Mid South, Raritan among local weekend softball winners BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer When the high school softball season began a few weeks back, there were a number of coaches of local teams who were promoting their squads as "teams to watch" this spring. That's nothing new. Coaches are generally optimistic by nature- they have to be in order to deal with the ups and downs that come with coaching team sports. However, just a few weeks into the season, many of those same coaches who were trumpeting their teams' potential are now basking in the validity of their predictions. As the divisional races begin to take form, separating the contenders from the also-rans, it seems this spring will be a productive one for the local teams, with as many as six local squads poised to make a run at their respective divisions' top spots. Heading into the weekend, it appeared Middletown South was the team to beat in the Class A North. That may still be the case, but at least one other team has now emerged as a legitimate contender in this race, and you don't have to travel very far to find it. The Lions of Middletown North entered Friday's game against the Eagles looking to get back into the A North race, and they did just that by beating the fourth-ranked Eagles, 2-1, in what was a well-played game between two fundamentally sound teams. The Lions scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead, and held on to secure a win that improved head coach Lisa Schutt-Smith's team to 5-3 on the year (and 5-2 in the division). South got on the board early, when Julia Kuhn scored on a North error in the first inning. Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, the Lions got things started when Michelle Heilmann was hit by a pitch, and was bunted to second by Kara Kelsey. Nicole Pinero then followed with a grounder to third that was mishandled by the third baseman. Amanda Svenson then hit a grounder to short, which resulted in another South error, allowing Heilmann to score the tying run. With runners on the corner, Sam Dugan got an infield hit, allowing Pinero to score the goahead run. Sophomore Chelsea Gallo held the Eagles in check, allowing just the one run and striking out seven to earn the win. North followed their big win over the rival Eagles with a 4-2 win over a good Toms River North team on Saturday. Gallo again got the win for the Lions, giving up just seven hits. Now at 6-3 on the year, the Lions find themselves just one game behind the Eagles in the A North race. While there is a long way to go, it appears the two teams from Middletown intend to battle down to the wire in this division, with good teams from Manalapan and Howell still in the mix as well. While both Red Bank Catholic and St. John Vianney seemed poised to maintain their stranglehold atop the Class A Central division, the Raritan Rockets have certainly served notice that they intend to challenge for divisional supremacy as well. Although they suffered a disappointing 3-2 loss to Manasquan on Friday, Raritan scored one of the biggest victories in the program's history last Tuesday, when the Rockets beat SJV for the first time since 1993. In a thrilling 12- inning affair, Raritan posted the momentous win when Kerilyn Svenson blasted a two-run home run. Now4-2 on the season, Raritan finds itself just a game behind both RBC and SJV, with a newfound confidence that they can play with the division's perennial top teams. The Rockets were to be tested again on Monday,when they facedMiddletownNorth in a Monmouth County Tournament game. They also were to face Holmdel yesterday, before taking on Long Branch today and Rumson-Fair Haven tomorrow. As for the Lancers, they rebounded from the loss to Raritan with a 9-0 win over Holmdel, and remain one of the most talented teams in the Shore. If recent history has taught us anything, it is that SJV will be rounding into top form once the Shore Conference Tournament rolls around. Down in the B North division, the Matawan Huskies are trying to prove they belong in a discussion of the Shore's top teams. After falling to top-ranked Wall, 8- 3, last week, the Huskies bounced back with a 9-4 win over Freehold, before falling to No. 6 Ocean, 9-0. Matawan then beat Red Bank, 5-3, and Monmouth Regional, 3-1, over the weekend to improve to 6-2 on the season. With losses to the two top teams in the division, Matawan will have its work cut out for it if it hopes to challenge for the title, however, with games remaining against both Wall and Ocean, they will have their shot. In fact, they get their shot at Wall tonight, and will face Colts Neck this week in aMCT game. That leaves Mater Dei, who lost a tough 4-3 game to Shore Regional last Wednesday, but bounced back with wins overManalapan, 4-1, and Point Beach, 12- 0, over the weekend to improve to 8-1 on the season. Head coach Jeannie Dickinson's Seraphs could easily be undefeated at this point, and have split their games with the Blue Devils (8-1 as well). While it seems likely that they will both earn division titles (Shore winning the public schools title and Mater Dei getting the non-public title), the Seraphs could also be a factor in both the MCT and SCT as well, as Dickinson appears to have more of her more talented teams in recent memory.