First high school softball rankings: Weather is Number One!!!!

I'm taking today off after three days of covering high school softball.

And as someone who has covered softball since the early 1980s, I've got to say that I can't remember such a good stretch of April weather like we've had.

Maybe we're all not fond of having to turn on the air conditioners before "Tax Day" but I'll take it over sitting in my car and watching games from there -- where possible -- to stay out of the cold. That's happened more early Aprils than I care to remember.

As for the quality of the play, well, I haven't seen everybody. I've only seen four teams in the Colonial and four in the LVC in person so far.

The pitching isn't nearly as strong as it was and that's forcing defenses to make more plays than ever. Some are not up to the task quite yet.

And the offenses deserve credit, too. They are making contact and putting the ball in play.



It's difficult to make an assessment so early in the season. I don't think the overall level of play is as good as it has been, but I said the same thing last year and we had three teams from the Lehigh Valley area (yes, I include Brandywine in that) playing in Shippensburg on the final day of the season.

(Becahi's Liz Presto, above, Is one of the many quality hitters in area softball this season).

How do I rank them so far?

Here's my first take:

LEHIGH VALLEY CONFERENCE

1. Nazareth 4-0 ...Seems like the Blue Eagles don't have one good pitcher, they have two.

2. Liberty 4-0.....They're winning the close ones.

3. Easton 2-1....Really showed me some offensive punch and character in rallying to beat Becahi.

4. Emmaus 4-3....Haven't lost to a Pennsylvania team yet.

5. Northampton 2-4...They've been competitive in all four losses, three of them coming by one run in extra innings.

6. Whitehall 3-3....Just when I thought this was a rebuilding year, the Zephs beat Parkland.

7. Parkland 1-2....It's going to take some time for this group to find its stride.

8. Allen 2-2.....Close one with Dieruff.

9. Freedom 3-4....Another team, like Northampton, that must find a way to win the close ones.

10. Becahi 1-3... They miss Kelly King and a lot of the boppers in the lineup they had last year.

11. CCHS 1-2 ....Bill Ehritz was optimistic before season started.

12. Dieruff 1-4....Bob Linn still loves working with these kids, no matter what happens.



COLONIAL LEAGUE

1. Palisades 4-0...Miss Morrone may be the best pitcher in the entire area.

2. Saucon Valley 4-0...Best lineup from top to bottom in the league, maybe the area.

3. Pen Argyl 3-1....Green Knights have outstanding female sports programs.

4. Northern Lehigh 2-1....I like the enthusiasm and energy that Brian Schell displays. He gets those girls pumped up.

5. Southern Lehigh 3-1....Blowing late lead against Pennridge probably irked Coach Neefe greatly.

6. Palmerton 3-1....Is Glenn Reimer the early frontrunner for coach of the year?

7. Notre Dame 2-2....Ericka Esposito coming over from Becahi was a nice addition.

8. Catasauqua 2-3....Can't get a handle on this team yet. Should be better than last year.

9. Wilson 2-2....Will Chelsea Bock go down as the best pitcher to never pitch in a playoff game?

10. Northwestern 1-3 ...Tigers have some talent, but too many mistakes led to rout against Northern Lehigh.

11. Bangor 0-3....Where's Amanda Whitford when you need her? Slaters haven't been same since.

12. Salisbury 0-5....It's unfortunate they have to play all of those South Division teams twice. Saucon, Palisades, Solehi are no picnic, that's for sure.

FROM KEITH GROLLER