Mondile beats Groome as S. Jersey pitching prospects square off
It was a good night for Jason Groome. It was a better night for Tyler Mondile. Mondile outdueled Groome Monday as Gloucester Catholic High School scored a 1-0 victory over Barnegat in a highly anticipated clash of star senior pitchers before a near-capacity crowd at Campbell's Field.
It was a good night for Jason Groome.
It was a better night for Tyler Mondile.
Mondile outdueled Groome Monday as Gloucester Catholic High School scored a 1-0 victory over Barnegat in a highly anticipated clash of star senior pitchers before a near-capacity crowd at Campbell's Field.
Mondile, a Florida State recruit projected as a possible early-round selection in the June 9 baseball draft, pitched a three-hitter with one walk and 10 strikeouts on a cool, clear night on the Camden waterfront.
The 6-foot-1 Mondile touched 95 mph with his best fastball, but his last toss was underhanded and might have been his best: He threw the game ball to Kari Jenkinson, a 15-year-old Audubon High School student who watched the game in a wheelchair.
Mondile had designated that Jenkinson's family would receive his half of the proceeds from ticket sales to the game.
"That was awesome," the righthanded Mondile said of his last delivery, the toss to Jenkinson while his teammates applauded along the left-field line, in the shadow of the Ben Franklin Bridge.
Mondile and Groome, a lefthander and Vanderbilt recruit projected as a likely top-10 pick in the draft - perhaps No. 1 overall to the Phillies - lived up to their advance billing in a taut pitching duel before one of the largest crowds to ever watch a South Jersey high school baseball game.
The 6-5 Groome touched 94 mph with his best fastball, maintained top velocity through the game and mixed in a nasty curveball.
Groome allowed two hits and one unearned run. He struck out 14, including the final eight batters.
"He's probably going to be the best pitcher I'll ever face," said Gloucester Catholic sophomore Jason Bobiak, who lined an opposite-field single for the Rams' first hit in the bottom of the third inning and scored the game's only run on a two-base throwing error.
Groome said Mondile deserved credit for his performance.
"I give all props to Mondile," Groome said. "He pitched a great game like me, but they came out on top on a couple of errors. I'm not mad. I'm just glad we had such a great turnout."
The two pitchers share the same adviser in Jeff Randazzo and work out together sometimes at Randazzo's facility in Garnet Valley. The two had dinner together Thursday night at Xfinity Live across Pattison Avenue from Citizens Bank Park.
"I had told him I thought it was going to be 1-0," Mondile said. "But I really thought we would get a couple more."
The crowd filled the lower bowl of the quaint, former home of the Camden Riversharks minor-league team, which seats 6,425.
Proceeds from the game - tickets were $5 - were split between the two schools and donated to charities of the starting pitchers' choice.
Groome designated Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as his charity while Mondile directed that his half of the proceeds go the Jenkinson family.
The Phillies have taken a strong interest in Groome as a potential draft selection.
Phillies officials Charley Kerfeld, a special assistant to the general manager, and Johnny Almaraz, the director of amateur scouting, were in attendance Monday.
Bobiak led off the third with a single, lining a 1-2 pitch the opposite way into right field. He advanced to second on a passed ball and came around to score on a two-base infield throwing error on a bunt.
"Words can't even describe it," Bobiak said of his feelings at scoring the game's lone run. "We were going crazy."
Mondile worked out of a base-loaded, no-out jam in the second inning, with two strikeouts and an underhanded toss to home for a force out on a bunt.
Mondile said he was "getting ahead" with his fastball. "I was able to move it in and out," he said.
Gloucester Catholic coach Adam Tussey said Mondile had a "different demeanor this week" in anticipation of the showdown.
"He was great tonight," Tussey said. "He was so composed. He was into the game from the very beginning."
Barnegat 000 000 0 - 0 3 1
Gloucester Cath. 001 000 x - 1 2 2
WP: Tyler Mondile. LP: Jason Groome.
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