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West Deptford beats Haddonfield for South Jersey Group 2 championship, overcoming rough start to season

The Eagles earned a 5-3 win over Haddonfield in the South Jersey Group 2 final, avenging two regular season defeats to the Bulldogs.

West Deptford senior Jack Murphy, got the win in Friday's 5-3 South Jersey Group 2 championship win over Haddonfield.
West Deptford senior Jack Murphy, got the win in Friday's 5-3 South Jersey Group 2 championship win over Haddonfield.Read moreMarc Narducci/Staff

It was April 12 and West Deptford had already essentially been eliminated from the Colonial Conference Liberty Division baseball race. The Eagles were 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the Colonial Liberty. The chance of earning a Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic bid for 16 of the top teams in South Jersey, was also realistically gone.

That could discourage many teams less than two weeks into a baseball season.

West Deptford decided to grind.

After nearly seven weeks, the payoff came in a big way when No. 2 seeded West Deptford defeated top seeded Haddonfield on Friday, 5-3, to win the South Jersey Group 2 title.

The surging Eagles (17-6) will meet Point Pleasant Boro in Monday’s state Group 1 semifinal at a neutral field.

“We had a rough start,” senior righthander Jack Murphy said after earning the win by pitching five-plus innings, allowing three runs on five hits to improve to 10-2.

Despite the tough start, there were some positives.

“We were hitting the ball hard, but didn’t have a lot of early luck,” rightfielder R.J. Mason said.

In Friday’s first inning Mason hit a ball hard and had plenty of good luck. It went for a three-run home run to left field.

“I jumped on a first-pitch curveball,” he said.

Even more impressive is that it came against Haddonfield righthander Dylan Heine, among the top pitchers in South Jersey, who is headed to Rider. Heine entered the game having allowed four earned runs all season.

He allowed all five runs, three earned, in the sectional final, but kept the Bulldogs in the game.

West Deptford made it 4-0 on Joe Hartman’s RBI fielder’s choice in the second inning.

Haddonfield took advantage of some wildness and scored a run in the fifth on a bases loaded walk to Alex Kadar and two more in the sixth on a wild pitch and a bases loaded walk to Chris Brown.

Leading 4-3, West Deptford used its third pitcher of the sixth inning, sophomore righthander Brian Gallagher, who came in with the count 2-0 to Brown. Brown walked but it was charged to the previous pitcher, Ryan Sawyer.

Gallagher then ended the inning on a deep flyout to right. The Eagles got an insurance run in the seventh on Murphy’s fielder’s choice RBI.

After hitting the first batter in the seventh inning, Gallagher then got a groundout and two infield popups to end the game.

“I can’t lie I was nervous coming in,” Gallagher said.

It sure didn’t look it.

“For him to step in and do what he did showed his mental toughness,” coach John Oehler said.

It matched that of the team.

Haddonfield also showed its own fight coming back from a 4-0 deficit to have the tying run at the plate with no outs in the seventh inning.

“We were leading 4-0 and knew they were going to come back, they are took good a team,” Murphy said about Haddonfield, which beat the Eagles twice in the regular season.

In fact Haddonfield beat almost everybody. The Bulldogs, who were the defending sectional champions, ended 22-4 and besides winning the Liberty Division, also advanced to the championship of the Diamond Classic before losing to Shawnee, 2-0.

Our kids didn’t quit, but we just didn’t get a hit when we needed one and make plays when we needed to," Haddonfield coach Bob Bickel said. “They beat us today and deserved to win today.”

The Eagles deserved it because they didn’t allow a disastrous start to dictate their season.

West Deptford has won 15 of its last 17 games.

After that rough beginning, few thought the Eagles would still be playing meaningful baseball on May 31. And due to their persistence and mental toughness, they have earned more time in June as well.

West Deptford 310 000 1 – 5 9 0

Haddonfield 000 012 0 – 3 6 2

WP: Jack Murphy. LP: Dylan Heine. 2B: H-Chris Brown, HR: W: RJ Mason. ​