Down goes No. 1: Joe Vaccarella leads Gloucester Catholic baseball past St. Augustine
LINWOOD – Joe Vaccarella felt like he was buckled by a curveball when he was told he’d make his first varsity start against No. 1 St. Augustine at last year’s Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Mainland.
The shock quickly turned to excitement as Vaccarella, then a Gloucester Catholic High School freshman, got so amped he began warming up 90 minutes before the game.
He didn’t pitch poorly, but the Rams lost by a run to the Hermits that afternoon.
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Vaccarella had a much different approach Sunday morning as he prepared to face the Prep again at the prestigious event.
“I just realized I wanted to go out and have fun,” he said.
Vaccarella had plenty as the sophomore right-hander spun five shutout innings to lead No. 4 Gloucester Catholic past top-ranked St. Augustine 2-0 for their first victory in the rivalry since 2018.
“This is probably one of the top-10 experiences of my life,” he said.
Vaccarella allowed 2 hits, walked 4 and fanned 7 as he delivered what his teammates called the best performance of his career.
“Hell yeah,” catcher Damon Suriani responded to the question.
Vaccarella was always going to have a big role with the Rams this season, but he’s assumed an even larger one this April as standouts Tate DeRias (Miami recruit) and Brady Roberts (Lehigh) have yet to throw an inning.
It’s been a bit of a rocky start as he was 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA in his first three outings, however, the 6-foot-3 hurler has started to feel more comfortable with his off-speed stuff, which was critical against the Hermits.
Vaccarella developed a cutter and slider in the offseason. His cutter was arguably his best pitch during travel ball, and his slider was working against the Hermits.
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“That’s probably the best it’s looked all year,” he said.
Head coach Dennis Barth wasn’t surprised at all by his effort.
“We can beat anybody when he’s on the mound,” Barth said.
Vaccarella was awarded an autographed Mike Trout baseball for earning Most Valuable Player honors, but he was more excited for what was awaiting him at home.
“I think my mom’s making pasta,” he laughed. “It’s my favorite food.”
Game notes
Gloucester Catholic jumped ahead in the bottom of the first inning as Suriani plated Matt Leahy with an RBI single. It went up 2-0 when Guy Lynam drove in Sal Serici with a fielder’s choice in the second. Both runs were set up by strong baserunning as Leahy and Serici swiped second to get into scoring position.
Evan Brasburger shut the door on the Hermits as he threw two shutout innings to earn the save.“He’s a kid that did kind of come out of nowhere,” Leahy said. “He was kind of carving us up during preseason and they gave him a shot and he’s been doing really well.”
St. Augustine had chances Sunday. The Prep left seven runners on base, including five in scoring position.
The Hermits had a pair of costly mistakes on the base paths as well. They gave up an out in the top of the third when a runner mistakenly started going to second thinking the batter walked. Then, in the sixth, Ryan Williams was thrown out at home on Logan Franks double to end the frame.
The last word
“I think we made a huge statement. We got to come back Tuesday, beat Highland, make the Diamond and then I think we’ll make more statements.”
– Gloucester Catholic senior Damon Suriani
Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Gloucester Catholic baseball shuts out top-ranked St. Augustine
