Softball ballot, vote now for Central Jersey Player of the Week

Another week brought another round of standout performances on softball fields across Central Jersey.

Here are the nominations for the Central Jersey Softball Player of the Week award. All stats through Sunday, April 26.

Voting ends Friday at noon.

Nominees selected by Simeon Pincus and Josh Rosenfeld. Voting winner will be featured as the Player of the Week.

MADDIE BOGART

Scotch Plains-Fanwood

Junior

The three-year starter has been outstanding, getting about 60 percent of the innings in a three-arm rotation and providing a key bat. Bogart fired one-hit shutouts in each of her appearances in the circle last week, walking four and striking out 16 against Governor Livingston to even the season series, and then issuing just two free passes and fanning 14 against Dayton. For the season, she has posted a 0.82 ERA in 51 1/3 innings, allowing just six earned runs and 22 hits, striking out 114. She’s also notched two doubles, a homer and driven in a team-high nine runs.

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MADELYN BRENNER

Woodbridge

Senior

The Barrons have won seven in a row and Brenner has been in the circle for all of them, yielding a total of nine runs with three shutouts. In her three starts last week, she struck out 17 and walked three in 17 innings. For the season, she’s compiled a 10-2 record with a 1.56 ERA, 57 strikeouts and 16 walks in 72 innings.

HANNAH BUNIAK

Union Catholic

Senior

The four-year starting first baseman is enjoying another standout season, this time helping to lead the Vikings to an 8-2 start after they won just four times last year. Buniak, who is batting .364 for the season, with two doubles, a triple, three homers and 10 RBIs, went 6-for-12 last week with a double, homer, for runs and four RBIs as Union Catholic went 2-1, with the loss coming to Kent Place in a game the Vikes were without ace Brooklyn Daikalo.

CASEY GOMEZ MIRANDA

Franklin

Senior

The third baseman has enjoyed a stellar career and she’s finishing strong, hitting .480 with two homers and 16 runs scored. She notched one of only two hits the Warriors managed against Hillsborough’s Emma Anderson last Tuesday, before going 4-for-4 with a homer, four runs and three RBIs against Warren Hills and notching two hits, a walk and three runs in Friday’s Somerset County Tournament opening-round win over Manville.

SARAH GRABER

Somerville

Senior

The second-year ace has led the way as the Pioneers prove they can roll in the Skyland’s Valley Division after dominating in the Mountain last year. Graber has pitched every inning, going 7-3 with a 2.04 ERA, while helping herself by batting .290 with a double, two triples, a homer and eight RBIs. She went 2-0 last week, limiting Gill St. Bernard’s to just one earned run on six hits and four walks, striking out 14, before firing a three-hit shutout at Mount St. Mary, walking three and fanning 11. She also contributed three RBIs over the two contests.

AVA KOHLER

Highland Park

Senior

The shortstop went 5-for-11 last week with 13 RBIs and two home runs, one in a 13-12 decision over North Plainfield. Kohler has driven in 40 runs thus far, 25 over her last seven outings, and is batting .432 and a slugging .795 with three home runs. She owns a .372 career batting average with nine home runs and 51 stolen bases.

SAVANNAH MCCANN

Dunellen

Junior

The Destroyers are riding an eight-game winning streak and McCann has earned the victory in six of them. For the season, she’s registered a 3.38 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 53 walks in 49 innings. She’s also been Dunellen’s leading hitter (.600) and slugger (.920) with a team-leading 31 RBIs.

NINA RICCI

Somerset Tech

Sophomore

SS/2B

The talented infielder hit for the cycle and knocked in nine runs for the division-leading Jaguars in a four-inning win over Mother Seton on Friday. That concluded a 3-1 week in which she went 8-of-14 with two home runs and is now batting .545 and slugging 1.023 this year. Though only a sophomore, she’s already accumulated 67 hits, 77 RBIs and nine home runs with a .615 batting average.

SOPHIA SOARES

Rutgers Prep

Sophomore

The Argonauts, who are seeking their first winning season since 2019 and won just three games last year, are off to a very nice 5-3 start and are just a game behind South Hunterdon in the Mountain Division race. Soares has been a big part of that, as she was during last week’s big win over Montgomery and victory over Manville ― both division victories. The first-year starting second baseman went 6-for-8 last week with four RBIs, scoring the winning run on a seventh-inning passed ball against the Cougars. She’s hitting .571 for the season with a double, three walks and 10 RBIs.

MARIELLA SPINA

Colonia

Senior

Spina has limited her last three foes to two runs apiece in divisional wins over South Brunswick, Spotswood and Metuchen for a team that has won four of five. For the season, she’s compiled a 3.59 ERA with 53 strikeouts against 22 walks over 64 innings. She also belted her first varsity home run against Spotswood and is 10 hits shy of 100 for her career.

VOTE NOW!! POLL CLOSES NOON FRIDAY!!

Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, and has been on the softball beat since 1999. He can be reached at CourierSoftball@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter/X @SimeonPincus

Follow GMC softball writer Josh Rosenfeld on Twitter/X @JoshPRosenfeld

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