Skip to content
Rally High School Sports
Link copied to clipboard

Tropiano wins 600th as Bishop Eustace topples Gloucester Catholic

Sam Tropiano said he tries not to be overly reflective when it comes to milestones. But it's almost as if the baseball gods tried to force his hand on this one.

Sam Tropiano said he tries not to be overly reflective when it comes to milestones.

But it's almost as if the baseball gods tried to force his hand on this one.

Saturday afternoon, Tropiano reached the elusive 600 win plateau when Bishop Eustace beat Gloucester Catholic, 2-1, under conditions that could have been pulled from the script of a cheesy movie.

It was the quarterfinals of the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic, and the Crusaders had rarely been this big of an underdog in Tropiano's 30 years as its head baseball coach.

The game featured a standing-room-only crowd, a dramatic pitcher's duel, a walk-off single by Justin Hagenman, and players storming the field after the win. Tropiano, in all his glory, was doused with a jug of ice water under a clear sky on an 80-degree afternoon.

"That's more excitement than I bargained for, so it was kind of neat," said Tropiano after the win over top-seeded Gloucester Catholic. "Seeing all the great former players here today coming out to support the team really ties it all in for me."

Eustace right-handed pitcher Tyler Phillips allowed a run in the first inning before settling in and recording a masterful complete-game.

Beginning with the Rams' leadoff hitter in the top of the fifth inning, Phillips retired the final nine batters he faced. After the first, he never saw more than four batters in an inning. He induced double plays to end the second and third innings.

He allowed just three hits - none after the second inning - while pairing five strikeouts with four walks.

"Honestly, this is like the best day of my life - this is the game I've always wanted to pitch," said Phillips, whose seventh-seeded Crusaders (17-5) play Northern Burlington Sunday in the semifinals. "I was honored to even be out there.

"I think after the first couple innings, I really figured out how to pitch them, how to get ground balls."

Added Tropiano: "I thought [Phillips] kept them off balance with his fastball and slider, mixed in some changeups. He just did a great job off mixing up his pitches."

Gloucester Catholic (21-4) featured highly touted Tyler Mondile on the mound. The righty was strong throughout. He worked out of jams in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings - each ended with a runner on third base.

"To lose this game is very upsetting," Rams coach Mike Rucci said. "But in the grand scheme of things, it's not our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is to win the state championship.

"We didn't execute today . . . But I think we'll learn from this and bounce back."

The Rams allowed a run in the second inning on an RBI double to deep centerfield by Steve DeBello.

In the bottom of the seventh, Mondile struck out the first two batters he faced, before Eustace leadoff man Chris Jones reached first on an error. Jones advanced to second on hard line drive by Nick Browne in the next at bat. The next batter, Hagenman, drove in the winning run on a single up the middle up.

"I just got a fastball that I could hit - I kept my confidence up and that was the key," Hagenman said. "I put a good swing on it and got a hit.

"It's huge . He's done a great job as a coach, he's a great mentor, everything. And this is the team you want to do it against.

Gloucester Catholic 100 000 0 - 1 3 0

Bishop Eustace 010 000 1 - 2 6 2

WP: Tyler Phillips. LP: Tyler Mondile. 2B: BE-Steve DeBellis, Chris Jones.

rallysports@phillynews.com