Batter Up
There are great high school baseball conference races throughout South Jersey. Today is a look at the Tri-County Conference, where there are four divisions and plenty of talent and some potential dominating teams.
Tri-County Classic
Defending champions: Pitman and Pennsville both tied for the title at 7-1.
Outlook: Not surprisingly, Pitman and Pennsville are again considered the teams to beat. Pitman has gained the early upper hand with a 7-2 win over Pennsville as senior Hudson Rue earned the victory, allowing just one run in five innings, while striking out six. He also went 2 for 2 with a single, double and RBI. The rematch is May 7 at Pennsville.
Tri-County Diamond
Defending champion: Woodstown won the division with a 7-1 mark, one game ahead of Schalick, which was 6-2.
Outlook: Schalick is the clear favorite with Overbrook and Woodstown as contenders. The division favorite Cougars made a big early statement by defeating Woodstown, 11-0 in five innings. Schalick senior Luke Pokrovsky, among the top two-way players in South Jersey, threw a perfect game, while striking out 11. A Penn commit, Pokrovsky also went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Anytime Pokrovsky is on the mound, Schalick will be difficult to beat.
Tri-County Liberty
Defending champion: Delsea won the division going away, with a 10-0 mark, while Timber Creek was second at 6-4.
Outlook: Delsea is again the clear favorite. Even though the Crusaders lost quite a bit to graduation from last year’s South Jersey Group 3 champion, this is one of the strongest pitching staffs, led by senior lefthander Frank Cairone, a Coastal Carolina commit, who struck out 10 in three innings during his first start, a 3-0 win over Highland.
Speaking of Highland, the Tartans are among the younger teams in the division, but the Tartans, who have already beaten Timber Creek, have strong pitching.
Even in the defeat to Delsea, Highland righthander Jack Wolfson showed some positive signs, allowing two runs in four innings while striking out five. The two teams meet again on April 28 at Highland.
Tri-County Royal
Defending champion: Gloucester Catholic went 10-0 while Kingsway and Washington Township were tied for second at 6-4.
Outlook: Gloucester Catholic was the top team in the state last year, according to NJ.com and the Rams appear just as talented. Coastal Carolina commit Jackson Smallets leads a young, but talented Gloucester Catholic staff.
The Rams own an early-season 4-0 win over Kingsway, but nobody should count the Dragons out. They have a strong staff (shown by limiting Gloucester Catholic to four runs) and if the offense comes around, they should be a formidable team. The rematch is April 28 at Gloucester Catholic.
Photo: Highland's Jack Wolfson / Marc Narducci
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Author: Marc Narducci
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