Up to the Challenge
Bishop Eustace is an annual contender for a sectional baseball title and this year should be no different. The Crusaders are in South Jersey Non-Public B, a Group in which Gloucester Catholic has enjoyed recent dominance.
Gloucester Catholic has won five of the last seven South Jersey Non-Public B titles, and is also the two-time defending state champion.
Last year Bishop Eustace advanced to the sectional final before losing a 2-1 classic to Gloucester Catholic.
In 2023, Eustace lost to Ranney, 4-3 in the sectional semifinal.
The Crusaders lost to Gloucester Catholic, 6-1 during the 2022 sectional semifinal.
You get the picture. The Crusaders know how to advance deep in the postseason.
This year’s team has the ability to make another deep run and is certainly among several teams that should seriously contend.
One thing a team needs to make a deep playoff run is an ace and Eustace senior righthander Eamon McDermott is among the best pitchers in South Jersey.
A Georgetown commit, McDermott began the week 2-2 with a 2.54 ERA. The most incredible stat is that in 30.1 innings, he has 60 strikeouts.
Even in a recent defeat, he was impressive. During a 2-1 Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic quarterfinal loss to Delsea, McDermott went the distance, six innings and allowed five hits, while striking out 10 and walking just one.
“It really gives us an uplifting feeling when he is on the mound,” Eustace veteran coach Sam Tropiano said.
Eustace has pitching depth, and the fact that McDermott has thrown a modest 30.1 innings and nobody else entered the week with as many as 22 innings pitched, indicates that the Crusaders should have plenty of fresh arms for the postseason. Senior Lucas Edwards had the second biggest workload. and he entered the week with a 2.33 ERA in 21 innings. Junior Dan Passalacqua had a 1.54 ERA in 18.1 innings. Senior Chase Brandt had a 3.43 ERA in his first 16.1 innings.
Teams need at least two pitchers if not more in the state tournament. With the pitching inning-limits, no one player can throw all the postseason games. Eustace will no doubt feel it can beat anybody with McDermott on the mound, but the Crusaders have the pitching depth to contend.
The Crusaders also have a formidable offense.
Junior shortstop Dante Bell has been the offensive catalyst. He is the leadoff batter, who gives the Crusaders a wide variety of skills. Bell entered the week hitting .410 with 21 runs scored. He has also shown some pop at the plate with 12 extra base hits—nine doubles, two triples and one home run—along with 18 RBI. Bell has also stolen 10 bases.
The Crusaders have a .304 team batting average.
One other thing that will help Eustace is that it plays one of the more demanding schedules in South Jersey.
Eustace began the week 14-6 and 15 of those games were against teams that either are or have been ranked among the Courier-Post’s Top 15 in South Jersey this season.
The Crusaders are also in a dog fight for the Olympic Conference National Division. They began the week tied for first place with Cherry Hill West and one game ahead of third place Paul VI.
In short, this team will be playing in playoff-like games leading up to the actual postseason at the end of the month. That should make this battle-tested team ready when the playoffs do begin.
Photo: Bishop Eustace pitcher Eamon McDermott / Marc Narducci
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Author: Marc Narducci
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