Delbarton baseball couldn't overcome an early deficit Saturday afternoon, falling 8-5 to Gloucester Catholic despite a spirited late-inning push.
The Rams jumped out to a quick lead in the first inning, capitalizing on an early error by Sal Garcia that set up Guy Lynam's two-run homer to right field. Gloucester kept the momentum in the third with a Lynam sacrifice fly and RBI hits by Braeden Lipoff and Jack Mustaro to stretch the lead to 4-0.
Delbarton struggled to get anything going offensively early on, managing just one hit through the first four innings — a single by Miles Handy in the second.
The Rams added three more in the fifth to build a 7-0 advantage, with Mustaro collecting his second RBI of the day, followed by a sac fly from Jason Bogart and a bases-loaded walk issued to Jude Morgan.
Delbarton finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth. With the arrival of the varsity lacrosse team to help rattle the pitcher, a walk to Curt Friedrich, followed by an error and a single, loaded the bases. A wild pitch got the Green Wave on the board before Danny Haggard's RBI bunt and Sal Garcia's RBI single to right cut the lead to 7-3. But a rally-ending double play by Handy halted any momentum.
Gloucester Catholic tacked on one more insurance run in the top of the seventh via a Mike Angelo RBI single, making it 8-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, Delbarton refused to go quietly. Ryan Holman and Friedrich led off with singles, and Brandon Kim grounded out to short to bring home Holman. Matt Tafuri followed with a hard single to left, scoring Friedrich to make it 8-5. But Haggard grounded out to third to end the rally and the game.
Jesse Smallets went the distance for the Rams, allowing eight hits and four earned runs while striking out four. He held Delbarton to just one hit through the first four innings.
Holman got the start for Delbarton, going 4.1 innings with five hits and four earned runs allowed, striking out two. Wesley Gabriel was a bright spot in relief, tossing two strong innings, allowing just one unearned run and striking out two.
