The Gloucester Catholic High School and Saint Augustine Preparatory School baseball teams advanced to their respective state championship games via dominant performances in the South Jersey Non-Public championships on June 4.
Gloucester Catholic defeated Bishop Eustace Preparatory School, 8-1, in the South Jersey Non-Public B championship in Brooklawn, while Saint Augustine blanked Christian Brothers Academy, 6-0, in Richland in the South Jersey Non-Public A title game.
After a tightly played four innings, Gloucester Catholic (26-4 record) broke the game open with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jason Bogart snapped the 1-1 tie with a 2-run single to preserve a terrific pitching performance by Jude Morgan, who threw a 103-pitch complete game, allowing six hits. Morgan and Chase Ladik each drove in a pair of runs to help the Rams pull away.
St. Augustine Prep (22-7) used a stellar pitching performance from Gatorade Player of the Year Alex Weingartner, who struck out nine in a complete-game, 2-hit shutout. Weingartner, who went 2-for-4 at the plate, produced the first run of the game with a single and a pair of stolen bases before scoring on a throwing error in the first inning.
That’s all the Hermits needed, but they piled on five more runs before officially punching their ticket to the state final.
Gloucester Catholic faced Saint Mary (Rutherford) (17-11-1) in the state championship game, and Saint Augustine will play North Jersey champ Delbarton (27-4) on June 10 at Rutgers University. Both games took place after press deadline. Check back at www.catholicstarherald.org
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