They haven’t quite brought it home just yet, but the Paul VI High School baseball program is rounding third base.
Over the years, the Eagles have largely lived in the shadows of their nearby rivals like Gloucester Catholic and Bishop Eustace when it comes to winning championships on the baseball diamond. But the way things are trending, the Eagles could soon take the spotlight.
“We’re almost there,” Paul VI coach DM Phillips said. “We just can’t get that one hit to put us over the top. It’s coming, but it’s not going to be this year. Hopefully it will be next year.”
Like a tightrope walker, Phillips balances frustration with optimism, as his team has shown in stretches that they can compete with anyone. The Eagles qualified for the Joe Hartmann South Jersey Diamond Classic for the first time in several years. Not only were they happy to be there, but Paul VI trounced Ocean City, 10-0, in the first round before falling, 1-0, to one of the best teams in the state in Gloucester Catholic High School.
On May 22, they had a chance to win a share of the Olympic Conference National Division against Bishop Eustace, but stranded 13 runners on base in a heartbreaking 6-4 loss.
Painfully close.
“[Bishop Eustace] was feeling the pressure there,” Phillips said. “They had a couple errors in a row, and we couldn’t put the ball in play. It just didn’t happen today.”
Prior to Paul VI’s first round playoff victory (6-2) against Immaculata on May 23, the Eagles had already stacked 16 wins on the season, which is their most in 12 years. A solid senior class including starters Joe Bruno, Mike Lucarelli, Dom Aversa, Nick Matteo, Nick Nigro and Ryan Heil deserves the bulk of the credit. But the Eagles have lots of young talent in the pipeline. Freshman Mason Myers has already made an impact leading off and playing centerfield.
“There was a lot of pressure as a freshman coming in,” Myers said. “I didn’t know a lot of kids here. But a lot of the seniors and older kids took me in and treated me like I’m a senior. That helped a lot.”
The seniors have been known to lend a helping hand. Sophomore third baseman Ryan Fayette plays right next to Lucarelli, who is the team’s star shortstop.
“Just the way he leads the team,” Fayette said. “He comes out here and competes every day. He taught me to be a leader and stay in the game no matter what the score is. Just keep competing.”
Phillips is cautiously optimistic with the youth movement that will fill a lot of the holes left by an experienced graduating class.
“We have 10 freshmen in our program who are either playing varsity or junior varsity this year,” Phillips said. “So we are very young, but talented. We got some serious talent coming up.”
It potentially goes even deeper.
“I think we’re going to be good,” Myers said. “There’s some good eighth-graders who want to come here, so I think we have a good shot in the next couple years.”
The Eagles are learning the tough lessons on how to win on the big stage. They have pieced together five straight winning seasons. Now, they just need to seize the reward that’s waiting for them. The examples have been set by teams like Gloucester Catholic and Bishop Eustace, who both won their respective divisions.
“If they don’t see it this year, they will see it moving forward because that’s where we want to be,” Phillips said. “We want to be that team. We want to start getting recruits that are between us and we want them to come here because we’re on the cusp of doing something great.”
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