The St. Augustine Prep Hermits will challenge the Gloucester Catholic Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with St. Augustine Prep sitting on five straight wins and Gloucester Catholic on 14 (dating back to last season).
St. Augustine Prep is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Jersey's top teams: Bishop Eustace Prep, who was ranked 13th at the time (St. Augustine Prep was ranked fourth). The Hermits walked away with a 7-3 victory over the Crusaders on Thursday. Surprisingly, this marked the Hermits' fifth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Jameson Dobis tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
Brady Jackson
| 04/24/25 @ Bishop Eustace Prep | 2 |
| 04/17/25 vs Ocean City | 1 |
| 03/27/25 vs Mainland Regional | 1 |
| 05/13/24 @ Egg Harbor Township | 1 |
| 05/11/24 @ Rancocas Valley | 1 |
On the hitting side, Brady Jackson and Marco Christopher did most of the damage at the plate: Jackson went 3-for-5 with two doubles, one stolen base, and one run, while Christopher went 1-for-3 with one home run, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those two doubles gave Jackson a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Joe Peacock, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Gloucester Catholic). They put the hurt on Washington Township with a sharp 15-2 win on Thursday. The Rams might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by six runs or more this season.
Sal Marziani looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Guy Lynam, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four runs, two stolen bases, and two RBI. Mike Angelo was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three runs and one stolen base.
Gloucester Catholic always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive contests.
Gloucester Catholic pushed their record up to 9-0 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for St. Augustine Prep, their victory bumped their record up to 13-1.
Saturday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. St. Augustine Prep has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .481. However, it's not like Gloucester Catholic struggles in that department as they've averaged .440. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
St. Augustine Prep couldn't quite get it done against Gloucester Catholic in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 as they fell 6-1. Can the Hermits avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
