Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic Set For Big Weekend
The 52nd annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic is one of the great tournaments in the spring because it brings the top high school baseball teams together in a 32-team single-elimination tournament.
On Saturday, the finalists for the tournament will be determined with both quarterfinal and semifinal action taking place.
It should be quite a day with many of the top teams in South Jersey still in contention. In fact, the tournament’s top eight seeds are still alive in the tournament.
Here is the schedule for Saturday with the team’s seed listed in parenthesis.
At Pitman’s Alcyon Park
(8) Kingsway vs. (1) Gloucester Catholic, 10 a.m.
(5) Bishop Eustace vs. (4) Cherry Hill West, 1 p.m.
Winners of these two games play at 4 p.m.
At St. Augustine
(7) Eastern vs. (2) Northern Burlington, 10 a.m.
(6) Clearview vs. (3) St. Augustine, 1 p.m.
Winners of these games play at 4 p.m.
The championship will be 6:30 p.m. Tuesday May 19 at Alcyon Park
Previewing the Alcyon Park quarterfinal a semifinal bracket
(8) Kingsway vs. (1) Gloucester Catholic, 10 a.m.
(5) Bishop Eustace vs. (4) Cherry Hill West, 1 p.m.
In the Alcyon Park quarterfinal and semifinal bracket, both games feature rematches between division rivals.
On April 1, Gloucester Catholic beat Kingsway, 10-6 in a Tri-County Royal Division game. Winning pitcher Jude Morgan allowed six runs, but only three were earned in six innings. Second baseman Jason Bogart was 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
Gloucester Catholic advanced to the quarterfinal by defeating (32) Sterling, 5-1 and then beating (13) Vineland, 13-3.
Kingsway advanced by defeating (31) St. Joseph Hammonton, 11-0 and (10) Haddonfield, 4-0. The second-round win over Haddonfield was especially impressive since the Bulldogs were riding an 11-game win streak, which included a 9-5 win over previously undefeated Northern Burlington. Against Haddonfield, Kingsway’s Tyler Rogers pitched a complete game shutout, allowing two hits, striking out 11 and walking none.
This will be the third time that Bishop Eustace and Cherry Hill West will be facing each other. Members of the Olympic Conference National Division, Eustace and West have split their two games. West won, 8-7 at home on April 7 and Eustace was an 8-0 home winner on May 4.
Cherry Hill West beat (29) Pennsville, 8-4 in the first round and (23) Egg Harbor Township, 7-2 in the second round.
Bishop Eustace beat (28) Cherokee, 7-3 and (9) Mainland, 4-2, for its 14th consecutive win. Carson Brandt allowed just one earned run in five innings to earn the win over Mainland.
Previewing the St. Augustine quarterfinal and semifinal brackets
(7) Eastern vs. (2) Northern Burlington, 10 a.m.
(6) Clearview vs. (3) St. Augustine, 1 p.m.
Entering the Diamond Classic, Eastern had been in a mini-slump, having lost three in a row, but the Vikings opened with a wild 20-10 first round win over (25) Highland and then beat (11) Haddon Heights, 3-2 as Rich Iuliucci pitched a complete game, striking out 10.
Northern Burlington had to win its two Diamond Classic games in consecutive days, defeating (30) Paul VI, 10-3 and (12) Rancocas Valley, 7-3. In the win over RV, shortstop Brett Walulak was 4-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Clearview is coming off some big wins. First off, the Pioneers defeated conference foe (26) GCIT, 4-3 in the first round of the Diamond Classic. The Pioneers then handed Gloucester Catholic its first division loss with an 8-4 victory, before finishing the week with a 13-3 win over (21) Schalick in a Diamond Classic second round game.
St. Augustine has scored two convincing Diamond Classic wins, defeating (27) Woodstown, 13-3 and (15) Delsea, 7-1. In the win over Delsea, Alex Weingartner earned the victory, allowing one run in 5.1 innings, while striking out eight. The St. Augustine-Clearview game could be among the best quarterfinal games of the day.
Bishop Eustace No. 13 Carson Brandt
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Author: Marc Narducci
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