South Jersey Mean 15 baseball rankings for third week of April

Anthony V. Coppola
Members of the Eastern High School baseball team warm up prior to the Camden County Tournament semifinal round game between Eastern and Gloucester played at Gloucester High School on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Members of the Eastern High School baseball team warm up prior to the Camden County Tournament semifinal round game between Eastern and Gloucester played at Gloucester High School on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

It didn’t take long for a shakeup in the Courier-Post Mean 15 as some marquee showdowns this past week led to movement throughout the rankings.

Gloucester Catholic maintained its position atop the poll, but a new team climbed into picture while quite a few squads changed places in between.

With the South Jersey schedule about to heat up, we should learn more about which programs are ready to solidify their positions and if others are poised to make the jump into prominence. Here is this week’s rankings (through April 18).

More: Top performers from South Jersey baseball from second week of regular season

Mean 15 rankings

  1. Gloucester Catholic (7-0) – The Rams remain atop the rankings and still unbeaten thanks to a pair of wins, including a 10-3 victory over The Hun School in nonleague action April 14. Jake Terranova homered as part of a two-hit, two-RBI day in that triumph. Tate DeRias also drove in a pair, while Evan Brasburger notched the win with six Ks over 4 2/3 innings.

  2. Cherry Hill West (7-0) – The Lions pushed their undefeated start to the season to seven games, highlighted by wins against Moorestown and Paul VI – both teams in last week’s Mean 15. Senior Jon Young Jr. owns a team-best 14 RBIs, while junior Aiden Ryder is hitting .400 with 10 RBIs and 12 runs scored. Senior Ryder Garino has struck out 19 batters over 10 1/3 innings for Cherry Hill West.

  3. Kingsway (6-0) – The Dragons move up a spot thanks to an impressive 6-5 win over St. Augustine on April 13. Catcher Tommy Popoff continues to shine, evidenced by his pair of doubles and three RBIs against the Hermits. Kyle Kupsey also plated a pair of runs in Kingsway’s statement victory. Killian McCaffrey did the heavy lifting on the mound, striking out five in 4 1/3 innings.

  4. St. Augustine (6-1) – The Hermits rebounded nicely from their home loss to Kingsway by notching an impressive 2-0 road win over Bishop Eustace before dominating Cape-Atlantic League American Conference rival Ocean City 14-2 on April 18. Pitchers Matt Kouser and Alex Weingartner combined for 11 Ks in blanking the Crusaders. Joe Peacock led St. Augustine’s offensive outburst against Ocean City, driving in three runs on a pair of hits, including a double.

  5. Eastern (9-1) – It’s been smooth sailing for Eastern since falling to No. 2 Cherry Hill West on April 10. The Vikings have won four straight since the setback, including a 5-3 victory over Seneca. Senior Sam Winsett leads his team in hits (16) and runs (13), while junior Logan Dawson boasts a 1.65 ERA and 25 strikeouts across 17 innings pitched.

  6. Mainland (5-1) – The Mustangs haven’t lost since dropping their season opener to Ocean City. Mainland picked up back-to-back wins over CAL American rival Egg Harbor Township to bolster its standing. The Mustangs have benefited from solid work on the mound by senior Brady Blum (1.56 ERA and 19 strikeouts) and junior Finnegan Haines (1.91 ERA and 17 strikeouts).

  7. Cherokee (3-1) – A light schedule is about to intensify for the Chiefs, who picked up a 7-3, nine-inning road win over rival Lenape April 13. Brett Gable and Jordan Henriquez both had a pair of RBIs in a victory that saw Cherokee score five runs in the top of the ninth. Gable logged five innings on the mound, striking out seven.

  8. Delsea (8-1) – A small jump in the rankings for the Crusaders, who pushed their win streak to five. Delsea notched a pair of 4-3 victories over Audubon and Paul VI, the latter coming in walk-off fashion courtesy of a two-run single by Mike McGinley. Junior Frank Cairone struck out 10 over six innings in that win.

  9. Shawnee (6-2) – Chris Ahrens picked up two key hits, pushing his team lead to nine, as the Renegades secured a key 5-4 win over Seneca on April 16. Ahrens also owns a team-high nine runs and is tied with Reid Uccello with four doubles. Looking ahead, Shawnee has three tough tests in a row, with Bishop Eustace, Cherry Hill West and Kingsway on the docket starting April 24.

  10. Ocean City (4-2) – A slide for the Red Raiders, who dropped two of their last three games – the first to Millville before falling to St. Augustine. Travis Large helped pitch Ocean City to a 4-0 win over Millville in the second half of a back-to-back showdown with the Bolts. Large struck out 10 and allowed just one hit in six innings. An April 24 date looms with No. 6 Mainland, which Ocean City beat to open the season.

  11. Moorestown (2-2) – The Quakers haven’t played many games just yet, but did have a big chance to turn heads against No. 2 Cherry Hill West on April 13. Moorestown came up short in that one, falling 6-0, but responded with a 7-1 win against Camden Catholic. Senior pitcher David McGeorge was dominant in that one, striking out 12 batters in a six-inning effort.

  12. Seneca (4-3) – The Golden Eagles dropped two of their last three contests, but those losses came against No. 5 Eastern and No. 9 Shawnee by a combined three runs. Seneca shook off those heartbreaking defeats with a convincing 7-1 victory over Rancocas Valley on April 18. Redsy Klein and Dom Kleinknecht each had a pair of RBIs and Aydan Davis tossed a complete game, improving his ERA to 1.02 for the season.

  13. Rancocas Valley (5-2) – The Red Devils rattled off a pair of wins against Cherry Hill East and Northern Burlington before Seneca put a halt to the team’s five-game unbeaten run. Rancocas Valley piled up 23 runs in its two most recent victories, with senior outfielder Angel Rodriguez posting five of his team-leading 10 RBIs.

  14. Bishop Eustace (3-3) – The Crusaders went toe-to-toe with No. 4 St. Augustine but were unable to scratch any runs across the plate despite outhitting the Hermits. Bishop Eustace answered with a lopsided win over Camden County Tech on April 16 and have big showdowns with Moorestown and Shawnee in the week ahead. Senior Landon Mack continues to impress for the Crusaders with 19 RBIs and seven home runs.

  15. Pennsville (6-2) – The Eagles slide into the rankings thanks to a nice start that includes handing No. 8 Delsea its only loss of the season. Pennsville also played Gloucester Catholic tough, losing by just three runs back on April 11. Freshman Mason O’Brien has a team-best 11 hits and 10 RBIs while junior Chase Burchfield is hitting .526 with 10 runs, 10 hits and 9 RBIs.

Knocking on the door: Paul VI (5-4); Burlington Township (5-0); Egg Harbor Township (4-2); Collingswood (4-3); Holy Cross (6-2); Gloucester (6-3); Haddon Heights (5-2), Doane Academy (6-1), Audubon (4-3); Washington Township (5-3); Hammonton (5-1).

Anthony V. Coppola is a freelance reporter for the Courier-Post. He can be reached by email at cpvarsity@gmail.com

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: South Jersey Mean 15 baseball rankings for April 19

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