Colonial Conference offers Interesting Division Baseball Races
The Colonial Conference, featuring the Liberty and Patriot Divisions, has always been known as a strong high school baseball conference and this year is no exception.
There are two divisions in the Colonial, which has gone to placing teams in divisions by the competitiveness of the programs.
This is the second year of a two-year cycle, and the divisions are up for change after this season.
There are six teams in the Liberty Division, which in the past has been for large enrollment schools and for the most part, still is.
The Patriot Division has just four teams.
Here were the standings entering the week:
| Liberty
Haddon Heights 4-0
Audubon 2-1
Haddonfield 2-1
West Deptford 2-3
Paulsboro 0-2
Sterling 0-3 | Patriot
Collingswood 2-1
Gateway 1-1
Haddon Township 1-1
Gloucester 1-2
|
Crossover games don’t count in the division standings and the most interesting score so far was Gloucester earning a 5-1 win over Haddon Heights as senior Joey MacDonald pitched a complete game.
That is a Gloucester team that is battling to stay alive in the competitive Patriot. Gloucester lost to Collingswood and Haddon Township and beat Gateway to earn its 1-2 division record at this point.
With only four teams in the Patriot, there is little margin for error.
Gloucester’s final two games of the regular season are home against Collingswood on May 15 and at Haddon Township on May 21. Don’t be surprised if the division isn’t settled until that final date.
Last year Gloucester and Collingswood tied for the division title with 4-2 records. Gloucester beat Collingswood twice, but Collingswood didn’t lose its other four games against Haddon Township and Gateway.
Audubon won the Liberty Division last year with a 7-3 record, while Haddon Heights and West Deptford were tied for second at 6-4.
Haddon Heights’ quick start this year has put the Garnets in the driver’s seat. The Garnets began the week 4-0 in the Liberty. Three of the wins came over contenders Audubon, West Deptford and Haddonfield by a combined 26-9 score.
One of the leaders on the Haddon Heights team is senior pitcher-outfielder Drew Harris, a George Washington University commit. In his first 11 innings, Harris had struck out 22 and posted 0.64 ERA, according to NJ.com stats.
Lefthander Drew Costello, a West Chester commit, entered the week with a 2.15 ERA.
Senior shortstop Jake Griess, a Wagner commit, is among the best infielders in South Jersey.
Audubon also has one of the top infielders in South Jersey as well in junior shortstop Tyler Wiltsey, who has already committed to Rutgers. Wiltsey entered the week batting .481.
These are just a few examples of the high caliber of talent that exists in the Colonial Liberty.
Right now Collingswood is in the driver’s seat in the Patriot and Haddon Heights in the Liberty, but both teams have to play all the contenders one more time, which means both divisions are far from settled at this point.
Photo: Audubon's Tyler Wiltsey / Marc Narducci
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Author: Marc Narducci
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