Joe Kidd pitches Audubon past Bishop Eustace in tournament final

Joe Kidd pitched a couple of times for Audubon as a sophomore before a shoulder injury shut him down for the season.

His most memorable outing was against Bishop Eustace in the final of the Ralph Shaw Classic when he gave up five runs in one inning.

“There were videos on Instagram of guys hitting doubles all over the place,” Kidd said. “It put a chip on my shoulder.”

Kidd hardly pitched as a junior for the Green Wave, blaming himself for failing to start the season in optimum shape.

“I was actually throwing slower as a junior than I did as a sophomore,” Kidd said. “I was overweight. I wasn’t right. It was my fault.”

Now a senior, Kidd has emerged as one of the most surprising players of the early part of the South Jersey baseball season.

Kidd worked four strong innings of relief Sunday, earning the victory as Audubon beat Bishop Eustace, 4-2, in the championship game of the 24th annual Ralph Shaw Classic before a large crowd at Hank Greenberg Field.

“It’s great to see somebody’s hard work pay off,” Audubon coach Rich Horan said. “He worked so hard this winter to get ready for his senior year.”

Kidd was named the two-day tournament’s Most Valuable Pitcher and senior leadoff hitter Garrity Bantle was named Most Valuable Player as Audubon captured the title for the first time since 2013.

Bishop Eustace had won the crown the previous five years.

“It feels amazing,” Kidd said.

Kidd, a right-hander who mixes a lively fastball with a curve and change-up, allowed one run on two hits. He faced just 14 batters, two over the minimum, and struck out three, including one for the game’s final out.

That last pitch popped the cork on a celebration for the Green Wave, who raced to congratulate Kidd.

“It’s huge,” said junior catcher Hunter Brzozowski, who was 1-for-1 with two walks and also threw out a would-be base stealer. “This is big morale booster for us.”

Bishop Eustace’s Nick Koehn delivered a two-out RBI triple in the top of the sixth inning to tie the score at 2.

Audubon (4-0) grabbed a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the inning, with the go-ahead run scoring on a two-out infield error before junior Sean Colbert drove home an insurance run with a double.

“We have to learn from this,” Bishop Eustace coach Sam Tropiano said after his team’s record dropped to 4-1. “Better to learn now than later in the season.”

Kidd said he was frustrated by his inability to earn significant time on the mound earlier in his career. He said it made him work harder to finally make an impact as a senior.

He earned the save in a big win over West Deptford last week, then flourished on the big stage on Sunday.

“I was 100 percent into trying to get better,” Kidd said. “I knew I had to work this winter. I knew this was my senior year and I was going to do everything I could to help my team.”

Bishop Eustace 001 001 0 – 2 4 2

Audubon 110 002 x – 4 10 1

WP: Joe Kidd. LP: Danny Kerr.

2B: BE-Eric Sabato; A-Sean Colbert.

3B: BE-Nick Koehn.