SOFTBALL TALK FROM KEITH GROLLER

FROM KEITH GROLLER

I'll answer my own question -- no.

With just two weeks left in the regular season, no one in either the Lehigh Valley Conference or Colonial League deserves to be ranked No. 1, either in an area poll or in their respective leagues. No one has earned the right to be called a great team in either team. Each of the 24 teams are flawed.

If you take the entire Morning Call coverage area, the two best teams are probably Pleasant Valley and Brandywine, who both have just one loss.

And both of those teams have done well against LVC and Colonial League competition this year.

The Bears are 6-0 against LVC teams, the Bullets 3-0.

But our focus here remains the two leagues which primarily consist of Lehigh and Northampton county teams, although the Colonial stretches north to Carbon County for Palmerton and south to Bucks County for Palisades.

Here's how I rate them early on Monday morning.

If they play games today (and that's questionable considering it's raining as I type), there's a good possibility the rankings will look totally different by 6 Monday night.

COLONIAL LEAGUE

1. Saucon Valley (13-2, 10-2)....They have the best record and Sarah Seneca keeps slugging home runs, but you wonder if they'll be able to hold down teams well enough in the playoffs.

2. Palisades (13-3, 9-3)...Still searching for consistency on offense.

3. Pen Argyl (10-5, 9-3)....In their five losses, the Green Knights have scored a total of three runs.

4. Southern Lehigh (12-3, 9-3)...Spartans were going to be my No. 1 in this league until that loss to Wilson.

5. Northern Lehigh (11-5, 8-4)...Bulldogs have been feasting off weak pitching in recent games.

6. Palmerton (8-6, 7-5)...Truly enjoyed my trip to Palmerton last week. Was my first visit to the softball field in about 15 years. Liked the complex and like this team, which is only going to get better.

7. Northwestern (9-7, 6-6)...Would like to clinch district berth by beating Northern Lehigh, but that would require major turnaround from 15-6 loss on April 7.

8. Wilson (7-7, 5-7)...Warriors within striking distance of first District 11 berth.

9. Notre Dame (5-9, 4-8)....Competitive losses to Pen Argyl, Saucon and Becahi in the last couple of weeks show this team isn't that far away from respectability.

10. Catasauqua (5-9, 3-8)....Have scored just 16 total runs in nine losses and have dropped four in a row.

11. Salisbury (1-14, 1-10)....Falcons showed me they haven't quit with respectable 5-0 loss to Palmerton at Pates Park last week.

12. Bangor (0-15, 0-12)...You know it's a tough year when a 3-1 loss to Wilson is probably a morale victory.

LEHIGH VALLEY CONFERENCE

1. Easton (8-5, 6-3)...Four of its last five wins have been by shutout.

2. Bethlehem Catholic (11-4, 6-3)...Golden Hawks have lost just one game since 24 days -- to Pleasant Valley.

3. Liberty (10-3, 8-1)...Give Rich Giering for staying positive and not getting on his girls too much for tough loss to Emmaus last Thursday.

4. Nazareth (7-4, 7-2)...Perhaps the league's biggest mystery, especially in the pitching department.

5. Emmaus (9-6, 6-3)....Game at Becahi today should tell whether Green Hornets are truly for real.

6. Northampton (7-7, 5-4)...Swept through Allentown with three wins by a combined 28-2.

7. Parkland (6-5, 4-5)....Nice to see Glen Ray in the press box last week, although my guess is he'd still rather be in the dugout.

8. Whitehall (6-8, 4-5)...Defending district champs have some work to do just to get back to D11 tourney.

9. Freedom (7-8, 3-6)....That bad collision involving Chelsea Lowy and Mils Batcha at Parkland hurt both kids, and, really hurt the Pates district chances.

10. Allen (5-10, 4-5)....Although it looks bleak, Chicks still not out of division race or district tournament contention.

11. CCHS (3-11, 1-8)....Twenty years ago, the Vikettes were league and district champs. And they had a head coach named Bugsy.

12. Dieruff (1-13, 0-9)....Speaking of rebuilding Husky programs, the new Dieruff Touchdown Club is hosting a fundraiser from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday at the East Side Youth Center. Tickets are $70 for a dinner buffet, beer and wine raffle, dancing and $2,500 in prizes. I am told this is the main fundraiser designed to help pay for equipment, camps, food, etc. For tickets, call Betty Reinhart at 610-442-5054 or email tmyarnall@aol.com

FROM KEITH GROLLER