregard for the differences in our sport,” longtime Bernards coach Leslie O’Conner said. “While it makes sense for baseball, it creates a disadvantage for softball. We typically have one ace. Now, a lineup will see our pitcher six or more times in the span of a week.”
More: Who is your pick for reader’s choice Player to Watch in Central Jersey. VOTE NOW!
More: Softball preview index: Links to Courier News and Home News Tribune 2025 preview package
But even coaches who have multiple pitching options aren’t a fan of the change. Watchung Hills features junior Riley Bobrowski as its ace, the reigning Softball Player of the Year, who pitched the Warriors to a state championship last season. They also have senior Mia Simon, who is a dominant pitcher in her own right.
But Bobrowski’s inning were limited down the stretch and in the state tournament last year, and she’s certainly not going to pitch every inning this year, especially early, which means Simon is going to face a lot of good teams. And a team at Watchung Hills’ level also plays big non-conference games against elite opponents, potentially giving them 3-4 important outings in a week – often three days in a row -- if they have to face a top divisional contender twice in three days.
“It makes absolutely no sense for softball. This is a baseball model. It’s just ridiculous the way things are set up,” Watchung Hills coach Brian Figueredo said. “I hope it’s one and done.”
That could be what happens, as the Skyland Conference’s powers-that-be have shown a willingness to make changes year to year, when necessary, as is evidenced by the fact they realign divisions according to competitive balance each season. Most leagues use a two or three-year cycle that takes time to adjust to the strengths of individual programs.
“I think baseball and softball got lumped together, but in retrospect they probably shouldn’t have,” said Bound Brook athletics director Jeff Steele, the softball chair of the Skyland Conference. “It’s something we should have investigated a little bit further and had more discussion about.”
Unlike many of his colleagues, Steele knows firsthand the challenges of managing a softball pitching staff, as the former state-championship-winning softball coach at North Hunterdon. But, like some, he’s interested to see how things go with it and how it goes over.
“As a softball coach, both sports are very different in the ways things work, and moving forward I see us going back to the old way, which is better for our sport, specifically at the high-school level,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, that’s what was decided, so we’re going to roll with it and see how it works out.”
Of course, some of this could have been avoided by including coaches in the discussion to begin with.
“I don't really think it is that big of a deal, but I can see why others may not see it that way,” said Hillsborough coach Cheryl Iaione, who is beginning her 29th season at the Raiders helm. “My biggest issue with it is that the coaches were never consulted to see how we felt about it before making the decision.”
That’s also a practice Steele could see changed in certain situations.
“Normal process is that athletics directors meet and set up the division schedule,” Steele said. “There have been changes made across sports, scheduling-wise, and coaches’ consideration isn’t something that was taken into consideration. But given how things have worked out, maybe that’s something in the future we should take a look at. This is a change that does affect the game, and when you make changes of that magnitude, coaches’ input would be valuable.”
Preseason All-Area
Here is our preseason All-Area team, based on last year’s performances:
P: Riley Bobrowski, Watchung Hills, junior
P: Olivia DiSalvo, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, senior
P: Layla Francisco, North Hunterdon, junior
P: Emily Van Cleef, Hunterdon Central, senior
C: Annie Conover, New Providence
C: Kiersten Murray, Ridge, senior
1B: Ava Colontrelle, Phillipsburg, senior
Inf: Taylor Francis, Pingry, senior
Inf: Zoe Totaro, Hunterdon Central, senior
Inf: Briana Cacchio, Bridgewater-Raritan, junior
Inf: Samantha Dougherty, North Hunterdon, senior
OF: Evelyn Fresco, Bridgewater-Raritan, senior
OF: Susan Hockenbury, Voorhees, senior
OF: Heather Ryden, Immaculata, senior
DH/P: Mia Simon, Watchung Hills, senior
Skyland realignment
The Skyland Conference has reshuffled again, something the league is doing each season to ensure competitive balance, allowing the conference to consider strength of program, and not merely school size, when setting the divisions.
Here is the 2025 softball alignment:
DELAWARE DIVISION: Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central, Immaculata, North Hunterdon, Watchung Hills
RARITAN DIVISION: Bernards, Bridgewater-Raritan, Franklin, Phillipsburg, Pingry, Warren Hills
VALLEY DIVISION: Bound Brook, Delaware Valley, Gill St. Bernards, Montgomery, Mount St. Mary, Ridge
MOUNTAIN DIVISION: Belvidere, Manville, Rutgers Prep, Somerville, South Hunterdon, Voorhees
Pincus’ picks
“When it comes to predictions, people only remember the ones you get right.” – wise man
Here are my picks for the 2025 season. I apologize in advance to those of you I might have overlooked, and especially to those of you I might have just cursed.
Skyland Conference Delaware Division
THE FAVORITE: Watchung Hills
THE CONTENDER: Immaculata, Hunterdon Central, North Hunterdon
THE SLEEPER: A four-way tie
While Watchung Hills gets the edge with ace Riley Bobrowski, this division is a legitimate four-team race.
THE KEY QUESTION: What happens in the circle for Immaculata, which is projected to have two freshmen handling its innings
Skyland Conference Raritan Division
THE FAVORITE: Pingry
THE CONTENDER: Bridgewater-Raritan
THE SLEEPER: Phillipsburg
Pingry has the pitching with Casey McKeon and the bat and glove of Taylor Francis, Bridgewater-Raritan has the depth and experience, and Phillipsburg has the X factor, where you never quite know when the Stateliners are going to jump up and bite you. Franklin and Warren Hills could also make some noise here, while Bernards is a good program that could overcome losing seven longtime starters to graduation.
THE KEY QUESTION: Bridgewater-Raritan’s pitching. If sophomore Brynn Hawley can build on a solid freshman campaign and keep the Panthers in game, the defense behind her will be tight and the offense is as good as any in the conference, which could equal a special season.
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Skyland Conference Valley Division
THE FAVORITE: Delaware Valley
THE CONTENDER: Bound Brook, Ridge
The SLEEPER: Gill St. Bernard’s
This division is wide open, with Mount St. Mary a deep sleeper with four-year ace Anna Ziccardi. Del Val won this division last year and has everyone back, but Ridge was up in the Raritan and Bound Brook was down in the Mountain. The Red Devils did graduate a heavy senior class, but return a four-year starting twin battery of pitcher Kari Murray and first-team All-Area catcher Kiersten Murray. Bound Brook, meanwhile, is led by the 1-2 punch of shortstop Rachael Gurczeski and ace Isabella Marusiak, with some more talent behind them
THE KEY QUESTION: Does Bound Brook, which won the Mountain Division last year, have enough to support its big guns to make a run against a tougher slate? And does Ridge have enough behind their battery to overcome big graduation losses.
Skyland Conference Mountain Division
THE FAVORITE: South Hunterdon
THE CONTENDER: Voorhees
The SLEEPER: Rutgers Prep
Personally, I don’t see what Voorhees is doing in this division. The Vikes should have stayed up in the Valley. I’d much rather have seen Mount St. Mary remain here.
THE KEY QUESTION: How does Voorhees do against a Mountain Division schedule for the first time?
Somerset County Tournament Final
THE PICK: Watchung Hills over Bridgewater-Raritan
CONTENDERS: Immaculata
SLEEPERS: Bound Brook, Pingry
Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament Final
THE PICK: North Hunterdon over Hunterdon Central
Union County Tournament Final
THE PICK: Scotch Plains-Fanwood over Governor Livingston
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 [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter/X @SimeonPincus
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: Skyland, western UCC notebook and predictions
Continue reading...
