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Delran’s R.J. Moten leads Burlington County to Carpenter Cup final

Burlington County will meet Lehigh Valley in Tuesday's 10 a.m. championship at Citizens Bank Park.

Burlington County centerfielder R.J. Moten of Delran hits a triple in the first inning against the Philadelphia Catholic League.
Burlington County centerfielder R.J. Moten of Delran hits a triple in the first inning against the Philadelphia Catholic League.Read moreMarc Narducci/STAFF

Delran centerfielder R.J. Moten, a top prospect in baseball and football, is clearly in baseball mode this time of year.

Moten, a junior who has been offered football scholarships from Notre Dame, Michigan, and Penn State, jump-started the Burlington County offense and made a sensational play in center field Monday during Burlington County’s 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Catholic League in the Carpenter Cup semifinal at Citizens Bank Park.

Burlington County will be in the Carpenter Cup championship game for the second straight year. In Tuesday’s 10 a.m. final, also at Citizens Bank Park, Burlington County will meet Lehigh Valley, a 7-6 winner over Delaware South in the other semifinal on Monday.

Both championship participants have won three Carpenter Cup titles. The tournament features 16 high school all-star teams from the tri-state area.

In last year’s final, Burlington County lost, 7-2, to fellow South Jersey team Olympic-Colonial. Moten was a member of that team.

“Last year we came up short, but we are coming to win it,” Moten said.

The 6-foot-1, 201-pound Moten led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple and scored on a groundout by sophomore Jedier Hernandez of Trenton Catholic.

“That was a huge lift for our team right out of the gate,” Burlington County manager Chris Glenn, the coach at Bordentown, said of Moten’s triple.

In the second inning, the Catholic League had a runner on first when Moten used his running-back speed to make an inning-ending, diving catch.

“That was huge,” Moten said. “I will do whatever it takes to help my team.”

Burlington County had some outstanding pitching efforts.

Moorestown senior and Boston College recruit Brian McMonagle, the only four-year player in Burlington County Carpenter Cup history, threw three scoreless innings to begin the game. Seneca junior Josh Willitts threw a shutout inning, and Shawnee senior Jackson Balzan added three scoreless innings.

Burlington County’s Robby Barrientos, a junior from Pennsauken, led off the second inning with a walk and advanced to second on a groundout and to third on a wild pitch. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Shawnee senior Connor Coolahan.

A sixth-inning RBI double by Cherokee junior Jake Prince extended the lead to 3-0.

The Catholic League made it 3-2 with two eighth-inning runs on a sacrifice fly by Bonner-Prendergast senior John DeMucci and an RBI single up the middle by Archbishop Ryan senior Adam Estrada..

Burlington County righthander Bryce Mangine, of Rancocas Valley, who had entered the eighth inning with the 3-0 lead, one out and the bases loaded, ended the inning with a strikeout. Mangine, who will play baseball at Penn, then earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Catholic League received two hits apiece from La Salle junior Charlie Yanoshik and Bonner-Prendie senior Matt Headley.

This was Yanoshik’s first Carpenter Cup game. He had been in Cincinnati competing in a tournament and missed the previous two games.

“It is special to be here, to compete here,” said Yanoshik, who has committed to Tulane. “This is a great setting, and I am glad I got the opportunity to play.”