Pair of baseball gems highlight Diamond Classic semifinals

BROOKLAWN – Don’t call it an upset.

That’s certainly not how the Cherry Hill West High School baseball team is looking at Saturday’s huge win.

Sure, the Lions were facing the defending Diamond Classic champion Gloucester Catholic, owners of a 28-game winning streak, which was the fifth longest active streak in the country according to MaxPreps.

Cherry Hill West played with plenty of confidence against the area’s top-ranked team, delivering a thrilling 2-0 win over Gloucester Catholic in the semifinal round of the 50^th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic at "Pop" Barth Field.

The fourth-seeded Lions (20-3) will attempt to win the program’s first Diamond Classic title since 1989 when they play sixth-seeded Delsea (20-1) in Thursday’s championship at Pitman Alycon Park. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.

“We knew we could win this game, this isn’t an upset,” said West’s Ryder Garino, who fired a complete-game three-hit shutout. “We’ve proven this season that we can beat anybody. We were super confident coming into this game.”

Senior Leo Orefice added, "After getting knocked off in the semifinals last year, it's feels great to be able to play in the championship game, especially being a senior."

Cherry Hill West head coach Dan McMaster wasn’t surprised by the final result in the instant classic either.

“I get to see these guys every day, I know the type of team they are, I know the type of character and the work ethic they have, so I didn’t learn anything about this team (Saturday), but maybe South Jersey learned something about us (Saturday).

Top-notch matchup

The advance billing was right on point because this Diamond Classic semifinal was a pure gem of high school baseball.

It was a showdown between No. 1 and No. 2 with two of the region’s best pitchers on the bump.

Gloucester Catholic’s Tate DeRias, a University of Miami commit, was impressive. Armed with a high octane fastball and tight breaking pitches, DeRias didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning and struck out nine. He was lifted with one out in the seventh after 110 pitches.

Cherry Hill West’s Garino, a South Carolina commit, was even better. The right-hander used his plus-fastball and nasty breaking stuff to notch six strikeouts on his way to the shutout.

Cherry Hill West finally broke through in the seventh inning. With two outs and two runners on, Orefice lined a 3-2 pitch into left-center field off reliever Joe Vaccarella for a knock while a second run scored on a throwing error on the play.

“It was exciting to be a part of a great game like this,” Orefice said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help Ryder out. He had a great game. I was looking for something over the plate that I could drive the other way. He gave me a fastball and I hit it.”

Cherry Hill West’s defense ended the game when first baseman Luciano Macri caught a liner and doubled off the runner. The Lions also turned two double plays in the first three innings.

“When you have those studs behind you, any play can be made anywhere on the field,” said Garino, who lowered his ERA to a microscopic 0.40.

Gloucester Catholic fell to 19-1, absorbing its first loss since dropping a 6-5 decision to Steinert on May 13 of last spring.

Emotional win for McMaster

The Diamond Classic will always have a special place in McMaster’s heart.

The Pitman native fondly remembers going to the tournament games with his father, Bill.

Those memories grew even more stronger when his father passed away in November.

“Somewhere deep in my heart, I was hoping we could get there, we could get to Pitman this year,” McMaster said, fighting back tears. “It just seems like the stars aligned. I don’t know what is going to happen on Thursday, but I’m happy I get to go back home.”

Delsea does it again

Delsea earned a return trip to the Diamond Classic final with its second consecutive walk-off victory.

After walking off Washington Township on Wednesday, the Crusaders eliminated Northern Burlington 1-0.

Senior Zach Maxwell, who scored the winning run in the quarterfinal, delivered the decisive knock against the Greyhounds with a liner to right-center field.

It was quite the day for Maxwell, who collected his 100^th-career hit earlier in the game.

Maxwell is the third member of the team to reach the milestone, joining Mike McGinley and Frank Master. Before this spring, only two other Crusaders reached 100 career hits.

Frank Cairone and George Starr combined on the three-hit shutout. Starr picked up his second straight Diamond Classic win, recording the final five outs with two strikeouts. Cairone fanned nine and allowed two hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Cherry Hill West, Delsea to meet in Diamond Classic championship