Chick’s Deli competes in the Cheesesteak Championship finals
Chick’s Deli of Cherry Hill is a finalist in our South Jersey Cheesesteak Championship poll.
Here are our picks for the top three stars from the conference/leagues around our seven-county region for South Jersey softball.
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Burlington County Scholastic League
Haylee Gaidecski, Maple shade. The sophomore was a hitting machine over the Wildcats’ first three wins, producing nine hits in 11 at-bats (.818 batting average), nine runs scored and four RBIs. Four of her hits went for extra bases, including a pair of triples.
Katelin jump, Bordentown. The senior struck out eight en route to a complete-game win and helped her own cause with both RBIs in a 2-1 win over rival Delran. Hoppe is 3-0 in the circle and batted .500 (4-for-8) in the first week of the season.
This quarry, cinnaminson. The junior drove in four runs as the Pirates knocked off Northern Burlington 5-3 in eight innings. Zuccarelli is batting .500 (4-for-8) with six RBIs in two games.
Colonial Conference
Makayla McLeary, Lindenwold. The Lions opened their season with a wild 33-24 win over Winslow and McLeary played a pivotal role in the victory. The freshman went 4-for-5 with five runs scored and four RBIs. She also had two walks and six stolen bases.
Emma specyer, audubon. The junior produced three multi-hit games, leading the Green Wave to three wins in the opening week. Speyerer batted .636 (7-for-11) with eight runs scored. For her career, she boasts a .500 average with 87 knocks.
Jordan Strauss, Haddon Township. Picking up where she left off last spring, the senior crunched a grand slam and struck out 15 over seven innings in the circle as the Hawks soared to a 5-4 win over Collingswood in their opener.
Olympic Conference
Katie Dick, Rancocas Valley. The senior started the season with a three-game hitting streak, batting .636 over the stretch. She finished the week with a pair of three-hit games and caught both shutout victories.
Jules Jackson, Paul VI. The freshman batted .625 (5-for-8) in a pair of victories, including a two-homer against Bishop Eustace. She also scored four times.
Camryn Shank, Lenape. Talk about starting the season with a bang, the junior homered in her first at-bat for the third consecutive spring. She finished 5-for-5 with two homers, five runs scored and four RBIs in the 13-8 slugfest win over Moorestown. Shank went 6-for-8 in Lenape’s opening two wins.
Tri-County Conference
Margaret McLean, Delsea. With 12 hits in her first 13 at-bats, the senior batted an eye-popping .923 with nine runs scored and seven RBIs in three victories last week. McLean also stole a pair of bags and hit her first scholastic home run.
Laurel Rue, Pitman. Sparking the Panthers’ three-game unbeaten streak to start the season, Rue batted .545 with five runs scored and six RBIs. Three of her hits went for extra bases, including her first scholastic home run. She also pitched two hitless frames with four strikeouts.
Ava Scuderi, Triton. After firing a one-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in her high school debut, Scuderi struck out 18 over nine innings in a 1-0 over sister school Timber Creek. In 16 innings, she has surrendered three hits and hasn’t allowed a walk.
Cape-Atlantic League
Alyssa Bailey, AbSegami. After batting over .600 in the previous two seasons, Bailey started her senior season with five hits in her first nine at-bats (.556) with five runs scored as Absegami went 3-0.
Riley Hunter, St. Joseph. The sophomore went 5-for-6 with six RBIs as the Wildcats captured the title at the Ron Vinick Tournament with wins over Buena and host Millville. Hunter compiled three multi-hit games in the season’s opening week.
Jessica Mooney, Ocean City. The junior collected an RBI in each of OC’s first five games en route to a team-best 12 in five games. She went 8-for-18 (.444) with four straight multi-hit contests. She also recorded three wins in the circle, fanning 19 hitters in 12 innings.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 35 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him by email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
