2021 Softball - Top 20

[89FanGuy]

First - It's awesome for high school softball and baseball to be back!

A lot of changes since softball was last played in 2019. Two years later, with a full season cancelled, there should be a lot of new faces on the teams this year. It will also be a little harder to judge talent with most teams allowing each athlete two spectators, so there won't be much, if any, opportunity to just go check out some games this season. Regardless, I'm just happy games are back!

So for the softball fans out there, I'm sure there will be other opinions, but I'm taking a crack at a pre-season top 20. First lets take a look at who IS returning...

Pitching is key. Even with a good offense, it is hard to out hit a team with a good pitcher if your school doesn't have one. Some of the top returners from two years ago are: Gracyn Frost (DMA), Payton Dixon (Smyrna), Alexis Dowdy (Dover), Jess Walter (Caravel - transferred from Appo), Lydia Drake (Middletown), Madelyn Pritchard (William Penn), Teagan Bradley (Mt. Pleasant), Jada Evans (Seaford), and Ryleigh Thomas (St. Mark's). Some of these pitchers are dual threats with big bats as well.

The stellar position players also returning: Madison Bauerle (Appo), Mikayla Walsh (Caravel), Katelyn Evick (Sussex Central), Madeline Olivas (Appo), and Mya Jones (Sussex Central), Olivia Marinucci (Appo), Shannon Edelman (Concord), and Peyton Pusey (Red Lion).

Just about all of those players either got all-state mention in 2019 or were in the News Journal Top 33 that was posted when last season was cancelled. Look for all of them to make some noise this year.

Again, there will be a lot of new players this year. I think my top 5 to 10 are pretty solid with where they are, but a team or two (or three) surprises each season either jumping up, or falling off the list altogether.

Delaware High School Softball - Preseason Top 20 (by 89FanGuy)
1. DMA
2. Smyrna
3. Dover
4. Caravel
5. Appoquinimink
6. Red Lion
7. Sussex Central
8. Middletown
9. William Penn
10. Newark Charter
11. Mount Pleasant
12. Padua
13. Seaford
14. Lake Forest
15. Concord
16. St. Mark's
17. Delmar
18. Indian RIver
19. Sussex Tech
20. Wilm Charter

 

[ReturnOfTheGate]

I'm interested to see how the tournament goes this year because when we last had one, there was some consternation about the seedings and whatnot. Seeing how this season plays out and who ends up seeded where could be up for debate again.

 

[89FanGuy]

I'm interested to see how the tournament goes this year because when we last had one, there was some consternation about the seedings and whatnot. Seeing how this season plays out and who ends up seeded where could be up for debate again.

It will be interesting for sure. I hear it will be an "open" tournament much like winter sports, so anyone who wants to be in will be in. Seeding will be tough, but the biggest thorn always seems to be Caravel and their out-of-state-schedule. That won't be an issue this year as they have just one game scheduled with an out-of-state team. Everyone's strength-of-schedule will pretty much be coming from in-state teams, so there should be less talk about that. The only worry would be cancelled games that don't get made up. How does the committee compare a team that plays 18 games to one that maybe only plays 14 or 15 (if that situation arises)?

 

[ReturnOfTheGate]

And considering we had substantial snow this year, I have to believe we'll have a lot of rain this spring as well, so will teams try to negotiate doubleheaders? I guess we'll have to wait and see. I like the open tournament idea for all spring sports honestly. Basketball proved it can be done.

 

[84rider]

CR is off to a good start 3-0 with wins over Dover, Appo & Cape.

 

[Mark_Dickinson]

CR, Smyrna, and Sussex Tech are all off to a good start.

 

[89FanGuy]

Though I posted my update last week, but it's not here. Hmmm. Maybe forgot to click the post reply button. This week's update with last weeks rankings in brackets...

4/4/2021 - Updated Top 20
1. DMA (3-0) [Previous Rank 1]
2. Smyrna (3-0) [PR 2]
3. Caravel (5-0) [PR 3]
4. Caesar Rodney (5-0) [PR 4]
5. Sussex Tech (4-0) [PR 5]
6. Sussex Central (4-1) [PR 6]
7. Middletown (2-1) [PR 7]
8. Red Lion CA (3-0) [PR 10]
9. Seaford (3-2) [PR 19]
10. Dover (1-4) [PR 10]
11. Appoquinimink (2-2) [PR 8]
12. William Penn (2-1) [PR 11]
13. Sussex Academy (3-0) [PR 13]
14. Laurel (3-2) [PR 12]
15. Cape Henelopen (2-2) [PR 20]
16. Lake Forest (2-0) [PR 14]
17. Concord (1-1) [PR 18]
18. Wilm Charter (1-1) [PR 16]
19. St. Mark's (2-1) [PR 15]
20. Conrad (2-1) [PR NR]

 

[89FanGuy]

And as expected, I missed on a few teams both over and under rating a handful of teams. Great to have watched a couple of games, and hoping the restrictions continue to get rolled back so more fans can get out there.

 

[84rider]

nice work 89Fanguy, thanks for updates, good to see CR having a good start, it’s been a long time coming imo

 

[89FanGuy]

nice work 89Fanguy, thanks for updates, good to see CR having a good start, it’s been a long time coming imo

Thank you. Really enjoy the game and following all the teams and top players. CR has a really good squad. A couple of good pitchers, solid defensively everywhere and some good bats as well. Looking forward to their game against Smyrna. Could be a new North champ this year.

 

[89FanGuy]

Updated rankings. Not as many games over spring break, so not a lot of movement overall.

	April 11, 2021​
Rank​		Prev​
1​	DMA (5-0)	1​
2​	Smyrna (4-0)	2​
3​	Caravel (7-0)	3​
4​	Caesar Rodney (5-0)	4​
5​	Sussex Tech (5-0)	5​
6​	Sussex Central (5-1)	6​
7​	Middletown (3-1)	7​
8​	Red Lion CA (4-0)	8​
9​	Sussex Academy (3-0)	13​
10​	William Penn (4-2)	12​
11​	Lake Forest (3-1)	16​
12​	Laurel (4-3)	14​
13​	Seaford (3-3)	9​
14​	Cape Henelopen (3-2)	15​
15​	St. Mark's (3-1)	19​
16​	Appoquinimink (3-4)	11​
17​	Dover (2-6)	10​
18​	Concord (1-1)	17​
19​	Conrad (3-2)	20​
20​	Delmar (3-3)	NR​

 

[89FanGuy]

Now we're talking! Movement at the top as a number of top 10 matchups played out over the past week. Smyrna took losses to Caravel and DMA. DMA took a loss to Sussex Central. Caravel took a big loss to Delmar. Sussex Tech lost their first game to Laurel. Caesar Rodney remains the only top 20 undefeated team, but have Sussex Tech, Sussex Central, and Smyrna yet to play.

	April 18, 2021​
Rank​		Prev​
1​	Sussex Central (8-1)	6​
2​	DMA (6-1)	1​
3​	Caesar Rodney (8-0)	4​
4​	Caravel (9-1)	3​
5​	Smyrna (5-2)	2​
6​	Sussex Tech (7-1)	5​
7​	Red Lion CA (4-1)	8​
8​	William Penn (6-2)	10​
9​	Lake Forest (6-1)	11​
10​	Laurel (7-3)	12​
11​	Middletown (3-3)	7​
12​	Seaford (5-3)	13​
13​	St. Mark's (7-1)	15​
14​	Appoquinimink (3-4)	16​
15​	Cape Henelopen (4-4)	14​
16​	Sussex Academy (5-1)	9​
17​	Delmar (4-4)	20​
18​	Dover (3-7)	17​
19​	Concord (2-2)	18​
20​	Conrad (3-3)	19​

 

[89FanGuy]

Top 20 update - April 25, 2021

Rank		Prev
1	Sussex Central (10-1)	1
2	DMA (8-1)	2
3	Caravel (10-1)	4
4	Sussex Tech (9-2)	6
5	Caesar Rodney (10-1)	3
6	Laurel (9-3)	10
7	Smyrna (7-3)	5
8	Red Lion CA (6-2)	7
9	Appoquinimink (7-4)	14
10	William Penn (8-4)	8
11	Seaford (6-3)	12
12	Middletown (5-4)	11
13	Lake Forest (6-3)	9
14	St. Mark's (9-1)	13
15	Cape Henelopen (6-5)	15
16	Delmar (5-5)	17
17	Dover (4-8)	18
18	Concord (3-4)	19
19	Sussex Academy (7-2)	16
20	Wilm Charter (6-4)	NR

 

[89FanGuy]

Updated Top 20 - May 2, 2021

Laurel jumps up the board with a win over DMA. Appo is back to their old ways and is on a 6 game winning streak. Smyrna's offense has cooled. Sussex Tech and Caesar Rodney continue to roll along. St. Mark's inches closer to the top 10 (their pitcher is really good, but their schedule this year is really soft, so it's hard to judge without having played more than 2 or 3 good teams). Padua is back in the top 20 for the first time since my pre-season poll.

Rank		Prev
1	Sussex Central (13-1)	1
2	Caravel (11-1)	3
3	Laurel (12-3)	6
4	DMA (10-2)	2
5	Sussex Tech (11-2)	4
6	Caesar Rodney (12-2)	5
7	Appoquinimink (9-4)	9
8	Smyrna (9-4)	7
9	Red Lion CA (8-3)	8
10	William Penn (10-5)	10
11	Middletown (8-4)	12
12	St. Mark's (10-1)	14
13	Lake Forest (7-5)	13
14	Seaford (7-5)	11
15	Cape Henelopen (7-7)	15
16	Dover (6-8)	17
17	Delmar (6-7)	16
18	Sussex Academy (8-4)	19
19	Padua (7-6)	NR
20	Concord (5-5)	18

 

[DoItWrite]

Updated Top 20 - May 2, 2021

Laurel jumps up the board with a win over DMA. Appo is back to their old ways and is on a 6 game winning streak. Smyrna's offense has cooled. Sussex Tech and Caesar Rodney continue to roll along. St. Mark's inches closer to the top 10 (their pitcher is really good, but their schedule this year is really soft, so it's hard to judge without having played more than 2 or 3 good teams). Padua is back in the top 20 for the first time since my pre-season poll.

Rank		Prev
1	Sussex Central (13-1)	1
2	Caravel (11-1)	3
3	Laurel (12-3)	6
4	DMA (10-2)	2
5	Sussex Tech (11-2)	4
6	Caesar Rodney (12-2)	5
7	Appoquinimink (9-4)	9
8	Smyrna (9-4)	7
9	Red Lion CA (8-3)	8
10	William Penn (10-5)	10
11	Middletown (8-4)	12
12	St. Mark's (10-1)	14
13	Lake Forest (7-5)	13
14	Seaford (7-5)	11
15	Cape Henelopen (7-7)	15
16	Dover (6-8)	17
17	Delmar (6-7)	16
18	Sussex Academy (8-4)	19
19	Padua (7-6)	NR
20	Concord (5-5)	18

St. Mark's gets tested a bit later this week. They play DMA on Thursday afternoon. They do have Padua and Concord before that. Padua is responsible for the only L on the Spartans' record this season.

 

[ReturnOfTheGate]

The only good thing about a pandemic is the season has forced exclusively in-state matchups, so we have a better gauge of who fares best or worst against certain teams. I'm willing to predict anyone that would be a favorite in any other season (DMA, Smyrna, Tech, Appo, Caravel) will likely have a hard time getting to the final four because you just never know what each game will bring.

 

[89FanGuy]

The only good thing about a pandemic is the season has forced exclusively in-state matchups, so we have a better gauge of who fares best or worst against certain teams. I'm willing to predict anyone that would be a favorite in any other season (DMA, Smyrna, Tech, Appo, Caravel) will likely have a hard time getting to the final four because you just never know what each game will bring.

I agree. I think the state tournament will be wide open. And when it gets down to the final eight, who wins from there could be any ones guess.

 

[89FanGuy]

St. Mark's gets tested a bit later this week. They play DMA on Thursday afternoon. They do have Padua and Concord before that. Padua is responsible for the only L on the Spartans' record this season.

Lost 10-0 to Padua with Thomas pitching. Lost 13-1 to Concord - though the box score says she didn’t pitch that game.

 

[89FanGuy]

Some small changes in the top 10 or so, and bigger changes toward the bottom 10. Adding a new update with key games this past week:
Padua 10 St. Mark's 0
DMA 6 Caravel 0
Concord 13 St. Marks' 1
Smyrna 1 Caesar Rodney 0
Sussex Central 9 Sussex Tech 0
Caravel 13 Laurel 6
DMA 10 St. Mark's 0
Sussex Tech 5 Smyrna 4
Sussex Central 4 Red Lion CA 3
Middletown 6 Appoquinimink 2
Wilm Charter 2 Padua 1
Caravel 7 Sussex Tech 2

Rank		Prev
1	Sussex Central (15-1)	1
2	DMA (12-2)	4
3	Caravel (13-2)	2
4	Laurel (13-4)	3
5	Caesar Rodney (13-3)	6
6	Sussex Tech (12-4)	5
7	Red Lion CA (10-4)	9
8	Middletown (10-4)	11
9	Appoquinimink (11-5)	7
10	Smyrna (10-5)	8
11	William Penn (11-5)	10
12	St. Mark's (11-4)	12
13	Seaford (8-6)	14
14	Padua (9-7)	19
15	Delmarva Christian (10-4)	NR
16	Lake Forest (8-7)	13
17	Dover (8-9)	16
18	Concord (8-5)	20
19	Wilm Charter (10-6)	NR
20	Delmar (8-8)	17