Mondile pitches Gloucester Catholic past St. Augustine
Tyler Mondile has thrown a no-hitter this season. He has thrown a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts. He has made a career of mowing down opposing hitters.
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Tyler Mondile has thrown a no-hitter this season.
He has thrown a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts.
He has made a career of mowing down opposing hitters.
This was different.
This was a battle.
When Gloucester Catholic second baseman Adam Bonomo fielded a grounder and fired to first for the final out of a 4-3 victory over St. Augustine on Sunday, Mondile didn't let out a rebel yell in celebration of dominant pitching.
His emotional reaction was acknowledgment of a gutsy, grinding effort against quality opponent.
"I love the competition, the competitiveness of it," Mondile, a senior righthander and Florida State recruit, said after leading Gloucester Catholic to victory over one of its top rivals. "I'd rather have a game like this than a blowout."
The game featured the new No. 1 and No. 2 teams in The Inquirer's Top 25 rankings.
The clash of two of South Jersey's top program was played in brilliant sunshine before large crowd that lined the fence along both sides of Levari Field on the St. Augustine campus.
About a dozen professional baseball scouts were behind the backstop with their radar guns and notebooks to observe Mondile, who is projected as a possible selection in June's major-league draft.
"I don't even notice them," Mondile said. "It's just me and my catcher."
Sophomore third baseman Evan Giordano had two doubles and Bonomo, a junior, was 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly for No. 1 Gloucester Catholic (7-1).
Senior second baseman Chris Troost was 2 for 4 and scored a run and senior designated hitter Dan Pavlik was 2 for 3 for No. 2 St. Augustine (7-3).
"We battled but there's no moral victories," St. Augustine coach Mike Bylone said. "We had some good at-bats but we just didn't put two [hits] together."
Mondile worked a complete game, throwing 105 pitches. He allowed three earned runs on eight hits, with two walks and five strikeouts.
St. Augustine scored twice in the bottom of the seventh and had two runners on base when Mondile recorded the final out.
Earlier in the inning, Gloucester Catholic coach Adam Tussey visited the mound.
"He was oozing confidence," Tussey said of Mondile. "He wanted the ball. He wanted to finish.
"This is what he does. He was prepared to throw seven innings against a good team."
St. Augustine had a hit in every inning. But Mondile worked out of trouble with a fastball that touched 92 mph in the first inning and still was in the high 80s in the seventh along with a sharp curve.
"I felt strong," Mondile said. "I felt confident in myself. I felt like I was going to get them out when I needed to."
Mondile appeared to bear down in the seventh inning. When he recorded the final out, he let out a loud yell before joining in the celebration with his teammates.
"They're a great team and a big rival," Mondile said of St. Augustine. "I love beating them."
Gloucester Cath. 003 100 0 – 4 9 2
St. Augustine 000 100 2 – 3 8 2
WP: Tyler Mondile. LP: Billy Chillari.
2B; GC-Evan Giordano 2. SA-Chris Troost, Billy Chillari.
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