The crack of the bat is echoing across South Jersey, and high schools from the Diocese of Camden will look to add to the number of state championships that have filled their respective trophy cases over the years.
Will Gloucester Catholic High School add to its state best 19 state titles? Could the Diocese’s most recent state championship winner, Holy Spirit High School, make another incredible run? Will Saint Augustine Preparatory School return to the title game for the second straight year?
This week, the Catholic Star Herald takes a peek at some of the most storied high school baseball programs in New Jersey as teams around the area get set to play ball.
Camden Catholic, Cherry Hill
State championships: 1 (1973)
2022 record: 10-13
Season summary: Camden Catholic collected Olympic Conference statement wins over Bishop Eustace, Eastern, Seneca and Washington Township last season before it suffered a first round playoff exit in an 11-1 loss to Pingry.
What’s in store: Coach Lou Marshall looks to have the Irish back on the upswing after five straight losing seasons. In addition, this season is a special one as the Irish celebrate the 50th anniversary of their 1973 state championship win. Seniors Ron Kopcho (3.75 ERA, 32 strikeouts) and Shane O’Donnell (4.52 ERA, 18 Ks) are the elder arms on the staff. Liam Lyons opened some eyes during his freshman year by hitting .409.
Gloucester Catholic, Gloucester City
State championships: 19 (Most recently 2018)
2022 record: 21-10
Season summary: The Rams played a lot of baseball last season, which included a tough non-league schedule, and they unsurprisingly ended up in the Non-Public B South championship, but lost a heartbreaking walk-off 8-7 game to eventual state champ Ranney. Twenty wins and warm weather are natural occurrences in Gloucester each spring.
What’s in store: The Rams were senior heavy last year, which means there’s lots of opportunity for the new guys in the lineup. Three-sport athlete RJ Mustaro, catcher Damon Suriani (Barton College commit), Tyler Bunting (Wilmington University) and Tate DeRias (University of Miami) are some of the big bats that are returning. Workhorse pitcher Tanner Nolan (Crowder College), Brady Roberts (Lehigh University) and DeRias will likely see a heavy schedule again this season.
Holy Spirit, Absecon
State championships: 4 (Most recently 2021)
2022 record: 10-17
Season summary: Last year’s campaign was considered uncharacteristic, as Holy Spirit suffered its first losing season since 2015. The defending Non-Public B champs started the season 6-2 before things went south, losing 11 straight games.
What’s in store: Holy Spirit will sorely miss the 46 hits and 28 RBIs provided by Trevor Cohen, who graduated last spring. Justin Hackett returns after throwing 24 innings last year (23 strikeouts), and sophomores Gavin Cohen and Luca Bruno got their feet wet last season and will be asked to mature quickly. Ty Mercado, a junior transfer from Saint Joseph Academy, Hammonton, will give a shot in the arm both from the mound and the batter’s box.
Paul VI, Haddonfield
State championships: 0
2022 record: 15-7
Season summary: The Eagles proved they could play with the big names last year with a fantastic 15-win regular season before suffering a narrow 3-2 loss to Christian Brothers Academy in the first round of the playoffs. Six of Paul VI’s seven losses were by two runs or fewer.
What’s in store: The Eagles have some holes to fill in the outfield and on the rubber, but most of the infield, led by shortstop and Tulane University commit Mike Lucarelli, is back. Lucarelli, now a senior and co-captain, led the team in hits (28) and RBIs (19). Pitcher Nick Matteo and first baseman Dom Aversa have committed to play at Immaculata University. Infielder Joe Bruno picks up a leadership role, sharing co-captain duties with Lucarelli. Pitcher Anthony Angelo, a Rutgers-Camden commit, and catcher/outfielder Nick Nigro (Widener University), will be leaned upon heavily.
Bishop Eustace Preparatory, Pennsauken
State championships: 8 (Most recently 2006)
2022 record: 20-8
Season summary: The Crusaders won 10 of their last 12 regular season games but saw their season end at the hands of Gloucester Catholic in the Non-Public South B semifinal. It was Eustace’s fifth-straight 20-win season.
What’s in store: The Crusaders will miss Nick Sulpizio’s contributions from both the mound and the plate, and they lost a couple arms in Colby Klopp and Dom Romani, but Bishop Eustace returns a large chunk of a team that won 20 games last season.
Returning pitchers and Rutgers University commits Jack Kirchner (2.31 ERA) and Landon Mack (1.76) were the biggest workhorses from the bump in 2022. They’ll be rejoined by University of Virginia commit Matt Augustin, who missed last season with an arm injury. Bishop Eustace should have a deep lineup that includes AJ Lauletta (.370), Anthony Mascuilli (.362) and Raffaele Rogers (.413), who all hit above .350 last season with a minimum of 40 plate appearances, but the team suffered a big blow with the loss of junior catcher Trey Martin (.361 batting average, four home runs), who will miss the season due to injury.
Saint Augustine Preparatory, Richland
State championships: 2 (Most recently 2018)
2022 record: 27-2
Season summary: It was a banner year in Richland as Saint Augustine Prep pieced together perhaps its most dominant regular season in school history. The Hermits’ only blemish was a 5-2 loss to Vineland before a remarkable run to the Non-Public A state championship, where they fell 5-0 to Don Bosco Prep. The Hermits pulled off the rarely seen triple crown of South Jersey baseball by winning a sectional championship, a Cape-Atlantic League title and the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.
What’s in store: Saint Augustine was crushed by graduation, losing their top six hit producers from a season ago. The good news is their two busiest pitchers are back with Old Dominion commit Marco Levari (58 strikeouts, 1.97 ERA) and Villanova signee CJ Furey (50 strikeouts, 1.50 ERA).
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