UNION COUNTY, NJ — Two weeks into the 2025 Union County softball campaign and three teams remained undefeated as of Monday, April 14.
Arthur L. Johnson High School, the leader in the Union County Conference’s Watchung Division, stood at 5-0 overall and also sported a 5-0 record in division play.
Roselle Park High School was 3-0 overall and leading the Mountain Division at 3-0.
Rahway High School was 4-0 overall and in first place in the Valley Division at 3-0.
Defending Union County Tournament champion Jonathan Dayton High School was off to another solid start at 5-2 overall and was 4-1 in the Watchung Division, with its lone loss coming at Arthur L. Johnson, 6-4, on Thursday, April 3.
Arthur L. Johnson and Jonathan Dayton are scheduled to clash again in Watchung Division play Tuesday, April 22, in Springfield, which is a 4 p.m. first pitch.
Arthur L. Johnson, the defending Central Jersey, Group 2 state champion, is sparked on the mound by sophomore Cassie Conforti. In her first 28 innings, Conforti struck out 34 and had a low earned-run average of 1.75.
Conforti was also among the team leaders offensively with six hits and a team-high eight RBI. Leading in hits was fellow sophomore Gianna Calleja with eight. Banging out seven each were junior Elizabeth Fitzharris, sophomore Courtney Kilmer, sophomore Ava Todaro and junior Elizabeth Yanni. Second in RBI with seven was sophomore Addison Meyer.
Roselle Park, which was scheduled to host Rahway in a UCC-crossover clash on Monday, April 14, improved a great deal last year, finishing 15-12, which was its first winning season since 2019. Roselle Park went 6-19 in 2021, 9-15 in 2022 and 7-19 in 2023, after capturing the North 2, Group 1 sectional state championship three years in a row in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and the UCT in consecutive years, 2018 and 2019.
The 2018 Panthers, who finished 27-3, also captured the Group 1 state championship, which was Roselle Park’s first state title since 2003.
This year’s squad is led on the mound by senior Brooke Gallo, who began the week with a solid 1.91 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 22 innings.
Leading the way offensively for the Panthers are sophomore first baseman Madison Harms and senior shortstop Madison O’Connell. Harms and O’Connell both began the week with a team-high eight hits, while Harms had a team-leading nine RBI and O’Connell a team-leading six runs.
Rahway, which outscored its first four foes 66-13, is seeking its first winning season since a 13-8 finish in 2022. Jaylynn Soto, a senior, struck out 34 in her first 15 innings.
Offensively for the Indians, leading the team in hits with eight were Soto and sophomore Amanda Lebers. Leading in RBI were junior Danielle Maher with 12, Lebers with 10 and fellow sophomore Emily Garcia with 10.
Jonathan Dayton, which was shut out at home by Watchung Hills Regional High School, 1-0, on Monday, April 14, has three players with 10 or more hits already, including freshman Avital Kandel, sophomore Charley Badalamenti and junior Bella Pintado. Right behind with nine hits each were sophomore Julianna Santangelo, sophomore Abigail Trenk and senior Ashley Weber. Leading in RBI with 13 was Kandel and second with 10 was pitcher Lila Carroll.
On the mound, Carroll began the week with 22 strikeouts in 21 innings and an ERA of 2.67.
Excelling for Union High School under fourth-year head coach Shannon Daly are junior infielder Alessandra Silvestre and senior pitcher Jenna Wakefield. Silvestre began the week with a team-leading nine hits, while Wakefield had 38 strikeouts in 31 innings.
With Daly, Union has gone 14-10 in 2022, 14-9 in 2023 and 5-17 in 2024.
Other top records as the third week of the season began included Scotch Plains–Fanwood High School at 4-1, Summit High School at 3-2 and Abraham Clark High School at 3-1. Scotch Plains–Fanwood was also 4-1 in the Watchung Division, Summit 3-1 in the Mountain Division and Abraham Clark 2-1 in the Valley Division.