By Scott Stump - Senior Editor
  
     I wrestled with these top three for a while, particulary the argument between Toms River South and Toms River North for No. 1, and I'm going with the Indians. They won the Ocean County and Shore Conference Tournaments and were playing the best of any team in the Shore except for possibly St. Rose by the end.
     Toms River South beat Toms River North in the OCT semifinals after losing twice to the Mariners in Class A South, as Toms River North won its second straight division title. In the SCT, Rumson knocked off Toms River North, and then fell to Toms River South. In the state tournament, Lenape came back to stun Toms River South, but then Toms River North 10-runned Lenape in the South Jersey Group IV final.
     I think it comes down to what people consider more important, a division title or a tournament title. Toms River North had a 2-1 edge head-to-head against Toms River South, but Toms River South won two tournament titles to one for the Mariners. I think it's much harder to navigate and polish off multiple tournaments at once rather than to navigate the regular season. Rumson also is a factor because the Bulldogs had a head-to-head win over Toms River North in the SCT. After that top group, everything else was fairly straightforward. There also was barely any turnover in the Top 10 rankings from last year, as seven of the final top 10 teams from last year ended this season in the top 10. With that, here goes:

    2008 final DigitalSports Top 10

     1. Toms River South: OCT and SCT champs, 13 shutout wins and one of the best pitching staffs in recent memory. I can't deny that from the top spot. Final 2007 ranking: No. 9.

     2. Rumson-Fair Haven: The best team in Rumson history. The Bulldogs reached the SCT final for the first time ever and also reached the final of the Central Jersey Group II tournament before losing to eventual Group II champion Allentown while also winning the Class A Central title. They either won or reached the final for every title that was in play for them, as they did not participate in the Monmouth County Tournament. Final 2007 ranking: No. 10.

     3. Toms River North: The Mariners could be the preseason No. 1 team next year with stars like Steve Nyisztor, Bill Hoermann and Mark Leiter back in the fold. They won Class A South and South Jersey Group IV titles this year and could argue for the No. 1 spot this year. Final 2007 ranking: No. 5.

     4. St. Rose: The Purple Roses' only losses were to Rumson and Toms River North as they won the Non-Public B title, the Non-Public South B title, their first Monmouth County Tournament title, and their sixth straight Class B Central title in the first year under new coach Jim Agnello, while also reaching the SCT semifinals. Final 2007 ranking: Unranked.

     5. Christian Brothers Academy: With several starting pitchers injured and nearly the entire starting lineup graduated, this looked like it was going to be a down year for the Colts. Try another 20-win season and a Non-Public South A title along with another Class A North Non-Public title. Final 2007 ranking: No. 1.

     6. Wall: The Class B North champs won the Central Jersey Group III title, their first since 2004, and reached the Group III final. They were denied by St. Rose in the MCT and SCT semifinals and had a regular-season loss to CBA, which puts them at No. 6. Final 2007 ranking: No. 3.

     7. Colts Neck: The Cougars won the Class A North public title for the second straight year, and fell to Toms River South in the SCT, Wall in the MCT and Hunterdon Central in the Central Jersey Group IV final. They did eliminate Jackson from the SCT and state playoffs. Final 2007 ranking: No. 2.

    8. Jackson: Which brings us to the Jaguars, who defeated Toms River North and Toms River South during the regular season but couldn't find a way to get past Colts Neck in the postseason with a pair of extra-inning losses to the Cougars. Final 2007 ranking: No.  7.

    9. Manalapan: The Braves reached the MCT final for the first time since 1997, and they went through CBA to get there while also no-hitting a good Shore team behind ace Ryan Harvey. Final 2007 ranking: Unranked.

  10. Monmouth: The Falcons reached the Central Jersey Group III final and also had a regular-season win over CJ III champion Wall. Final 2007 ranking: Unranked.