Cody Brown is S.J. baseball player of year

There's no radar gun to measure Cody Brown's best asset as a pitcher.

It's not his live fastball. It's not his sneaky change-up. It's not his ability to locate pitches, throw strikes, or back his own cause as a heavy hitter at the plate.

"If he's not the biggest competitor I've ever coached, he's right there," Gloucester Catholic coach Dennis Barth said.

Brown's bulldog tenacity is the reason he is the South Jersey Player of the Year in baseball. He went 12-0 with a 0.80 ERA. He also batted .390 and hit a home run in the state final.

But Brown's competitiveness and leadership "echoed" through South Jersey's No. 1 team, according to one of his classmates.

"He's the kid who wants the ball in the state championship game," Gloucester Catholic senior centerfielder Steve Wilgus said. "He's the kid who wants the ball in the bottom of the seventh. The way he is, it echoed through the whole team."

Although the Rams won 20 games by the 10-run rule, Brown earned many of his wins in tight games against top competition. He beat Pennsylvania power Malvern Prep, beat a California team in the Bishop Gorman Easter Classic in Las Vegas, and won two games in the Diamond Classic.

Brown's best game was one of the Rams' toughest: a 3-0 victory over No. 4 Holy Cross in the Non-Public B South final.

In a pitchers' duel with fellow all-South Jersey selection Jeff Singer of Holy Cross, Brown fired his first career no-hitter. He retired the Lancers' first 14 batters.

"I love the adrenaline rush of pitching in big games," said Brown, who has signed to attend Central Connecticut State along with his twin, Casey. "That's what you play for, the big games."

Barth said Cody Brown's competitiveness rubbed off on his teammates.

"These guys thought we were invincible behind him," Barth said.

Gloucester Catholic junior second baseman Joe Brooks said Brown's leadership was one of the keys to the Rams' remarkable season.

"He's an incredible team leader," Brooks said. "He's always working hard. He's always setting an example for the younger kids."

Brown finished his career with a 26-3 record. He holds the record for career victories for South Jersey's most storied program.

In his last game, Brown pitched a two-hitter in a 14-2 victory over Newark Academy in the state final. If not for a bad hop that turned a single into a triple, he likely would have pitched another shutout.

"I got great support from a great group of kids," Brown said of his high school career. "I was lucky to play for this team and this school. It was everything I hoped it would be and more."