Colonial Liberty Making Its Mark In SJ Softball

by Marc Narducci | Apr 22, 2026

One of the more interesting softball divisions in South Jersey is the Colonial Conference Liberty Division. The Colonial has two divisions, the Liberty, which is for the better schools and the Patriot, which has competitive teams, but not to the quality of the Liberty.

It used to be that the Colonial separated its divisions strictly by enrollment, but over the last several years, it has put teams based in divisions based on their recent performance.

The Liberty Division consists of Audubon, Gloucester, Haddon Heights, Haddon Township, Sterling and West Deptford. Audubon and Haddon Township are Group 1 schools and the rest are Group 2.

The Patriot Division consists of three Group 1 and three Group 2 schools.

Just looking at last year concerning Liberty teams, Audubon won the South Jersey Group 1 title, beating fellow division foe Haddon Township in the final.

Gloucester won its second straight state Group 2 title. Haddon Heights advanced to the South Jersey Group 2 semifinals before losing to Cinnaminson, 9-8.

Moving to this season, all six Colonial Liberty teams entered this week with a .500 or better record.

In the NJSIAA power points, Gloucester began the week as the No. 1 team in South Jersey Group 2, with Haddon Heights No. 2, West Deptford No. 6 and Sterling No. 9.

In Group 1, Audubon was No. 1, while Haddon Township was No. 11. Haddon Township is in a bit of a rebuilding season after graduating all-South Jersey and All-State pitcher Jordan Strauss, now competing for Division I Siena.

Gloucester seems to be the top team in the Liberty Division in the early going, but it hasn’t been easy for the Lions, a testament to the division’s strength.

Gloucester’s first division game this season was a 1-0 victory over West Deptford in eight innings.

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What that game showed is that West Deptford could indeed not only compete for the Liberty Division title, but also be a factor in South Jersey Group 2.

Audubon began the week 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the Liberty Division. That might not look impressive, but all four losses were to bigger schools enrollment-wise. The Green Wave lost to Group 4 powers Cherokee and Kingsway, and also fell to Group 3 Moorestown and in a Liberty Division game, there was an 11-8 defeat to Haddon Heights.

By playing the bigger schools with great softball traditions, Audubon is preparing itself for the Group 1 state tournament.

Of course, playing in the Liberty Division will also prepare the Green Wave for the postseason.

One of the reasons Gloucester remains the team to beat in the Liberty Division (and in SJ Group 2) is pitching. Senior Emma Dick began the week 4-0 with a miniscule 0.23 ERA.

Dick is somebody who is known for pitching big in the biggest of games. Last season she was the ace of the state championship team. As a sophomore she was also a contributor to the state title team, pitching 43.1 innings. As a junior she was the certified ace, throwing 127.2 innings with a 2.03 ERA.

During this year’s 1-0 win over West Deptford, she pitched an eight-inning complete game and allowed just one hit, while striking out eight and walking just one.

Haddon Heights began 3-1 in the Liberty Divison, with the lone loss a 5-2 defeat to West Deptford. In Sarah Cooley and Erin Lewandowski, the Garnets have two strong pitchers who can keep them competitive against many of the top teams in the division and South Jersey Group 2.

West Deptford looks to be one of the most improved teams in South Jersey. Last year the Eagles were 10-14 and they began this week 8-2, with the aforementioned extra inning loss to Gloucester, and an 11-4 defeat to Audubon.

So, look for this to be an interesting race and also for the Colonial Liberty teams to again make their mark once the postseason begins.

Haddon Heights pitcher Erin Lewandowski / Marc Narducci

Author: Marc Narducci

Colonial Liberty Making Its Mark In SJ Softball

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