Gloucester Catholic has won eight straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Kingsway has won eight straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Monday. The Rams will welcome the Dragons at 4:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Gloucester Catholic 2, Kingsway 2.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Gloucester Catholic is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Jersey's top teams: St. Augustine Prep, who was ranked fourth at the time (Gloucester Catholic was ranked third). The Rams were the clear victors by a 14-5 margin over the Hermits on Saturday. The result was nothing new for the Rams, who have now won five matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Jackson Smallets spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and four unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up 12 Ks. Those 12 strikeouts set a new season-high mark for him.
Braeden Lipoff
| 04/26/25 vs St. Augustine Prep | 7 |
| 05/06/24 @ Williamstown | 3 |
| 04/23/24 vs Gloucester County Tech | 3 |
| 04/16/25 @ Gloucester County Tech | 2 |
| 05/07/24 vs Rancocas Valley | 2 |
On the hitting side, Braeden Lipoff was incredible, firing off two home runs, seven RBI, and four runs while going 5-for-5. Those seven RBI gave him a new career-high. Henry Pancoast was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Gloucester Catholic always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .585. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Kingsway unfortunately witnessed the end of their eight-game winning streak on Sunday. They fell just short of Paul VI by a score of 1-0. The Dragons were red-hot at the plate heading into the game (they scored no less than ten runs in the three matches prior), but the Eagles' pitcher proved too tough.
Kevin Magsam was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Kingsway saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nate Bott, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base.
Kingsway's loss dropped their record down to 9-3-1. As for Gloucester Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 10-0.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Gloucester Catholic has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Kingsway struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Gloucester Catholic was able to grind out a solid win over Kingsway when the teams last played on April 2nd, winning 4-0. Do the Rams have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Dragons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
