Pennsville gives one of state’s best teams a battle for seven innings before falling 8-5; Woodstown falls to Paul VI

THURSDAY BASEBALL
Gloucester Catholic 8, Pennsville 5
Paul VI 8, Woodstown 4

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – It had been a pretty good week for the Pennsville baseball team as it was. To beat one of the top teams in the state Thursday would have made it a downright historic one.

it didn’t happen as the Eagles came up short against Gloucester Catholic 8-5, but if nothing else the week served as a good measuring stick for a team with high aspirations in the Tri-County Classic Division and South Jersey Group I.

Earlier in the week the Eagles (3-2) knocked off two of South Jersey’s premier teams – county rival Woodstown and Delsea – giving a program with 22 total players a ton of confidence going into a game a team loaded with Division I prospects. 

After giving the Rams all they could handle for seven innings – without their top three pitchers available or their only senior (injured) – they are convinced if they keep buying into what coach Matt Karr is selling and continue to play for each other and the next man in the lineup they can beat anyone.

“It’s a huge measuring stick,” Karr said. “I told those guys out there in left field the New Jersey media tells us that’s the best team the state has to offer right now … and if (that’s the case) any day we put our cleats on and come play baseball we’re going to compete with anybody no matter who we’re playing.

“We’ve got 22 guys in our whole program and we’re playing teams who have 25 guys in the dugouts and kids who just pitch. We just have to have that mindset next guy up and when it’s my turn to do something for the team I’ve got to find a way to do it. We preach selfless baseball. If you’re not going to be the guy who gets the big RBI, that’s fine, be excited for the guy who does. If we get 22 guys all buying into that idea, it’s limitless how far we can go.”

Mason O’Brien brought that next-man-up mentality to this windy, overcast day. Karr handed him the ball for the second time this season when the Eagles were down 7-1 and the freshman left-hander responded with four innings of solid relief to give his team a chance.

He gave up three hits, a run and struck out three. With O’Brien holding the Rams in check, the Eagles climbed back into it with four runs in the fifth inning.

“We put Mason in the leadoff spot and out on the mound today because of his approach to the game every day,” Karr said. “He is a guy who is not afraid of anything. He’ll step in the box against anyone. He has what we call that ‘dawg mentality.’ He’s just going to get in there and battle.”

O’Brien showed that from the very beginning when he laced the first pitch from Rams starter Henry Pancoast the opposite way past shortstop Noah Danza, a Virginia commitment who homered in the top of the inning, for the first of his two hits. He slater cored on Chase Burchfield’s single that sliced away from left-fielder Sal Marziani. 

Burchfield finished with three hits and two RBIs. Luke Wood had two hits and Mason’s brother Peyton had two RBIs. 

“My mindset out there was just trust my teammates, give my all,” Mason O’Brien said. “I didn’t really worry about who they were. I went out and tried to play my best ball and I think I did. We talk about it all the time, trust in each other; that’s how we become a good ball team. We just became a better team (this week).”

The Eagles easily could have folded in the second inning after the Rams squashed a threat by turning Wood’s scorching liner with bases loaded into an inning ending double play.

“If that gets through, it’s a whole new ballgame,” Karr said. 

Instead of buckling, they stayed in the moment and eventually got back in the game with a four-run fourth inning that made it 7-5. Peyton O’Brien highlighted the rally with a two-run double and he scored on Burchfield’s second RBI single that chased Pancoast.

“Pennsville always gives us trouble, especially when we play down here,” Rams coach Dennis Barth said. “I told the kids we’re coming down there, they’re going to give it to you, they ain’t going to back down from you, they always play good. We’ve got to lead.”

Future opponents can expect the same treatment.

“Right now,” Mason O’Brien said. “If someone comes to play us … it’s gonna be really hard to beat us.”

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 8, PENNSVILLE 5

PAUL VI 8, WOODSTOWN 4: Jack Petrillo went 4-for-4, Ryan Fayette had three hits and starter Anthony Ungaro pitched four shutout innings before the Wolverines got the on the board. Brent Williams and Andrew Pedrick both had a double and each drove in a pair of runs for the Woodstown.

PAUL VI 8, WOODSTOWN 4

Cover photo: Gloucester Catholic shortstop Noah Danza (L) is greeted by his teammates after hitting a three-run homer in the first inning against Pennsville.

Thursday roundup

WOODSTOWN 13, CUMBERLAND 3: The Wolverines pulled away from a close game with an eight-run fourth inning and got back in the win column. Alyssa Baber had two hits and two RBIs, Kayla Brown had two hits, Johanna Way had three RBIs and Ellie Wygand had two RBIs.

GOLF
WOODSTOWN 169, PENNSVILLE 169: Jeffrey Covely shot a medalist-winning 40 and Jacob Schermerhorn shot 41 to lead Woodstown in the match at Town & Country Golf Links. Jake Isaac was Pennsville’s low man (41).

BOYS LACROSSE
MAINLAND 16, WOODSTOWN 3: Harrison LaMonica, Joe Eyde and Ty Pierce scored three goals apiece for Mainland. Laitton Roberts and Lucas Sperry scored goals for Woodstown.