Gloucester Catholic again South Jersey’s No. 1 baseball team
Once again there is no doubt as to who is the No. 1 high school baseball team in South Jersey. Gloucester Catholic earned that title by completing its season with an 11-1 win in five innings over St. Mary Rutherford in the state Non-Public B championship.
It was the fourth straight state title and the 23rd by the Rams since the advent of NJSIAA playoffs in 1971. That is by far the most state championships among New Jersey teams.
Gloucester Catholic finished 27-4 and what was most impressive is the Rams as usual played one of the most challenging schedules in the state.
Gloucester Catholic began the year by playing in the prestigious USA Baseball High School Baseball Invitational in Cary, North Carolina. The Rams went 2-2 in those games, facing many warm-weather teams that had played several games.
The other losses were to Clearview (a team the Rams split with in the regular season and then beat 13-2 in the championship of the 52nd annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.
That tournament pits the top teams in South Jersey. The title by Gloucester Catholic was a South Jersey-best eighth.
The other loss by the Rams was 7-5 to Delbarton, which won the state Non-Public A championship by beating St. Augustine, 4-1 in 10 innings.
Speaking of St. Augustine, Gloucester Catholic beat the Hermits all three times they played this season.
Gloucester Catholic also won the competitive Tri-County Royal Division by two games over second place Kingsway, the South Jersey Group 4 champion.
The Rams also beat Governor Gov. Livingston, which has won xx straight state Group 2 titles.
There were two wins over Kingsway, 10-6 in a regular season game and 6-4 in a Diamond Classic quarterfinal game.
Coach Dennis Barth’s Rams also beat one of South Jersey’s consensus Top 5 teams, Bishop Eustace twice.
The first was an 8-0 win in a Diamond Classic semifinal and the second time was an 8-1 triumph over the Crusaders in the South Jersey Non-Public final.
Senior Jude Morgan (9-1, 2.80 ERA) won the South Jersey title game over Bishop Eustace and the state final against St. Mary.
The offense, led by the top three hitters, was explosive.
Senior shortstop Noah Danza was the leadoff hitter, batted .473 with five home runs, 31 RBIs and an incredible 54 runs scored. Danza is among the top players in the state. He has committed to Mississippi State, but could be a candidate to be selected in Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft.
Senior second baseman Jason Bogart batted second and hit .429 with 16 walks and 14 stolen bases.
Batting third was senior catcher Braeden Lipoff, an East Carolina commit, who is also a potential MLB draft choice. Lipoff batted .459 with four home runs and 40 RBIs.
Behind Morgan, sophomore Bobby Kleinow was a strong No. 2 pitcher. A righthander, Kleinow was 9-0 with a 0.94 ERA.
Gloucester Catholic was strong offensively, defensively and in the pitching department that led to such a successful season.
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Author: Marc Narducci
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