HAMILTON – The Gloucester Catholic High School baseball team defeated Pope John XXIII Regional High School, 7-4, on June 11 to win its 22nd state championship.
Senior pitcher Jackson Smallets threw 101 pitches over six and a third innings (three strikeouts) to earn the victory before Sal Marziani recorded the final two outs in the seventh inning at Veterans Park in Hamilton.
PHOTO GALLERY: Gloucester Catholic wins Non-Public B State Championship
Gloucester Catholic trailed 2-0 as the Lions scratched out a run in each of the first two innings, but Braeden Lipoff got the Rams on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit in half.
The Rams carried that momentum into the fourth inning when they struck for five runs by sending 10 batters to the plate to take a 6-2 lead during the Non-Public B state championship.
“We know, no matter what spot we’re in, that we have a great chance of winning,” said junior shortstop Noah Danza. “If we play our game, we are going to win. Nobody beats us but ourselves.”
Gloucester Catholic added an insurance run in the fifth inning and held on for their third consecutive state championship. It’s the fourth time in school history the Rams have put together a streak of three or more state championships. It was last accomplished from 2010 through 2013, when they won four straight.
“The best feeling is winning this state championship,” said senior first baseman Jack Mustaro, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI. “The third one in a row is special. As a senior, you want to go out with a bang, and man, it feels really good.”
Lipoff (two RBIs), Mustaro and Danza each contributed two hits in the state final, and all nine starters reached base safely. Gloucester Catholic ended its season 24-3 and compiled a record of 75-12 over the last three years.
“It’s competition,” Danza said. “Everyone pushes each other to get better, and everyone loves each other. The longer it takes, the closer we get and the better we play.”
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