If there’s such a thing as royalty in New Jersey high school baseball, the kingdom is located at 600 Browning Road in Brooklawn Township. It’s the home of the Joe Barth Field, the Gloucester Catholic High School baseball team, and now – 21 state championships.
The Rams secured their latest trophy June 7 by defeating Saint Thomas Aquinas in dominating fashion. Senior Tate DeRias struck out 13 batters in five innings to record a no-hitter as Gloucester Catholic won 10-0. They now have 21 state titles – more than double any other program in the entire state.
“Nobody works harder than we do,” said senior Brady Belfus, who sealed the game with a hit in the bottom of the fifth inning to bring in the clinching 10th run. “It’s hours and hours of practice. They make it tough on us, but it obviously shows. It’s number 21 for a reason.”
The Rams’ work ethic was instilled years before the birth of all the current players, but is embodied by each championship team at Gloucester Catholic. Coach Dennis Barth is now in his second stint as coach at Gloucester Catholic, with more than 500 victories and 11 state championships under his belt. Twelve if you count the one he won in 1980 as the Rams’ center fielder.
“We’ve been around for a long time,” Barth said with a laugh. “Before I played here, we were a good program. They carry on the tradition. The kids work hard. They do a lot on their own all winter and fall. But I think they can be even better. We’re still pretty young.”
That demand for excellence has driven the bar higher each year at Gloucester Catholic. Last year’s team was also a state champion, as well as Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic champs. Instead of resting on those accomplishments, the 2024 team wanted to work even harder.
“Practice, practice,” junior centerfielder Jake Terranova said. “It’s amazing to see it all come together.”
The Rams scored seven runs in the first inning and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon until striking for three more in the bottom of the fifth to end it. DeRias recorded his first 13 outs by strikeout before a ball was finally put in play by an unsuccessful bunt. A sliding catch by Terranova in the outfield to close out the fifth inning dismissed the only real threat of a Saint Thomas Aquinas hit. The University of Miami commit was simply dominant in his final high school game on the mound.
“I’ve had a bunch of games with 12 or 13 strikeouts, but not all in a row,” DeRias said. “That was pretty cool. I got on the mound in the first inning and felt the adrenaline flowing. State championship – this is where we wanted to be. This is our goal every single year.”
It was the 21st state baseball championship in school history.
A 27-2 record against one of the toughest schedules in the state proved the Rams’ hefty practice slate had them prepared for anything.
“These guys think I’m hard on them, but my old players think I’m really soft now,” Barth said. “But we do practice. We go at it. We have to practice to be able to beat good teams. And I don’t think you can play a better schedule than what we had this year. I can’t believe we went 27-2 against our schedule. We play a lot of schools bigger than us.”
No other school in New Jersey has won more than eight state championships. It makes the Rams’ 21 titles jump off the pages of the record books. It might even be more as Gloucester Catholic ended its seasons with South Jersey Non-Public B titles in 1959, 1962, 1964 and 1965 without playing in a state championship game, as the state didn’t start hosting state championship games until 1971.
It’s not just the players. The coaching staff craves championships, too.
“All the coaches buy in,” DeRias said. “They want it just as bad as we do. Coming to GC, you know you have to be a real baseball player to play on this team, and you have to want to win. And that’s what we do.”
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
