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Moughan's big hits lift Gloucester Catholic to rivalry win

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RICHLAND – Brayden Moughan got his first taste of the rivalry with St. Augustine Prep on Wednesday.

It’s safe to say he’s hungry for more.

The sophomore first baseman roped a two-run homer and delivered a clutch three-run double – both with two outs – to power the Gloucester Catholic High School baseball team to a 10-8 victory over the previously unbeaten Hermits in the Mid-Atlantic Baseball Challenge quarterfinal round.

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The Rams (6-2) will play Malvern Prep in the semifinal round at St. Augustine on Thursday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.

After biding his time on junior varsity last season, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Moughan has made a huge impact so far this spring. He carried a five-game hitting streak into Wednesday’s game. His first multi-hit game raised his season average to .318 and his five RBIs raised his season total to eight.

“Be ready for whenever you get a chance to do it,” said Moughan, who hails from Vineland. “You prepare for games like this. Hitting every single day (in the offseason), in the gym every single day.”

Gloucester Catholic head coach Dennis Barth knew Moughan’s potential since the player has spent time in the Brooklawn American Legion program.

“He’s been coming along real good,” Barth said. “He works, he has a lot of ability. … He keeps getting bigger and bigger.

“We have a lot of good young kids and he’s starting to come along. He’s starting to relax a little bit and, as you can see, he has some power.”

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Moughan’s first varsity shot was a blast to left field and the two-run shot came at a crucial time, putting the Rams up 3-1 in the third against St. Augustine ace Alex Weingartner.

“Sitting fastball there, see it, hit it,” Moughan said about the approach.

Barth said the homer “woke us up a little bit. We were helping him out and he’s a really good pitcher, he doesn’t need any help.”

Gloucester Catholic trailed 5-4 going into the sixth when Moughan blasted a bases-clearing double to left field. He would score on Jack Pund’s RBI single to put the Rams ahead 9-5.

Game notes

Blessed with a lethal heater that touches in the low-to-mid 90s and solid secondary stuff, Weingartner racked up a career-best 11 strikeouts in four innings (90 pitches) of work. He recorded four strikeouts in the third inning en route to his second double-digit K performance in three starts.

Weingartner surrendered four runs (one earned) on five hits and didn’t issue a walk.

St. Augustine (6-1) took a 4-3 lead in the third inning with Hank Biglin’s two-run triple and made things interesting in the seventh, scoring three times on Mason Kurelko’s RBI double and Weingartner’s two-run single.

Gloucester Catholic’s Jude Morgan worked five innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on five hits. He struck out five. Caleb Lopez pitched the final two innings, striking out three.

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The Rams’ Jason Bogart had three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs.

It’s the first of at least two meetings between the two squads. They will meet again in the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament in Margate on April 25. The two could have a third meeting in the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.

“I’m sure we’ll see them again,” Barth said. “It’s good for us, it’s good for them.”

Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 35 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Gloucester Catholic baseball beats St. Augustine Prep

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