Gloucester Catholic baseball ends 22-year drought, bests Delsea for Diamond Classic title
PITMAN – The monkey on its back had grown to the size of King Kong.
The Gloucester Catholic High School baseball team is used to winning. The Rams have won a New Jersey record 19 state championships and entered the final of the 49th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic Wednesday with six titles in the prestigious event.
Yet, they haven’t celebrated either one since winning Non-Public B in 2018.
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For most schools, that’s nothing. For Gloucester Catholic, it was everything. The four-year drought without either championship was the program’s longest since going trophyless from 1987 through 1992.
That’s why it was bedlam after the second-seeded Rams finished off 12th-seeded Delsea 11-2 at Alcyon Park for the program’s seventh Diamond Classic crown and first since 2001.
Hats and gloves were thrown into the sky. Water bottles were sprayed and strewn about. There was dancing and chest bumping. Hugs and screams. And relief.
“The feelings going through my head right now, I can’t even explain it. It’s pure euphoria. It’s just insane,” bridge-year senior Matt Leahy said. “We were coming out here with the intention of blowing someone away. This was a game we had to win.”
The pressure brought out the best in Gloucester Catholic, particularly catcher Damon Suriani.
The senior, like Leahy, had a championship-or-bust mindset and he had delivered under bright lights, going 4-for-4 with 3 doubles and 4 RBIs. He also threw out a base stealer.
“We hit on the field earlier before the game and my swing felt amazing,” Suriani said. “The high-pressure situations, I just live for ’em. I love ’em.”
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His first-inning RBI double gave the Rams the early 1-0 lead, but they’d pile on from there, going up 9-0 by the end of the fourth.
“If we executed, we knew no one could beat us tonight,” Suriani said.
Execute the Rams did.
They hit the ball hard 1-through-9, and while not every ball dropped, it felt like an unrelenting barrage.
Leahy was 3-for-4 with a double, 3 runs and an RBI, RJ Mustaro was 2-for-3 with an RBI and 2 runs and Tate DeRias belted a two-run homer.
“We work harder than any team in the state, we practice more than any team in the state, and this shows it,” DeRias said. “Becoming the best team in South Jersey, I don’t think any of us doubted it coming into the year that we’d make a run.”
The celebration was just the start of a magical evening for the program though as head coach Dennis Barth was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class later that evening at Auletto’s Sunset Ballroom in Almonesson.
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The Rams regaled their coach with chants of “Hall of Fame” as he received the Diamond Classic trophy.
“It’s pretty cool they chant all that stuff,” Barth said. “I don’t want to take any credit away from the kids, they’re the ones who deserve it. I told them I’ve already won six Diamonds, this is their Diamond. They should enjoy it and celebrate it.”
They did, and like Barth’s place in the Hall of Fame, the players’ place in Gloucester Catholic lore is now cemented too.
“It’s incredible,” Leahy said. “My name, the names of my teammates are going to be etched into Gloucester Catholic forever. It’s probably one of the most historic teams in New Jersey, and it’s just incredible to be a part of a team like this.”
They said it
“It’s magical. There’s one word to describe it, it’s magical. It’s unbelievable. We’re having the year of our lives and it’s just all clicking together.”
– Gloucester Catholic pitcher Tanner Nolan on winning the Diamond Classic. He got the victory, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out 6.
“I was seeing beach balls today.”
– Gloucester Catholic catcher Damon Suriani on his 4-for-4 day.
“I came here today, I just wanted to be a team guy, I came up to the plate and a runner on second, no outs, we usually always bunt, so I was ready for the bunt sign. I’m going to get my drop down, I’m going to get it down, and (Barth) didn’t give it, and I’m like, oh yeah, this is my shot. It was a 1-0 count, I knew he’d have to challenge me to get ahead and I’m like I’ll probably get this one fastball and I can’t miss it, and I didn’t miss it.”
– Gloucester Catholic’s Tate DeRias on his two-run homer in a six-run third inning that blew the game open.
“I was a lot skinnier then, and the next time we win, if it’s 22 years, I’ll be 83, so I hope that don’t happen.”
– Gloucester Catholic coach Dennis Barth on the 22-year gap between Diamond Classic championships.
“Give credit to our league. Delsea didn’t win their division and we haven’t won our division yet, and we made the (Diamond Classic) final.”
– Barth on the Tri-County Conference having two finalists in the Diamond Classic. The Rams are the TCC’s first champion since Pennsville in 2005.
“I’ve got three torn tendons in my foot, my coaches do a lot of the work. Snake (Steve Mondile), Bryan (Barth), Tyler (Mondile), Billy Gore and Boomer Wickersham. They all do a real good job for me.”
– Barth crediting his coaching staff for their impact on the team.
“Coach Barth, he does everything for us. He’s really a role model for all our guys at G.C. What he’s done for us has been amazing and I can’t wait to celebrate a Diamond chip and him getting into the Hall of Fame.”
– DeRias on winning a title the same day coach Barth makes the Hall of Fame.
Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Gloucester Catholic baseball beats Delsea for Diamond Classic title
