Diamond Classic final postponed

It was going to be a rare Diamond Classic final: two top teams with top pitchers cued up and ready to rumble.

But the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in The Inquirer's top 10 will have to wait to meet on the baseball field.

The Diamond Classic championship game between top-ranked Sacred Heart and No. 2 Shawnee was postponed yesterday because of rain. The title game likely will be played next weekend at Eastern High School, though Diamond Classic director Joe Hartmann said a decision will not be made until tomorrow.

The final was scheduled for Campbell's Field, but with the ballpark set to host the Atlantic Ten tournament this week, Camden Riversharks officials were reluctant to have a high school game played there last night in potentially sloppy conditions.

Earlier in the day, Sacred Heart beat Lenape, 6-1, in one semifinal, and Shawnee beat Cherry Hill West, 9-6, in the other.

"We were really looking forward to it," Sacred Heart coach John Triantos said of an anticipated meeting with Shawnee. "We feel beating the teams we've beaten to get this far, it legitimizes our program."

Many Diamond Classic finals feature high-scoring games as teams take advantage of depleted pitching staffs.

But both teams had undefeated No. 2 pitchers set to go in last night's final: Sacred Heart's Anthony Ramos (5-0) and Shawnee's Anthony Montefusco (5-0).

"We were in pretty good shape," Shawnee coach Brian Anderson said. "Now, we'll see."

Anderson said Shawnee (17-1) has an Olympic Conference game scheduled for Thursday, and a first-round game in the South Jersey Group 3 tournament scheduled for Friday.

Triantos said Sacred Heart (23-1) has Cape-Atlantic League games scheduled for today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

"We have a lot of pitching depth," Triantos said.

Senior J.T. Triantos, the coach's son, allowed just three hits in six strong innings as Sacred Heart beat Lenape.

Shawnee backed Quinton Miller's eight-strikeout pitching with a 16-hit attack, led by Reid Pulford's two doubles and Montefusco's two-run homer, in its semifinal win over Cherry Hill West.

Shawnee 302 112 0 - 9 16 2

Cherry Hill West 005 000 1 - 6 6 1

WP: Quinton Miller LP: Dan Hill

2B: S-Reid Pulford, 2.

HR: S-Anthony Montefusco

Lenape 000 100 0 - 1 4 3

Sacred Heart 041 001 x - 6 11 0

WP: J.T. Triantos LP: Tom Doulong

2B: SH-Carlos Sepulveda